Red Impulse, later unveiled as Kentaro Washio, is a retired ace pilot and covert operative defined by duty and sacrifice. Cloaked in mystery as the leader of a fighter jet squadron aiding the Science Ninja Team, his true identity as Ken Washio’s father remains shrouded until the series’ climax. Commissioned by Dr. Nambu to infiltrate Galactor, he staged his death in a South Sea plane crash, abandoning his family to uphold his cover. This choice severed him from his son’s life and his wife’s final years, though he momentarily resurfaces at her funeral in the OVA timeline before vanishing once more. His Red Impulse persona merges tactical genius with emotional detachment. While projecting unwavering discipline, he harbors silent pride and remorse, covertly mentoring Ken through anonymous interventions—clandestine aid, physical trials to toughen him, or aerial rivalries to sharpen his prowess. Only Galactor’s apocalyptic V2 plan fractures his resolve, driving him to expose his identity and intercept the cataclysmic rocket in a fatal act of redemption, trusting Ken to inherit his mission. Alternate narratives reshape his journey. The 1994 OVA depicts his squadron’s near-total annihilation by Galactor, leaving him as the lone survivor who allies with the Science Ninja Team in a climactic showdown. Western reinterpretations reframe his identity: in *Battle of the Planets*, he emerges as Colonel Cronus, a mentor to Mark (Ken’s counterpart) who feigns death to shield a secret second family, while *Eagle Riders* transforms him into Harley Harris, a father whose son knowingly shares his double life. Visually, he dons a crimson flight suit marked by a white "R" insignia and a visor masking his eyes, though artistic variations occasionally render him pale-skinned. In civilian guise, sunglasses and a white suit preserve his anonymity, paired with short brown hair and a mustache hinting at age and weathered resolve. His demeanor echoes the boldness of his youth—a trait mirrored in Ken—but decades of loss and subterfuge have forged it into steely discipline. His multiverse-spanning arc underscores concealed kinship and the toll of secrecy. While core iterations cement his self-sacrifice as a narrative conclusion, early creative deliberations—including Tatsuo Yoshida’s musings on reversing his fate—reflect tensions between his function as a catalyst for Ken’s growth and an emblem of martyrdom.