Kämpfer

"Natsuru-san, you will fight. As long as you're chosen to be a Kämpfer, that is absolute."

- Harakiri Tiger

A Kämpfer (German for "fighter") is a person chosen to fight and decide the fate of an as of yet undisclosed world. The battle of the Kämpfer are overseen by a group known as the Moderators. All Kämpfer are female, and any males chosen will undergo a gender swap during transformation. Kämpfer is the German word for 'Fighter'. There is no obvious connection between the Kämpfer and its German apparent origin.

Red and Blue Kämpfer
Most Kämpfer, when selected, will be placed into one of two factions, easily identifiable as Red Kämpfer or Blue Kämpfer. The Contract Bracelet all Kämpfer wear around their wrist will be colored to represent their alliance. Once placed, that Kämpfer must fight for their team. There is no penalty for betraying their faction and joining the other team, however, the Contract Bracelet will not change color to reflect this. All Kämpfer obtain enhanced strength and speed when transformed. Kämpfer can move extremely fast and jump incredibly high. It is rumoured that Red Kämpfer are three times faster than the Blue Kämpfer counterparts by Akane Mishima.

Kämpfer, while not explicitly stated, are expected to keep knowledge of the Kämpfer to themselves.

Their origins of the Blue and Red Kämpfer began when the Moderators, an unknown entity, intended to cease bloodshed between two warring factions. Unable to reach a concession, the Moderators assigned young adults from the planet of Earth to act as their champions; they would fight in their stead, and the victorious faction would be declared the winner.



Shizuku Sangō had speculated that Kaede Sakura had a large involvement with the Kämpfer and the Moderators, despite not being a Kämpfer herself. All known Kämpfer in her area had an Entrail Animal as a Messenger, and all of these Entrail Animals could be traced back to Kaede. Eventually it was indeed confirmed that Kaede was directly responsible for initiating and furthering the Moderators' plans.

While the Blue and Red Kämpfer are intended to fight against one another, there are also instances where rival Kämpfer instead unite and make a stand against the Moderators themselves. Their refusal to fight one another would result in a complication of the larger conflict that the Kämpfer actually represent, and so this led to the creation of a third faction, the White Kämpfer.

White Kämpfer


The White Kämpfer were introduced as a response to the rebellion of Blue and Red Kämpfer against the Moderators. They are, in a way, the policing force of the Moderators, as they ensure the continuing battle between the Blue Kämpfer and the Red Kämpfer. White Kämpfer can be recognised by the Contract Bracelet they wear, which is neither blue nor red. They are not involved in the fight between the Blue and Red Kämpfer, thus they would be neutral to either side in normal circumstances. Their duties range from instigating peaceful Kämpfer to entice them to fight, to removing rebel groups of Kämpfer that intentionally go against the Moderators' wishes.

As Kämpfer themselves, they have access to all the powers and abilities that regular Kämpfer have. Unlike the Red and Blue Kämpfer, however, they answer directly to the Moderators themselves.

Battle Classes


All Kämpfer take on one of three battle classes. These are Zauber, Gewehr and Schwert, the German words for Magic, Gun (Rifle) and Sword respectively. Kämpfer do not have control over which battle class they belong to, nor what weapon they wield in that class.

Zauber
The Zauber class is a magical class, and Kämpfer classified as Zauber users are able to summon and launch elemental projectiles at their enemies. Zauber is elemental in nature, and draws power from the Contract Bracelet of its Kämpfer. The element wielded by each Kämpfer is random, and they will be associated with that element permanently. While Zauber users are able to generate their element at will, they are not able to control pre-existing sources associated with that element.

Zauber is arguably the hardest class to master, as it is not obvious for Kämpfer on how to use them. It has been mentioned by Akane that an activating item is used by novice Kämpfer when learning to use Zauber. However it is also the most destructive class among the three, as Zauber attacks are both large and explosive. Smaller attacks can be generated, as seen by Natsuru Senō, who generated just enough fire to set off a fire alarm in school. However, pinpoint strikes are not usually a trait seen in Zauber users.

The Zauber class can be said to be an offensive oriented class or a support, as fighting styles of Zauber users are usually composed of powerful strikes and fast advances that keep the opponent off balance, and have no way of defending themselves from direct attacks. They are usually at their best when fighting in tandem with a Kämpfer of another class.

Notable users include Senou Natsuru, who wields Fire, Hitomi Minagawa, who wields Light, and Tamiko Shinomiya, whose Zauber element is unknown, as she was missing and only mentioned during the events of Kämpfer.

