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Sai Saici (ă‚µă‚¤ăƒ»ă‚µă‚¤ă‚·ăƒ¼, Sai SaishÄ«) is a character from the fictional Mobile Fighter G Gundam anime series, and the pilot of the GF13-011NC Dragon Gundam. He is the youngest Gundam Fighter at only 16 years old, and one of the only people of Neo China that still follows the Shaolin Temple after the rest of the members defected to the Chikurn Temple.
He is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi in the original Japanese version and by Zoe Slusar in the English dub.
Personality & Character[]
Following in the footsteps of his father Sai Lonbai and grandfather Sai Feilong, Sai Saici is dedicated to winning the 13th Gundam Fight so that the Shaolin Temple his family was a part of is revived after most of the followers defected to the Neo China Chikurn Temple. Aided by his two guardians, the monks Zuizen and Keiun, Sai attempts to perform this. Other than that, he initially is more laid back and relaxed in his behavior, but that doesn't mean he also can be mischievous at times, especially trying to look up Rain's skirt or catch Neo Russia's Nastasha Zabigov bathing naked in a lake. His seriousness of his mission regarding the Shaolin Temple comes to the forefront after finding a letter from his late father, encouraging him to double-down on his training and take it more seriously, even unlocking his own hyper mode and a potentially suicidal ancient Shaolin move called the "Shin Ryuusei Kochouken" (True Comet Butterfly Sword).
History[]
Assigned by the Emperor of Neo China to travel to Earth to participate in the 13th Gundam Fight in the year F.C. 60, on his way to Earth, Sai was separated from Dragon Gundam. The Gundam fell into the hands of a group of bandits, whose leader used Dragon Gundam, alongside his gang's own vehicles, to pillage and raid villages all over Neo China. Sai was left trying to figure out how to get Dragon Gundam back as, per Article 4 of the Gundam Fight, a Gundam Fighter is responsible for the safety of their own Gundam. It is while sleeping in the road one day that he encounters Neo Japan's Gundam Fighter, Domon Kasshu in his Core Lander. Domon gives Sai a lift to the next town, where not only does Sai admit he does not recognize the man in the photo Domon shows him, but once in the next town, Sai puts his cooking skills to use, earning him and Domon some extra cash, moments before the town is raided by the gang that stole Dragon Gundam. In the scuffle that follows, Domon gets his Core Lander stolen by the bandits, forcing him to go after them to retrieve it. Sai ends up playing both sides of the resulting conflict, betraying Domon so he gets captured, but when Domon mentions Zuizen and Keiun, Sai realizes they must have sent Domon to look for him, leading to him busting Domon out later, but then alerting the gang, which was what he wanted, allowing him to intercept the bandit leader before he can climb into Dragon Gundam and knock him out. Once back in control of Dragon Gundam, Sai suits up and agrees to face Domon and his GF13-017NJ Shining Gundam in a match. The match ends in a draw when Domon is about to decapitate Dragon Gundam, but Zuizen and Keiun reveal that Sai wrapped the Gundam's ponytail around Shining Gundam's head, meaning if Domon takes out Dragon Gundam's head, Sai will decapitate Shining Gundam's head in turn, and they will both be disqualified. After that, Sai joins Zuizen and Keiun as they continue on their way to have Sai fight more matches before the finals in Neo Hong Kong.
While in Neo Egypt, Sai finds himself facing the late Dahal Muhammad, a previous Neo Egypt Gundam Fighter who fought Sai's grandfather, Sai Feilong, but was killed by accident, and had been brought back from the dead by the Devil Gundam's DG Cells. Believing that Sai and his Dragon Gundam were Feilong, Dahal wanted a rematch with his rival. Sai managed to beat Dahal twice, but the mummy kept being reanimated by the DG Cells until Domon finally put Dahal back to his eternal slumber with the Shining Finger Sword.
Upon reaching Shinjuku in Tokyo, Sai is captured and infected with DG Cells himself, while Zuizen and Keiun are taken and placed in pods to be infected as well and become Zombie Soldiers of the Devil Gundam's Devil Army. Under the infection of the DG Cells, Sai becomes ruthless and foregoes any of his faith in reviving the Shaolin Temple thanks to the power granted to him by the Devil Gundam. It takes the sacrifice of Master Asia's former Shuffle Alliance allies to purge Sai, along with Chibodee, George, and Argo, of their infections, restoring them to normal, and making Sai the new Ace of Clubs/Club Ace in Domon's Shuffle Alliance.
