The manga and anime series Freezing features a cast of characters designed by Dall-Young Lim and illustrated by Kwang-Hyun Kim. The series is set in the year 2065 where Earth is in the middle of a war with extra-dimensional aliens called Nova. In order to fight the Nova, the military develops : girls who are able to adapt special genetic tissue called to manifest superhuman fighting skills and weapons. Supporting the Pandoras are male partners called , who use special "freezing" powers to restrict their opponent's mobility. The main story focuses on Kazuya Aoi, a Limiter whose late sister was a Pandora, and Satellizer el Bridget, a powerful Pandora with a cold personality who is known as the Untouchable Queen. Both are enrolled at West Genetics Academy, where they encounter various Pandoras who view Satellizer as a rival and troublemaker, and who pride themselves by a strict ranking system within their school years. They are joined by Rana Linchen, a transfer student Pandora from Tibet who wants to make Kazuya her soulmate. They meet students from other schools, girls who aspire to acquire Pandora powers, and have to deal with Nova threats. Lim has written several spin-off stories that focus on the supporting characters, and the anime adaptation has also highlighted some of his other characters. Reception of the characters from the manga and anime reviewers has been mixed.
Main characters
Kazuya Aoi
is the protagonist of the series. Hailing from Japan, he enrolls at West Genetics as a first-year student. His older sister, Kazuha, was a Pandora who sacrificed herself in order to defeat a powerful Nova during the eighth Nova Clash in Japan. At first, he mistakes Satellizer for his sister and gives her a big hug. Despite warnings from his schoolmates to stay away from her, he realizes that she is misunderstood, and continues to treat her kindly, defending her even when she does not ask for such help, and asking to partner with her. As a Limiter, he is able to cast a "Freezing" field, however, unlike the other Limiters, he is able to do so without being Baptized with a Pandora. His ability is also unusual in that it is omnidirectional, and can sometimes override the freezings cast by multiple Limiters. The reason for this because of his genetic makeup where over 30% of his body mass is pure stigmata, which is even greater than his sister. When he learns from his grandfather about his connection to the Nova and the Legendary Pandoras, he becomes enraged at his manipulations. During the thirteenth Nova Clash, when he tries to stop Cassandra from her N3 Nova state, he awakens his Stigmatic body and obtains a special power that allows him to control several Pandoras at once and make them work in tandem to bring out their full potential.
Satellizer el Bridget
is the heroine of the series and one of the strongest Pandoras at West Genetics. She was the top-ranked student in her year until she loses in the Carnival (battle royal tournament) at the beginning of the story because of Kazuya's interference. Known as the because she despises being touched, she is cold and ruthless, reputed to have killed 20 Pandoras. Her Genetics uniform consists of a red dress with gold accents. Her Volt Weapon is , a single-edged sword with the blade running past the length of the guard. She has multiple stigmata, six of which were originally from Kazuha Aoi, and displays an exceptional ability to learn and use high-end battle techniques such as Accel Turn typically taught to third-year Pandoras. Despite her fearsome reputation and ruthlessness in battle, in private she has a quiet and reserved nature, with a shy, sensitive, and gentle personality, keeping a diary, stuffed animals, and knitting materials. Originally, she does not want anything to do with Kazuya, but is won over by his kindness and persistence. She accepts him as her Limiter, but, withholds from performing the Baptism ritual with him. She gets jealous that Rana has Kazuya refer to her without the honorifics, that she insists that Kazuya do the same with her nickname, . Every once in a while, she tries to muster up her courage to ask Kazuya to perform the Baptism with her but she is usually interrupted by another classmate, or some major incidents. Hailing from the United Kingdom, she is the daughter of Howard el Bridget, who runs the El corporation, and his mistress, Noel Alon-Grache. At nine years old, she and her mother are taken in by the El Bridgets where she meets her father's wife Olivia and her two kids, Violet and Louis, the last of whom mistreats and then sexually abuses her. She stays silent about it so that her terminally-ill mother can continue to receive medical care, but when Violet discovers what happened, she moves Satellizer away for her own safety. Her mother's final words are for her to become stronger than anyone and to never lose. This becomes Satellizer's driving force in life, resulting in her severe determination and will. Because of the abuse, she hates being touched and retaliates with violence if anyone does so, with Kazuya being the only exception. In an incident at East Genetics, she brutally cripples Brooks Leevon, a male student who tried to touch her, and was consequently suspended for the school year. In the Bali story, she still has trouble standing up against Louis, but tells him that she loves Kazuya. In several interviews, English voice actor Caitlin Glass has mentioned how Satellizer was a different from her usual acting roles, that it helped challenge her acting range. She describes Satellizer as an ice queen and misunderstood, but liked that she had a duality in her character: a strong front wherever she goes, but a different one in her private life, something that all people have. Satellizer also has a troubled past that gave her more depth than other heroine characters. She also noted that with all the new voice actors in the project, it was vaguely similar to how Satellizer feels at her school. A poll by Japanese internet service provider BIGLOBE had Satellizer placed 30th on a list of their favourite tsundere characters, as ranked by fans, with 24 votes. She was also ranked 25th on a list of anime characters that "Prove Japan Loves Blue Eyes" by anime website GoBoiano. She again made a list by the same website of anime characters that "Prove Glasses Are Sexy", and ranked 2nd on a third list of the "27 Hottest Blonde Girls In Anime". Dakimakuras of Satellizer and Elizabeth Mably featured as Freezing merchandise at Comiket 85. Other Freezing merchandise include figurines of the character.
