- "We have the same mentality"
"That's my line" - —Merda Ditz and Lt. Susumu Kodai[8]
Merda Ditz (MERDA DITZ, Merda Ditz)[9][10] is a Garmillan fighter pilot serving in the military of the Great Garmillas Empire and the daughter of Admiral Gul Ditz, Supreme Commander of the Garmillas Astro Fleet. During the Great Garmillas War, she played a central role in building friendly relations between Garmillans and Earthlings and became an important member of her father's rebellion against the tyrannical rule of Leader Abelt Desler over the empire.
After the end of the war, she served as a royal attendant to the Iscandarian royal family and took part in the fight against Dezarium during the Iscandar Incident.
Biography[]
Early life and service[]
Merda Ditz was born into a Garmillan family with a long history of military service with her father, Admiral Gul Ditz, serving as Supreme Commander of the Great Imperial Garmillas Astro Fleet under the rule of Leader Abelt Desler. She joined the Great Garmillas Empire's military at a young age, eventually becoming an ace pilot. She was assigned to the Galactic Theater's 707th Air Corps during the Great Garmillas War fought between the empire and the United Nations of Earth. She served under Lt. Colonel Kaulles Helder[11] and eventually attained the rank of Lower Storm Leader.[2]
Among the Enemy[]
Ditz was assigned to the battlecruiser EX-178 as a fighter pilot when the ship became lost inside a dimensional fault in March of 2199. Her ship encountered an enemy vessel trapped inside the void with them, the Earth battleship Yamato. Under orders from the ship's captain, Lt Colonel Lang, Ditz flew her personal Czvarke fighter to Yamato under a flag of truce to relay a plan that would allow the two vessels to escape. Once aboard, she was escorted by the Earthlings to meet with the enemy captain, Admiral Juzo Okita, and his Tactics Officer Susumu Kodai. A robot initially tried to act as an interpreter for her, she dismissed him as his Garmillas was difficult to understand and instead activated her translator. She immediately asked for confirmation that she was aboard the Yamato, as their plan required the battleship's unique wave-motion energy weapon to create a temporary opening into normal space.[2]
She sat down at a table with Kodai and introduced herself. Noticing Terran's skin color, she explained that there were people within the empire's territory without her blue skin, describing them as inferior races integrated within the Garmillas Empire as second-class citizens. This irritated Kodai, who asked her if she was truly there to negotiate. She was quick to reply, asking whether she should trust someone who brought a gun to a negotiation. She scoffed and sarcastically stated that the Earthlings had been so bloodthirsty that they had started the war without a formal declaration. This prompted another Earthling, the pilot Akira Yamamoto, to angrily deny her claim, but Ditz stood her ground, swearing by her family's honor that she was telling the truth.[2]
Kodai removed his gun from its holster and placed it on the table and Ditz made her proposal. The Tactics Officer angrily replied that firing the Wave-motion Gun would leave Yamato out of energy, but she calmly replied that the EX-178 would then tow the Earthlings through the passage. She stated that they needed the weapon and that Yamato needed to be towed out meaning neither of them could survive without the other's help. She stayed behind as Kodai discussed with the other officers, and thanked him in relief when he informed her that her proposal had been accepted by Admiral Okita.[2]
As the operation began, she remained aboard Yamato as a liaison, staying in the meeting room under Yamamoto's supervision. She noticed the Terran's red necklace, and commented on the beauty of its color, although she deemed red inferior to Garmillas' noble blue. Yamamoto replied that red was the color of her homeland as well as her color, prompting Ditz to say that the stone seemed to be important to her. The other coldly replied that the same was true for Kodai and his gun, replying to her confusion that both were mementos of their loved ones, who had been killed in action by the Garmillans.[2]
