Catherine Bloom

Catherine Bloom (キャスリン・ブルーム, Kyasurin Burūmu) was a circus acrobat and knife thrower who became the protective elder sister of Gundam pilot Trowa Barton in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. Born Catherine Bloom in After Colony 178, she lost her parents at age four during a rebellion on Earth and was separated from her two-year-old brother Triton. Adopted and raised by members of her parents’ travelling space circus, she grew up unaware that the mysterious pilot who joined their circus years later was actually her long-lost brother.

Overview

Catherine represented the civilian perspective on the war, someone who had experienced violence firsthand as a child and wanted nothing more than peace. Her parents’ deaths in crossfire left her with a deep fear of conflict and a protective instinct towards those she cared about. When the enigmatic Trowa Barton joined her circus, she immediately adopted a big sister role towards him, not realising their biological connection.

Despite her desire for peace, Catherine demonstrated remarkable courage and loyalty throughout the war. She sheltered and cared for multiple Gundam pilots, including Chang Wufei after his failed assassination attempt on Treize Khushrenada, and Heero Yuy after his self-destruct. When Trowa lost his memory, she tried to protect him from returning to war by convincing him they were siblings—a lie that turned out to be truth.

Her character arc extended beyond the original series. Following Endless Waltz, she learned that Trowa was indeed her biological brother Triton. By the Mars Century era depicted in Frozen Teardrop, Catherine had undergone a dramatic transformation from pacifist to warrior, becoming a mobile suit pilot instructor—a change suggesting profound traumatic experiences that altered her philosophy.

Appearance

Catherine stood 164 centimetres tall and weighed 46 kilogrammes at age seventeen. She had reddish brown hair that she wore long, and grey eyes that conveyed both warmth and wariness born from childhood trauma. Her fair complexion and attractive features made her a natural performer, and her physical conditioning from years of circus acrobatics gave her an athletic build.

As a circus performer, she typically wore colourful performance costumes suited to her knife-throwing act. Her everyday attire consisted of practical clothing appropriate for life with a travelling circus. When performing, her costumes emphasised her role as an acrobat whilst allowing the freedom of movement necessary for her dangerous knife-throwing routines.

By the Mars Century era, decades after the Eve Wars, Catherine’s appearance had matured, though she retained her distinctive features and athletic build despite her transition from performer to military instructor.

Personality & traits

Catherine was fundamentally kind and compassionate, traits that stemmed from both her natural disposition and her adoption by the caring circus community. After experiencing violence that killed her parents and separated her from her brother, she developed a strong aversion to war and fighting. She desired only peace and feared for anyone in her life who chose to fight, making her protective instincts particularly focused on Trowa once she learned he was a Gundam pilot.

Despite her pacifist inclinations, Catherine was no coward. She repeatedly placed herself at risk to help the Gundam pilots, sheltering them from authorities and providing sanctuary when they needed to recover from injuries or psychological trauma. Her circus became a refuge where warriors could briefly escape the war, and she served as a stabilising, civilian perspective that reminded them what they were fighting for.

Catherine possessed a fierce protective streak, particularly towards Trowa. When she discovered he was the pilot of Gundam Heavyarms, she was horrified but didn’t abandon him. Instead, she tried to keep him safe whilst understanding she couldn’t stop him from fighting. Her attempts to prevent his return to war after his memory loss showed both her love for him and her fear of losing another family member to violence.

She could be stubborn and had a strong temper when provoked, especially when she felt someone was endangering themselves or others needlessly. She didn’t like the company Trowa kept, believing the other Gundam pilots were corrupting influences who encouraged his dangerous behaviour, though she eventually came to accept and help them as well.

The transformation Catherine underwent by the Mars Century era was dramatic and tragic. The pacifist who feared war became a mobile suit pilot instructor, suggesting she experienced traumatic events that fundamentally changed her philosophy. This extreme shift from peace advocate to warrior trainer indicated she learned harsh lessons about the necessity of strength and the insufficiency of pacifism alone.

Biography

Early life and tragedy

Catherine was born in After Colony 178 to a family of circus performers. At age four, her family’s wagon was caught in crossfire during a rebellion on Earth. The violence killed both her parents and separated her from her two-year-old brother Triton in the chaos. The traumatic event left Catherine orphaned and alone, having witnessed the senseless death that war brought to innocents.

Members of her parents’ circus found Catherine and adopted her, raising her as one of their own. She grew up in the travelling space circus, learning the skills of acrobatics and knife throwing that would become her livelihood. The circus community provided her with a loving surrogate family, though the loss of her biological family and especially her missing brother left a lasting wound. As she matured, she became an accomplished performer, known for her dangerous knife-throwing act that required exceptional precision and nerve.

