Emma Sheen

Emma Sheen was a Lieutenant Junior Grade in the Titans who defected to the Anti-Earth Union Group after witnessing the brutal tactics employed by her superiors during the Gryps Conflict. She became one of the AEUG’s most skilled and reliable pilots, serving aboard the assault carrier Argama until her death during the Battle of Gryps in UC 0088.

Biography

Early life

Little was known about Emma’s background prior to her military service. Two years before joining the Titans, she encountered Amuro Ray outside a large mansion. During their brief meeting, she perceptively noticed that despite his apparent wealth, Amuro appeared tired and was searching for purpose in his life. She realised that what Amuro desired most was to return to space, much like her own yearning to serve aboard a warship. She later remarked that once she achieved her goal of serving on a ship, the yearning subsided.

Titans career

Emma originally joined the Titans after the organisation was formed following Operation Stardust. She believed it to be an elite unit dedicated solely to stopping violent Zeon remnants and spacenoid dissidents rather than the oppressive force it became. Her military discipline and strong moral compass quickly distinguished her from many of her fellow officers.

As a Lieutenant Junior Grade, Emma was selected alongside Jerid Messa and Kacricon Cacooler to test the prototype RX-178 Gundam Mk-II units at the secret facility on Green Noah space colony. It was during this assignment that she witnessed Kamille Bidan steal one of the prototypes, leading to a series of events that would fundamentally change her allegiances.

Emma was present when Bask Om and Jamaican Daninghan brutally beat Bright Noa for objecting to their orders. This display of unnecessary violence disturbed her greatly, as did the revelation that the Titans had gassed millions of civilians in Side 2’s Colony 30.

Defection to the AEUG

The turning point came when Bask Om ordered Emma to deliver an ultimatum to the AEUG aboard the Argama. Flying her remaining Gundam Mk-II under the pretence of a truce, she was to convey Bask’s demand: surrender the stolen prototypes or watch as their hostages—Kamille’s parents—were executed. Emma remained unaware of the message’s true nature, but Blex Forer recognised her genuine ignorance of the threat.

When Jerid Messa destroyed the capsule containing Kamille’s mother Hilda Bidan on orders from his superiors, Emma witnessed the depths of the Titans’ cruelty firsthand. Disgusted by these brutal tactics, she made the decision to defect. She helped Kamille and his father Franklin Bidan escape from Titans custody, disguising them as pilots and stealing all three Gundam Mk-II units. Together, they returned to the Argama, where Emma formally announced her intention to join the AEUG.

AEUG service

Initially placed on provisional status due to understandable suspicions about her loyalties, Emma quickly proved herself through her actions and unwavering dedication to protecting civilians. Her exceptional piloting skills and military discipline made her an invaluable addition to the AEUG’s forces.

Emma first piloted the RMS-099 Rick Dias for the AEUG, demonstrating her adaptability to different mobile suit types. When Kamille transferred to the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam, Emma inherited his Gundam Mk-II, which she used with great effectiveness throughout the conflict.

During the later stages of the war, Emma was frequently paired with Katz Kobayashi, who provided support in the FXA-05D G-Defenser. This combination allowed her Gundam Mk-II to transform into the more powerful RX-178+FXA-05D Super Gundam, giving her enhanced firepower and mobility to match the Titans’ advanced transformable mobile suits.

Final battle and death

During the climactic Battle of Gryps, Emma faced her former AEUG comrade Reccoa Londe, who had defected to the Titans under the influence of Paptimus Scirocco. In their final duel, Emma managed to disable Reccoa’s PMX-001 Pallas Athene with her beam saber, critically damaging the mobile suit.

Abandoning her heavily damaged Gundam Mk-II to check on Reccoa’s condition, Emma was caught off guard when Yazan Gable fired upon the disabled Pallas Athene, destroying it completely. The explosion fatally wounded Emma with shrapnel. Kamille Bidan retrieved her, but she died in his arms aboard an abandoned Alexandria-class cruiser.

In her final moments, Emma pleaded with Kamille to absorb her life force into the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam and use his Newtype powers to end the war, believing he was the only one capable of bringing peace. Her spirit later appeared alongside other fallen comrades to lend Kamille strength in his final battle against Scirocco.

Personality & traits

Emma’s personality stood in stark contrast to the majority of her Titans colleagues, who were often brutal, callous, and indifferent to civilian casualties. She possessed a strong moral compass and refused to participate in atrocities against unarmed civilians, drawing clear ethical lines that she would not cross regardless of orders.

As a disciplined soldier, Emma followed orders to the letter when they aligned with her principles, but she was not blindly obedient. She demonstrated remarkable courage in standing up to authority when confronted with unconscionable commands. Like Bright Noa, she was not hesitant to use physical force to discipline subordinates when necessary, notably slapping Kamille Bidan on multiple occasions when he acted recklessly or dishonestly.

Emma maintained a formal and reserved demeanour that sometimes created friction with her more casual AEUG comrades. However, this professional attitude masked a deeply caring nature, particularly evident in her relationships with younger pilots like Kamille and Katz Kobayashi.

Skills & abilities

Emma was recognised as one of the AEUG’s most consistently reliable pilots and easily qualified as an ace after her first few battles with the organisation. Her military training was of the highest quality, reflecting her Titans background, and she possessed excellent tactical awareness and adaptability in combat situations.

Her piloting skills were versatile enough to handle different types of mobile suits effectively, from the mono-eyed RMS-099 Rick Dias to the more traditional RX-178 Gundam Mk-II. She demonstrated particular proficiency with the Super Gundam configuration, making effective use of its enhanced capabilities in combination with Katz’s support.