As Yamato's lights went out, she noted that her plan was underway. However, after the Wave-motion Gun had been fired, the towing cables linking the two ships were suddenly cut, greatly shocking her. Yamamoto drew her gun and pointed it at Ditz, calling her their enemy. Seeing she hesitated to shoot her, Ditz asked her to fire if she truly believed that, but before Yamamoto could do it, she disarmed her. The two wrestled on the floor trying to reach for the weapon, and Ditz ultimately managed to come out on top. She pointed the gun at her opponent, but then decided to return it to her, stating that two pilots didn't need to have that between them. At the same time, with the towing beams having reconnected Yamato and EX-178, the two ships returned to normal space. However, a skirmish erupted between the Earth vessel and a Garmillas fleet, during which the EX-178 was sunk by friendly fire. Yamamoto was informed of the situation from the first bridge and relayed it to Ditz, who fell back against a nearby cabinet by the shock.[2]
During her extended stay on Yamato, Ditz was treated as a prisoner of war and was confined to the ship's brig. She submitted to a medical scan, and was interrogated by Kodai, but she refused to divulge anything except her name and ID number. When he asked her if Garmillas had any treaties on POWs she sternly replied that those who surrendered were treated fairly, but those who refused were wiped out. Kodai angrily asked if that was the reason for their indiscriminate bombings of the Earth, but then calmed down and recalled that they had been able to collaborate once. She replied that the Garmillans never break their promises, prompting Kodai to state the same was true for them and that he believed they could trust each other.[7]
Yamamoto later came to her cell and offered to settle their conflict with a duel. They stole the Czvarke and another fighter and fought a dogfight outside Yamato. Ditz proved herself to be the equal of the Earthling ace pilot and the two pursued one another until Yamamoto's fighter suffered a sudden malfunction. Ditz immediately urged her to eject, and then rescued her and brought her back to the ship. Once Yamato came within range of a suspected Garmillas base, Ditz was given several days of provisions and was allowed to depart. Kodai went to bid her farewell, and she asked him if he had thought she'd leave Yamamoto behind. He once again reaffirmed his trust in her, and she asked him to tell her former rival that she thought she had talent. They shook hands and she finally left the battleship.[7] Upon returning to Garmillas territory, she was asked about her experience by her father, but to his frustration she refused share any of it.[12]
The Garmillas Civil War[]
Harsh Truths and New Allies[]
After the apparent death of Leader Abelt Desler, Ditz's father was been arrested and falsely accused of involvement in the assassination, and the Imperial Guard began tightening its grip on the population. One evening, she watched from a distance as Imperial Guard troops herded prisoners aboard a waiting transport, including the wife of a famous general, Elisa Domel. A family broke out of line and attempted to flee, but they were immediately executed and Domel was assaulted for trying to interfere. Ditz was dismayed by what she witnesses, and failed to notice two officers loyal to her father, Lance Larkin and Ortho Dolmen, following her.[13] Weeks later, as she walked toward her unit's headquarters, Ditz witnessed the unlawful arrest of Lt. Colonel Herder by the Imperial Guard. She tried to intervene but was bloked by Larkin and Dolmen.[14]
Ditz joined them and prepared a plan to liberate Admiral Ditz from prison to openly oppose Leader Desler's regime. Under the guise of a special inspection, the three took a warship to the prison planet Leptapoda, where the Admiral was kept prisoner. With collaboration from another loyalist with the prison staff, they liberated the inmates and armed them, initiating a riot that quickly overwhelmed the security force. Amidst the chaos, they captured the prison camp's Warden and his deputy, before freeing Admiral Ditz from his cell. Ditz stood by her father as he assumed command and ordered the surviving guards to surrender.[15]
Surprisingly, after the prison was secured, the Garmillans encountered the space battleship Yamato, which had coincidentally reached Leptapoda during the uprising. Ditz joined her father for a meeting with Yamato's senior staff and the Iscandarian Princess Yurisha Iscandar. While the two sides couldn't reach an agreement, Admiral Ditz decided to leave Merda to serve as a liaison aboard Yamato.[16]
Fighting with the Earthlings[]