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

Meeting Trowa Barton

In After Colony 195, when Catherine was seventeen, a mysterious young man with no name or past approached the circus seeking work. Trowa Barton, as he would come to be called, impressed the manager with his skills, and Catherine convinced her adoptive father figure to give him a chance. She immediately felt a connection to the silent, emotionally distant youth and adopted a protective big sister attitude towards him.

Catherine trained Trowa in circus performance, teaching him acrobatics and helping him develop an act. She sensed deep pain beneath his stoic exterior and tried to provide the warmth and care he clearly lacked. Their relationship grew close, with Catherine treating Trowa as the younger brother she never knew she still had. Trowa, who had never experienced genuine familial affection, gradually began to open up to her, though he kept his true identity as a Gundam pilot secret.

Discovery of Trowa’s secret

Catherine eventually learned that Trowa was the pilot of the XXXG-01H Gundam Heavyarms, a powerful mobile suit involved in the war against OZ and the Romefeller Foundation. The discovery horrified her, as it meant the brother figure she had come to love was risking his life in the very type of conflict that had killed her parents and separated her from her real brother years ago.

Despite her fear and anger, Catherine didn’t turn Trowa away. Instead, she tried even harder to protect him, attempting to provide a sanctuary where he could escape the war, even temporarily. She made him promise to return to the circus, to return to her, giving him something to live for beyond combat. Her unconditional acceptance, despite her pacifist beliefs, showed the depth of her care for him.

Sheltering the Gundam pilots

Catherine’s circus became an informal refuge for multiple Gundam pilots throughout the war. When Chang Wufei stayed with the circus following his failed assassination attempt on Treize Khushrenada, Catherine fed him and provided shelter without judgment. When Heero Yuy arrived after activating his Gundam’s self-destruct system, she cared for him during his recovery.

She didn’t fully approve of the company Trowa kept, believing the other pilots encouraged his dangerous behaviour. However, she recognised they were all victims of war in their own ways, fighting for what they believed was right. Her willingness to help them, despite her fears, demonstrated her compassionate nature and her understanding that these young soldiers had no one else to turn to.

Trowa’s memory loss and recovery

When Trowa suffered amnesia after a near-fatal incident, Catherine found him and brought him back to the circus. Seeing an opportunity to keep him safe from the war, she told him they were brother and sister, hoping this false familial bond would be enough to make him stay. Trowa, with no memories of his own, accepted this identity and remained with the circus, learning to be an acrobat under Catherine’s guidance.

For a time, Catherine succeeded in keeping Trowa away from battle. However, when Quatre Raberba Winner came to find Trowa, the pilot’s memories began to resurface. Despite Catherine’s desperate attempts to keep him safe, Trowa chose to leave and return to the war, though he promised to come back to her. This promise became Trowa’s anchor, something that kept him fighting not just to win the war, but to survive it and return to the sister who gave him a reason to live beyond combat.

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz

Catherine appeared briefly during the Mariemaia uprising, continuing her life with the circus. The Endless Waltz novelisation revealed that Trowa was indeed her biological brother Triton, though neither of them knew this truth at the time.

Post-war revelation

Following the events of Endless Waltz, Catherine learned the truth that Trowa was her long-lost brother Triton. This revelation transformed their relationship from chosen family to biological family, validating the instinctive connection she had felt towards him from their first meeting. The discovery brought both joy—having found her lost brother—and sorrow for the years they had been apart and the circumstances that had shaped him into a soldier.

Frozen Teardrop

In Mars Century 0021, decades after the Eve Wars, Catherine had undergone a dramatic transformation. No longer the pacifist circus performer who feared war, she had become a mobile suit pilot instructor, suggesting she experienced traumatic events that fundamentally altered her philosophy. This extreme change from peace advocate to warrior trainer indicated harsh lessons learned about the necessity of military strength.

At the behest of Instructor W (Quatre Raberba Winner), Catherine took under her wing a boy with no name who bore an uncanny resemblance to her brother Doktor T (Trowa’s identity in the Mars Century era). She trained the boy in mobile suit piloting and conditioned him to withstand atmospheres unlike those on Mars he was accustomed to. She also taught him circus skills such as knife throwing, passing on the traditions of her youth.

Despite the decades that had passed, Catherine retained her strong temper. When the boy arrived without greeting her, she punched him—a display of the discipline she demanded from those under her instruction. This harder, more militaristic Catherine represented a stark departure from the gentle circus performer of her youth, shaped by whatever experiences had transformed her from pacifist to warrior.

Skills & abilities

Catherine was an exceptionally talented circus acrobat and knife thrower. Her performances required extraordinary precision, as knife throwing demanded perfect accuracy to avoid injuring her assistants. Years of practice gave her reflexes and hand-eye coordination that bordered on superhuman, allowing her to throw multiple knives in rapid succession whilst performing complex acrobatic maneuvers.

