Starship Operators — BrandWiki

Starship Operators

type	tv series
director	Takashi Watanabe
writer	Yoshihiko Tomizawa
music	Kenji Kawai
studio	J.C.Staff
network	TV Tokyo
first	January 5, 2005
last	March 30, 2005
episodes	13
episode list	List of Starship Operators episodes

Starship Operators (スターシップ・オペレーターズ) is a Japanese light novel series written by Ryo Mizuno. Six volumes were published by MediaWorks (now ASCII Media Works) between 2001 and 2005. An anime television series adaptation animated by J.C.Staff aired on TV Tokyo from January to March 2005. Starship Operators is licensed in North America by Geneon.

Plot

Starship Operators is about the 73rd class of the Defense University of the Planet Kibi. As they are returning home after the maiden voyage of the Amaterasu (アマテラス), they find that their home planet, Kibi, has been taken over by one of the Henrietta region's superpowers, the Henrietta Alliance of Planetary Nations.

The original command crew all abandon ship, as per the conquerors' demands. Left alone on the ship, the cadets decide to keep their command and fight on. To this end, they have decided to ask Galaxy Network to fund the operation of Amaterasu as a fleeing self-governed nation in exchange for letting them broadcast the ship's adventures live - as a reality TV program.

The novel's storyline also features Amaterasu finding its way through space to reach the control zone of another regional superpower, the Henrietta Independent Federation, for protection.

Characters

The Amaterasu command structure is divided into three bridges. If the first bridge is inoperable or unavailable, any of the other two may assume command. The Operators' uniform color signifies their station.

Primary (Command) Bridge

Operator uniform color: blue

Sinon Kouzuki (香月シノン)

Alley Hisaka (氷坂アレイ)

Miyuri Akisato (秋里ミユリ)

Cisca Kanzaki (神崎キスカ)

Sinon is the main protagonist and executive officer of the Amaterasu. She is a brilliant strategist in combat, often providing CO Kanzaki with a voice of reason. She is also one of the most resistant in fighting with the Amaterasu against the kingdom. Sinon has some problems when it comes to understanding feelings and thus may appear cold.

Alley is quiet and reserved, and often handles the ship-to-ship communications. She is fighting to avenge the destruction of the Maizuru that her father commanded. This hatred results in her being one of the most driven members of the crew to the point of near recklessness at times.

Miyuri is one of Sinon's close friends, and the chief astronomer. She joined the Defense Forces because the starships, in particular the Amaterasu, carry the best observatories in the galaxy. Miyuri has some of the best eyes on the ship and spends most of her free time observing the stars.

The commanding officer of the Amaterasu. He is an excellent administrator but easily cracks under the pressures of battle. The only thing that prevents him from totally folding under the pressure at times is his pride as a man and officer. Captain Kanzaki is slightly pessimistic but he and the others use that nature to find flaws in combat plans and ways of improving the plans for maximum efficiency. Cisca is considered to be one of the leaders by the Kingdom. He was one of the two people on the ship who are aware that someone else is pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Secondary (Fire Control) Bridge

Operator uniform color: orange

Sanri Wakana (若菜サンリ)

Imari Kamiya (神谷イマリ)

Yukino Nanase (七瀬ユキノ)

Takai Kiryu (桐生タカイ)

The shy and relaxed teenage daughter of the president of a Kibi corporation called "Wakana Rare Metals". She has a two year crush on Takai Kiryu but has not acted on it all.

Although she is one of the youngest members on board, she acts as the crew's "big sister".

A short cadet who is cheerful and lackadaisical.

The fire control chief, and commander of the second bridge. Nicknamed the "King of Fighters" among the cadets, he is also an accomplished marksman. A very laid back young man with a strong will that doesn't give into peer pressure and doesn't believe that others should either, thus he gets frustrated with the other crew members who feel forced into staying on the ship. Takai also lost a father on the Guard Ship Maizuru but rather than fighting for vengeance like Alley Hisaka, he is more concerned about the justice of the Kingdom’s actions and uses the battles as a form of protest. Takai is considered third in command of the ship even though he directly states that he is unsuited for full leadership.

Operator uniform color: red

Akiho Maya (摩耶アキホ)

Renna Satomi (里見レンナ)

Rio Mamiya (間宮リオ)

Shinto Mikami (三上シント)

An easygoing cadet who has a good sense of humor.

