The Crew of the Nadesico

Prospector, the Nergal accoutant assigned to the Nadesico, is tasked with outfitting the ship with a crew. And, since the ship is non-military, he must turn to civilians and lure them with offers of money and excitement that their regular jobs cannot provide. This results in a rather bizarre roster of people for the crew. The chief engineer is an unlicensed genius who joins simply to escape his overbearing wife. The bridge crew is comprised of a very voluptuous former secretary, a voice actress, and a seemingly emotionless yet amazingly intelligent child. And as for the two original pilots, one thinks he is living in anime and the other is a reluctant pilot who professes to want only to continue his training as a cook. The captain is just out of the academy and prone to fits of jealousy and outbursts of affection for one of the pilots. How can the ship possibly function?

Misumaru Yurika Captain of the Nadesico, she was chosen based on her exam scores. While she is an inexperienced captain, she makes up for her lack of experience with a zeal that sometimes astounds and confounds her crew. Although she might not appear to be so, she is very competent when her heart doesn't get in the way. She is carrying a big torch for Akito. Tenkawa Akito The cook turned reluctant pilot, Akito joins the Nadesico in the hopes of learning why his parents were murdered. However, he quickly becomes the object of the unwanted affections of first Yurika and then several other female crew members. Although a capable pilot, he insists that his first love—and his true calling—is that of a cook. He is a big anime fan. Yamada Jiro/"Daigouji Gai" Gai is the one who inspires Akito to be the best fighter he can be. He does this primarily by letting him watch episodes of an old anime called GEKIGANGER III. Although their relationship begins as adversarial, the two become good friends, and Gai teaches Akito many things. Jun The second in command of the Nadeisco, Jun is one of the few seemingly normal characters. He is one of the rare voices of reason aboard the ship. However, his judgment is often impaired by his feelings for Yurika, and he gets very jealous when he sees Yurika pining for Akito. Ruri One of the "bridge bunnies," Ruri is a child who has an affinity for computers. As a result, she is hired by Nergal to operate the complex computer systems of the Nadesico. A quiet and seemingly emotionless girl, she is a very quick thinker and gets the group out of trouble on more than one occasion. Her favorite expression is "Baka!" ("Idiot!"), which she gets to use frequently on board the Nadesico. Megumi Another of the bridge crew, Megumi (or Meg) is a voice actress turned comm operator. She and Haruka spend a lot of time commenting on the actions of the others, since they don't really have a lot to do much of the time. She quickly develops a crush on Akito, and a jealous competition with Yurika for his affections. Minato Haruka Haruka is the helmsman, and she is responsible for steering the ship. She joined the Nadesico because her last job as assistant to an ambassador was boring. However, she finds that life on the Nadesico isn't much more challenging, at least from a career standpoint, because the ship flies on autopilot much of the time. She spends a lot of her time sleeping or reading magazines. Seiya As chief mechanic, Seiya's job is to keep the Nadesico and the Aestevalis mecha in working order. He is good at what he does, which is why he was taken on. However, he has more than one personality quirk that causes him and others difficulty. He fancies himself something of a ladies' man when the truth is that none of the female characters have any positive feelings for him. Gort Gort is a big guy who stands around without saying much. He is one of the military operations advisors and as a result of his training, he often remains silent on other matters. He has a crush on Haruka. Prospector The accountant assigned by Nergal to the Nadesico, Prospector is always weighing things in financial terms. Sometimes his attempts at cost-cutting make him unpopular with the crew. He was also the one responsible for recruiting the crew of the Nadesico in the first place. Ryoko One of the new Aestivalis pilots to arrive on the Nadesico, Ryoko is cool and confident Although her first opinion of Akito is that he is an incompetent pilot, she finds herself becoming more and more concerned about him. Hikaru Another new pilot to the Nadesico, Hikaru is a bubbly, cheerful girl with a pechant for teasing. Oftentimes the target of her teasing is either Ryoko or Akito. She is also a big GEKIGANGER III fan. Izumi Rounding out the new pilot trio is Izumi. She is cool and aloof, and her words are either total non-sequiturs or very biting observations. She tends to unnerve those around her with her strange demeanor, but she also enjoys joining Hikaru in teasing Ryoko. Inez Rescued by the Nadesico on its trip to Mars, Inez is one of the scientists who developed the transpositon engine based on enemy technology. She is the resident genius, and always has insights to offer. However, she has never learned the art of being quick and to the point. Although reluctant at first, Inez joins the crew of the Nadesico in their mission and does her best to contribute. Erina Secretary to the Chairman of Nergal, Erina boards the Nadesico to further her own personal agenda and the agenda of Nergal as well. While not initially very hospitable, she comes to appreciate the crew for what they have to face in their daily routine. Akatsuki Nagare The hotshot pilot who joins Nadesico at the same time as Erina. He brings a new model of the Aestivalis on board, along with a large ego. He is an excellent pilot, and his attitude shows that he knows it. Admiral Misumaru A career military man who is gruff and commanding, until it comes to dealing with his daughter Yurika.