Her acrobatic skills included aerial work on trapezes and high wires, tumbling, and contortionist flexibility. These abilities gave her exceptional body control, balance, and spatial awareness. She was also an effective teacher, successfully training Trowa Barton in circus performance and later, in the Mars Century era, instructing students in both circus arts and mobile suit piloting.

By the Mars Century era, Catherine had acquired mobile suit piloting skills and combat training sufficient to serve as an instructor. This represented a complete reversal of her earlier pacifist stance and indicated she underwent extensive military training. Her ability to teach mobile suit combat whilst maintaining her circus training showed remarkable adaptability and determination.

Relationships

Trowa Barton

Catherine’s relationship with Trowa Barton was the most significant in her life. From their first meeting, she felt an instinctive connection to him and adopted a protective big sister role. She provided him with the warmth and care he had never experienced, teaching him circus performance and trying to give him a life beyond war.

When she discovered he was a Gundam pilot, her fear for his safety intensified, but she never abandoned him. Instead, she tried to be his anchor to a peaceful life, someone he could return to when the fighting ended. Her attempts to keep him safe after his memory loss by claiming they were siblings turned out to be an unwitting truth—Trowa was her long-lost brother Triton, separated from her in the rebellion that killed their parents.

The revelation of their biological relationship following Endless Waltz validated the deep connection they had always felt. Catherine’s protective instincts towards Trowa, which she had attributed to sisterly affection, proved to be rooted in their blood relation. Their bond remained one of unconditional love and mutual protection, with Trowa’s promise to return to her serving as his reason to survive the war.

Quatre Raberba Winner

Catherine’s relationship with Quatre Raberba Winner was initially tense. When Quatre came to find Trowa after his memory loss, Catherine saw him as a threat to the safe life she had created for Trowa with the circus. She blamed Quatre and the other Gundam pilots for corrupting Trowa and encouraging his return to war.

However, she came to understand that Quatre genuinely cared about Trowa’s wellbeing and that their bond as fellow pilots was one of brotherhood forged in combat. By the Mars Century era, their relationship had evolved into one of cooperation, with Quatre (as Instructor W) entrusting Catherine with training a new generation of pilots.

The Circus community

Catherine’s relationship with the circus members who adopted her was one of genuine love and family. They had taken her in as an orphaned child and raised her as their own, teaching her their craft and providing the stability she needed after losing her parents. She remained loyal to the circus throughout her life, even as her responsibilities expanded beyond performance.

The circus community represented normalcy and peace for Catherine, a contrast to the war that raged beyond their travelling shows. They accepted Trowa at her urging and later provided sanctuary to other Gundam pilots, showing the same compassion they had shown to the orphaned Catherine years before.

Behind the scenes

Conception and design

Catherine Bloom was created as a supporting character for Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, representing the civilian perspective on the war and providing a grounding influence for Trowa Barton. Her role as a circus performer gave the series a unique setting that contrasted sharply with the military bases and battlefields that dominated most scenes.

The revelation that she was Trowa’s biological sister added depth to their relationship, transforming what began as chosen family into blood relation. This twist emphasised themes of fate and destiny that ran throughout the series—that Catherine and Triton/Trowa would find each other again despite years of separation and the chaos of war.

Her dramatic transformation in Frozen Teardrop from pacifist to warrior reflected the series’ darker tone and the lasting impacts of war on even those who initially opposed it. The change suggested that the peace achieved in Endless Waltz was not permanent and that Catherine learned harsh lessons about the necessity of military strength.

Voice acting

In the Japanese version, Catherine was voiced by Suzuki Saori. In the English dub, she was voiced by Moneca Stori for episodes 1-13 and Cathy Weseluck for episodes 35-49 and Endless Waltz.

Reception

Catherine was well-received as a sympathetic supporting character who provided emotional depth to Trowa Barton’s storyline. Her protective nature and pacifist beliefs made her a relatable civilian voice amidst the military-focused narrative. Fans appreciated the eventual revelation of her biological relationship with Trowa, which added poignancy to their earlier interactions.

Her transformation in Frozen Teardrop was controversial amongst fans, with some feeling it betrayed her pacifist character whilst others saw it as realistic character development showing how even the most peace-loving individuals can be forced to embrace war.

Appearances

Catherine Bloom appeared in the following works:

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (anime series, episodes 9-49)
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (OVA)
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Episode Zero (manga, backstory)
New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop (novel series, Mars Century era)
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz: Glory of the Losers (manga)
SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays (video game)

External links

Catherine Bloom on the Gundam Wiki