Dita Liebely

is the female protagonist who is romantically involved with Hibiki. She refers to him playfully as , while Hibiki refers to her as "that UFO Girl". Dita has a bubbly, lively personality that usually shows in almost every aspect of life, even when she is fighting (she refers to the enemy as "bad aliens"). She admits to having feelings for Hibiki since she met him in the first episode (whether or not this was a love at first sight

Love at first sight

Love at first sight is a common trope in Western literature, in which a person, character, or speaker feels romantic attraction for a stranger on the first sight of them...

moment is debatable), and is subject to at least some ridicule and incredulity by her fellow crewmembers for her unusual infatuation with a male. She mentions that it was always her childhood fantasy that "Someday, aliens would come and take us in their spaceship to a land of happiness", a variation of the "Someday, my prince will come" fantasy of women (which is impressive as Dita was raised in an all-female culture that saw males as a different species of hostile aliens) .

When her Dread unites with Hibiki's Vanguard, they become the Vandread Dita-type Blue Kachina/Giant[Kachina literally means life bringer], a blue giant mecha that has access two powerful dual energy cannons, that acts as long-range or short-range weapons. She loves cooking for Hibiki and feels satisfied whenever he wolfs down her delicacies. While her character is childish, she received a co-leading rank, just under Jura and Barnett.

In the manga, Dita is more mature and addresses Hibiki by name rather than "Mr. Alien". Her feelings for him are also more romantic and he reciprocates them just as quickly. The budding romance between Dita and Hibiki form the main plot of the manga. In the Vandread Extra Stage Novel, it is revealed that after the end of the series, Hibiki and Dita get married and have a baby.

Misty Cornwell

is a new female character rescued by the crew at the beginning of the Second Stage. Found inside a human-sized pod who was rescued after a short scuffle between the Nirvana and several Harvester units, Misty is from the planet Pluto, in the same solar system as the planet Earth is located. As such, she is well-knowledged in the old-fashioned ideals about men and women, such as the typical boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, which confuses the others and makes Dita feel jealous. Like Dita, Misty is an excellent cook and uses her knowledge of men along with that to her advantage. Though she later gives up on trying to win Hibiki's heart, she does allow Dita to realize her own affections for Hibiki. Meanwhile she turns her attentions towards Meia, seeing her as a big sister to suffice her loliness, which helps her into making part of the crew. She is sometimes seen with a blob-like creature named Q-chan hovering on her left shoulder, which form changes depending on Misty's current state of spirit.

Misty does not appear in the manga.

Meia Gisborn

, at first, has the behavior of an Amazon; she detests men and is disgusted whenever Hibiki saves her. She rarely smiles (only doing so a few times on the first season and the second season (Second Stage), including the time she smiled when she had to babysit Ezra's baby, Karu, and during the final fight with the enemy), she suffers from claustrophobia

Claustrophobia

Claustrophobia is the fear of having no escape and being closed in small spaces or rooms...

, and has a traumatic past. As a young girl, the life support systems on her home quadrant failed, a new system that her "Ohma" (Woman-Father) had personally designed, and there was a system-wide failure that forced a sudden mass evacuation. She lost her mother when she pushed her aboard the last ship off the quadrant amongst the crowds trying to get on. Alone, she resorted to a life of crime and street fights to make a living, due to the insecurity she felt from people blaming her parents for the catastrophe, and slowy losing the will to live. She often holds a sample marked "A6" close to her which is presumably a research sample from her mother's work.

She joined the pirates when Magno Vivian appeared and tossed a laser ring to her, telling her if she wanted to die so badly, she can try dying doing something cool. With a new will to live, she gained ranks quickly. As squadron commander, she leads the other Dreads in battle, and is usually called "Leader" or "Chief" by others. Despite her stoic and strict nature, everyone looks up to and appreciates Meia and normally tries to throw a surprise birthday party for her. However, she despises such occasions and once she flew off in her Dread to scout ahead of the Nirvana, just so that she would not be irritated by the crew. Despite her initial hatred for men, she ends up respecting Hibiki for his strong spirit, even noticing their similarities; they are both trying to prove their own existence. As the series progresses she also learns how to express her true feelings, realizing that the love that her Mother and Ohma had for her was strong, and she should pass it forward.

When her Dread unites with Hibiki's Vanguard, they become the Vandread Meia-type - the incredibly high-speed White Wing, which resembles an silver eagle

American Silver Eagle

The American Silver Eagle is the official silver bullion coin of the United States. It was first released by the United States Mint on November 24, 1986. It is struck only in the one-troy ounce size, which has a nominal face value of one dollar and is guaranteed to contain one troy ounce of 99.9%...

