Sakura Kondou

* The Beyond
* Exodus
* Heaven and Earth
* Original

**Sakura Kondou** (近藤(こんどう) 咲良(さくら), *Kondō Sakura*), previously known as **Sakura Kaname** (要(かなめ) 咲良(さくら)), is a character who is introduced in *Soukyuu no Fafner*.

Sakura is one of the first generation pilots. She pilots the Fafner, Mark Drei.

## Appearance

Sakura has dark brown hair and grey eyes. Her eyes turned red due to the assimilation phenomenon but they returned to their original color before the events of *Soukyuu no Fafner Exodus*.

## Biography

### *Soukyuu no Fafner*

Sakura bids her father farewell in her family dojo before heading off to school. While at school, an alarm suddenly goes off and Sakura goes to a shelter with his friends. She wonders where they are to which Yukie Kariya responds that the shelter is located in Alvis before the door closes. After the battle is over, Sakura goes home only to find her mother crying in their dojo, who tells her that her father has passed away. The next day, she gathers with her friends for a memorial for the fallen and Sakura wonders if she can pilot a Fafner since Kazuki Makabe is able to.

Sakura drags Kenji Kondou and Mamoru Kodate to her dojo where they spar and she easily defeats them. Sakura is chosen to become a Fafner pilot along with her friends and are brought to Alvis the next day. While on the elevator, Sakura mutters that this is the place where her father was working. They are shown the facilities and when they arrive in the underwater observation room, Maya Toomi takes a photo from the group. Sakura is one of the four people chosen to undergo the Fafner training and she volunteers to go first. On their break, they suddenly hear an alarm and wonder what is going on. Sakura stands before Yukie with her friends when she exists the CDC and she asks her to let them in but Yukie responds that they won't be of any help. Sometime later, they hear someone singing.

Sakura and her friends overhear the conversation between Yukie and Yumiko Toomi in the break room. Kouyou Kasugai runs off with the rest following him, ignoring Yukie's orders, after realizing Shouko Hazama is Mark Sechs' pilot. Upon reaching the top, they watch Mark Sechs flying higher and higher until it explodes by using the Fenrir program, taking the enemy with it.

### *Soukyuu no Fafner Exodus*

Sakura is teaching a running class and as Mimika Mikagami runs past her, she comments that Mimika isn't taking it seriously. She then wakes up Kenji Kondou, who is sleeping in his office, and wants him to take care of the tired students Mimika brings. Mimika leaves and Sakura says that she reminds her of the old Kazuki Makabe. Kenji asks if she wants to grab dinner at Kazuki's place later and she jokingly responds if he doesn't like her cooking which he quickly denies. Finished with their tasks, they go to the Rakuen where they are greeted by the ones who work there and Sakura is surprised to see only men working. Sakura remarks it was delicious as they leave the place and says to Kenji to not forget to enjoy his time while looking out for everyone. Kenji responds that he is enjoying himself when he is eating with her which surprises her, calling him an idiot. Sakura watches the battle between her juniors and the Festum that are chasing the Human Army's transport craft. During the battle, she comments that they need to protect each other. After the battle is over, she states that they need to have a talk with their juniors about protecting each other to which Kenji responds that they need to be examined first. Sakura is later seen sitting next to Akira Nishio.

Sakura is in a meeting regarding the new pilots and as they are introduced, Sakura comments on every pilot about what they are capable of. She wonders what Kazuki thinks about the new candidates but she isn't too pleased with his answer when he responds that they should be fine if they are good friends. She and Kazuki then go to hangar where the new pilots are introduced to their Fafners and wants Kazuki to give them a pep talk since he was the former ace pilot. Sakura later watches the first battle of the third generation pilots, assisted by Rina Nishio and Seri Tatekami, along with Kazuki and Kenji. She is surprised that Sui Kaburagi is the one luring the enemy despite it being his first battle. After the battle is over, Sakura is impressed by their fighting abilities, stating that she doesn't know if she should praise or scold them. Sakura is present at the farewell party for the pilots that are joining the expeditionary force.

