OVA
Description
Pai Thunder is one of the four main pilots in the original video animation Hyper Combat Unit Dangaioh, produced in 1987. A 22-year-old esper, she is the daughter of Captain Garimoth, the leader of the Bunker space pirates, and her true name is Barius. Despite being his daughter, she was handed over to the scientist Dr. Tarsan to be modified, because her father wanted her to become even more powerful than she already was. Along with Mia Alice, Roll Kran, and Lamba Nom, she was brainwashed and reconditioned as a psychic pilot for Tarsan's project. The four were intended to be sold to the Bunker, but they escaped and turned against their would-be masters.
Personality-wise, Pai is the most rebellious of the four pilots and strongly resents authority. She speaks roughly and tends to act in an aggressive, forceful way, which makes her something of a big-sister figure who pushes the team forward. At first she opposes Mia's more compassionate and careful approach and intends to return to the Bunker to reclaim her place at her father's side. However, after she regains her memories and confronts Garimoth, she tries to win his approval and is horribly rejected, which convinces her to renounce her birthright. From that point she fully commits to Mia, Roll, and Lamba and fights alongside them against the Bunker.
Her motivation shifts over the course of the story from seeking her father's recognition to actively opposing everything he represents. This makes her relationship with Garimoth the most important personal conflict in her arc. It is also the key to her development: a rebellious, authority-resenting woman who initially believes her loyalty to her father will define her, she grows into a loyal teammate who chooses her new connections over her old one.
In the story, Pai's role is that of a front-line pilot. Her Dan-Mechanic forms the legs of the combined super robot Dangaioh, and her power is essential to the team's combat strength. When her memories return in the first episode following an encounter with two of Tarsan's other creations, she takes the unconscious Roll with her to the Bunker's capital ship, reveals herself to Garimoth as his daughter Barius, and then renounces her inheritance before rejoining the others. She continues to serve as one of the team's most aggressive fighters in the battles that follow, including the encounter with the assassin Shazarla's group and the final confrontation with the resurrected Gil Berg.
Pai's notable ability is her extraordinary physical strength, which is described as beyond normal human limits. Her esper power manifests as enhanced physical force rather than the more traditional psychic abilities shown by some of her teammates, and this strength carries over into how she pilots her machine and supports Dangaioh's fighting style. As the pilot of the leg unit, she supplies much of the raw force behind the robot's attacks.
Personality-wise, Pai is the most rebellious of the four pilots and strongly resents authority. She speaks roughly and tends to act in an aggressive, forceful way, which makes her something of a big-sister figure who pushes the team forward. At first she opposes Mia's more compassionate and careful approach and intends to return to the Bunker to reclaim her place at her father's side. However, after she regains her memories and confronts Garimoth, she tries to win his approval and is horribly rejected, which convinces her to renounce her birthright. From that point she fully commits to Mia, Roll, and Lamba and fights alongside them against the Bunker.
Her motivation shifts over the course of the story from seeking her father's recognition to actively opposing everything he represents. This makes her relationship with Garimoth the most important personal conflict in her arc. It is also the key to her development: a rebellious, authority-resenting woman who initially believes her loyalty to her father will define her, she grows into a loyal teammate who chooses her new connections over her old one.
In the story, Pai's role is that of a front-line pilot. Her Dan-Mechanic forms the legs of the combined super robot Dangaioh, and her power is essential to the team's combat strength. When her memories return in the first episode following an encounter with two of Tarsan's other creations, she takes the unconscious Roll with her to the Bunker's capital ship, reveals herself to Garimoth as his daughter Barius, and then renounces her inheritance before rejoining the others. She continues to serve as one of the team's most aggressive fighters in the battles that follow, including the encounter with the assassin Shazarla's group and the final confrontation with the resurrected Gil Berg.
Pai's notable ability is her extraordinary physical strength, which is described as beyond normal human limits. Her esper power manifests as enhanced physical force rather than the more traditional psychic abilities shown by some of her teammates, and this strength carries over into how she pilots her machine and supports Dangaioh's fighting style. As the pilot of the leg unit, she supplies much of the raw force behind the robot's attacks.