OVA
Description
Ichirō Hiruma is introduced as one of the three Japanese members of the BUGS-2 mission to Mars. As the oldest of eleven siblings, his primary motivation for joining the dangerous project was the financial compensation needed to provide for his mother and younger siblings. Before this, he was a struggling high school student who dreamed of attending Tokyo University at his ailing mother's request. This dream was destroyed when a teacher he trusted blackmailed him to cover up an affair that had resulted in a classmate's pregnancy, forcing him to withdraw from school and instilling in him a deep belief that he could trust no one outside his family.
Hiruma possesses a corpulent appearance, but most of his mass is actually dense muscle and bone density, similar to that of a sumo wrestler. He is initially presented as apathetic and cowardly, showing little concern for his fellow crew members and faking fear of the Terraformars, which leads to mockery from others on the ship. For instance, when Shokichi Komachi tries to defend him, Hiruma seems indifferent and simply agrees that he does not want to see the creatures.
Driven by his desperate need for money, Hiruma conspires with a comrade named Victoria Wood to betray the BUGS-2 crew. Their plan is to steal a Terraformar egg for a man named Mr. Honda, a scheme that would provide financial gain at the cost of the mission's success and likely the lives of their companions. However, the egg hatches prematurely, and the newborn Terraformars, possessing immunity to Victoria's venom, swiftly kill her. Hiruma is left for dead and loses consciousness, only to be revived when Thien's blood lands on him. Together with Thien and Shokichi Komachi, he engages in a fierce battle against the creatures. Using multiple injections of the bug procedure drug to expand his muscle mass, Hiruma fights with sumo-like tactics, eventually snapping a Terraformar's head off with his bare hands.
Witnessing the death of Thien profoundly affects Hiruma. He escapes Mars with Shokichi Komachi in an emergency pod, vowing to never return to the planet or see the Terraformars again. This traumatic experience fundamentally shifts his worldview. He transitions from a cynical betrayer motivated solely by family loyalty to someone who feels a deep sense of regret for his actions and a responsibility toward his allies. This journey is marked by his transformation into an atoner for his past misdeeds.
Twenty years after the BUGS-2 mission, Hiruma has become the 502nd Prime Minister of Japan. In this role, he applies the shrewd judgment born from his traumatic past to national and international crises. During the Annex I mission, he leads negotiations among five heads of state and demonstrates strategic acumen, deftly manipulating political meetings to secure the interests of the Japanese team even when other world powers are willing to abandon them. He remains in contact with his siblings, using his political connections to aid them. While he initially swore off Mars, his evolution into a pragmatic and decisive leader shows how the sacrifices of his comrades like Komachi and Thien reshaped his outlook, fostering a sense of duty toward others beyond his immediate family.
Hiruma's notable abilities stem from a Bug Procedure that uses the DNA of the Central African sleeping chironomid, or Polypedilum vanderplanki. This grants him a state of cryptobiosis, a hibernation-like condition that makes him virtually indestructible. In this state, he can survive temperatures up to 200 degrees Celsius, being frozen to minus 270 degrees Celsius for 168 hours, exposure to 7000 Gray of radiation, and even the vacuum of space. He can be revived from this state instantly upon contact with any liquid, which is demonstrated when Victoria revives him with water and later when Thien's blood reactivates him during combat. Upon revival or through multiple M.O. surgery injections, his muscle mass expands dramatically, ripping his suit and granting him immense physical strength suitable for hand-to-hand combat using sumo tactics.
Hiruma possesses a corpulent appearance, but most of his mass is actually dense muscle and bone density, similar to that of a sumo wrestler. He is initially presented as apathetic and cowardly, showing little concern for his fellow crew members and faking fear of the Terraformars, which leads to mockery from others on the ship. For instance, when Shokichi Komachi tries to defend him, Hiruma seems indifferent and simply agrees that he does not want to see the creatures.
Driven by his desperate need for money, Hiruma conspires with a comrade named Victoria Wood to betray the BUGS-2 crew. Their plan is to steal a Terraformar egg for a man named Mr. Honda, a scheme that would provide financial gain at the cost of the mission's success and likely the lives of their companions. However, the egg hatches prematurely, and the newborn Terraformars, possessing immunity to Victoria's venom, swiftly kill her. Hiruma is left for dead and loses consciousness, only to be revived when Thien's blood lands on him. Together with Thien and Shokichi Komachi, he engages in a fierce battle against the creatures. Using multiple injections of the bug procedure drug to expand his muscle mass, Hiruma fights with sumo-like tactics, eventually snapping a Terraformar's head off with his bare hands.
Witnessing the death of Thien profoundly affects Hiruma. He escapes Mars with Shokichi Komachi in an emergency pod, vowing to never return to the planet or see the Terraformars again. This traumatic experience fundamentally shifts his worldview. He transitions from a cynical betrayer motivated solely by family loyalty to someone who feels a deep sense of regret for his actions and a responsibility toward his allies. This journey is marked by his transformation into an atoner for his past misdeeds.
Twenty years after the BUGS-2 mission, Hiruma has become the 502nd Prime Minister of Japan. In this role, he applies the shrewd judgment born from his traumatic past to national and international crises. During the Annex I mission, he leads negotiations among five heads of state and demonstrates strategic acumen, deftly manipulating political meetings to secure the interests of the Japanese team even when other world powers are willing to abandon them. He remains in contact with his siblings, using his political connections to aid them. While he initially swore off Mars, his evolution into a pragmatic and decisive leader shows how the sacrifices of his comrades like Komachi and Thien reshaped his outlook, fostering a sense of duty toward others beyond his immediate family.
Hiruma's notable abilities stem from a Bug Procedure that uses the DNA of the Central African sleeping chironomid, or Polypedilum vanderplanki. This grants him a state of cryptobiosis, a hibernation-like condition that makes him virtually indestructible. In this state, he can survive temperatures up to 200 degrees Celsius, being frozen to minus 270 degrees Celsius for 168 hours, exposure to 7000 Gray of radiation, and even the vacuum of space. He can be revived from this state instantly upon contact with any liquid, which is demonstrated when Victoria revives him with water and later when Thien's blood reactivates him during combat. Upon revival or through multiple M.O. surgery injections, his muscle mass expands dramatically, ripping his suit and granting him immense physical strength suitable for hand-to-hand combat using sumo tactics.