Yamato began approaching its final destination, planet Iscandar, Garmillas's twin world. During the journey, Ditz wanted to board one of Yamato's Cosmo Falcon fighters, much to the annoyance of the battleship's fighter squadron commander. Kodai arrived to settle the argument and asked her what her duties aboard Yamato were. When she confirmed that flying one of their planes wasn't part of her tasks, she obeyed, which further annoyed the other pilot. However, another Earthling airman suggested that she should be allowed to fly a Czvarke, which had been captured previously by the battleship. As Ditz sat in the cockpit, Yamamoto asked her if she would be okay with fighting her people, but Ditz replied that Yamato's mission was only to reach Iscandar and that fighting wouldn't be necessary unless they wanted to. She then approached her rival and questioned if she still wanted to destroy her race in revenge.[16]
Their conversation was interrupted by Princess Yurisha, who stated that that was no longer the case. Ditz bowed to her per Garmillan customs and was greatly offended when Yamamoto rudely addressed the royal. She told her not to point at an Iscandarian, but to her surprise, Yurisha was unbothered by it. The three then went to Yamato's cafeteria together where they ordered a special parfait. As they sat down to eat, Yamamoto commented on the love affair between two of her fellow crewmembers, prompting Yurisha to ask if she had anyone special like that, affirming she herself did. Surprised, Ditz asked if it was Kodai, but Yamamoto stated it was impossible. When the princess confirmed that the person she was referring to was not on board the Earthling pilot asked if they were on Iscandar, ignoring Ditz who believed asking too many questions would be rude. Changing the subject, Yurisha urged Ditz to eat her parfait, saying it was delicious. Hesitant, she asked Yamamoto if the dessert was edible, which she snarkily confirmed. Seeing the princess saddened by her reluctance, Ditz obliged and found herself to surprisingly enjoy her food. Her rival informed her she had some on her cheek, embarrassing her. She tried changing the subject to a request she had made to Yamamoto to paint her fighter in red, which the Earthling confirmed had already been dealt with. To her annoyance, Yamamoto continued to laugh at her. When she asked her what she was finding funny, Yurisha commented that she looked cute. Ditz immediately stood up and embarrassedly thanked the Iscandarian, but replied with annoyance when Yamamoto repeated what the Princess had said. Yamamoto changed the topic back to Yurisha’s special someone, asking her if they were waiting for her on Iscandar. Elusively, she simply replied that she had to tell them something once she got back home. Startled, the Earthling asked if she intended to confess, but Ditz cut her off for being too noisy.[16]
Ditz went to the first bridge while Yamato prepared to make its final warp toward Iscandar. She listened to Admiral Okita's speech before the warp and identified the gas giant Epidora, the fifth planet in the Salezar system, as soon as Yamato warped out near it. Soon after arriving in the system, Yamato was attacked by a wave-motion energy weapon fired between Garmillas and Iscandar, but the beam narrowly missed it and hit Epidora instead. In shock, Ditz called out the planet's name as it burned, leaving no trace behind.[17]
After being attacked, Okita changed the battleship's target from Iscandar to Garmillas, intending to fight Desler's forces in his capital. Ditz guided them to the Imperial Capital and the Presidential Office, the Leader's seat of power, as Yamato made it through the planet's atmosphere. However, Desler had the city and fled to a space station in orbit. Yurisha sensed that one of Yamato's crew members, previously captured by the Garmillas Empire, was on board the Leader's escape vessel, and she departed with Kodai to rescue her. Ditz launched in her Czvarke to escort them and took down one of the Garmillan fighters pursuing them. When Kodai was surprised to see her helping them, she simply replied that she was keeping the Iscandarian royal safe. Soon, Yamamoto and the rest of the Earthling pilots joined them. Ditz's rival told her to leave the Garmillan planes to them, but she replied that it was her task too. Eventually, Yurisha and Kodai succeeded in their rescue mission, and with the seeming death of Abelt Desler, the battle came to an end.[17]
Toward a New Garmillas[]
