Character Index
| Bang Freiheit Technical Data バン・フライハイト | |
|---|---|
| |
| Name Note: | English Name: Van Flyheight
Freiheit: "Freedom" (German) |
| Series: | Zoids Chaotic Century |
| Story Debut: | Episode 1 (Anime)
Chapter 1 (Manga) |
| Age: | 14 (Young)
* 17 in dub
16 ~ 18 (Older) |
| Allegiance: | Guardian Force
Helic Republic |
| Primarily Featured: | Zoids (Anime)
Machine Beast New Century Zoids (Manga) |
| Related Characters: |
Fine (Traveling Companion) Raven (Rival) Irvine (Traveling Companion) Moonbay (Traveling Companion) Thoma (Traveling Companion) Rudolph (Traveling Companion) Dan Freiheit (Father) Maria Freiheit (Sister) |
| Primary Zoid(s): |
Blade Liger AB Blade Liger BS Shield Liger BS |
| Secondary Zoid(s): |
Guysack Stinger Spec. Helcat Tirol Spec. Rev Raptor Silver Pteras |
| Voice Actor: | Daisuke Kishio (Japanese) Matthew Erickson (English) |
| Story Information | |
|---|---|
| Role: | Introduction: |
|
Bang's one of the best-known protagonists featured in the Zoids franchise, having been featured in its first full-length anime, the Zoids anime of 1999. He's a spirited young man who grew up wanting to become a Zoid pilot like his father, always dreaming of finding a Zoid partner of his own.
[1]
|
- History
* For the sake of scroll length this history represents a compressed version of everything Bang got up to in the anime. Please see his anime-specific profile for the full-length version, including individual minor battles.
Episode 1 ~ 2, Introduction
Bang's story started when he was attacked while exploring the Elemia Desert. After seeking refuge in some ruins he realized that the attack had opened a new passageway. He followed it to find two mysterious capsules, the first of which contained a wild Zoid, the Organoid, Sieg. This was the start of Bang's adventure, and his dream of becoming a Zoid pilot, something that'd been dear to him since the death of his father when he was young.
In the process of fighting the bandits Sieg would fuse to the remains of an abandoned Shield Liger, granting Bang his first Zoid. He then returned to the second capsule, finding it contained a young Ancient Zoidian girl named Fine. After taking them both back to his village he realized that there would be no end to the bandits hunting for Sieg, so chose to leave and start his own adventure, ensuring nobody else in his home village would be harmed over Sieg.
Episode 2 ~, Start of a Journey
Along his journey Bang would meet a number of friends, including the mercenary Irvine (who happened to want to steal Sieg) and the transporter, Moonbay. His travels would take him to the Republican Army, where he'd work to fight against the invading Empire. He even defeated Raven's Saber Tiger, a vicious Zoid known for taking out entire platoons, and helped to defend New Helic City. There were occasions where his determination to prove his worth as a Zoid pilot directly endangered or hurt his Organoid, Sieg.
Episode 21 ~ 34, Saving The Emperor
When Bang's group met Rudolph, the crowned prince of the Empire, they learned that there was a conspiracy being spearheaded by his regent, Prozen, who intended to have him killed. They offered to help him return to Guygalos, the capital city, protecting him along the way. This even came at the dire cost of Bang's Shield Liger, which in an attempt to fight Raven, who'd had Rudolph kidnapped by his Organoid, Shadow, took a direct particle cannon hit to the Zoid Core. His Zoid was evolved into the Blade Liger by Sieg, and rejoined the fight against the Empire. In this newly-evolved form it defeated Raven's Geno Saurer, who stood in the way of their return to Guygalos. When they finally reached the capital the situation devolved into all-out war, and with the help of his friends Bang was able to destroy Prozen's Death Saurer, becoming renowned as a hero.
Episode 35 ~, Guardian Force
After the end of the war Bang became the student of Colonel Krueger, training under him for a year. When Krueger retired he returned to his home village, reuniting with Fine and Dr. D along the way. In the Wind Colony he'd fight against a new enemy; a red Organoid, starting the beginning of a long and ominous war campaign against Hiltz and his forces. About this time he was also introduced to the Guardian Force, a joint task force established by the Republic and Empire for the express purpose of defeating rogue agents who would use Zoids to senselessly instigate war.
Episode 37 ~, New Enemies
Bang's job with the Guardian Force would bring him to meet new mysterious enemies, such as Rease, an Ancient Zoidian girl and her Organoid Specular, who together could control the minds of people and Zoids alike. The more they looked into these apparent fringe groups the more ominous the story got. Ruins depicting mysterious Zoids that'd been excavated, violent organized attacks on both military and civilian establishments, experimentation on Zoid cores, and more. He even discovered that Raven, thought to have died in the Geno Saurer battle years before was still alive and working with the mysterious group behind all of these attacks. Raven was fully revitalized as a threat to the Guardian Force when, through this group, he gained access to another Geno Saurer and eventually evolved it into the Geno Breaker, one of the most powerful Zoids Bang had ever encountered.
