Kira Yamato

Kira Yamato starts out just wanting a normal life. As a Coordinator, a human whose genes have been altered to be stronger and smarter, he lives on the neutral space colony Heliopolis, carefully staying out of the war raging between Coordinators and ordinary humans known as Naturals. That quiet life ends the moment his home colony is attacked and he is forced to pilot a powerful mobile suit, simply because he is the only person present who can operate it.

From that point on, Kira becomes a reluctant soldier, fighting again and again not because he wants to win a war, but because it is the only way to protect the friends he cares about aboard his ship. This protectiveness defines him throughout the story; he hates the fighting but refuses to let the people close to him get hurt if he can stop it.

Kira's closest tie before the war is Athrun Zala, a childhood friend who ends up fighting on the opposing side, which turns their old friendship into one of the story's most painful conflicts. Later, Kira learns that Cagalli Yula Athha, a strong-willed young leader he meets during the fighting, is actually his long-lost sister. He also grows close to Lacus Clyne, a singer from the enemy side who comes to trust him completely, and over time that friendship grows into love. Kira's journey is really about a boy who never wanted to fight, learning to use his strength only to protect, never to destroy.