Kamille Bidan

Kamille Bidan was the main protagonist of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and a supporting character in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ. He was a gifted Newtype pilot who became one of the Anti-Earth Union Group’s top pilots during the Gryps Conflict and was considered by series creator Yoshiyuki Tomino to be the strongest Newtype in the Universal Century.

Biography

Early life

Kamille was born on Earth on 11 November UC 0069 in the suburbs of Tokyo, Japan. He grew up in the Gryps space colony (formerly called Green Noa), which had become the field base of the Earth Federation’s Titans elite unit. His father, Franklin Bidan, was a Titans engineer who served as the principal designer of the RX-178 Gundam Mk-II, whilst his mother, Hilda Bidan, was a metallurgy expert who researched mobile suit armor materials.

Growing up, Kamille was frequently bullied for his feminine-sounding name and quickly became aware of the severe marital problems between his parents. Franklin had grown distant from his family and was having an affair with a younger woman named Margarita, whilst Hilda chose to bury herself in her work rather than confront the situation. These family troubles forced Kamille to retreat into hobbies such as martial arts and amateur mobile suit development. His closest friend was his neighbour, Fa Yuiry, who had a habit of trying to better Kamille, much to his annoyance.

Gryps Conflict

Kamille’s life changed dramatically after a scuffle with Titans officer Jerid Messa over insulting his name. Kamille was detained by the Titans at their base in the Gryps space colony. During an Anti-Earth Union Group raid to steal the new prototype Gundam Mk-II mobile suits, he escaped and helped the AEUG steal all three Gundam Mk-II units. This action marked the beginning of his involvement in the Gryps Conflict.

Under the tutelage of AEUG officer Quattro Bajeena (who was actually Char Aznable in disguise) and former Titans officer Emma Sheen, Kamille became one of AEUG’s top pilots whilst maintaining his civilian status. He initially piloted the stolen Gundam Mk-II and later the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam, which he helped design.

During the conflict, Kamille witnessed the deaths of both his parents. His mother Hilda was killed when Jerid Messa destroyed the capsule she was being held in, believing it to be a bomb. His father Franklin was later killed after stealing a Rick Dias and attempting to return to the Titans. Despite the antagonistic relationship with his father, Kamille deeply mourned both deaths.

Relationship with Four Murasame

Kamille’s life was profoundly changed when he met Four Murasame, a Cyber-Newtype developed by the Titans. The two fell powerfully in love at first sight due to their shared Newtype awareness, bonding over their mutual hatred of their names. However, Four was mentally unstable due to her conditioning and piloted the Psycho Gundam against AEUG forces.

Despite Kamille’s repeated attempts to save her and convince her to leave the Titans, Four’s Cyber-Newtype programming proved too extensive to overcome. She was ultimately killed by Jerid Messa whilst attempting to save Kamille’s life, cementing his rivalry with Jerid and leaving him devastated.

Final battles

As the final battle between the AEUG and the Titans approached its conclusion in the Battle of Gryps, Kamille began tapping into the mysterious bio-sensor in the Zeta Gundam as his Newtype abilities grew. His anger triggered the bio-sensor, which enveloped the Zeta in a purple glow of power that he used to destroy Yazan Gable’s Hambrabi.

In his final battle with Paptimus Scirocco, Kamille proved to have the stronger mind, having gained the strength of all the people he loved who had died during the war—including Four Murasame, Emma Sheen, Rosamia Badam, and Reccoa Londe. Despite impaling the Zeta Gundam into Scirocco’s The O, the dying Scirocco managed to unleash a mind-crippling psychic attack that left Kamille in a vegetative state.

First Neo Zeon War

After the end of the Gryps Conflict, Kamille was brought to the Shangri-La colony for medical treatment. His condition had worsened, leaving him unresponsive to anyone around him. When Judau Ashta, a latent Newtype, encountered the comatose Kamille, his presence caused Kamille to consciously move for the first time. The two experienced a Newtype reaction, with Kamille sensing Judau’s powers and helping to awaken them.