Text-message pals with Sinon, but an otherwise quiet young woman. Renna is an agent of Kibi Intelligence that was to keep and eye on the ship. She dies from gunshots from soldiers while on the planet of Shu. Renna desperately wanted to be a full member of the crew but was unable due to her job as spy.

She is from a family of diplomats and politicians, and brought her uncle, former Kibi Prime Minister Tatsuma Mamiya, on board as head of the government-in-exile. She is a very politically intelligent woman who at times acts as the public face of the crew. Rio is one of the two people who knows that someone else is pulling the strings behind the scenes. While she puts on a strong face, Rio is afraid of dying in the fighting. She only ever allows this vulnerability to be shown around Cisca Kanzaki. She was head of the debate team while in the academy.

The navigation control chief, and commander of the third bridge. In addition to being the

Other Amaterasu Crew Members

Operator uniform color: purple

Shimei Yuuki

Minase Shinohara

Sei Ogino

Kouki Sakakibara

A child prodigy, he holds mathematics and theoretical physics degrees at the age of 15. He is also the systems administrator of the AESOP computer, and is the only commissioned officer who remained on board the Amaterasu. Shimei spends most of his time away from the rest of the crew because of the need to work in a sealed room with AESOP. He always seems to smile even when in the face of imminent doom. Shimei dies in the final episode piloting the Amaterasu as a fireship, asserting his official rank as superior to the cadets'.

The ship's only medical staff, who was a trainee during the shakedown cruise. She is highly pressed for her medical skills.

The ship's supply chief, and an expert economist.

The chief engineer of the Amaterasu. He is nicknamed Oyassan (Old Man) by fellow crew mates, to his annoyance. Kouki does his best to keep the engineering crew from panicking but due to the high demand for his level of skill, the chief engineer can not always break up every dispute. Kouki tries to act like a father to the young crew, especially Sinon.

Henrietta Planetary Alliance

Admiral Dul Elroy

Hans Georg Hermann

The commanding officer of the Alliance heavy cruiser Conquistador. He is the first to start treating the Amaterasu as a real threat while his constitutions cannot see beyond the fact that the Amaterasu's is made up of mostly children. The Admiral believes that only a three to one advantage over the Amaterasu will have a chance of beating the warship and its cunning crew. Elroy was responsible for sinking the Shenlong. While he is an officer of the Alliance, this man is willing to directly challenge orders if they go in the face of destroying the Amaterasu.

An intelligence officer in the Alliance military.

Civilians

Dita Mirkov

Peter Spikes

President Rau

The enthusiastic reporter for the Galaxy Network reality show Starship Channel. She starts to sympathize with the crew and at times forgets that she isn’t officially part of the crew itself.

The cynical, sarcastic producer for Starship Channel that heads the show and provided funds for the ship. He cares more about the ratings than the lives of the crew and only cares about the show.

Ships

Additional info - First names of ship captains from

Amaterasu - 3rd Freedom Guard Ship, Kibi Planetary Nation
(name origin: Amaterasu (天照), a sun goddess and a principal Shinto deity)
CO: Cisca Kanzaki
XO: Shinon Kouzuki
Crew: 46
Length: 310 m
Width: 105 m
Primary Armament: 4600 mm Plasma Cannon
(possibly derived from the 460 mm naval guns mounted on the Yamato-class battleships)
Secondary Armament: Torpedoes/Missiles
Tertiary Armament: one "Revolver" - 5 chamber LASER cannon, one Pulse LASER, one Plasma Coil Gun
Defensive Munitions: Anti-Laser Defensive Systems
Kasumi (霞, "misty") - Magnetic wave reflection plate
Ikasumi (烏賊墨, "squid ink")- Magnetic wave absorption fiber
Armor: Hotaru (蛍, "Firefly") Heat Protection Plates
Sensor: Kamioka (神岡) - Neutrino emission Sensor
(origin: Kamioka Observatory)
Onboard Artificial Intelligence (AI): AESOP (Artificial Encephalon System by Optical Processor)
(name origin: Aesop, an ancient Greek story teller)
Propulsion: 2 main thrusters
6 sub thrusters
Max acceleration 5G+ (with auxiliary boosters)
Destroyed: EP 13

Trafalgar - 21st Battleship (Destroyer Class), Henrietta Alliance (15:50 Ep 2)
(name origin: Battle of Trafalgar, British naval victory over combined French and Spanish fleets, 1805)
CO: Captain Joseph Meyer
Primary Armament: Laser cannons
Defensive Armament: 10000 mm Plasma cannon
Destroyed: EP 2