. Its main, and only known, form of attack is a high-velocity ram that pierces nearly all enemy units in its path.

In the manga, Meia is the acting captain of the Nirvana.

Jura Basil Elden

is the secondary leader of the Dread fighting force, although she is somewhat inexperienced in a leadership role and not as skilled as Meia because Meia refuses to allow Jura to gain experence. The reasons behind this are due to her spoiled personality, vanity and her dependency to Barnette. Initially, she keeps trying to unite with Hibiki's Vanguard, after seeing how Dita and Meia were able to accomplish this. Jura usually carries a rapier

Rapier

A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...

, but seldom gets the chance to show her ability with it.

She is initially shocked at the appearance of her Vandread Jura-type Red Claw, which resembles a red crab when she first unites with Hibiki's Vanguard. It resembles a crab with green discs that orbit the machine. This particular Vandread utilizes an enhanced shielding system, which allows it to cover any object, up to the size of a planet, making it more of a defensive weapon than an offensive one. In Second Stage, she spends a lot of time trying to get Hibiki to make a baby with her, and when he is leaving, she makes a dive for him, misses and grabs Duelo instead.

In the manga, Jura is a bridge operator instead of a Dread pilot, and despises men.

Barnette Orangello

is one of the many Dread pilot co-leaders under Meia's command on the Nirvana, and is ranked higher than Dita. Unlike the three other Dread pilots featured in the series (Dita, Meia, and Jura), her Dread cannot combine with Hibiki's Vanguard, due to her position when the Paksis altered the Dreads. She displays one of the most aggressive behaviors, in terms of both her fighting style and her attitude towards men, who have been integrated into the Nirvana's crew (probably more so than Meia). She has a very impressive firearms collection (including a Calico pistol, a CZ 75 pistol, a Steyr AUG

Steyr AUG

The AUG is an Austrian bullpup 5.56mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1970s by Steyr Mannlicher GmbH & Co KG . The AUG was adopted by the Austrian Army as the StG 77 in 1977, where it replaced the 7.62mm StG 58 automatic rifle...

, and a Franchi SPAS-12 Shotgun

Franchi SPAS-12

The SPAS-12 is a combat shotgun that was manufactured by the Italian firearms company Franchi S.p.A. from 1979 to 2000. The SPAS-12 is a dual-mode shotgun, meaning it can be calibrated to cycle either semi-automatically or through pump-action. The SPAS-12 has sold well to military and police users...

) and is also an excellent cook. During the Second Stage, she voluntarily replaced Gascogne to lead the Registry, after a sortie against a Harvester mothership. She becomes a much more kind person, trying to carry both the job and attitude of Gascogne, being much more supportive the all the crew.

In the manga, Barnette has feelings for Hibiki.

Gascogne Rheingau

runs the Nirvana's Registry, and is responsible for supplying the Dread fighters with all of their weapons for their battles against the Harvesters, either inside the ship or outside, while piloting a delivery vessel. While her Registry crew might lose their heads amongst the excitement and intensity of the battles, she is always able to help them maintain their cool by reminding them to "Smile, smile!" On top of her duties as the head of Registry, she is Magno's third-in-command, after BC. She is very much like a big sister to the rest of the crew and is there to give sarcastic advice whenever it is needed (although sometimes not appreciated). During her spare time, or when there are no Harvester encounters, she enjoys playing a round of poker with Hibiki. She seemingly despises being called "Gasco". Gascogne acts like a big sister to Hibiki, giving him advice, and spending their free time together.

In Second Stage, the Nirvana was caught in a seemingly impossible battle against a Harvester mothership. In an attempt to save Barnette's Dread from being crushed by a Copy-Nirvana, Gascogne, in the delivery ship, flies in and shoots missiles at the unit. Although Barnette was jarred loose from the impact, the copy turns its rage onto Gascogne and impaled the ship. As it fell into the mothership and burst into flames, the delivery ship is swallowed up and Gascogne is unable to escape. It is assumed that she did not survive the crash. However, she shows up very much alive, during the final battle against Earth, piloting the same mothership, after commandeering its systems.

Gascogne does not appear in the manga.