Episode 57 ~, A New Threat
The culmination of all these violent attacks was the research into a new ultra-violent scorpion Zoid, the Death Stinger. Piloted by Hiltz it became the worst threat Planet Zi had faced in the modern era. It destroyed armies and cities alike, carving a path through every location Bang and his friends had visited in an attempt to undermine their entire journey. When the Republic was forced to abandon their capital city to the monstrous Zoid they pulled back to Wendeen Lake, where the Ultra Saurus became the new final weapon to fall back on. Bang would protect this Zoid on numerous occasions, sometimes even fighting the Death Stinger with no support outside of Irvine and Thoma. Thanks to their efforts on the field, they were eventually able to pin down the Death Stinger and defeat it using the Ultra Saurus's Gravity Cannon.
Episode 65 ~, The Zoid Eve
When Fine mysteriously disappeared Bang followed Sieg's guidance, the Organoid seeming to know where she was at. They traveled to the valley of the Rare Hertz, which turned out to be the site of Zoid Eve, the life source of all Zoids on the planet. Bang fought against the Death Stinger, which had been revived by Ambient, and even bested Hiltz in combat before he as well retreated back to the city of Eveopolis. At the Zoid Eve they discovered an entombed Death Saurer. Once it came to life, Fine began preparing to shut down the Zoid Eve, feeling that ending the lives of the Zoids was better than allowing such senseless wars to continue. However, at the last second, Bang begged her for a chance to defeat the Death Saurer himself. He and his Blade Liger were fired out of the Gravity Cannon, which had expended all of its ammunition. With the force of the blast they were able to use the E-Shield to punch through the Death Saurer's armor, killing the Zoid and saving Zi once again.
- Notable Facts
- Bang's name was created based on the 'Ban' in "Yaban" (meaning barbarian/uncivilized) by Ueyama, the artist of the manga. [2]
- The Zoids Chaotic Century anime and the Machine Beasts New Century ZOIDS manga (not to be confused with NC0, it's still CC based) began somewhere around the same time. Though they started out almost identical in story and concept, because their production schedules were different they quickly diverged towards different paths after the first episode/chapter, giving Bang and other key characters radically different storylines.
- In the Zoids Battle Story lore, it was theorized by fans that Bang could be the yellow Leomaster. This rumor originated from the Shield Liger BLOX, which mentioned him in the story segment and included a yellow Leomaster decal. Some semi-official media (doujins by the card game staff) and the much later-released Official Fan Book 5 would confirm that the yellow Leomaster was Amy Ishikawa.
- Bang is said to be 14 in Episode 2, but Guardian Force has an unknown time skip. Most Japanese sources agree that Guardian Force took place 2 years later, but it certainly seems like a larger skip given the character growth in that time. An interview in anime magazine AX, featuring the director of the anime estimated a roughly 4-year age gap, which would better match the changes.
- Bang almost became Raven's brother, as when Raven was a kid he was discovered by Dan Freiheit's unit. Dan had intended to bring him home to live with their family, feeling that it'd be good for both boys to have someone their age to play with. Unfortunately, Bang's father was killed before this could happen, leaving Raven to fall into the hands of the Empire.
- Merchandise
Model Kits
 |
RZ-028 Blade Liger |
 |
Blade Liger |
 |
Shield Liger |
 |
Blu-Ray Box Blade Liger Limited Ver. |
 |
HMM-016 Ltd Blade Liger AB Bang Ver. |
 |
HMM-029 Shield Liger Bang Ver. |
 |
AZ-01 Blade Liger |
 |
AZ-04 Shield Liger |
 |
RMZ-001 Blade Liger |
 |
RMZ-013 Shield Liger Bang Spec. |
- Zoids
Blade Liger BS
Bang's most well-known Zoid is the Blade Liger. Regardless of how he gets it, it seems to be the Zoid he always pilots without fail across the various media. In his case, this Zoid is the evolution of a Shield Liger, brought on by the fusion of an Organoid. It has significant upgrades to its booster and E-Shield.
Shield Liger BS
His first Zoid in the anime was the Shield Liger, particularly one without the standard tail gun. An abandoned machine found in the Elemia Desert near the ruins where he'd discovered Sieg and Fine. It was revived by the Organoid, and became the Zoid that he began his journey with.
Media Appearances
Anime Media: Zoids Anime
Game Media: Zoids Bonds of Steel
Game Media: Zoids Saga I
Game Media: Zoids Saga II
Game Media: Zoids Saga Fuzors
Game Media: Zoids Saga DS: Legend of Arcadia
Game Media: Zoids VS I
Game Media: Zoids VS II
Game Media: Zoids VS III
- Notes
1. All information, unless stated otherwise, is from the character's primarily featured media.
2. Michiro Ueyama's (the manga artist and original character designer for Bang) old website.
