Machina Kunagiri

Machina Kunagiri is a playable character in Final Fantasy Type-0, and one of the main characters of the same game. In the storyline, he acts as an outside observer of the game's events.

Appearance and Personality
Machina is a youth with short dark hair and an elegant cloak. Additionally, Machina has emerald green eyes. He is brave and very powerful; traits which had him transferred into the legendary Class Zero. Due to being a recent addition to the ranks of Class Zero, he isn't assigned any number.

Machina is the younger brother of Izana, who died during the invasion by Milites. The two were very close to each other, as Machina is the person who named Izana's chocobo and he shouts at Queen and Ace when they tell him to move on after his brother's death. Despite his great proficiency in magic and his straightforwardness, he is fearful of war.

Story
Machina Kunagiri is a young man who was originally a member of Class Two at the Suzaku Peristylium. Before the start of the game, he crosses paths with his childhood friend Rem Tokimiya whom he has not seen for seven years, unaware that she was in the same school as he was. Together with Rem, he fights the Byakko l'Cie Qun'mi, but they are overpowered when Qun'mi uses Dainsleif's Crystal Jammer which renders them unable to fight back. Ace, Jack, and Seven come to their aid, triggering their first meeting with Class Zero.

Soon after, Machina and Rem become the newest members of Class Zero to aid in defending Rubrum from its invasion by the Milites Empire. At one point, Ace finds Machina at the chocobo stables where the latter feels a sense of nostalgia of the brother he had forgotten when remarking of giving the name "Chichiri" to a chocobo he would raise. After meeting Andoria during Class Zero's stay in Milites, Machina speaks with the Commandant who jogs his memory of Izana and reveals how Arecia and Class Zero are responsible for his brother's death.

The Commandant explains that Machina was transferred into Class Zero in order to report not only their actions, but Arecia's as well. Though offered a chance to leave due to personal reasons, with Rem as a back up, Machina refuses to leave Class Zero and agrees to report anything he finds out. Afterwards, Machina swears in Izana's name that he will become stronger than Class Zero along with protecting Rem at all costs. However, he is apparently unaware of her condition.

After the death of Andoria at the hand of Milites, Celestia suspects Class Zero as the culprits. She attacks Rem and Machina goes to her defense, but is knocked unconscious by a thunder attack. He later wakes in the woods where Class Zero have taken refuge, and is greeted by Rem. Despite his worries, she insists she is unhurt. As the pair meet with Class Zero, Machina feels he is being watched by someone. During a conversation with his classmates, he finally voices his anger at Ace and Queen over Izana's death. Held back by Rem, Machina leaves bitterly while telling Rem that Class Zero is wrong in their logic of not being able to save everyone.

He returns afterwards, but again has the feeling of being watched. Rem smiles as he approaches, grateful that he is not hurt. He apologizes for worrying her. When Ace asks what happened, Machina begins to say something about Milites but is interrupted by Deuce. Soon after, Machina disappears from the Peristylium where his strange behavior and absences begin to worry the members of Class Zero and Rem. Upon his return, 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.

Afterwards, Rem is standing outside the Peristylium when Machina approaches. She is surprised to see him, wondering why he is alone. He asks her why she became a cadet at the academy, to which she replies that she wants to help and be part of Operation Apostle. Machina goes on to say that he doesn't belong within Class Zero. She asks him what he means, replying that so far everybody has been helping each other out. He answers that Class Zero hasn't been helping him at all, then tells her not to worry because he will protect her. When Rem asks what she will say to their classmates, 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.

Machina later finds Qun'mi, with most of her body encased in stone, and asks for the power of a l'Cie so that he can become strong enough to protect Rem. She grants it to him, leaving her mask uncrystallized for him to wear which turns his outfit white. Using his new power and appearance, Machina infiltrates the Milites army as a means of spying on them. During the attack on Milites by the Eidolon Alexander which Caetuna summoned, Machina shields himself and Qator, gaining the general's trust as his Magitek spirits him away.

Afterwards, he is approached by Rem, now a Suzaku l'Cie. With Rem unaware of who he is, the two of them confront each other in battle. In the battle's climax, Machina is thrown into a wall and his mask slips off just as Rem rushes forward to attack. She is impaled on his rapier and reaches out to him, saying his name before falling to the ground. He cries out in anguish, then kneels down beside her. Machina apologizes for attacking her, saying that he only became a l'Cie because he was afraid of losing Rem and being left alone. Before she dies, Rem forgives him and tells him not to forget her.

Before Class Zero faces off against Cid, they find Machina and Rem crystallized together. Sometime later, after helping their classmates in spirit to defeat Cid, 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 for judging them before Rem touches his arm and enables him to let go as the two stand looking out over the war torn remains of Rubrum. Years later, at age sixty-seven, Machina wrote down the events of the war to ensure his Class Zero classmates would never be forgotten.

This act would influence Arecia, who was curious on how Class Zero changed the world's fate, to remove the crystals from Oriense's history and thus ensuring that Ace and everyone else would not die. Waiting for Ace to finish his studying, a bored Machina tries to convince him to go out 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.

In Battle
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 Sight function.

His basic attack is Bolt Rapier, which triggers multiple attacks on the enemy and often ends deadly.

Special Abilities

 * Spin Drive: Drills into an enemy and deals a high amounts of damage.
 * Assault Mode: Completely recovers HP, 2x boost to both attack and movement speed; changes standard attacks to Rush Blade. If damage is taken the effect is removed.
 * Drain Sword: A technique that drains an enemy's HP while attacking.
 * Sword Field: Summons a torrent of blades that spin around Machina like a cyclone.
 * Stun Blade: Damage and inflicts stun on an target.
 * Darkside: Strike multiple targets, draining HP and simultaneously inflicting stun all around.
 * Sonic Charge: Machina's Trinity Attack.

Musical Themes
Machina's theme, fittingly named "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.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Machina appears on promotional card for Final Fantasy Trading Card Game depicting him standing in the flames.

Etymology
"Machina" is Latin for machine. In particular, Machina's name is taken from the Latin expression "Deus ex Machina", which translates for "A god from the machine". This expression is commonly used to refer to a sudden and surprising situation-turning event, specifically in the fields of representation and literature.

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 cover holding Rem in his arms.
 * Machina and Eight are the only males of Class Zero who are not blond.
 * Machina shares his Japanese voice actor with Letty and Gatta from Final Fantasy X, & Koji Minamoto from Digimon Frontier.