Machina Kunagiri

Machina Kunagiri is a playable character in Final Fantasy Type-0. He is a newly added member of Class Zero who wields a pair of rapiers. He is brave and powerful; traits which had him transferred into Class Zero. Due to being a recent addition to the ranks of Class Zero, he isn't assigned a number.

Appearance
Machina is a seventeen-year-old boy with dark hair and green eyes. He wears a long black jacket, a red cloak and white trousers. In his summer uniform he keeps the cloak and wears a white short-sleeved shirt with a black print on the side and black stripes at the cuffs, black gloves and trousers. His formal uniform has a white cloak and gloves, red jacket with black cuffs, and black trousers with silver decoration at the bottom. There is always a Vermilion Bird symbol on the left side of his shirt or jacket.

Machina's l'Cie outfit has a yellow and white mask that covers the majority of his face. His shirt and cloak are yellow and white and his sleeves are black and he wears white pants. His l'Cie mark is located on his right shoulder.

Personality
Machina is the younger brother of Izana Kunagiri who died during the invasion by Militesi. The two were close, as he was the one who named Izana's chocobo and becomes furious at Queen and Ace when told to move on after his death. Despite great proficiency in magic and his straightforwardness, Machina fears war. As Rem Tokimiya's childhood friend, Machina is protective of her. Knowing that a brother he loved is gone as well as his memories of him, Machina fears death and becoming forgotten, Rem being the only person in the world that would remember he existed and had a life in the little village they both grew up in.

Final Fantasy Agito
In Final Fantasy Agito, Machina is a member of Class Second and dons an indigo blue mantle.

He can be found in the Ready Room during the morning, afternoon and evening.

Final Fantasy Type-0
When Machina and Rem's village was attacked by the Militesi Empire, the two took refuge in Machina's home. Machina's mother hid them in a closet while Milites soldiers invaded the house, and the children witnessed Machina's mother being shot. A soldier discovered them, but the two escaped through a window. They ran away and stopped on a hill, looking back to watch their village burn.

Machina is a member of Class Two at Akademeia. A year ago he crossed paths with his childhood friend, Rem, whom he has not seen for seven years, unaware she was in the same school. Agito Cadets trained by participating in combat simulations against their classmates, and during an experimental inter-class drill, Machina and Rem were selected as representatives for their respective classes. They were surprised to see each other for the first time in seven years, and having to square off in combat.

From that day forth the two spent time together before and after lectures. During the siege of the peristylium by the Militesi Empire, Machina's brother Izana was upon the casualties. Machina and Rem attempt to fight the White Tiger Crystal l'Cie, Qun'mi, but are overpowered when Qun'mi uses Dáinsleif's crystal jammer to disable their magic. Ace, Jack, and Seven come to their aid.

The invasion is repelled as Class Zero destroys the crystal jammers and defeats Qun'mi, and Machina and Rem become its newest members to aid in defending Rubrum from the empire. As Class Zero cadets are the only ones who withstand the effects of a crystal jammer, the administration decides to begin deploying them to battle. Machina and Rem meet at the school's cemetery where they discuss the Vermilion Bird Crystal removing the memories of the dead from the living, and how Machina cannot recall his brother although he is aware he died on the battlefield despite not being officially deployed. After being promoted to Class Zero Machina tries to read the combat reports at the library to find out more about his brother's death, but they are confidential.

Machina visits the chocobo stables where he feels a sense of nostalgia of Izana when remarking the name "Chichiri" would be a good name to a chocobo. Class Zero is deployed to help retake the Rubrum Region from the empire, and after a mission Ace overhears Arecia Al-Rashia, the Sorcery Division archsorceress and Class Zero's benefactor, and the commandant of the Rubrum legionaries, Suzuhisa Higato, arguing over her decision to deploy Izana only because Ace had asked for it. This is news to Ace, and when Machina asks if something is the matter Ace cannot bring himself to tell Machina about Izana's fate being his fault.

Machina and Rem later reminisce about their childhood. She tells him that she still keeps the Knowing Tags of all the people from their village and Machina, suddenly saddened, wishes he had been stronger to protect their village. Rem comments that they were only children, so there was nothing they could do. She asks if he remembers vowing to become a strong soldier to protect her, and he hasn't forgotten. Rem teases him by reminding him of when he asked her to become his wife, and Machina, embarrassed, says that he was only a child back then. She pretends to be offended.

Class Zero is deployed on many missions to retake the areas conquered by the Empire. Despite having been one of the best of Class Second, Machina finds he no longer stands out in Class Zero. It makes him insecure, but also motivates him to try harder to prove himself, and his classmates find him a useful addition to the group. After returning from the mission to liberate Iscah, Machina confronts Rem on the Akademeia Terrace. She is coughing but plays it off as if it is nothing. Machina begs Rem to tell him the truth about the severity of her illness, but she evades him.