Relationships

Kamille Bidan

Emma became a surrogate elder sister figure to Kamille Bidan, forming a close bond with him after her defection to the AEUG. She frequently offered guidance and advice when he needed it, but also provided firm discipline when his reckless behaviour or arrogance threatened the mission or his comrades. During the Gryps Conflict, she slapped him four times: once for arriving late to a meeting, once for disobeying sortie orders, once when he refused to reveal the truth about seeing Reccoa Londe alive, and again when he claimed that everything was justified if one followed their own ideology.

This mentoring relationship continued until her death, when Emma’s spirit appeared to help Kamille in his final confrontation with Paptimus Scirocco.

Henken Bekkener

Henken Bekkener, captain of the Irish-class cruiser Radish, became attracted to Emma’s formal and reserved nature. Despite his persistent romantic interest, Emma consistently rebuffed his advances throughout their service together. However, she cared for him platonically, as demonstrated by her distress when Henken sacrificed himself and his ship to protect her from Yazan Gable’s attack during the Battle of Gryps.

Katz Kobayashi

Katz Kobayashi became like a younger brother to Emma, and they frequently sortied together during the later stages of the Gryps Conflict. Katz provided crucial support by piloting the G-Defenser that allowed Emma’s Gundam Mk-II to transform into the Super Gundam. Katz’s death hit Emma particularly hard, as she was forced to watch it happen during their engagement with Yazan’s team.

Reccoa Londe

Reccoa Londe played an important role in Emma’s decision to defect to the AEUG. Reccoa correctly revealed the barbaric nature of the Titans’ hostage tactics and their use of poison gas against colonies. The two women got along well during Emma’s early days with the AEUG, with Reccoa even supporting Emma’s relationship with Henken.

However, their bond soured dramatically when Reccoa defected to the Titans under Scirocco’s influence. Emma was particularly disgusted by this ironic reversal, especially after Reccoa participated in gassing one of Side 2’s colonies. Despite her anger and disappointment, Emma retained enough compassion to check on Reccoa’s condition after their final battle, a decision that ultimately cost Emma her life.

Fa Yuiry

Much like her relationship with Kamille and Katz, Emma served as a surrogate elder sister to Fa Yuiry. She provided guidance and discipline, including slapping Fa twice for acting independently during combat and making excuses for her actions afterwards.

Mecha

RX-178 Gundam Mk-II

Emma initially flew one of the three stolen RX-178 Gundam Mk-II prototypes during her defection from the Titans. After proving her loyalty to the AEUG, she inherited Kamille’s original Gundam Mk-II when he transferred to the more advanced Zeta Gundam. The Mk-II served as her primary mobile suit for most of the Gryps Conflict, and she used it with exceptional skill in numerous engagements against Titans forces.

The Gundam Mk-II’s movable frame technology and beam weapons made it superior to most mass-production mobile suits of the era, though it gradually became outclassed by the newer transformable designs employed by the Titans.

RMS-099 Rick Dias

When Emma first joined the AEUG, she was assigned an RMS-099 Rick Dias, the organisation’s primary mass-production mobile suit. Despite its Zeon-influenced design featuring a mono-eye sensor, Emma adapted quickly to piloting the Rick Dias and demonstrated its effectiveness in combat.

The Rick Dias was built from lightweight Gundarium γ and featured advanced systems including a 360-degree panoramic cockpit. Emma used this mobile suit during several important operations, including the failed attempt to reunite with Amuro Ray during the Jaburo descent operation, when her Rick Dias sustained damage.

RX-178+FXA-05D Super Gundam

During the later stages of the Gryps Conflict, Emma frequently operated the Super Gundam configuration, formed by docking her Gundam Mk-II with Katz Kobayashi’s FXA-05D G-Defenser support fighter. This combination significantly enhanced the Mk-II’s performance, providing roughly 20% improved mobility and access to the G-Defenser’s powerful long rifle and missile pods.

Emma made effective use of the Super Gundam’s capabilities, though she accidentally destroyed the bridge of the Alexandria-class cruiser during a battle with Yazan Gable, inadvertently causing the death of Jamaican Daninghan. The Super Gundam configuration was deployed in the final battle at Gryps, where Emma and Katz engaged Yazan’s RX-139 Hambrabi team.

Behind the scenes

Emma Sheen was voiced by Maya Okamoto in the original Japanese version and Lisa Christie in the English dub. Maya Okamoto, born on 3 February 1967 in Tokyo, Japan, is known for her work on various anime series and films. Lisa Christie, born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, provided Emma’s English voice across multiple Gundam productions.

An interesting production note is that all animations in the first half of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam showed Emma with the rank insignia of an ensign, while she was addressed as “lieutenant” in dialogue. This discrepancy was corrected in the second half of the series, where her insignia properly displayed lieutenant junior grade. The error may have been due to either script translation issues or illustration mistakes during production.

Director Tomino Yoshiyuki originally planned for Emma to appear and be killed early during the initial plot outline for Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, but this concept was scrapped in favour of using Judau Ashta’s younger sister Leina Ashta for a similar narrative purpose.

In the spinoff work “My First Triumph: A Memory of Emma Sheen” by Hiroyuki Kitazume, Emma was depicted as a cadet flying frontier patrols in UC 0086. Despite being outnumbered, she led a successful assault against remnant Zeon forces in her area, earning her a promotion and admission into the Titans for her distinguished service.

Appearances

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam episodes 1–50, first appearing in episode 1 “The Black Gundam” and dying in episode 50 “Riders in the Skies”

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation film trilogy

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam series

Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Zeta Gundam

External links

• Emma Sheen on the Gundam Wiki
• Emma Sheen Voice on Behind The Voice Actors