Sakura watches the battle between her junior pilots and Festum, without company this time around. Seeing her juniors being taken out one by one, she goes to the hangar and demands the maintenance team to send out Mark Drei. However, to everyone's surprise, Ian Kamp tells them that Mark Zwolf has restarted and her juniors manage to turn the battle in their favor by using their newly received powers. After the battle, Sakura wants Kenji to follow her, telling him that he can't skip his exams even though he is a doctor. She later watches the launch of Kazuki and Soushi Minashiro's rockets and finds it insane that they are going to take off like that.

### *Soukyuu no Fafner The Beyond*

Sakura is seen with Eiichirou in a video which Kenji watches before the Fifth Operation Azure commences. Sakura calls for Eiichirou and Fei Kishi and tells them that parents are back from their mission. Eiichirou starts to cry as he sees Kenji, hugging him, and Sakura smiles at the sight. Sakura introduces Soushi Minashiro to his class and later watches him training with Reo Mikado. She sees Eiichirou and Fei peeking inside and she makes it clear that they should be quiet.

Sakura is with her family and realizes that Fei's father has also fallen in battle when Mitsugu Jinnai gives them the family photo that was in his cockpit. While Fei is given the photo, Sakura puts her hands on Fei's shoulders to comfort her and says that her parents worked hard to protect everyone and to live on for their sake. They later attend the funeral for everyone who has fallen during the previous battle and Sakura tells Kenji that Chizuru Toomi's death isn't his fault. She says that the people who survived have to live for those who are gone before mentioning that they will take Fei in. Later that night, she sees Eiichirou and Fei sleeping before joining Kenji in the living room and knows Kenji wants to board the Siegfried System again before he can even mention anything. Knowing that she won't be able to change his mind, she mentions that Fei wants to avenge her parents by piloting the Fafner, just like she used to, and wants him to promise her that it will never come that far and to come back alive. With the Second Plan L on the brink of commencing, she sees him off while he hugs Eiichirou and Fei.

Sakura attends the pre-operation party with her family and later watches Kenji and the kids playing in the snow, reminding her of the times that she used to play in the snow with her friends. After the successful operation, Sakura returns to Tatsumiyajima with the kids and is reunited with Seri Tatekami who brings her to her mother's resting place, muttering that she is home. On the day of the Tanabata Festival, Sakura and her family are making lanterns for their fallen family in the Rakuen and she tries to calm Soushi and Miwa down when they have an argument. They are also reunited with Reo Mikado, Mimika Mikagami, and Rina Nishio, who were all in a comatose state, and Rina hopes that they haven't made a lantern for her to which Sakura responds that she shouldn't be joking about something like that. During the Tanabata Festival, Sakura and her family float the lanterns they have made earlier for their fallen family. Several days later, the family watch Kazuki Makabe and Kenji Kondou depart from the island with Sakura commenting that she will miss Wadatsumijima despite returning to their homeland.

## Trivia

### Etymology

* The name **Sakura** means "blossom" (咲) (**saku**) and "good, virtuous, respectable" (良) (**ra**).
* Sakura's surname **Kondou** means "near, early, akin, tantamount" (近) (**kon**) and "wisteria" (藤) (**tou**/**dou**).
	+ Her maiden name **Kaname** means "pivot; vital point, cornerstone, keystone" (要).

## References

1. ↑ Episode 1: Paradise -The Beginning-
2. ↑ Episode 2: Confession -Life-
3. ↑ Episode 3: Labyrinth -Truth-
4. ↑ Episode 4: Escape -Departure-
5. ↑ Episode 6: Soaring Sky -Sacrifice-
6. ↑ Exodus Episode 1: The Name of Hope
7. ↑ Exodus Episode 2: The Name of Hope
8. ↑ Exodus Episode 4: The Successors
9. ↑ Exodus Episode 5: To a New World
10. ↑ Exodus Episode 7: Battle in a New Dimension
11. ↑ Exodus Episode 8: Dreaming of Peace
12. ↑ The Beyond Episode 1: Operation Azure
13. ↑ The Beyond Episode 4: The Powerless Ones
14. ↑ The Beyond Episode 5: Student
15. ↑ The Beyond Episode 8: Message Passed On
16. ↑ The Beyond Episode 10: Storm, Come and Go
17. ↑ The Beyond Episode 12: Beyond the Azure