When the cadets are sent to sabotage the imperial magitek armor program they get orders to cease fire due to a newly wrought armistice mid-mission. The cadets' commanding officer, Kurasame Susaya, travels to the imperial capital as Chancellor Khalia Chival VI's aide and negotiates for the cadets' safety, and afterward explains the situation to them: the empire had proposed peace before the cadets' mission was underway, but they could not contact them in time to halt it. The cadets disagree with the treaty, especially Machina, positing that the empire has no right to ask for peace for being the initial aggressor, but Kurasame says that cadets are dismissed and can visit the imperial capital if they so wish before their next mission.

The cadets meet Queen Andoria who explains that peace is the Will of the Crystals, and that if the cadets oppose it, it would only lead to Tempus Finis, and points out the cadets as "the final cog." Machina struggles accepting that what they have been fighting for is against the Crystal's will, and the queen speaks to him under her breath so no one else can hear. After she leaves, Queen asks what she said, but Machina only shakes his head and says it was something about "a choice" but that it didn't make sense to him. Afterward Machina talks with Rem who still insists to being fine.

Machina is called away to speak with the commandant who jogs his memory of Izana and reveals how Arecia and Class Zero are responsible for his brother's death, as they had had Izana's mission changed during the campaign. The commandant explains that Machina was transferred into Class Zero to report on the cadets' and Arecia's actions. Though offered a chance to leave due to personal reasons with Rem as a back up, Machina refuses to leave the job to her and agrees to report anything he finds out. He swears in Izana's name to become stronger than Class Zero and that he will protect Rem at all costs. Unknown to him this was the reason Machina was promoted to Class Zero: To exploit his fear of being powerless to save people he was made to see how weak he is in comparison to his classmates. The Commandant merely wants to use Machina to bring about Arecia's downfall, and uses the threat of leaving Rem alone should Machina fail in his espionage, knowing Machina would do anything for her. After Machina leaves the hotel he senses something weird, but when Seven asks him about it he tells her it is none of her business.

Queen Andoria is assassinated and the cadets are blamed for it. The class is ambushed at the hotel and the the activation of a crystal jammer alerts Machina and Rem to the danger. The class orderly, Aria Luricara, is shot. Rem wants to tend to her but Machina urges her to abandon Aria or they would all be killed. The cadets fight through the city to make their escape while unable to contact Central Command. Queen highlights it being odd they had been given leave in Ingram rather than have them sent back to Akademeia, and Machina becomes upset at the possibility they had been left behind on purpose. Rem calms him down, saying they must seek out the answers later. During their trek through the train tunnels Rem gets dizzy and tries to hide it. Queen says they can't stop for one person, angering Machina.

They are accosted by Celestia, Queen Andoria's aide, who suspects Class Zero as the assassins, and knocks out Machina when he attempts to protect Rem. He wakes up in a deserted house in the woods where Class Zero have taken refuge, and finds Rem unharmed. Machina has an eerie feeling they are being watched. The others explain they convinced Celestia of their innocence and she gave them passage away from the city, Machina being carried away unconscious by the others. Machina voices his anger at Ace and Queen over Izana's death and is told he should get over it as they have bigger things to worry about: they still can't contact Central Command. Machina storms off in frustration to patrol the area after Rem tries to hold him back. Machina finds Qun'mi, with most of her body encased in stone, and asked for the power of a l'Cie so that he could become strong enough to protect Rem. She granted it to him, leaving her mask uncrystallized for him to wear which turned his outfit white.

The morning comes yet Machina still hasn't returned. As the others get ready to leave him behind he shows up, cheering Rem, who asks if he is okay. When asked what happened, Machina mentions "the White Tiger," but is cut off when Deuce exclaims the COMM is working and she has reached the dominion. Soon after, Machina frequently disappears from the peristylium and his strange behavior and absences begin to worry the members of Class Zero, especially Rem. Upon his return at one point, he finds her talking with Cater and Trey. When Cater nudges him playfully, Machina slaps her hand away and snaps that he will protect Rem. Rem expresses her worry at his uncharacteristic aggression, but he says again that he will protect her. What the others did not know was that Machina used his status as a l'Cie to infiltrate the Militesi army as a means of spying on them. He was also present during the army's defeat by the Eidolon Alexander which Caetuna summoned, protecting himself and Qator before they escaped.

After the defeat of the Militesi army, Machina is standing outside the Peristylium and remembering his hometown when Rem approaches him. When he asks Rem why she became a cadet at the academy, he sees they both wanted to be part of Operation Apostle and become stronger people. However, Machina feels he doesn't belong within Class Zero as he feels that they have been helping him more then he helps them. He then continues to say that he will become stronger and that she doesn't need to worry because he will protect her. When Rem tells him that he can talk to her and Class Zero if something is worrying him, Machina avoids the question by telling her she'd better return inside because the wind is cold. Although Rem is hurt by his decision, Machina leaves the school to resume his secret activities.

