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| “ | You don’t have much qualification to be with her, do you? To be blunt, you are neither suitable or worthy of such a woman. Destruction, hatred, death… Things of that nature are all you leave in your wake, am I wrong? Think of what you have stolen from the world by taking down Chairman Durandal. A society of order, peace and zero conflict. Do you believe your exploits in battle since then compensate for what you robbed the people of? | „ |
| ~ Orphee to Kira Yamato. |
Orphee Lam Tao is the main antagonist of the 2024 science fiction action anime film Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom, the fourth installment in the Cosmic Era timeline of the Gundam franchise.
He is a member of an evolved race known as Accords and the chancellor of the Kingdom of Foundation who is obsessed with Lacus Clyne and seeks to make her his lover in order to rule over humanity. He's the love rival of Kira Yamato as well as his final archenemy.
He is voiced by Hiro Shimono in Japanese (who also voices Dabi in My Hero Academia) and Alejandro Saab in English (who also voices Kaigaku in Demon Slayer, Trebol in One Piece, Derrick Arden in Black Butler, Michael Gedōin in Blue Exorcist, Kaiju No. 9 in Kaiju No. 8 and Atsushi Kanamoto in Sword Art Online).
Appearance[]
Orphee is a handsome 20 year old man with blonde hair and blue eyes. His outfit has fur around the collar, unlike the ones worn by Shura and the others. He also wears a long red cape, reaching his knees.
Personality[]
Initially, Orphee Lam Tao appeared as a charming, noble and well-spoken gentleman who had an earnest desire to put an end to all conflict and wars. However, beneath this outward exterior lies an incredibly manipulative, calculating, and megalomaniacal sociopath with a darwinistic worldview. He is shown to be extremely cruel and ruthless, willing to sacrifice an entire city of innocent civilians for the sake of his goals and has zero qualms with killing people who oppose him or his mother's goal of executing the Destiny Plan.
Orphee is an egotistical and utterly delusional narcissist with a superiority complex because of his genetics and upbringing. As an Accord, he looks down on all naturals and even some coordinators, deeming them as inferior compared to the new race of Accords. He believes that people only have worth depending on their capability or genes and that people should act accordingly. In addition to this, Orphee is shown to be very entitled and fully believes that it's his destiny to rule the world and lead all of humanity to a better future because they are unable to do it themselves and refuses to accept any other standards about human worth.
Moreover, Orphee is deeply obsessed with Lacus Clyne due to their raw genetic compatibility and their status as Accords. He believes himself to be the only one worthy of Lacus' love due to the two of them being literally made for each other as part of the Destiny Plan and states that its their destiny to rule over the world. He holds great envy and resentment towards Kira Yamato, due to his closeness with Lacus and how he defeated Gilbert Durandal which halted the Destiny Plan. He's also shown to be very petty, as he mocks Kira for his inability to grant Lacus' wish for a peaceful world and even telepathic insults him in their first encounter.
Despite his calm and collected demeanor, Orphee can become quite wrathful and impulsive whenever things don't go his way. Since he firmly thinks that he and Lacus are meant for one another, he's emotionally incapable of dealing with her rejections and keeps trying to press her into returning his feelings. He even goes as far as trying to create a psychic connection between the two and later attempts to force himself onto Lacus. He's also intolerant of failure and isn't above using physical abuse as punishment, as seen when he hits Ingrid after she lets Lacus go. He is also quick to undermine others rather than accepting any criticism as shown when he slandered Lacus in the final battle with her and Kira.
Orphee's most prominent traits are his fundamental lack of empathy and childish ego. He professes his love for Lacus, but can't comprehend why she loves Kira instead of him. He also can't understand why she chooses to defy the Destiny Plan, despite her very clearly explaining why she does. Additionally, he's completely oblivious to Ingrid's romantic feelings towards him until his final moments.
Trivia[]
- Orphee's name might came from Orfevre, which meant "goldsmith" in French. It is also possible that the name referred to Studio Orphee, an animation company founded by Tomohiro Chiba, the creator of SEED Astray franchise.
- Orphee's personality beared a resemblance to Lord Embryo, the main antagonist of the anime series Cross Ange, another work by Mitsuo Fukuda. While they are god wannabes who though themselves as higher lives, both of them had a short fuse due to their narcissistic nature, also tried to gain love by violence. Orphee, however, found his love interest at the last moment of his life.
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 Villains
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ZAFT Blue Cosmos / Logos Kingdom of Foundation Other | ||