After the end of the battle, Yamato landed on Iscandar. Ditz joined the rest of the ship's pilots on the starboard observation deck and looked in awe at the planet ahead. Later, she went swimming in the blue world's sea with the rest of the crew. A group of crewmates, including her and Yamamoto, dove off the starboard catapult into the ocean underneath. Ditz noticed that the pilot in line before her seemed nervous and pushed him off the catapult with a kick before executing a perfect dive herself. Yamamoto complimented her for her skill, and she replied that it was only natural. They then went swimming below the waterline near Yamato's first bridge.[8]
The following day, Ditz stood alone atop one of Yamato's turrets and pensively watched planet Garmillas in the distance. Yurisha approached her, and she asked aloud where they would go now. Later, they listened as Yamato's internal radio broadcasted a message recorded by a Earthling captured soldier that had crash-landed on Iscandar. On June 27, after 11 days on the planet,[18] Yamato prepared to leave after receiving a device that could cure the damaged Earth. Ditz and Yurisha met with Kodai, Yamamoto, and another Earthling officer on the dock where the battleship was anchored. The Princess announced that she and Ditz would go to Garmillas to help rebuild in the wake of Desler's fall. Ditz and Kodai shook hands, and she reiterated that they shared the same mentality, the same words he had used months prior. She then surprised Yamamoto by shaking hands with her too. Ditz stood on the deck as the battleship departed, watching it leave Iscandar's atmosphere.[8]
Two months later, Ditz joined Yurisha for a meeting with her father, who had been reinstated as commander of the Astro Fleet by the new Garmillas government, and Domel. Domel's rokrohk landed on the Princess's arm, startling Ditz.[19] With the end of the war against the Earth, Ditz went back to Iscandar and became the military attaché to the Iscandarian royal family.[4] In late 2203, six months after the Gatlantis War, she stood by Queen Stasha Iscandar's side as she visited the graveyard outside the Iscandarian capital.[5]
The Iscandar Incident[]
Battle over Garmillas and Iscandar[]
Leader Desler reemerged from his apparent death in 2203, and eventually made peace with the Garmillas Empire[5] which had, in the meantime, transitioned to a democracy.[20] The official government and Desler's loyalists allied in order to find a new home planet for the Garmillas race in place of the dying Garmillas, and eventually located planet Garmann. The world was a near exact copy of Garmillas, but was under the brutal occupation of an interstellar power known as the Bolar Federation. In August of 2205,[6] Desler's fleet and the Garmillas military teamed up to liberate Garmann by force. Ditz realyed the news to Queen Stasha and Yurisha, and informed them that the planet could still be a battlefield by the time the first immigrants reached it. Lowering her head, she stated that, if that was the case, Iscandar would have had to act as temporary shelter.[21]
On October 16,[6] an unknown enemy attacked planet Garmillas with a vast force of spear-like weapons. These weapons attached to the planet's surface and began sending shockwaves to hasten its collapse. Yurisha, Ditz, and Stasha observed the situation from Iscandar. Ditz suggested the two royals take shelter, fearing that the attack could inflict damage on Iscandar too. However, despite her and her sister's worries, Stasha remained still. As a result of the attack, Garmillas collapsed, leaving only a fleet of 100,000 civilian immigrants and Desler and his forces as survivors. The convoy landed on Iscandar to seek shelter, but the planet started to move out of its orbit unnaturally.[22] As the planet's ocean froze, Ditz approached Stasha to request the opening of Sanctel, a large underground vault, to store the civilians. To her surprise, Yurisha opposed the idea, stating that the vault was a sanctuary open only to the royal family, and those who hadn't undergone the correct ritual could not enter it.[23]
Iscandar was artificially warped toward the Vorzon system, but neither Desler's forces nor the alien enemy stopped following the planet. Inside her Czvarke, Ditz sent a transmission to the unidentified force, ordering them to identify themselves, but received no response. As she continued to attempt to contact the enemy, a group of fighters entered the atmosphere and began attacking the civilian ships. Ditz moved in to stop them, but the peculiar movements of the fighters caught her off guard and her plane was hit. Fortunately, she was saved by the arrival of Desler's vanguard, led by Lt. Colonel Fomt Berger. She immediately contacted the Leader's flagship in orbit, begging him to convince Stasha to evacuate the civilians. As the battle turned for the worse, a Wave-motion Shield was suddenly projected to protect the convoy from harm. Ditz looked up to the sky, wondering what had just happened, and soon realized it had been sent by a Earth fleet entering Iscandar's atmosphere, led by the Yamato.[23]