Kamille was subsequently transferred to a hospital in Dublin, Ireland, with Fa Yuiry retiring from the AEUG to watch over him. During the First Neo Zeon War, whilst still vocally unresponsive, Kamille had clearly recovered much of his mental faculties. He played a key role in saving Elpeo Ple and the Argama from a Neo Zeon attack, communicating telepathically with the Gundam Team and guiding them to victory.

When Haman Karn attempted to drop a colony on Dublin, Kamille vocally responded for the first time since the end of the Gryps Conflict with a soft “yeah” when Judau reassured him that he would do all he could to save the people. This signalled Kamille’s mental recovery, as he had been put at ease knowing the AEUG was in good hands. At the end of the First Neo Zeon War, Kamille was seen running along a beach with Fa, seemingly fully recovered.

Post-war life

By UC 0095, Kamille had married Fa Yuiry and by UC 0099 had become a doctor, giving up his career as a mobile suit pilot. Despite his recovery, his Newtype abilities remained extraordinarily strong, as demonstrated when his mere presence caused Kikka Kobayashi to experience an intense Newtype reaction without him even looking at her.

Personality & traits

Kamille particularly hated his very feminine-sounding name and violently asserted his manhood by developing hobbies in amateur mobile suit creation and martial arts. He tended to be brash, thoughtless, somewhat self-important, and prone to acting on his own judgement, in addition to being arrogant. This led to him receiving considerable abuse, both mental and physical, at the beginning of the series.

However, he eventually came under Char Aznable’s influence, which played a great role in shaping Kamille from an emotionally vulnerable, angst-ridden teenager into a true soldier. He remained highly fragile emotionally, which only worsened as those he cared about died around him. Despite his emotional volatility, Kamille was marked by compassion and genuine care for others, particularly women, whom he consistently tried to protect and save.

Skills & abilities

According to Yoshiyuki Tomino, Kamille possessed the strongest Newtype powers in the Universal Century. His abilities included enhanced senses, telepathy, emotion sensing, the ability to detect other Newtypes, and in extreme circumstances, the power to summon and receive strength from the spirits of deceased Newtypes.

Most of his Newtype powers did not fully manifest until the late portions of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, augmented by contact with Cyber-Newtypes such as Four Murasame and Rosamia Badam. The strongest demonstration of his power occurred when he used the Zeta Gundam’s Waverider Mode to ram Paptimus Scirocco at the end of the series, empowered by the souls of slain Newtypes close to his heart.

Kamille was also a gifted mobile suit engineer, contributing significantly to the design of the Zeta Gundam by incorporating innovations such as the movable frame concept and Gundarium gamma alloy.

Relationships

Franklin Bidan

Kamille had a very difficult relationship with his father, Franklin Bidan, complicated by Franklin’s dedication to his work over family and his affair with a mistress named Margarita. Franklin didn’t think much of his son, and their rare meetings often turned confrontational quickly. After Franklin betrayed Kamille by hijacking a Rick Dias to return to the Titans, their relationship reached its lowest point. Despite the many horrible things his father had done, Kamille mourned his death when Franklin was killed during the hijacking attempt.

Hilda Bidan

Although Kamille had a somewhat better relationship with his mother Hilda than his father, their relationship was strained by his frustration over her passiveness towards Franklin’s neglect and infidelity. Despite this, Kamille was horrified to discover his mother being used as bait by the Titans and was devastated when she was killed in the ensuing conflict.

Fa Yuiry

Fa was Kamille’s childhood friend and neighbour at Green Noa II. After joining the AEUG, their relationship began to strain from the harsh realities of war, causing them to frequently quarrel. Over time, they began to reconcile their friendship and grew closer to each other. After Kamille was rendered catatonic at the end of the Gryps Conflict, Fa devoted herself to watching over his recovery. Following his full recovery after the First Neo Zeon War, they began a romantic relationship and were married by UC 0095. By UC 0099, Fa had become Kamille’s assistant nurse after he became a doctor.

Four Murasame

Upon meeting the Cyber-Newtype Four Murasame, Kamille instantly felt a strong connection through their shared Newtype awareness. Despite her identity as a Titans soldier and pilot of the Psycho Gundam, Kamille repeatedly attempted to aid Four and sway her away from the Titans. Their love was genuine but tragic, as Four’s Cyber-Newtype conditioning proved too extensive to overcome. Her death at Mt Kilimanjaro left Kamille deeply distraught, and her spirit later appeared to give him strength during his final battle with Scirocco.