Maizuru - 2nd Freedom Guard Ship, Kibi Planetary Nation (07:52 Ep 3)
(name origin: Maizuru (舞鶴市 Maizuru-shi), a city in Kyōto Prefecture 京都府, headquarters of the JMSDF Western District fleet)
CO: Captain Hisaka Jin
Destroyed: EP 1

Aboukir - Stealth Ship, Henrietta Alliance (7:30 Ep 4)
(name origin: Battle of Aboukir Bay, Japanese name for Battle of the Nile, British naval victory over French fleet, 1798)
CO: Admiral Ricardo Fares
Destroyed: EP 4

Actium - Stealth Ship, Henrietta Alliance
(name origin: Battle of Actium, Naval victory of Gaius Octavius' over Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra VII, 31 BC)
Primary Armament: Laser Cannon
Defenses: Invisible to active and passive sensors
Destroyed: EP 12

Solomon - Flagship, Henrietta Alliance
(name origin: Battles of the Solomon Sea, Japanese name for a series of naval engagements during the Guadalcanal Campaign, 1942.
CO: Fleet Admiral August Perry
Appeared in novel

Shenlong - Battleship, Shu Planetary Nation, (12:35 EP 7)
(name origin: Shenlong, (神龍, Shénlóng, lit. "Divine Dragon"), a spiritual dragon from Chinese mythology)
CO: Captain Wong
Primary Armament: 1 Plasma Cannon
Secondary Armaments: 4 missile launchers
Tertiary Armaments: 4 pulse lasers, 2 pulse beams
Propulsion: 1 main thruster
2 sub thrusters
Max Acceleration: 7 G
Destroyed: EP 8

Conquistador - Battleship, Henrietta Alliance, Gordova Planetary Nation (13:03 EP 7)
(name origin: Conquistador, a term used for Spanish and Portuguese explorer-soldiers during Spanish conquest of Americas)
CO: Admiral Dulle Elroy
Primary Armament: 1x 4000 calibre Plasma Cannon
Secondary Armament: 1x 300PM class LASER Cannon
Propulsion: 2 Main thrusters
8 sub-thrusters
Max Acceleration: 10 G
Destroyed: EP 13

Lissa (Dragonfly) - Warship (Skipper Class), Henrietta Alliance (13:10 EP 7)
(name origin: Battle of Lissa (1866), Austrian naval victory over Italy; Battle of Lissa (1811), British naval victory over combined French and Venetian squadron)
CO: Captain Harrel Naja
Primary Armament: Lisa2 - Assault Module (pulse laser), capable of precision short-warp
Propulsion: 1 Main thruster
4 sub-thrusters
Max acceleration: 8 G
Destroyed: EP 11

Leyte (Hammerhead) - Armored Battleship (Corvette Class), Henrietta Alliance (13:28 EP 7)
(name origin: Battle of Leyte, Japanese name for the Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 1944)
CO: Captain Yun-suk Lee
Primary Armament: 4 Separating turrets (1 plasma cannon, 3 laser cannons)
Propulsion: 1 Main thruster
4 sub-thrusters
Max Acceleration: 7 G
Destroyed: EP 8

Mariana (Hedgehog) - High Speed Warship (Frigate Class), Henrietta Alliance (13:35 EP 7)
(name origin: Battle of the Marianas, Japanese name for the Battle of the Philippine Sea near the Mariana Islands, June 1944)
CO: Admiral Louis Belmont
Primary Armaments: 4 LASER Cannons
Propulsion: 2 main thrusters
6 sub-thrusters
Max Acceleration: 9.5 G
Destroyed: EP 11

Levant, Recon Ship, Henrietta Alliance (19:27 EP 9)
(name origin: Battle of the Levant, Japanese name for Battle of Navarino, 1827)
CO: Captain Tiet Langa
Incapacitated: EP 11

Earth Federation Warship (EP 12)
CO: Captain Josef Truman
(possibly a reference to former American President Harry S. Truman)
Primary Armament: 4 LASER Cannons

Unknown Henrietta Alliance warship (EP 1)
Primary Armaments: 1 Railgun
Support facilities: Onboard refinery capable for producing ammunition from nearby Asteroids
Destroyed: EP 1