OVA
Description
Colonel R. L. Lando is a character from the anime OVA Bubblegum Crash, serving as the primary antagonist of its first episode. He is the commanding officer of a sophisticated mercenary group known as the Illegal Army, which operates advanced powered battlesuits and utilizes boomer units. Prior to his appearance in Mega-Tokyo, Lando and his unit were involved in a rebellion in the Philippines. The mission ended in catastrophic failure, resulting in the deaths of most of his soldiers and leaving Lando himself with grievous, life-threatening injuries.
Lando’s survival was secured by an anonymous benefactor who later turned out to be the cyber-terrorist Largo. Largo provided the resources for Lando to undergo extensive cybernetic reconstruction, transforming him into a being classified under the law as a voomeroid. This classification legally required law enforcement to treat him as a rogue boomer and terminate him with extreme prejudice. In exchange for his life and new abilities, Lando pledged the services of his rebuilt Illegal Army to Largo, who was formulating plans to construct a new world order.
Lando is portrayed as a seasoned and professional soldier, a veteran leader of a unit that had seen conflict in various theaters of war since the 2020s. His personality, as demonstrated through his actions, is disciplined and mission-focused, though not without a degree of personal conviction. During a confrontation with AD Police officer Leon McNichol, Lando had an opportunity to kill his opponent but hesitated and ultimately left him alive. The officer's face reminded Lando of one of his own soldiers who had been killed during the disastrous Philippines mission, suggesting a sense of memory, remorse, or perhaps a code of honor that conflicts with his mercenary work. His primary motivation is tied to his contract with Largo, whom he serves directly in return for his second chance at life. His objectives are therefore aligned with Largo's scheme, which involves stealing a new, advanced artificial intelligence system being developed by the Zone Corporation.
In the story, Colonel Lando leads the Illegal Army in a series of heists across Mega-Tokyo. Their initial targets are two branches of the Glory Bank, which they successfully rob to acquire AI chips. Their true goal, however, is to steal the final AI chip from a Zone Corporation laboratory. During the heist, they confront the AD Police, and Lando personally defeats Leon McNichol in a K-17 battlesuit. The mercenaries are eventually confronted by the Knight Sabers, the all-female armored vigilante group. While the Illegal Army's mechsuits are powerful, they are outmatched by the speed and mobility of the Knight Sabers' hardsuits. Lando watches as his subordinates are defeated one by one before attempting to ambush the Knight Sabers with battle boomers, which are also destroyed.
Lando’s key relationship is with the villain Largo, who acts as his benefactor and employer. His relationship with his own men appears to be professional, but the incident where he spares Leon McNichol indicates that he has not forgotten the soldiers he lost in the past. The Knight Sabers are his primary adversaries, and his conflict with them leads directly to his end. Outnumbered and with no avenue of escape, Lando activates a nuclear self-destruct device built into his cybernetic body, an explosion that would have devastated a three-kilometer wide area. The Knight Sabers Priss Asagiri and Nene Romanova are able to target and destroy the self-destruct trigger, and Lando is mortally wounded by the shot. As he dies, he issues a final warning to the Knight Sabers about the coming threat posed by Largo. Lando’s development is thus a tragic arc from a broken soldier given a new, powerful lease on life, to a pawn in a larger game of terrorism who meets his end as a disposable asset.
As a result of his cybernetic reconstruction, Lando possesses several notable abilities beyond normal human limits. His physical strength is greatly enhanced. His cybernetic eyepiece is equipped with an advanced scanning system that allows him to analyze machinery on a technical level. Even when his powered mech-suit is critically damaged, his body contains metallic fiber cables that he can launch to cut through enemy armor. His final and most devastating ability is his internal nuclear self-destruct mechanism, a last-resort weapon capable of producing an explosion three kilometers wide. Visually, Lando is an adult male with black eyes and blonde hair cut to ear-length.
Lando’s survival was secured by an anonymous benefactor who later turned out to be the cyber-terrorist Largo. Largo provided the resources for Lando to undergo extensive cybernetic reconstruction, transforming him into a being classified under the law as a voomeroid. This classification legally required law enforcement to treat him as a rogue boomer and terminate him with extreme prejudice. In exchange for his life and new abilities, Lando pledged the services of his rebuilt Illegal Army to Largo, who was formulating plans to construct a new world order.
Lando is portrayed as a seasoned and professional soldier, a veteran leader of a unit that had seen conflict in various theaters of war since the 2020s. His personality, as demonstrated through his actions, is disciplined and mission-focused, though not without a degree of personal conviction. During a confrontation with AD Police officer Leon McNichol, Lando had an opportunity to kill his opponent but hesitated and ultimately left him alive. The officer's face reminded Lando of one of his own soldiers who had been killed during the disastrous Philippines mission, suggesting a sense of memory, remorse, or perhaps a code of honor that conflicts with his mercenary work. His primary motivation is tied to his contract with Largo, whom he serves directly in return for his second chance at life. His objectives are therefore aligned with Largo's scheme, which involves stealing a new, advanced artificial intelligence system being developed by the Zone Corporation.
In the story, Colonel Lando leads the Illegal Army in a series of heists across Mega-Tokyo. Their initial targets are two branches of the Glory Bank, which they successfully rob to acquire AI chips. Their true goal, however, is to steal the final AI chip from a Zone Corporation laboratory. During the heist, they confront the AD Police, and Lando personally defeats Leon McNichol in a K-17 battlesuit. The mercenaries are eventually confronted by the Knight Sabers, the all-female armored vigilante group. While the Illegal Army's mechsuits are powerful, they are outmatched by the speed and mobility of the Knight Sabers' hardsuits. Lando watches as his subordinates are defeated one by one before attempting to ambush the Knight Sabers with battle boomers, which are also destroyed.
Lando’s key relationship is with the villain Largo, who acts as his benefactor and employer. His relationship with his own men appears to be professional, but the incident where he spares Leon McNichol indicates that he has not forgotten the soldiers he lost in the past. The Knight Sabers are his primary adversaries, and his conflict with them leads directly to his end. Outnumbered and with no avenue of escape, Lando activates a nuclear self-destruct device built into his cybernetic body, an explosion that would have devastated a three-kilometer wide area. The Knight Sabers Priss Asagiri and Nene Romanova are able to target and destroy the self-destruct trigger, and Lando is mortally wounded by the shot. As he dies, he issues a final warning to the Knight Sabers about the coming threat posed by Largo. Lando’s development is thus a tragic arc from a broken soldier given a new, powerful lease on life, to a pawn in a larger game of terrorism who meets his end as a disposable asset.
As a result of his cybernetic reconstruction, Lando possesses several notable abilities beyond normal human limits. His physical strength is greatly enhanced. His cybernetic eyepiece is equipped with an advanced scanning system that allows him to analyze machinery on a technical level. Even when his powered mech-suit is critically damaged, his body contains metallic fiber cables that he can launch to cut through enemy armor. His final and most devastating ability is his internal nuclear self-destruct mechanism, a last-resort weapon capable of producing an explosion three kilometers wide. Visually, Lando is an adult male with black eyes and blonde hair cut to ear-length.