Buzam A. Calessa

, or simply "BC", is the sub-commander of the Nirvana. She is stern and all-business and looks after the general welfare of the crew. A skilled tactician, BC gives orders firmly and decisively. She seems like a workaholic, constantly staying near the bridge to access data and review the crew's performance. During the initial episodes, she is seen secretly taking a small, data disc from the bridge's database, until Magno interrupts. However, her suspicious actions do not seem relevant until the Second Stage, where it is revealed that she is actually the Commander of the Taraak Intelligence, whose real name is Tenmei Uragasumi, a male spy for Taraak who was submitted to a complete sex change, and simulates a woman voice through a small device on "her" necklace. However, the experiences "she" had with the crew and the bond she created with Magno kept "her" loyal to the Nirvana members. In the end, Magno Vivian forgives "her" and retains "her" position as sub-commander, on the provision that "she "stays as BC.

In the manga, B.C. is biologically a woman and a villain.

Parfet Balblair

is the ship's chief engineer. She's a cheerful, nerdy-looking girl with huge glasses and brown hair which she keeps in two large pigtails. Parfait spends most of her time monitoring the Paeksys and the ship's engines, but also has time to devise other inventions for the crew on special occasions. At Christmas she worked very hard to get a snow machine working for everyone. From the start of the series, she finds herself partnered with Duelo, the two having a common patient. As the series progresses, the two become very close, and by the end seem to have a mutual attraction (she became very jealous when Jura made a dive for Hibiki, missed and ended up grabbing Duelo instead).

Paiway Underberg

is the ship's nurse under Duelo, though her uniform looks more like a French maid's outfit than a nurse's. Prior to the appearance of the men she was the ship's only doctor. During the first season, she spent her free time trying to exploit the bad habits of the male crew members and would secretly keep tabs on the men and either jot down notes in her journal or take pictures with her camera, which she refers to as "Pai-checks." This would soon pay off and sparked a raid that got all the men, including the drifter Rabat, locked up for a while. However, she stops this after a combination of seeing Dita's reaction to Hibiki's imprisonment and the discovery that men and women were of the same species, but she resumes her activities anyway. She carries a frog hand puppet (which is also her purse) with her all the time and is often seen talking to people with it in a gruff low pitched voice. (In the Japanese version, she talks to people with it in a more childish voice, ending her sentences through the frog puppet with the term "kero," which is the Japanese equivalent of "ribbit.) She is usually either seen with Duelo or spying on everyone. At the end of Second Stage (season 2) she gave in to impulse and flicked Duelo's hair up to see his face, and apparently thought him rather handsome.

Paiway does not appear in the manga.

Magno Vivan

is the commander of the pirates and everyone addresses her Boss (Okashira in the Japanese version, which was translated as "captain"). She is one of the first-generation colonists from Earth that was on board the Ikazuchi colony ship, hoping to populate other planets around the galaxy. She is over a hundred years old and is filled to the brim with knowledge and wisdom, most of which reflects the same kind of wisdom that can be applied to both genders, before their separation into Mejare and Taraak. She often hands out pieces of advice and directs the crew in their duties.

Also, though not directly stated, she may be Hibiki Tokai's sister. This can be derived from the picture she has of herself on the colonization ship holding the infant Hibiki. However, it can be argued that this may not be true, as stated by Hibiki's "grandfather" (in reality, he is his uncle) during a conversion near the end of the Second Stage, that he remembers Magno always coming to play with the infant Hibiki on the colony ship. As such, she may merely be an age-old friend of his, during her days as a youth.

Ezra Vieil

is a part of the bridge crew of the Nirvana, and she is an operator, although most of her work appears to surround communications. Ezra is kind and cheerful, and always seems to be able to cheer people up with her kindness. Despite the animosity between women and men, Ezra has become a kind motherly figure to Dita and Hibiki. She also agreed to be a "Fama", and is pregnant throughout much of the first series, displaying symptoms(in which she wanted to eat most of the time, and in one episode she had a craving for something sour)that seem to be a mystery to the men on the Nirvana.

Ezra's kindness is repaid to her when she has her baby, as the crew all help her through bringing her child into the world. Although it is difficult for her at times to be a mother, Ezra tries her best in order to care for the baby and make sure that her "Ohma" Rebecca is proud of her.

Ezra does not appear in the manga.

