Ryou Masaoka

Ryou Masaoka is the pilot of the Titan-model Fafner (TSX), an earlier Fafner model which puts the pilot life on the edge even when used for a time span of just fifteen minutes. At school, he’s Kenji predecessor as the school council president. Very prone to getting sick, though he possesses a great strength of heart. A very amiable and caring person, he gives advices and comfort to many of his friends, saying that Kazuki should approach people more if he wants to befriend others, reassuring Shouko when she doubts about being her mother true chid, as well as Yumi in many occasions.

He decides to volunteer for piloting, saying that he feels the need to do something before he dies, adding that even though he lives alone the island is so small and full of good friends he never felt lonely.

When he decides to join Plan-L he’s surprised to find Yumi aboard the ship, but she doesn’t want to have anything to do with him for the time being. Ryou gets happy when he realizes that by piloting the Titan Model he can run for so much time without having to stop for catching breath or feeling chest-ache. But he has to decide whether to leave his dog, Puku, on the island, or poison him, because he can’t bring it with him on the island-ship. Fortunately Karin agrees to take care of Puku, and Ryou can leave along with Yumi and the other pilots to lure away the Festums.

Yumi decides to ask for a reduced scheduled time to pilot the Fafner models, but to no avail. Ryou decides to support her by saying to the commander in charge that Yumi’s father didn’t make this plan without thinking about the life of the whole crew, and ultimately resolves to make him accept their proposal. Yumi thanks Ryou for what he said in his speech, and starts getting along with him again.

The discovery of an escape procedure when the plans end boosts again their hope to live, but before coming back to the island they must fulfill their last duty and stop the Festums from reaching Tatsumiya Island.

Even though everything seems to go well at first, Ryou and the others brutally realizes that whenever they get to pilot the Fafner they are modified at genetic-level, and their body are subjects to a process known as crystallization, which prevents the afflicted from moving, speaking, seeing; finally, they would disappear in a sparkling cloud of dust.

Even with a shortened time more pilots starts losing their live, and when only a handful of them stay alive every hope seems to be lost. In the end only Ryou and Yumi survives until the end of the plan.

Unfortunately the crystallization process had already began, and when the two of them understands that they can’t go back to the island they stay in the depths of the sea, surrounded by marine snow. Eventually Yumi dies a short while after one last talk with Ryou, and Ryou starts a record which is the same narrative speech heard during the whole story. He then makes one last effort to prevent the advance of the Festums, using Fenrir and making a huge shockwave that reach Tatsumiya Island, letting Soushi understand that the Festums can even go underwater. When some days later a Fafner model is found, Puku goes into the pilot cockpit to rest, dying there to the side of his true owner, Ryou.