The enemy retreated, and Ditz landed on Berger's carrier, exchanging a salute with Lt. Colonel. Their opponents, now known as Dezarium, were preparing to destroy the nearby planet Garmario to use its energy to warp Iscandar again. The joint Garmillas-Earth forces prepared to intercept them and destroy Garmario before they could use it, and Ditz relayed their plan to Stasha and Yurisha. While the operation succeeded,[24] the Dezarian forces continued to tow Iscandar away and approached the star Vorzon. Ditz joined Leader Desler and Lt. General Ghader Talan, and met with the Earthling commanders, including Kodai. They agreed on a plan to rescue the civilians still in Iscandar. Desler mentioned that there remained a problem of how to deal with Iscandar's royalty. Ditz stepped forward and asked Kodai to try and talk Stasha into leaving, as the Queen had once been romantically involved with his brother. Ditz believed that bond could help convince the monarch, knowing Stasha's resolution to be otherwise unshakable. To her shock, Kodai refused, as he had violated Iscandarian principles by using the Wave-motion Gun in the previous battle. He believed that the Queen wouldn't listen to him. Ditz tried to explain that Stasha understood the necessity of the actions he had taken, but he still refused.[25]
Ditz partook in the operation to rescue the immigrant fleet, joining the joint air forces in an attack using the Instantaneous Material Transporter. Avoiding the Dezarian beam weapons, she was able to hit the bridge of one of the enemy destroyers, confirming they could be sunk more easily than the enemy's larger crafts.[25]
The last stand[]
After the operation failed, Stasha managed to negotiate a ceasefire with the Dezarian commander.[25] The enemy wanted to take control of Iscandar, so Stasha agreed to hand over the planet in exchange for the lives of the immigrants and the Earth-Garmillas forces. However, she secretly planned to self-destruct her world before Dezarium could take it.[26]
Ditz was told to leave the planet along with the convoy. As she exited the atmosphere, she cried in her fighter's cockpit, knowing that Iscandar's destruction would mean the deaths of Stasha and Yurisha.[26] However, Desler launched himself on a suicide mission to stop Dezarium and save Stasha and the remaining joint forces decided to launch a rescue operation for both the Leader and the royal family. Ditz joined the battle and, fighting side by side with Akira Yamamoto, she easily shot down Dezarium's fighters after realizing they only had one flight pattern. The plan succeeded, but Stasha was still forced to destroy her world to take down Dezarium's forces, which meant that neither she nor Yurisha could continue living.[27]
With the conflict now over, Ditz joined the Garmillas' fleets as they made their way to planet Garmann to start anew. She joined Lt. Colonel Berger on the bridge of his flagship, and together they saluted Yamato as the Earthlings began traveling back toward Earth.[27]
Personality and traits[]
Ditz is a model Garmillas soldier, one who excels as a combat pilot and who values honor in her service as an officer. Her sense of honor is rooted in her family’s long history of military service in important positions. After interrogating her, Susumu Kodai noted that she "valued honor above all else".[2][7] Upon freeing Admiral Ditz from captivity, she salutes him rather than greeting him as her father.[3] She extends respect to alien military officers whether they are friends or enemies, and is willing to follow the orders of a non-Garmillan senior officer, even while she initially viewed aliens as inherently lesser than members of her own species.[2][7] During her time aboard Yamato, though, Ditz came to fully accept Earthlings as equals. She was particularly drawn to her former rival, Akira Yamamoto. The two formed a strong bond of mutual admiration just before they part company on Iscandar,[16][8] which persisted through the years.[25]
She also formed a bond of profound respect with Yamato's Tactics Officer, and later commander, Susumu Kodai. The Earthling man showed himself to be rather understanding of her position, even while interrogating her, and the two grew to recognize they shared the same mentality.[2][7][8]