However, guilt-ridden and devastated at how he threw away his faith and belief in his Shaolin ideals while infected, Sai rekindles his duty to fulfill his original goal. After the Devil Gundam and Master Asia escape Shinjuku to parts unknown, Sai goes with the rest of the Shuffle Alliance to the Guiana Highlands in South America to train. While there, he is wrongly blamed for an attack on the Neo Russia camp orchestrated by the Devil Gundam, and an encounter with Argo after being caught peeping on Nastasha while she bathed in the lake causes Sai to have a PTSD moment regarding the Devil Gundam. After it is discovered that one of the Devil Gundam's Devil Army mobile suits was the guilty party to the assault when Sai faces Argo in the GF13-013NR Bolt Gundam and their fight is interrupted by the same suit, with the situation resolved between Sai and Argo, when the finals approach, Sai heads to Neo Hong Kong with the rest of the Shuffle Alliance while Domon remains behind to deal with the Devil Gundam and Master Asia in the GF13-001NHII Master Gundam, being granted the GF-017NJII God Gundam (Burning Gundam in the English dub) to defeat them and still make the finals before he would have been disqualified.
During the finals, Sai falls for the sister of Neo Denmark's Hans Holger, Cecile Holger, but after he defeats Hans and his GF13-026ND Mermaid Gundam, Cecile has to part ways with Sai as she returns to the Neo Denmark space colony with Hans. Thanks to a stipulation set by Master Asia and Prime Minister Wong Yunfat, Sai has to face Domon in battle before repledging his allegiance to helping Domon destroy the Devil Gundam. It is around this time that Sai finds the letter left to him by his father, Sai Lonbai. Encouraged and motivated by his father's last will and testament, Sai trains harder then ever, especially after learning that the Emperor of Neo China would be watching the battle between Sai and Domon personally, and during the fight, even after Dragon Gundam loses its arms, Sai attains his hyper mode and prepares to use the suicidal Shin Ryuusei Kochouken technique. Domon prepares to finish the fight with his own finisher, but the Emperor intervenes and orders Domon to stand down, before telling Sai that his efforts have moved the Emperor, and he promises to revive the Shaolin Temple if Sai can win the Battle Royale on Lantau Island.
During the Battle Royale, the Devil Gundam reappears, and Sai and Argo come to Domon's aid to help him fight Michelo Chariot and his GF13-055NI Neros Gundam, which then transforms into one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Devil Gundam, the Gundam Heaven's Sword. Argo and Sai provide a way to allow Domon to continue towards the Devil Gundam while they stay behind to deal with Michelo, managing to destroy the Gundam Heaven's Sword, but not without both them and their Gundams being seriously injured and damaged in the process. They recover just in time to see Domon's final clash with Master Asia to determine the victor of the Gundam Fight, the Gundam of Gundams, and Domon emerges victorious, making Neo Japan the winner of the Gundam Fight. Sai and the other Shuffle Alliance members, along with their support crews, watch as Domon spends one last moment with Master Asia, reciting the litany of the School of the Undefeated of the East one last time before Master Asia succumbs to his wounds and terminal illness and dies in Domon's arms, much to his devastation.
After Master Asia and his Master Gundam are laid to rest, Sai and the others watch as Neo Japan's Major Ulube Ishikawa reveals he now possesses the Devil Gundam, and declares war on the rest of the United Colony Federation as he uses the Devil Gundam to turn the Neo Japan colony into the Colony Devil Gundam. After Dragon Gundam is repaired, Sai joins the rest of the Shuffle Alliance in heading into space to stop Ulube, joined by Allenby, Kyral, and the other nations as they rally to help protect Earth. Once inside the Colony Devil Gundam, the Shuffle Alliance encounter Ulube, who faces them in the Grand Master Gundam, fully converting his body to DG Cells in the process. Despite his strength and fighting them individually, Sai and the other Shuffle Alliance members combine their power together into a joint attack to destroy the Grand Master Gundam, clearing the way for Domon to find Rain and put an end to the Devil Gundam for good, even as Ulube taunts them in his final moments that it is useless before his body disintegrates.
Sai prepares as the Grand Master Gundam is resuscitated by the Devil Gundam to fight them again, but then supports Domon in convincing him to tell Rain his true feelings. Once Domon professes his love to Rain, she breaks free of the Devil Gundam's control, reunites with Domon, and together, they see to the end of the Devil Gundam once and for all. Sai escapes with Chibodee, Argo, and George, but then fear Rain and Domon didn't make it, before the God Gundam emerges on Fuunsaiki, triumphant. With the Devil Gundam destroyed once and for all, Sai returns to Earth on the Dragon Gundam, joined by Zuizen and Keiun, who are quick to reprimand him when they find he had a photo of Cecile on him.