Sayla Mass
Encyclopedia
is a fictional character from the Universal Century
Universal Century
is the original timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries. The official English name U.C. is often used instead in recent production like MS Igloo and Master Grade model instructions and official pages is the original timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries. The official English name U.C....
(UC) Gundam
Gundam
The is a metaseries of anime created by Sunrise studios that features giant robots called "Mobile Suits" ; usually the protagonist's MS will carry the name Gundam....
universe, first appearing in the groundbreaking 1979 43-episode anime series Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam
is a televised anime series, created by Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes...
. At the beginning of the Mobile Suit Gundam TV series, Sayla is a civilian of the incomplete single space colony of the Earth Federation
Earth Federation
The is a fictional organization in the Universal Century timeline of the Gundam anime series. The name also made a reappearance outside of the Gundam series in following media.* Godzilla vs...
's Side 7, who comes aboard the mobile suit carrier White Base
White Base
The White Base is a fictional spaceship from the Japanese science fiction anime series Mobile Suit Gundam. It serves as the mothership of the protagonist crew members and the famous mobile suit Gundam...
along with other civilians including Amuro Ray
Amuro Ray
is a fictional character from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam and its sequels, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Char's Counterattack, voiced by Tōru Furuya , Brad Swaile , Michael Lindsay and Matthew Erickson is a fictional character from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam and its sequels, Mobile...
, Fraw Bow, Hayato Kobayashi, Kai Shiden
Kai Shiden
was one of the supporting characters in the classic anime TV series Mobile Suit Gundam.Kai's name is derived from the name of a World War II era Japanese fighter plane, the Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden-Kai.-History:...
and Mirai Yashima
Mirai Yashima
is a fictional character from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam. She is one of the three White Base crew to display Newtype abilities, along with Amuro Ray and Sayla Mass.-History:...
.
Aboard White Base
Born Artesia Som Deikum, she is the younger sister of Casval Rem Deikun and the only daughter of Zeon Zum DeikunZeon Zum Deikun
is a philosopher and politician in the fictional Gundam stories, in which he developed Contolism, which was both about Ere-ism and Side-ism . This philosophy was welcomed by Side 3 , which made him leader of the Side...
, the founder of the Republic of Zeon. Originally a medical student on Side 7, Sayla is almost immediately recruited as a soldier, and set to the task of watching over the civilian refugees. With the near total lack of experienced personnel to defend White Base (most original crew members were killed in the Principality of Zeon's attack on Side 7), Sayla first serves as acting captain Bright Noa
Bright Noa
is a fictional character from the Japanese science fiction anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam and the related films. In the anime, he is only mentioned as Earth-born...
's communications officer and later as a combat pilot.
Soon after joining the ship, she repeatedly looks for her "older brother Casval" (better known as Char Aznable
Char Aznable
, born is a fictional character from the Gundam franchise. He is originally one of the main antagonists in Mobile Suit Gundam and later becomes one of the protagonists of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. In his final appearance in Char's Counterattack, he assumes leadership of the Neo Zeon movement,...
, a Zeon ace pilot flamboyantly known as the "Red Comet"), and takes every opportunity to learn information about him and make contact. When Bright picks up a suspicious briefcase (later revealed to be full of gold bars) intended for Sayla late in the series, he confronts her and she admits her true identity as Artesia, asking Bright to distribute the gold to the ship's crew. Bright shows great sympathy
Sympathy
Sympathy is a social affinity in which one person stands with another person, closely understanding his or her feelings. Also known as empathic concern, it is the feeling of compassion or concern for another, the wish to see them better off or happier. Although empathy and sympathy are often used...
for the amount of emotional distress she has secretly borne alone throughout the show.
During a battle against Zeon commander Ramba Ral, Sayla steals the Gundam
RX-78 Gundam
The RX-78 Gundam is a fictional manned robot, introduced in 1979 in Yoshiyuki Tomino's and Sunrise's anime series Mobile Suit Gundam. In the series, it is a testbed weapon for the Earth Federation when it falls into the hands of Amuro Ray, the son of a weapons designer, who goes on to pilot it in...
to make contact with Char, and is heavily battered in combat against Ral's troops. Reaching the battle area with Guncannon
RX-77 Guncannon
The RX-77 Guncannon is a fictional mobile suit from Mobile Suit Gundam anime series, originally designed and illustrated by Kunio Okawara. One of earliest mecha designs in the Real Robot genre, Guncannon's concept of a heavily armored humanoid machine with dual shoulder cannon became the...
, Amuro immediately rescues her from the assault. Though Sayla is disciplined for the incident, Bright and Mirai both recognize Sayla's latent abilities and she is assigned as Amuro's co-pilot with the G-Fighter (Core Booster in the movie).
During the battle at Solomon, Sayla senses her brother's presence and interferes in Char and Amuro's duel, and is almost killed by her brother. This indirectly results in the death of Lalah Sune
Lalah Sune
is a fictional character from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam.-Fictional Character Biography:Lalah is a young woman who is the "star student" of Professor Flanagan due to her strong Newtype abilities, and as such is also one of the key test subjects in the development of Newtype-related weaponry...
, her brother's Newtype
Newtype
A Newtype is theorized to be the next stage of human evolution in the fictional Gundam universe. This minor but groundbreaking metamorphosis is usually expressed as a heightened mental awareness, the result of an evolutionary adaptation to life in space....
subordinate and romantic interest, at Amuro's hands.
