TV-Series
Description
Graham Aker, also known by his alias Mister Bushido, is a central rival character from the second season of the anime Mobile Suit Gundam 00. Born on September 10, 2280, he was an orphan who dreamed of flying, a goal he achieved by joining the military when he could not afford civilian pilot training. His natural talent became evident when he became a test pilot for the Union Flag mobile suit, mastering it without reading the manual and becoming the first pilot to perform a mid-air transformation maneuver, a feat that became known as the Graham Special. An ace pilot for the Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations with the rank of First Lieutenant, Aker is left-handed, a trait reflected in his customizing all his mobile suits to be left-handed as well.
As a career soldier, Graham Aker is characterized as fearless, confident, prideful, and stubborn, with a strong personal code of honor. Before the appearance of Celestial Being, he had become bored, finding few challenges worthy of his skills. His first encounter with the Gundam Exia, piloted by Setsuna F. Seiei, changed everything, giving him a new purpose and developing into a deep, personal obsession to defeat the Gundams with the pride of a Flag Fighter. This obsession led him to refuse piloting the more advanced GN-X series, continuing to rely on his custom Union Flag mobile suit against technologically superior opponents.
Following a fierce battle in space at the end of the first season, Graham Aker was severely injured, and his face was left badly scarred. Both his body and his pride were wounded, and he treated his previous encounters as a personal defeat from which he could not recover. To find closure, he studied the ways of Bushido, the ancient samurai philosophy, influenced by Homer Katagiri. He adopted a new identity, Mister Bushido, donned an old samurai mask to cover his scars as a constant reminder of his failure, and began speaking with an archaic dialect to match his warrior persona.
In the second season, set four years later, Graham Aker serves the Earth Sphere Federation’s autonomous peacekeeping force, A-Laws, with the rank of Licensed Captain. As Mister Bushido, he operates with complete autonomy, allowed to ignore standard command structures on his quest to restore his honor. His sole motivation is to settle his personal score with the Gundam Meister Setsuna F. Seiei and his new mobile suit, the 00 Gundam. He remains distant from most major battles, only intervening when Setsuna is present. He sees a glorious death in battle as the only way to make amends for the comrades he lost and to reclaim his honor.
His key relationships are largely defined by his obsession. His hatred and respect are focused entirely on Setsuna F. Seiei and the Gundam Exia, whom he considers his fated rival. He also has a connection with Billy Katagiri, a scientist who helps develop and tune his custom mobile suits. The character’s development culminates in his final duel with Setsuna, where he is denied the honorable death he seeks. Instead, Setsuna speaks of fighting and living for the future, causing Graham to discard his mask and the Mr. Bushido identity, returning to his old self and letting go of his past grudges. As a pilot, his abilities are exceptional. His forte is high-speed melee combat, and he is known for being able to fight on equal terms against GN-powered mobile suits while piloting inferior machines, a testament to his incredible skill and recklessness.
As a career soldier, Graham Aker is characterized as fearless, confident, prideful, and stubborn, with a strong personal code of honor. Before the appearance of Celestial Being, he had become bored, finding few challenges worthy of his skills. His first encounter with the Gundam Exia, piloted by Setsuna F. Seiei, changed everything, giving him a new purpose and developing into a deep, personal obsession to defeat the Gundams with the pride of a Flag Fighter. This obsession led him to refuse piloting the more advanced GN-X series, continuing to rely on his custom Union Flag mobile suit against technologically superior opponents.
Following a fierce battle in space at the end of the first season, Graham Aker was severely injured, and his face was left badly scarred. Both his body and his pride were wounded, and he treated his previous encounters as a personal defeat from which he could not recover. To find closure, he studied the ways of Bushido, the ancient samurai philosophy, influenced by Homer Katagiri. He adopted a new identity, Mister Bushido, donned an old samurai mask to cover his scars as a constant reminder of his failure, and began speaking with an archaic dialect to match his warrior persona.
In the second season, set four years later, Graham Aker serves the Earth Sphere Federation’s autonomous peacekeeping force, A-Laws, with the rank of Licensed Captain. As Mister Bushido, he operates with complete autonomy, allowed to ignore standard command structures on his quest to restore his honor. His sole motivation is to settle his personal score with the Gundam Meister Setsuna F. Seiei and his new mobile suit, the 00 Gundam. He remains distant from most major battles, only intervening when Setsuna is present. He sees a glorious death in battle as the only way to make amends for the comrades he lost and to reclaim his honor.
His key relationships are largely defined by his obsession. His hatred and respect are focused entirely on Setsuna F. Seiei and the Gundam Exia, whom he considers his fated rival. He also has a connection with Billy Katagiri, a scientist who helps develop and tune his custom mobile suits. The character’s development culminates in his final duel with Setsuna, where he is denied the honorable death he seeks. Instead, Setsuna speaks of fighting and living for the future, causing Graham to discard his mask and the Mr. Bushido identity, returning to his old self and letting go of his past grudges. As a pilot, his abilities are exceptional. His forte is high-speed melee combat, and he is known for being able to fight on equal terms against GN-powered mobile suits while piloting inferior machines, a testament to his incredible skill and recklessness.