Like many Garmillas, Ditz revered the Iscandarians, and held Princess Yurisha and Queen Stasha in high esteem. She became friends with Yurisha during their time aboard Yamato,[16] confiding her worries for the future of Garmillas with her after Leader Desler's fall.[8] She grew attached to her and Stasha after serving her on Iscandar, and was deeply saddened when the Queen decided to sacrifice her life to stop Dezarium in late 2205.[26]
Despite usually presenting herself as calm and composed, she can be stubborn[16] and sometime impulsive.[14] She is somewhat socially awkward when in more mundane and relaxed situations. She disliked being called "cute" by Yamamoto, although she considered it an honor when Yurisha, an Iscandarian, gave her the same compliment. Suspicious at first, Ditz found herself to love parfaits. On top of her skills as a pilot, she is also an excellent diver and swimmer.[8]
Battles[]
Garmillas Civil War[]
- Uprising on Prison Camp 17 (also part of the Great Garmillas War)
- Battle of the Imperial Capital (also part of the Great Garmillas War)
Iscandar Incident[]
Behind the scenes[]
Ditz's initial storyline mirrors that of the original series episode "Hurry Yamato! Earth is Suffering!" in which Susumu Kodai and Saburo Kato capture a Gamilas fighter and pilot. In that episode, the pilot was male and did not speak a word, and Kodai lost his composure and attacked the pilot. His role as the Gamilas's rival was taken by Akira Yamamoto and Ditz's storyline was greatly elaborated and extended from the original.
She was designed by Nobuteru Yuki.[28] She is voiced by Shizuka Itou in Japanese and by Katelyn Barr in English.
Her name is spelled Melda Dietz in the english version of Space Battleship Yamato 2199.
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- The rank of lower storm leader is a literal translation of the German Schutzstaffel (SS) rank Untersturmführer, which was a paramilitary rank equivalent to second lieutenant.
- Throughout the Yamato 2199 series, Merda Ditz is the only Garmillan service member to wear a red dress uniform and a purple flight suit. It is unclear whether the colors have significance within the military, or if they are merely a personal style choice.
- Merda Ditz is the first Garmilas to become a crew member of the Yamato, if only temporarily, the second being Klaus Keyman.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Official Space Battleship Yamato 2199 website Character entry for Merda Ditz
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 "Graveyard of the Universe"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Prison Planet 17"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 starblazers-yamato.net CHARACTERS Space Battleship Yamato 2205: A New Journey entry for Merda Ditz
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Earth, Yamato is..."
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Trajectory of YAMATO official 2024 calendar
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 "A World I Once Saw"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 "The Distant Promised Land"
- ↑ The official spelling of Ditz's name is confirmed on the box art of her Yamato Girl Collection series figure
- ↑ Ace with Scarlet Eyes p.207
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Model Sheet Design Collection GARMILLAS p.177
- ↑ "What Lies Beyond"
- ↑ "Out of the Forest of Memory"
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "They're Coming!"
- ↑ "Prison Planet 17"
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 "The Planet That We Head For"
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "One Man's War"
- ↑ The Era of Space Battleship Yamato: Choice of 2202
- ↑ "The Forever War"
- ↑ starblazers-yamato.net CHARACTERS Space Battleship Yamato 2205: A New Journey entry for Redof Hiss
- ↑ "A Galactic War is About to Break Out! Assemble the Yamato Fleet!!"
- ↑ "The Last Day of Garmillas"
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Save Iscandar! Rebellion of the Young Heroes!!"
- ↑ "Emergency Order! Yamato, Shoot Iscandar!!"
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 "Immigrant Fleet Rescue Operation. Go Beyond the Dimensional Wall!"
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 "Iscandar, the Dying Planet of Sorrow"
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Hello Sasha"
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Model Sheet Design Collection GARMILLAS p.164
Japanese language information[]
メルダ・ディッツ Meruda Dittsu