Hibiki Tokai

is the male protagonist, and a stubborn and hot head third-class citizen of Taraak that gets thrown into the mess with Duelo and Bart. He was unwilling to do anything but hide when the Nirvana was attacked by Harvesters when they appeared halfway across the galaxy. However, after a talk from the sub-commander, BC, Hibiki gets into a Vanguard (Bangaata), in an attempt to help the female pilots fight the enemy. He is very rash but gets the job done, and often ends any enemy threat quickly. By the end of the series, it is revealed he is the son of the empress of Mejere and emperor of Taraak, Lady Grand-ma and Lord Grand-pa respectively, who was frozen in hibernation, but awakened mysteriously around 14 years before the series began. His uncle, Grand-pa's younger brother, whom he refers to as "grandfather," took care of him when he emerged from cryostasis. It is also his rally to the two planets that convinces all of them that they should fight for their right to live when the Harvester fleet from Earth arrives. During the course of the series, Hibiki and Dita have an odd-couple relationship. In the initial episodes, Hibiki would run away from Dita every time she came after him, finding her very annoying. He even screamed at her, getting her to leave him alone, for which he indirectly apologizes to her later. Eventually, Hibiki gets used to being around Dita, often helping her out on board the Nirvana. He also falls in love with Dita's cooking and eventually with Dita herself. As the series progresses he grows more mature, having his own existence recognized by the other members of Nirvana, becoming a more strong pilot and person.

The crew on board the Nirvana sees the romantic feelings developing between Hibiki and Dita, often wondering when the two will admit their feelings for each other. The crew wants to see a romance story unfold, and to know if it's at all possible for a man and woman to be that close.

The series also features Hibiki's relationships with the other girls which range all the way from sisterly to obsessive.

Duelo McFile

is the ship doctor for the Nirvana. Duelo quickly takes over medical emergencies often at the objection of the female pirates, but ignores them, assuring the crew members that he is not a threat. Since he is the only licensed medical practitioner on board the Nirvana, and being that the medical facilities on board the female pirate ship were no longer operational, the female pirates were left with no choice but to have him as their official doctor. A very calm and collected character, it was said that Duelo got whatever job he wanted simply by submitting a blank resume with his name on it, as he was one of Taraak's elite. However, he can be confused and awkward when faced with something outside of his experience and education, as when he had to coach Hibiki and Dita through delivery of Ezra's baby. While very analytical, he also makes an important discovery during the series regarding Hibiki's heritage. He eventually becomes close friends with Parfait, the first woman he worked closely with, which later develops into a mutual attraction. He fits the anime classification of a bishōnen

Bishonen

is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth ". The equivalent English concept is a "pretty boy".The term describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man whose beauty transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation...

, randomly acts yaoi

Yaoi

In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...

-like and never shows the right side of his face. The latter trait is explicitly referenced at the very end of the Second Stage, when Paiway Underberg sneaks up to Duelo and for a second, strokes aside the hair covering his right eye. She then contentedly exclaims "Just as I thought!" but because the audience only sees Duelo's back at that moment, what she saw exactly remains a mystery (judging by the rather pleased faces both Paiway and Parfait had, he is probably handsome).

Duelo does not appear in the manga.

Bart Garsus

is a first-class citizen from Taraak, coming from rich parents who owned a food production company. He is initially an easily excitable, weak, and cowardly character, and ends up becoming the helmsman of the Nirvana when the ship chose him for the job. He usually liked to run away from any difficulty presented to him and made a fuss every time he was injured.

Early in Vandread: The Second Stage, Bart showed compassion for a sick little girl on a polluted planet. She listened to his embellished stories and laughed at his jokes. When a Harvest ship threatened the planet, he showed courage and resolve on another's behalf for the first time by fighting the ships off almost single handedly with the transformed weapons of the Nirvana. But while he was gone, she passed away from her illness. She left a doll of Bart she was making, without finishing the hair. In her memory, Bart shaved his head, closely bringing his appearance to that of the unfinished doll and hung it around his neck like a pendant.

Towards the end of the series, he develops feelings for BC, not knowing her secret, but even after he finds out, he is not swayed, and continues to pursue BC for a relationship . While more settled late in the series, Bart remains a comic relief character, although he matures a little as the series progresses, even contributing for the successive transformations of Nirvana.

Bart appears for a brief moment in the manga, but does not join the Nirvana.

Rabat

is an intergalactic trader. Although he is a swindler and con-artist, he has some vital information as to what exactly the enemies are that the Nirvana are up against. He is accompanied by a female orangutan

Orangutan

Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...

 called Butan.