Char Aznable

As Quattro Bajeena, Char served as Kamille’s mentor and father figure during the Gryps Conflict. Char took Kamille under his wing after the theft of the Gundam Mk-II units and played a crucial role in training him to become one of the AEUG’s top pilots. Their mentor-protégé relationship was instrumental in shaping Kamille from an emotionally unstable teenager into a capable soldier and pilot.

Jerid Messa

Jerid Messa was Kamille’s primary rival throughout the Gryps Conflict. Their rivalry began when Jerid mocked Kamille for having a feminine name, leading to a physical altercation. The rivalry intensified when Jerid killed Kamille’s mother Hilda, though Kamille later showed remarkable maturity by not holding genuine hatred for Jerid, recognising him as merely a soldier following orders. Their rivalry finally ended when Kamille killed Jerid during the Battle of Gryps.

Mecha

RX-178 Gundam Mk-II

Kamille’s first mobile suit was the RX-178 Gundam Mk-II that he stole during the AEUG raid on Gryps. Ironically, this mobile suit had been designed by his own father, Franklin Bidan. Kamille became highly proficient with the Mk-II, using it effectively against Titans forces until he received his upgrade to the Zeta Gundam.

MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam

The MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam was Kamille’s signature mobile suit and his greatest achievement as both pilot and engineer. He contributed significantly to its design, incorporating advanced technologies such as the movable frame concept and bio-sensor system. The Zeta Gundam’s transformable design allowed it to change into Waverider Mode for high-speed atmospheric flight.

The bio-sensor system was particularly suited to Kamille’s powerful Newtype abilities, allowing him to interface with the mobile suit via mental commands. When emotionally focused, the bio-sensor could amplify the Zeta’s power, speed, and strength dramatically, as demonstrated in his battles against Yazan Gable and Paptimus Scirocco.

Other mobile suits

Throughout his service with the AEUG, Kamille also piloted various other mobile suits including the MSA-003 Nemo and RMS-099 Rick Dias on occasion. Later in his career, he piloted the RGZ-91 Re-GZ during certain conflicts.

Behind the scenes

Kamille Bidan was created and designed by Yoshiyuki Tomino for Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. In an interview for the laserdisc release of Zeta Gundam, Tomino stated that Kamille was named and modelled after Camille Claudel, a sculptor and lover of Auguste Rodin who became deranged and ended her life in commitment.

Kamille was the first Gundam protagonist to be left mentally crippled after a final battle, and he set the trend of protagonists receiving an upgraded mobile suit later in a series. This mid-season upgrade concept was inspired by what happened to Amuro Ray in the novel version of Mobile Suit Gundam.

Voice actors

Kamille Bidan is voiced by Nobuo Tobita in Japanese and Jonathan Lachlan-Stewart in English. Nobuo Tobita, born on 6 November 1959 in Mito, Japan, is famous for his work in various animated Gundam series, including Ulube Ishikawa in Mobile Fighter G Gundam and Karius Otto in Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory.

Reception

Kamille won Animage’s Anime Grand Prix Award in 1986 in the category of favourite male anime character of the year. He was the third Gundam character to win the Anime Grand Prix after Char Aznable in 1980 and Four Murasame in 1985, and the first Gundam protagonist to receive this honour. He was also voted as the eighth most popular male character from the 1980s by Newtype readers.

Kamille was recognised along with five other notable mecha and pilots from various Gundam series in the second set of “Anime Heroes and Heroines” stamps released in Japan in 2005.

Alternate endings

In the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation film trilogy, series creator Yoshiyuki Tomino retconned Kamille’s tragic fate to be more optimistic. In this version, Kamille manages to resist Scirocco’s mind attack and reunites with Fa at the conflict’s conclusion, though this outcome contradicts the events in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ.

Appearances

• Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam - Episodes 1-50 (main character)
• Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ - Episodes 2, 33-36, 47 (supporting character)
• Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation - Film trilogy
• Mobile Suit Gundam in UC 0099: Moon Crisis - Manga
• Various Gundam video games and side materials