Meia Gisborn

Meia Gisborn is the stoic, silent leader of the Mejeer Pirate's Dread Team. She is one of the three pilot whose Dreads were exposed to Paexis' light during the start of the series.

Biography
Meia Gisborn, at first, has the behavior of an Amazon, she detests men and is sickened whenever Hibiki saves her. She rarely smiles (only doing so a few times on cacamiel the first season and the second season (Second Stage), including the time she smiled when she had to babysit Ezra’s baby, Karu, as well as during the final fight with the enemy). She suffers from claustrophobia and has a traumatic past. As a young girl, the life support systems on her home quadrant failed, a new system that her “Ohma” (Woman-Father) had personally designed, thus there was a system-wide failure that forced a sudden mass evacuation. She lost her mother when she pushed her aboard the last ship off the quadrant amongst the crowds trying to get on. Alone, she resorted to a life of crime and street fights to make a living, due to the insecurity she felt from people blaming her parents for the catastrophe, as well as slowly losing the will to live. She often holds a sample marked “A6” close to her which is presumably a research sample from her mother’s work.

She joined the pirates when Magno Vivan appeared and tossed a laser ring to her, telling her if she wanted to die so badly, she can try dying doing something cool. With a new will to live, she gained ranks quickly. As squadron commander, she leads the other Dreads in battle and is usually called “Leader” or “Chief” by others. Despite her stoic and strict nature, everyone looks up to and appreciates Meia and normally tries to throw a surprise birthday party for her. However, she despises such occasions and once she flew off in her Dread to scout ahead of the Nirvana, just so that she would not be irritated by the crew. Despite her initial hatred for men, she ends up respecting Hibiki for his strong spirit, even noticing their similarities, they are both trying to prove their own existence. As the series progresses she also learns how to express her true feelings, realizing that the love that her Mother and Ohma had for her was strong, as well as she should pass it forward.

In the manga, Meia is the acting captain of the Nirvana.

Personality
The initial episodes of Vandread shows Meia as a morose, silent crew of Nirvana. She rarely smiles (the couple of times could be counted in one hand), and only speaks when spoken too, unless she was reporting to the Captain or issuing orders. At the beginning it was shown that she despises men and was disgusted of herself when she needs help from them. Along with the time, this hatred fades and she developed a strong bond with Hibiki based on the respect both of them had for each other. Her unfeeling, cold person was caused by her bitter past, and has caused her to avoid being close to someone in fear of being hurt. Thanks to the warm atmosphere in the Nirvana and the arrival of Kahlua and Misty, she softened up, and by the end of the series had changed into a kinder person, to her old team-mate's surprise.

As the Chief/Leader of Nirvana's Dread Team, she shoulders a heavy responsibility when in battle. She kept a close eye on the apprentice pilots (especially Dita) and held great concern to her team's safety (she even used her Dread as a decoy to lure the enemies away from Dita and Jura). Her quick thinking and sharp mind earned her the crew's respect.

Unknown to the others, except for Duerro, Meia suffers from claustrophobia.

History
In the past, her Ouma abandoned her and her Fama after getting involved in a scandal. The 2 of them then live under the blame and scrutiny of the public regarding her Ouma's mistake. A short while later, a sudden system failure in their living unit forced a mass evacuation. This is when Meia lost her mother, who was left behind with the adults due to the capacity of the evacuation ships. She was left to witness an explosion which devoured her mother and the other adults who were left behind.

Since the incident, Meia was left alone to survive in the streets in her new unit. She then led a life of gangsters and street fights until the point where she met up with Magno Vivan, who recruited her as a pirate.

Weapons
When her Dread unites with Hibiki’s Vanguard, they become the Vandread Meia-type, the incredibly high-speed “White Wing”, which resembles an American Silver Eagle. Its main, as well as only known, form of attack is a high-velocity ram that pierces nearly all enemy units in its path.

Meia’s silver dread is the fastest dread Nirvana has. As one of the three that were exposed to Paexis' light, when merged with Hibiki’s Vanguard her dread becomes a Vandread that was known as Vandread-Meia or the ”White Wing“. It is shaped like a silver eagle and is the fastest mecha seen in the series. With its immense speed and maneuverability, it can easily dodge all attacks, and it attacks opponents with its speed by piercing through opponents. This Vandread represents speed.

When not in her Dread, Meia's weapon is a laser ring which was given to her by the Captain.

Trivia

 * First Appearance: Vandread, Episode 01, "Boy Meets Girl".
 * She was voiced by Fumiko Orikasa for the Japanese Dub and Julie Ann Taylor for the English Dub.
 * Meia Gisborn and Dita Liebely make cameo appearances in other anime Stratos 4. Episode 8, Go Gate were these 2 girls walk in the festival.