During the battle of A Baoa Qu at the end of the original series
Mobile Suit Gundam
is a televised anime series, created by Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes...
, Sayla finds Char and Amuro dueling in a fierce sword fight. Worried over the safety of both of them, she breaks the two apart. A series of explosions then separates the three of them. Sayla returns to Char, who wishes to find and kill Amuro in vengeance for the loss of Lalah. But upon her reminder of his initial objective of vengeance upon the Zabi family, Char changes goals, telling Sayla "young Amuro is calling you", fondly informing her that she is an adult
Adult
An adult is a human being or living organism that is of relatively mature age, typically associated with sexual maturity and the attainment of reproductive age....
and instructing her to become "a good woman", before leaving to assassinate acting Zeon leader Kycilia Zabi
Kycilia Zabi
In the fictional Mobile Suit Gundam series, is the only daughter of Degwin Sodo Zabi. While Yoshiyuki Tomino's novel version of MSG indicates her as the fourth of his five children and youngest except for Garma, the ongoing Gundam: The Origin manga by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko identifies her as his...
. Sayla (through Amuro's telepathic guidance) escapes A Baoa Qu, and is reunited with the White Base crew.
In contrast to the television series, in the radically different version of director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
Yoshiyuki Tomino
Yoshiyuki Tomino
is a Japanese mecha anime creator, director, screenwriter and novelist. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College of Art...
's novelization
Novelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
, Sayla becomes romantically and sexually involved with Amuro, even going so far as to ask him to kill her brother for the safety of the greater good; he refuses. However, Amuro is later killed in action, and telepathically sends the message to Sayla that she "made him a man," and wishes "he could take her with him"; she hears his voice while swimming in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
in the final scene, and knows that "Amuro is with her".
Follow-up Appearances
Because her voice actress, You Inoue, was on safari in Africa while Zeta Gundam was produced, Sayla only appeared in non-speaking cameos in this series. Amuro Ray was then intended to be romantically involved with fellow Karaba member Beltorchika Irma, but an offhand remark by Fraw Bow (roughly, "Are you still mooning about Sayla? You can't be stuck on her forever.") indicates that the two may have been involved at some point between series, perhaps as a reference to the novels. Sayla was later shown sitting outside a beachside villa in Episode 37, quietly listening to Char's speech at the Federation Assembly in DakarDakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
on the news.
Sayla's silent cameo does not happen in the Zeta Gundam compilation movies, as Karaba's seizing of the Federation assembly and Char's Dakar speech is removed from the script. However, at the end of the movie, Sayla is seen relaxing on a leisure chair in her bathing suit, watching news updates and conversing with Kai Shiden, now a freelance journalist who has come to speak with her about her brother. Her voice is stock footage, due to You Inoue
You Inoue
, also known by her stage name , was a Japanese voice actress. Inoue was diagnosed with lung cancer in late 2001, underwent treatments during 2002, and her condition deteriorated rapidly in the last month of her life....
's death due to lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in 2003, thus explaining why her role was not expanded.
In Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
is a TV series aired on Japanese TV from 1986–1987, was the third Gundam series, and a direct follow up to Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. Director Yoshiyuki Tomino returned to lead the series, and he assembled a new team consisting of character designer Hiroyuki Kitazume, who had been one of Zeta...
, Sayla showed up mid-way through the series with Judau Ashta's (presumed dead) younger sister, Leina. Within the last 3 episodes, she appears again, bringing Leina to see Bright Noa, where she passes him a letter from his family. She also asks Bright whether he's heard of Char, and commented that Char has distorted their father's ideal, implying Char's future action in the second Neo Zeon movement. She later takes Leina to a lunar spaceport to reunite with Judau, who is to join the Jupiter Energy Fleet.
Finally, in Char's Counterattack, Sayla doesn't make a single appearance. However, in a flashback of the One Year War, Char comments that if his sister hadn't been there when he was fighting Amuro in space, Lalah Sune
Lalah Sune
is a fictional character from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam.-Fictional Character Biography:Lalah is a young woman who is the "star student" of Professor Flanagan due to her strong Newtype abilities, and as such is also one of the key test subjects in the development of Newtype-related weaponry...
may have not been killed. Char also keeps a family photo of him and Sayla, which he often looks at in his private times.
Sayla did not appear in the Dynasty Warriors: Gundam
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam
On the first day of its release, Gundam Musou sold over a 100,000 copies, making it the first PS3 title to do so on its first day. Also, the game sold about 70 percent of its 170,000 -180,000 launch day shipments, making it rank third in overall sales — after Ridge Racer 7 and Mobile Suit Gundam:...
video games due to the death of her seiyū
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
Yō Inoue in 2003, but she was mentioned in Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2, originally released in Japan as , is a tactical action video game based on the Gundam anime series, and the sequel to 2007's Dynasty Warriors: Gundam. It is developed by Koei/Omega Force and is published by Namco Bandai...
to explain the reason for Kai Shiden
Kai Shiden
was one of the supporting characters in the classic anime TV series Mobile Suit Gundam.Kai's name is derived from the name of a World War II era Japanese fighter plane, the Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden-Kai.-History:...
's friendship mission. Frau Bow was used as a replacement for most of Sayla's role in these games.
The announcement of an animation for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin
Mobile Suit Gundam: THE ORIGIN is a manga adaptation of the television anime series Mobile Suit Gundam written and illustrated by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, the original series' character designer...
may result in a new voice actor being announced to replace the deceased Yō Inoue.