OVA
Description
Guld Goa Bowman is a central figure in the Macross Plus story, serving as a test pilot for the YF-21 fighter. Born in 2014, he is of mixed heritage, being a human-Zentradi hybrid. This lineage gives him a larger physical stature, standing at 195 centimeters, and imbues him with the strong, instinctual combat drive characteristic of the Zentradi, a trait he constantly struggles to keep under control.
Personality-wise, Guld is the disciplined and serious counterpoint to his rival, Isamu Dyson. Where Isamu is carefree and impulsive, Guld is experienced, calculated, and committed to his duties. He strives to maintain a composed and thoughtful exterior, but this calm is a fragile shell over a latent and extremely violent temper, a legacy of his Zentradi blood. When this restraint fails, he can fall into a terrifying state of uncontrolled rage.
Guld’s motivations are deeply rooted in his past on the colonial planet Eden. He shared a close childhood friendship with Isamu and Myung Fang Lone, a friendship that also involved a romantic rivalry for Myung’s affection. A pivotal traumatic event occurred seven years before the main story when Guld walked in on a tender moment between Isamu and Myung. Overwhelmed by jealousy, his Zentradi instincts exploded into violence, leading him to attack both of his friends. His psyche could not cope with the horror of his actions, so he unconsciously suppressed the memory, replacing it with a false one where he was protecting Myung from Isamu.
This suppressed guilt shapes his role in the narrative. As adults, Guld is the development chief and test pilot for the YF-21, representing General Galaxy in the Super Nova project, a competition to design the next-generation variable fighter for the U.N. Spacy. His deep-seated, almost irrational animosity towards his new rival, Shinsei Industry’s pilot Isamu Dyson, is fueled by his distorted memories. His primary goal is to defeat Isamu, both professionally and personally, as he believes Isamu is the source of his pain and the one who stole Myung from him. This bitter rivalry forms the core conflict of the story.
Key relationships define Guld’s journey. His relationship with Isamu Dyson is a volatile mix of former camaraderie and present-day hatred, making them fierce rivals. His relationship with Myung Fang Lone is equally complex; he genuinely loves her, and at one point, they reconnect and even share a moment of intimacy. However, this relationship is built on his flawed memory of the past, creating an unstable foundation.
Guld undergoes a profound development over the course of the story. As the competition escalates, his suppressed memories begin to surface, causing him great psychological distress. The climax occurs during a final, desperate dogfight with Isamu on Earth. In the heat of battle, the full, terrible truth of his past returns to him: he was not the protector but the aggressor, the one who violently assaulted Myung after she rejected him and confessed her feelings to Isamu. This shattering realization forces him to confront his own demons. Reunited with the truth, he reconciles with Isamu and Myung over the radio. When the失控 (out-of-control) AI fighter, the X-9 Ghost, threatens them all, Guld makes the ultimate sacrifice. He removes all limiters from his YF-21, allowing him to perform suicidal high-G maneuvers to ram and destroy the Ghost, giving his life to save his former friends.
Guld possesses several notable abilities. As a hybrid, his Zentradi physiology grants him greater resilience and the ability to survive harsh conditions. He is an exceptionally skilled pilot, capable of handling the mind-boggling speeds and maneuvers of advanced variable fighters. His most unique skill is his mastery of the YF-21’s experimental brain-direct imaging (BDI) system, which allows him to control the fighter with his thoughts. However, this system is a double-edged sword; it once interpreted his fleeting, violent fantasy about Isamu as a command, nearly killing his rival.
Personality-wise, Guld is the disciplined and serious counterpoint to his rival, Isamu Dyson. Where Isamu is carefree and impulsive, Guld is experienced, calculated, and committed to his duties. He strives to maintain a composed and thoughtful exterior, but this calm is a fragile shell over a latent and extremely violent temper, a legacy of his Zentradi blood. When this restraint fails, he can fall into a terrifying state of uncontrolled rage.
Guld’s motivations are deeply rooted in his past on the colonial planet Eden. He shared a close childhood friendship with Isamu and Myung Fang Lone, a friendship that also involved a romantic rivalry for Myung’s affection. A pivotal traumatic event occurred seven years before the main story when Guld walked in on a tender moment between Isamu and Myung. Overwhelmed by jealousy, his Zentradi instincts exploded into violence, leading him to attack both of his friends. His psyche could not cope with the horror of his actions, so he unconsciously suppressed the memory, replacing it with a false one where he was protecting Myung from Isamu.
This suppressed guilt shapes his role in the narrative. As adults, Guld is the development chief and test pilot for the YF-21, representing General Galaxy in the Super Nova project, a competition to design the next-generation variable fighter for the U.N. Spacy. His deep-seated, almost irrational animosity towards his new rival, Shinsei Industry’s pilot Isamu Dyson, is fueled by his distorted memories. His primary goal is to defeat Isamu, both professionally and personally, as he believes Isamu is the source of his pain and the one who stole Myung from him. This bitter rivalry forms the core conflict of the story.
Key relationships define Guld’s journey. His relationship with Isamu Dyson is a volatile mix of former camaraderie and present-day hatred, making them fierce rivals. His relationship with Myung Fang Lone is equally complex; he genuinely loves her, and at one point, they reconnect and even share a moment of intimacy. However, this relationship is built on his flawed memory of the past, creating an unstable foundation.
Guld undergoes a profound development over the course of the story. As the competition escalates, his suppressed memories begin to surface, causing him great psychological distress. The climax occurs during a final, desperate dogfight with Isamu on Earth. In the heat of battle, the full, terrible truth of his past returns to him: he was not the protector but the aggressor, the one who violently assaulted Myung after she rejected him and confessed her feelings to Isamu. This shattering realization forces him to confront his own demons. Reunited with the truth, he reconciles with Isamu and Myung over the radio. When the失控 (out-of-control) AI fighter, the X-9 Ghost, threatens them all, Guld makes the ultimate sacrifice. He removes all limiters from his YF-21, allowing him to perform suicidal high-G maneuvers to ram and destroy the Ghost, giving his life to save his former friends.
Guld possesses several notable abilities. As a hybrid, his Zentradi physiology grants him greater resilience and the ability to survive harsh conditions. He is an exceptionally skilled pilot, capable of handling the mind-boggling speeds and maneuvers of advanced variable fighters. His most unique skill is his mastery of the YF-21’s experimental brain-direct imaging (BDI) system, which allows him to control the fighter with his thoughts. However, this system is a double-edged sword; it once interpreted his fleeting, violent fantasy about Isamu as a command, nearly killing his rival.