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"He'll be back with that bad haircut before you can say 'Azure Striker'!"
Zeno, Azure Striker Gunvolt [3]

Zeno is a QUILL operative and a supporting character in the first Azure Striker Gunvolt. A wisecracking otaku who rarely takes anything seriously, he is a member of Team Sheeps under the codename "Sheeps 2", and occasionally serves as an operator and back-up for Gunvolt. He gives Gunvolt the missions Underworld (Stratacombs) and Spintronics (Datastore).

Zeno is an Adept, but his Septima ability is unknown.

He also appears in the side stories Admiration to Peace, Joule's Story, and Armed Blue Gunvolt (Drama CD).

Website Description

  • English site
  • Japanese site

If there is one person who is the life of the party at QUILL, it is definitely Zeno. He is a total otaku who loves anime, manga, and videogames.

Zeno is a jokester and a bit of a prankster, and while he has a habit of making jokes at the expense of others, he really does care a lot about his colleagues.[4]

チームのムードメーカーである陽気な青年。
アニメやマンガ、ゲームが好き。
不真面目な態度でよく周囲を茶化してはいるが、
仲間想いで、フェザーを抜けたGVのことをいつも気にかけている。[5]

Appearance

Zeno is a young teenager with yellow eyes and spiky orange hair. He wears a blue QUILL combat uniform consisting of a blue armored jacket, a black undershirt and black gauntlets. He also sports black trousers with blue highlights over his inner thighs and groin, and black boots with glowing blue highlights.

When in public, he wears a blue jacket, anime shirt, brown pants, a black belt, and brown shoes.

Gallery

Main article: Zeno/Gallery

Personality

Zeno is a friendly and casual person who is prone to making jokes and witty comments during missions. Despite his energetic and goofy persona, he is a capable fighter and operator. He has a high opinion of GV and Asimov's abilities, but is still protective of GV as well as Joule.

As an otaku, he can get carried away when he is talking about anything that is anime, manga, or video games.

History

Armed Blue Gunvolt (Drama CD)

During Eden's battle with Sumeragi, Asimov uses this opportunity to sneak Zeno and Moniqa to into Japan where the two meet Gunvolt for the first time.

Azure Striker Gunvolt

Zeno is apparently a marksman, codenamed "Sheeps 2" in the field. He provides Gunvolt with field support, although this is mostly information and logistics about Gunvolt's own skill.

Joule's Story

Taking place in the six month time gap. One of Joule's school friends, Hatano, invites her to play September Record with her to get exclusive bonus items. Gunvolt at first was against it due to the game being made by Sumeragi until Lumen convinced him to ask Zeno. Getting a call from Gunvolt, Zeno confirmed that the game is safe after Gunvolt saved Joule from Sumeragi and her connection to September Record and thanks to a cyber attack that led QUILL to discover that Lumen was used to find Adepts. This shocked Gunvolt and Zeno explained that Asimov didn't tell him this because Gunvolt wasn’t interested in video games and he just quit working QUILL. Hearing that Joule likes video games, Zeno comes up with some game suggestions but Gunvolt cuts him off.

After being cut off, Zeno logs on to his September Record and finds Joule. Using the communications system provided by QUILL for safety, Joule teams up with Zeno to get some practice and level up in a limited dungeon designed for beginners while waiting for Hatano. In the dungeon, the two encounter a monster with a giant hammer designed to stop players from staying too long which takes out Zeno and gives Joule a hard time. Gunvolt seeing her struggling suggested she change to the Sect instead but corrects himself. Hearing this, Joule unintentionally activates her Septima and hacks the game to gain an advantage which shocks both Gunvolt and Zeno. As Joule is about to finish the monster Gunvolt calls her out for cheating which snaps her back to reality and loses.

Afterward, Gunvolt banned Joule from playing anymore online games. Feeling bad for her Zeno started bringing video games for her to play whenever he comes to visit.

Admiration to Peace

Kaleidoscape (Sinner's Row)

He attempts to take down the Sumeragi Adept Zonda, but gets seriously injured in the process. It is implied that he is a very powerful Adept, as Gunvolt remarks that there are very few who can contend with him in a battle.

Assault on Firmament

During the true ending of Azure Striker Gunvolt Zeno and Moniqa discover Asimov's corpse on the Babel elevator, with the two asking GV what happened. Lumen who is now residing within GV, rejects Zeno, while GV simply leaves unresponsive. Zeno makes no canonical appearances after this.

Other Appearances

Mighty Gunvolt Burst

Zeno appears as a collectible pixel sticker. His can be picked up at the stage Radio Tower as a hidden item.