Rana Linchen
is a Pandora from Tibet; she has dark hair and a side ponytail tied with a ribbon. Kind yet naive, she transfers to West Genetics as a second-year student to learn more about her Pandora abilities. Because of Kazuya's kindness when they first meet, and because her stigmata resonate with his presence, she believes Kazuya is her soulmate. She is tricked by Attia into thinking Satellizer has been using Kazuya for his powers, but later allies with her to fight Attia and the rival third-year students. Although Kazuya chooses Satellizer as his partner, she still hopes to convince him to become her Limiter, and maintains a love rivalry with Satellizer. Rana has six stigmata, which she calls . One of her stigmata is a "Maria-type" (appeared when she was born) while the others were surgically implanted. Her specialty is in close-quarters combat; her Volt Weapon, , hardens her gloves and boots. She uses , a fighting style where her stigmata energy enhances her abilities so she can use powerful techniques such as: , a punch that sends long-distance shockwaves to hit an opponent; and , a short-range flame strike from her fist. In the Japanese versions, she frequently ends her sentences with . During the twelfth Nova Clash, where she is attacked by an image of her sister, Rana is able to "transcend". to become stronger. In a Funimation interview, Glass noted that Marchi tried to voice Rana with a patterned kind of speech, like an ESL student. Marchi liked that her character has a friendly rivalry with Satellizer, like they would fight each other but then share a bath together afterwards
Supporting characters
West Genetics Academy
First and second-year students
A second-year Pandora from the UK who wears her pink hair in twin tails. She is known as the . At the beginning of the series, she becomes the top-ranked second-year Pandora when she defeats Satellizer at the Carnival because of Kazuya's interference. She is easily angered and tends to let her pride get into her head sometimes, much to her Limiter Arthur's chagrin. While she sees herself as Satellizer's rival, she considers her a friend and comrade, and barely survives when she sacrifices herself to defend her against Nova Cathy. Her Volt Weapon, , consists of chained flails attached to her back which she can manipulate their movements and extend their lengths. Despite her rank, she has yet to learn some of the high-end skills typical of third-year Pandoras. In Freezing: Pair Love Stories, Arthur describes her as too shy to show her kind side, likes to distance herself, yet strong enough to scold others, and willing to support someone from behind the scenes.
Kazuya's next-door neighbor in the dorms who befriends him early in the series. He serves as Ganessa's Limiter, and enjoys fawning over her and treating her kindly. Because of Satellizer's reputation, he warns Kazuya to stay away from her, but stays friends with Kazuya regardless. He and Kaho Hiiragi are friends, but he is attracted to Ganessa for her honesty and strength that she shows behind her sometimes distancing facade.
Arthur and Kazuya's class representative. Like Kazuya, she is also Japanese. Her Volt Weapon, , is a pair of wakizashi.
A third-ranked second-year French Pandora, known as the . She has red shoulder-length hair with two long braids. Her Volt Weapon, , is a poleaxe.
The fifth-ranked second-year Japanese Pandora, known as . She wears her hair in a brown ponytail. Her Volt Weapon is a chained flail.
The fourth-ranked second-year American Pandora with a tomboyish personality, known as the . She has long brown hair and wears her shirt with an exposed midriff and jean shorts. Her Volt Weapon, , is a pair of broadswords.
Third-year students
Chiffon is introduced as the student council president at West Genetics. She has a bubbly personality, and is almost always seen with narrowed eyes and smiling. Her nickname is the , or for short. It is later revealed that she is the top-ranked third-year student at West Genetics and the top rank among the five strongest third-year Pandoras at Genetics worldwide. She hails from Canada. During the E-Pandora rebellion, she fights off Satellizer and Rana, easily subduing them. She then refers to herself as a True Pandora, rather than a human. Later, when she faces Nova Amelia, her eyes open for the first time in the series, revealing that she has "Type-Maria" eyes. She sacrifices herself to absorb Nova Amelia's nuclear explosion. It is revealed that Chiffon is older than a teenager, having appeared in a photo dated from 40 years ago. Lucy Renault reveals that she is one of the Legendary Pandoras. Chiffon has four stigmata; her special abilities include Illusion Turn, and switching to a controlled Nova Form at will. Her Volt Weapon, , appears as a clawed gauntlet (or two), later revealed to be derived from Maria Lancelot's original weapon. Her Limiter is ().