From his first introduction in the series, the crew meets Rabat and his ape sidekick on a deserted space station. He cajoles his way aboard the Nirvana, and secretly tries to swindle the crew and steal Hibiki's Vanguard. Afterwards, when confronted by Hibiki, he scolds Hikibi on the ethics of manhood by beating him to a pulp, though this did play part in Hibiki's development. After being found out, he departs from the ship but later has another run in with the Nirvana after saving Hibiki. Afterwards, he resurfaces when the Nirvana docks in a facility of Harvester refugees whose leader has a long infatuation for him. Later along the series, it is revealed that he was, in fact, an informant for the Harvest fleet, selling them information, seeing it as his way of making money and surviving.

However, there was another dimension to his character as well. Rabat was originally a space explorer from Earth, and his real name is Samuel Adams. He crashed on a planet that had inhabitants that could only speak through telepathy and not words. Rabat was taken in by their culture and eventually learned their ways, that the "spirits" would choose someone to lead the victory over the Harvest fleet. That person was Hibiki, and not Rabat - and so Rabat set out in search of the one chosen by the spirits. His profession as a merchant and his association with the Harvest fleet is perhaps only a cover for this. His bad treatment of Hibiki was only a way of teaching him to overcome himself, and prove that he existed by using words that were his own, and not others. Towards the ending of the series, he later helps the Nirvana in the final battle against the Harvesters.

Rabat does not appear in the manga.

Butan

is an orangutan who is with Rabat all the time. She likes Pyoro a lot but doesn't like Rabat being close to any women he likes.

Butan does not appear in the manga.

Pyoro

is a small robot who was originally a navigation robot (NAVI robot) on board the original colony ship Ikazuchi. When Hibiki is caught on board the upgraded Ikazuchi, the NAVI robot is assigned to guard Hibiki, who's imprisoned behind an electronic barrier. However, when the pirates from Mejere attack and the original section of the Ikazuchi is jettisoned (where Hibiki's cell is located), the attack by Taraak to destroy that jettisoned section combined with the Paksis Pragma's attempt to save itself caused the NAVI robot to become broken. Thus the Paksis causes it to evolve and have a personality along with a quirky speech pattern in which the robot ends most of its sentences with the term "pyoro." After the Mejere pirate ship is merged with the old Ikazuchi to become the Nirvana, the ship's chief engineer decides to name the old NAVI robot, "Pyoro-kun" (or just Pyoro as it is done in the English) after hearing it speak. He is essential for the formation of Super Vandread, which combines Dita's, Meia's and Jura's Dreads, Hibiki's Vanguard and Pyoro himself.

Pyoro does not appear in the manga.

Amarone Slaintheav

is a dark-skinned Megeran who is an operator of the Nirvana.

Belvedere Coco

is a blond-haired Megeran who is also an operator.

Celtic Midori

is another Megeran operator who has all sorts of costumes. She's mostly a cosplay

Cosplay

, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...

 person of the crew. She initially wears a full body teddy bear costume as a way to conceal her body from the men on board and later is one the leaders who imprison Hibiki, Duelo, and Bart. She comes around as the male and female relations improve by cutting the face out of her teddy bear costume. During the Second Stage, she's seen using a different costume on each episode.

Tenhou Farland

is a smart young girl from Megeran and is Paiway's manga replacement. She is especially nice to Hibiki who she looks upon like a brother. She has the ability to communicate with machines. Tenhou was an orphan

Orphan

An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...

when she was found by Meia. Meia then takes her to the Megeran Pirates, who Tenhou joins. She has a thing for teddy bears.

Tenhou does not appear in the anime.

Asra Mutie

is the pilot of Vandora. She first appear to help the Nirvana crew only to get information from them of who they are. She hangs out with Hibiki which makes Dita sad to see Hibiki with her. She then got her mind controlled and started to attack Hibiki. Dita then arrived just in time to see what was happening and tried to save Hibiki. Tenhou then appeared to stop Asra, but took off and is shanghaied by her Vandora. Hibiki and Dita piloted Vandread and fought Vandora. They managed to destroy Vandora and save Asra. Meia decided to have Asra as a new crew member seeing how she is a hybrid and Hibiki is a Taraak. Jura has Asra to be a clean up girl to act as one of the crew members.

Asra seems to have the characteristics of Misty and Gascogne (who both don't appear in the manga); she ties her blue hair in a ponytail and flirts with Hibiki, much to Dita's dismay. She is also seen playing poker with Hibiki--and winning! Also, as an interesting note, unlike real humans, she has pointed ears much like an elf's.

Asra does not appear in the anime.