Abilities and Equipment

Septima

As Zeno is an Adept, he possesses some sort of septimal power. What it is has yet to be revealed, but it is presumably powerful given his role as a combatant and Gunvolt believing his fighting prowess to be top class. In Armed Blue Gunvolt (Drama CD), Zeno expected to show off and use his special skill during his and Moniqa's infiltration of Japan, only to end up being disappointed when Asimov's plan going perfectly meant there was no need.

Computer skills

Zeno is presumably adept with computers and network equipment, as he set up the PC and internet connection of Gunvolt and Joule's apartment to be secure and run through a QUILL server, and he serves as their tech support for any network problems.

Firearms

Zeno uses two guns in combat.

  • Ga2044 ORSO: A high-power, high accuracy assault rifle designed by QUILL for Zeno. It can toggle between full and semi-automatic firing, and is equipped with an under-barrel grenade launcher.
  • GaM71 TOPO: A QUILL-issued pistol that serves as Zeno's sidearm.

Designer Comments

Source: Armed Blue: Gunvolt Complete Works

  • English fan translation
  • Japanese

I sought a different vector, different from Asimov, a “reliable big bro feeling”, and I eventually made him with drooping eyes and a friendly face. One of the goals for this game was to draw all male characters as handsome as possible to appeal to the women. And Zeno is the character in which that aspect was really accounted for. When coming up with his design, I did read girl games magazines and did some research. I thought of making the red portions of his hair Mohawk-style but I thought it wouldn’t be welcomed by the women and thus I gave up (on the idea).

-- Yoshitaka Hatakeyama

アシモフとは別ベクトルの「頼れる兄貴感」を模索して、垂れ目で親しみすそうな顔に行きつきました。
今作では、男性キャラはできる限りイケメンに描いて女性層にもアピールできるようにするというのが目標の1つでもあり、ジーのはその中でも最も女性受けを意識したキャラです。
デザインするに当たっては、乙女ゲームの雑誌を読み込んで研究したりもしました。髪の毛の赤い部分はモヒカンにしようと思ったのですが、女性受けが悪そうなので止めました。

-- 畠山義崇


Trivia

  • Matching the car theme naming of characters in Gunvolt 1, Zeno's Japanese script name, Gino, likely comes from the Daihatsu Mira Gino.
    • The Mira (ミラ) in its name is also similar to how Zonda's septima, Phantasm Mirror, is read in Japanese (ミラー), which Zeno's encounter and defeat may reference. The combined word Miragino is also similar to Mirage, part of Zonda's original title.
    • Gino is a real Italian name, matching Zeno's background.
  • Zeno happens to navigate missions in which the stage hazards are related to the Sumeragi adept boss' Septimal abilities; e.g., magnetic platforms in Carrera's stage and zombies in Elise's stage.
  • In an interview with Skybane's Gunvault at GDC 2016, Inti Creates CEO Takuya Aizu was questioned about Zeno's Septima. He speculated that perhaps director Yoshihisa Tsuda or writer Toshiaki Tai may know what it is, but if so they haven't told him, and speculated they might not want people to know.[6] Its existence is alluded to in Armed Blue Gunvolt (Drama CD), where Zeno jokingly complains he didn't get to use his ability because Asimov's plan worked.
  • Zeno says that games from the “old days” had instant-death spikes. He’s likely referencing the Mega Man franchise, where instant-death spikes are a common obstacle.

References

Azure Striker Gunvolt 1 Navigation

Azure Striker Gunvolt 1
Main Pages Game PageGallerySoundtrack (Azure Phosphorescence) • CreditsStory Scripts
QUILL and co. GunvoltJoule (Lumen) • AsimovZenoMoniqa
Boss Characters NovaMerakJotaViperCarreraEliseStratos | Copen
Other Characters ZondaRomeoMinor CharactersMedium BossesCommon Enemies
Main Missions Anthem (1st Sumeragi)Abyss (Subaquatic Base)Minaret (Media Tower)Conflagration (Biochem Plant)Spintronics (Datastore)Underworld (Stratacombs)Garden (Pharma Lab)Kaleidoscape (Sinner's Row)
Final and Special Missions Hostage (Urban Run)Streak (Eridu)Stratosphere (Babel)Idolatry (Firmament) / Azure (Firmament) | Special Missions
Songs Beyond the BlueReincarnationNebulous ClockAzure DoorPain from the PastScorching JourneyRouge ShimmerA Zip to the MoonSakura EfflorescenceEternal BlueCyanotype
Story Elements AdeptsSumeragi GroupQUILLGlaives
Gameplay Mechanics Score and Kudos (Secrets) • Equipment (Materials) • SkillsChristmas Mode
Fan Discs Justice RageAdmiration to PeaceLazy Kingdom
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