Gewehr
Gewehr is a German word meaning 'rifle', however as a class it encompasses all types of small firearms, and when spoken is taken to mean gun. Certain physical limitations do not apply to Gewehr weapons, such as the weapon never jamming nor ever running out of ammunition. Gewehr users are able to summon their weapon through the Contract Bracelet, though it is unknown if the amount is limited. For example, the Red Kämpfer Kuzuhara Midori used dual revolvers, while Akane only ever used one pistol at a time.

It is fairly simple to master the Gewehr class, as its weapons are a relatively simple point and shoot rather than having to learn to harness the energy necessary by Zauber users or the complicated techniques of the Schwert users. This process is made easier as users do not have to learn how to tend to the gun, reload effectively, or chamber new rounds.

Gewehr users can be said to be a generally evasive class, as users are more comfortable strafing and evading the attacks of other Kämpfer while using their gun to keep enemies at a distance. They are able to block to an extent, as their guns seem to be indestructible, however the small margin they have to block with usually means they prefer to avoid attacks rather than block them.

Notable Gewehr users are Akane with her Springfield Armory Loaded M1911-A1 pistol, Ryōka Yamakawa with her Ingram MAC-10 submachine gun, and Midori, who used dual unidentified revolvers.

Schwert
Schwert is a German word meaning Sword, though as a class encompasses all bladed weapons. Like the Gewehr class, its users are able to summon their weapons through their Contract Bracelet. While Schwert weapons seem to be influenced by local culture, such as Kondou Mikoto's katana, and Ueda Rika's kusarigama, foreign and unconventional weapons have been seen as well, such as Nakao Sayaka's sabre or Sangou Shizuku's dual knives.

While the concept of using blades is obvious to its users, in learning of the actual techniques necessary to wield their weapon effectively lies the difficulty in mastering weapons among Schwert users.

The Schwert class is a jack-of-all-trades class, as users employ various strategies ranging from an aggressive fighting stance to overwhelm an opponent, to a passive stance where they avoid and deflect attacks. waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Schwert users include Mikoto, who wields a katana, Rika, who wields a kusarigama, Sayaka who wields a sabre and Shizuku, who wields dual knives.

Transformation
All Kämpfer undergo a change, be that a physical one or mentally, usually in the form of a change of appearance, or a change in personality or both. For males, gender swapping will always be one of these changes forced on them. Kämpfer do not have control over what traits they assume when transformed. There is no way for a Kämpfer to access his or her powers without transforming.

When a Kämpfer is first selected, they have no control over their transformation, and may transform for no reason at all. These initial transformations can last from little over an hour to several weeks or even months to wear off. Otherwise, a Kämpfer will transform under the condition that they sense a fighting intent or another Kämpfer being close by. Kämpfer that band together eventually get used to the others' presence and are able to resist transformation, though if a Kämpfer transforms in their presence, the others will generally transform as well.

Messengers


Kämpfer are given creatures named Messengers to brief them of the nature of the Kämpfer. Messengers have been seen in the forms of the Entrails Animals. The Messengers are responsible for instructing Kämpfer of the rules of engagement in battle and other minor details, and can assist the Kämpfer in small ways, such a forcing the reverse transformation of a Kämpfer, like what Harakiri Tiger had done for Natsuru after his first transformation. Messengers, while are capable of female or male voices, are assumed to be genderless.

When a Kämpfer is defeated in battle, their Messenger dies as well. It is therefore in a Messenger's best interest to help a Kämpfer as much as they can.

Defeat
When a Kämpfer is defeated in battle, according to Shizuku, they 'cease to exist'. No Kämpfer has actually been killed during the events of the anime version of Kämpfer, though it has been mentioned that a friend of Shizuku's, Tamiko, had been 'defeated in battle', and has disappeared from existance. Shizuku herself had defeated many opponents in battle before, but has always been vague when asked to describe what happens afterwards. In the manga version of the series, the Red Kämpfer Midori had been defeated by Natsuru and Akane. Shizuku later assumed responsibility for her, and she was never seen again.

There is no known way for a Kämpfer to leave their responsibilities as a fighter other than by being defeated in battle by another Kämpfer.

Trivia

 * As mentioned by Akane, since all Kämpfer are female, the correct term for them should be Kämpferin (as a single person) and Kämpferinnen (as a team).
 * At Episode 1,Akane mention the word "You're not a Mobile Suit",she means that Natsuru Senou isn't "MS-18E Kampfer" from Mobile Suit 0080.
 * The idea that Red Kämpfer are three times faster than Blue Kämpfer is a reference to Char Aznable of the Gundam series. His mobile suits are coloured red to differentiate them from regular mobile suits, and are three times faster than regular mobile suits.