Karen Erra

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Karen Erra is the 4th main character you meet, and also one of the most prominent in the story.

Fact-sheet

• Full name: Karen Erra (Note: Her original name before fleeing Neudaiz was Kuyuh Mikuna; Karen Erra is presumably the name her mother gave to her.)
• Age: 17
• Gender: Female
• Race: Newman
• Profession: Guardian Instructor
• Height: 165cm
• Relations: Mirei Mikuna (sister, deceased), Dohgi Mikuna (father, imprisoned), ??? Mikuna (mother, deceased), Maya Shidow (adopted sister)
• Voice actor: Rie Tanaka (EN: Erin Cahill)
• Affilation: Guardians
• Role in the story: Lead, heroine

Position in Story

Karen Erra was a orphan from a young age, suffering due to her mother being

Karen aboard the Landeel

killed by a Tengohg, a resident gargoyle-esque creature native to Neudaiz (This is not revealed until Chapter 5). This has made her seem quite stern at times. She's dedicated to what she does, and is seen through most of the game supporting Ethan up to the final Magashi fight. She's first seen in Episode 2 where she comes and tells Ethan how to make and dissolve a party, and then sets off to help out the local farm, Green Green Farm, in which the animals have become unruly due to SEED influence. She's a general support character until Chapter 5, where she collapses twice at the sight of a Tengohg (it is here that the player finds out how her mother died); her role then elevates slightly.

She then leaves for a while, and is thought to be seen in Chapter 7; however, this is Mirei. The two share a special bond which makes them share eachother's pain (Karen doesn't know this, though - she forgot who exactly she was, due to the trauma at an early age). She's then seen at the centre of the temple ontop of a pink rune floating slightly off the ground in stasis, while being watched by Dohgi. He, apparently, wanted to finish what he started earlier (He attempted to kill Karen while she was young to be able to pass all her powers to Mirei; this lead to her mother running away with her and the events that followed). Mirei "takes the hit" for Karen, as Dohgi lashes out at her and hits her with a fatal blast of energy as she attempts to stop him from killing her. Ethan then fights Dohgi. After the fight, Karen wakes up from the stasis above the rune and speaks to Mirei before she dies. As Mirei is gone, and was the only hope for the people of Neudaiz (and Gurhal itself), she takes her place, and is able to imitate Mirei in all but eye color (Mirei has purple eyes; Karen's are blue). She then leaves Ethan's group temporarily to get used to Mirei's position.

Karen as shown in a flashback

Later, in Chapter 10 (Still being referred to as Mirei or "Miko-sama" - Divine Maiden in the localization) she goes to a Temple in the forests of Neudaiz with Ethan, Lou and Dr. Kanal Tomrain to perform a divination necesarry to find the Confinement system on Neudaiz. Before this, she and Ethan have a conversation; as they started laughing, a creature burst out of the soil, Forcing the two to attack. After, Karen and Kanal start the divination ritual; She changes into Mirei's Ceremonial Robes and starts harnessing the power given to her when the original Mirei died. During this, SEED attack the local area; Ethan and Lou go off to cut the threat, while Karen continues. After this, they come back, and the ritual itself is a success; Karen then collapses (and is thought to be dead by Ethan), and is taken away by Izuma Rutsu and Communion of Gurhal operatives.

She reappears in Chapter 12, disguised as a COG armed servant on board Tylor's ship. Ethan goes up and thanks her (not knowing that it's her), at which point she reveals herself, and is thanked by Ethan for coming (earlier in the chapter he seems rather depressed as Izuma said he couldn't see her, or come). Upon entering the SEED Hive, Karen and Ethan split off from Leo's group and explore the hive alone. They both later find Hyuga Ryght and Maya Shidou in a state of suspended animation in a SEED pod, and release them. The four exchange greetings and continue going deeper into the until they find Kou Taragi, also in suspended animation. However, when he is released, he's been exposed to far too much SEED inside the pod (He was in there since chapter 8, whereas Maya and Hyuga had only been in there for a short time) and mutates, resulting in a fight between him and the group erupting. After, he is returned to normal, but in a critical state; he dies while talking to Maya, who immediately breaks into hysterics due to the loss of a good friend. Hyuga takes Maya back to the Landeel, and Ethan and Karen continue to press on. Karen gets trapped just before reaching the core in a door trap, unable to help Ethan with the upcoming fight; Ethan heads off alone. She is released, however, when Magashi "dies", and comes to congratulate Ethan on what seems like a victory. Unfortunately, it isn't, but she, Leo and Tonnio fight the SEED core version of Magashi (Dulk Falkis) along with Ethan. Upon victory, they run back to the Landeel. After, all the living story characters are seen onboard the Landeel during celebration, except Karen, who's on the observation deck. Ethan goes to find her, and they talk; She then hugs Ethan tearily for saying that he'll protect the world because she's in it, and the credits roll.

Random facts

• Ethan and Karen talk after the credits about network mode (Quote: "Go play network mode and make a character!" - Karen "Hey, I thought I was the main character?" - Ethan)
• Karen has a few random voice shots after chapter ending sequences if you do the chapter in question twice (on a different save each time). In one such case, She asks Ethan if he finds her attractive.
• Karen is voiced by Rie Tanaka, a famous female voice actor with a very large fanbase (extending to outside Japan). Tanaka herself apparently plays the online mode (she says this in her blog on [1]), though it's unknown what character she is.
• Karen is highly afraid of Tengohgs, as they are the cause of her mother's death; she faints half of the time whenever one appears, and entirely blacks out when Ohma Gohg attacks the party.
• "Karen" in Chapter 7 is Mirei disguised as her (which a few people never actually realised), where it's commonly believed she isn't.