When Finis commences, Machina is approached by a Rem after she became a new Vermilion Bird l'Cie who is obeying the Crystal's orders to destroy the White Tiger l'Cie. Forced to fight Rem as the battle reaches its climax, Machina's mask is knocked off after he is thrown into a wall and watches a shocked Rem intentionally impale herself on his rapier upon recognizing his face while charging at him. Realizing what he had done, an anguished Machina knelt down beside the dying Rem and pleas forgiveness while stating his reasons of becoming a l'Cie and not wanting to be alone in the world without her. Before she died, Rem told him not to forget her. In his despair, he entered crystal stasis with Rem.

By the time Class Zero arrives prior to face off against Cid, they find the crystallized Machina and Rem. As Class Zero refused to become l'Cie themselves to face Cid, a new future is presented as Machina and Rem help their classmates defeat Cid in spirit. Sometime later, Arecia arrives and revives them. Returning to the Peristylium with Rem, Machina is horrified to find all members of Class Zero dead as the price of defeating Cid. Machina cries while apologizing and Rem touches his arm comfortingly. He squeezes her hand as the two stand looking out over the war torn remains of Rubrum.

Eventually, as the nations' crystals lose their power, Machina manages to rally all of Orience's people under him and founded a new age for the world where reliance on the crystals is no longer needed. Years later, at age sixty-seven and married to Rem, Machina wrote down the events of the war to ensure his Class Zero classmates would never be forgotten. He died soon after with a smile on his face.

In an alternate ending, created by Arecia removing the crystals from Orience's past, the war never occurred with both Class Zero and Izana among those given a second chance of life. As a result, without his brother's death to drive a wedge between them, Machina becomes good friends with Ace. Waiting for Ace to end his studying, a bored Machina tries to convince him to take a break so they can go and have some fun, which Ace refuses as he wants to prepare for the next semester. However, a stubborn Machina refuses to accept no as an answer and drags Ace out of the library.

Gameplay
Machina dual-wields a pair of distinct drill-shaped rapiers in battle. Unlike Rem, he favors melee fighting, and his battle style is based on chaining fast combos, which enables him to exploit the Kill Site function.

Equipment
Machina's exclusive accessory is the "Pluviale", which increases his Defense by 30 and nullifies all weather and terrain effects.


 * Bolt Rapiers
 * Argentic Rapiers
 * Clockwork Blades
 * Platinum Rapiers
 * Rune Rapiers
 * Mecha-Rapiers
 * Ryujin Rapiers
 * Corkscrew Blades
 * Mythril Rapiers
 * Twin Lævateinns
 * Flametongues
 * Icebrands
 * Thunderslashes
 * Twin Durandals
 * Dreadnaughts
 * Twin Excaliburs (ultimate weapon)

Support Personnel
Some Support Personnel characters in Final Fantasy Type-0 HD appear as Machina: Hiroshi Kamiya (Machina's Japanese VA), Kenichiro Yuji (Battle Director), Masato Kogure (Publicity Staff), and Yoshinori Kitase (Producer).

Voice
Machina's Japanese voice actor is Hiroshi Kamiya, while in the English version he is voiced by Bryce Papenbrook. He shares his Japanese voice actor with Letty and Gatta from Final Fantasy X, and his English voice actor with Zidane Tribal from Dissidia Final Fantasy and Tiz Arrior from Bravely Default.

Musical Themes
Machina's leitmotif, self-titled "Machina Kunagiri", is a slow and melancholic tune with heavy guitar and drums, and an electric guitar line. It also exists in an arranged version. The arranged version replaces its rock feel with a much more rueful melody of piano and strings.

Additionally, he has another theme, "Machina and Rem", that he shares with Rem, and is essentially a song that combines his theme with Rem's. His theme is also rearranged in the tracks "Apostles of the Crystal" and "Human Strengths and Weaknesses", and can be heard as part of the track "Type-0".

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call
Machina appears as an unlockable character, and is unlocked by collecting Purple Crystal Shards.

He is an Offense and Defense oriented character.

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
Machina appears as a Legend in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade.

Ability Cards=


 * -|Legend Cards=

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Twitter Battle
Machina appears as a playable character in the Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Twitter Battle sponsored by Amazon. His attacks are Bolt Rapiers and Thunder.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Machina appears on different cards in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game. His cards are ice-elemental.

Etymology
In particular, Machina's name is taken from the Latin expression "Deus ex Machina."

Trivia

 * Machina appears on the 500th cover of Dengeki PlayStation magazine with Noctis Lucis Caelum, Lightning, Serah Farron, Noel Kreiss, and Rem. He also appears on the cover of the 505th magazine holding Rem in his arms.
 * Machina and Eight are the only males of Class Zero who are not blond.
 * Interestingly, Machina's l'Cie brand is yellow as opposed to other White Tiger l'Cie, whose are green in colour