Mai Kobayashi

Mai Kobayashi (マイ・コバヤシ; 古林 舞 in kanji), also known as Levi Tolar, is a fictional character in the Super Robot Wars series. In canon, she is one of the pilots for the SRX Altered Banpreios, and is joined by fellow pilots Ryusei Date, Raidis F. Branstein and sister Aya Kobayashi in the Super Robot Wars Alpha timeline. In the Original Generation timeline, she pilots the R-Gun Powered, but has opted for the Advanced Real Personal Trooper Test Type-1, as of Super Robot Wars Original Generation Gaiden.

Appearances

Mai/Levi has appeared in the following Games:

• Super Robot Wars Alpha - Non-playable enemy character (as Levi)
• Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 - Playable character
• Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation - Non-playable enemy character (as Levi)
• Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 2 - Playable Character
• Super Robot Wars Original Generations - Non-playable enemy character (as Levi) → Playable character (as Mai)
• Super Robot Wars Original Generation Gaiden - Playable character

Theme Music

• Marionette Messiah (Retitled Marionette Savior, in the North American localization of Original Generation 2) - Default theme in all appearances

Personality And Traits

A quiet, gentle girl, Mai Kobayashi is the youngest daughter of Dr. Kenzo Kobayashi, the creator of the T-Link System. Despite her youthful appearance, Mai is a rather mature person, often providing support for her teammates. Like her sister, Aya, she is a powerful Psychodriver, and equally able to provide the psychic energy needed to utilize the R-Gun Powered (which was intended for her to use), alongside the SRX, in order to unleash the HTB (Hyper Tronium Buster) Cannon combination attack. Mai develops a close relationship, or at the very least, a crush, with SRX Team pilot Ryusei Date.

History

Mai Kobayashi is not biologically related to Dr. Kenzo Kobayashi, nor Aya. She began as a test subject in one of Kenzo's research with the T-Link System many years ago, before the events of Original Generation occurred. However, a lab explosion stopped the experiment; Mai was nowhere to be found, and was presumed dead. When the Aerogaters began their invasion of Earth, a powerful Psychodriver called Levi Tolar, the priestess of Judecca and leader of the invading forces, ordered the Earth to surrender within 30 days, or face utter destruction. Refusing to give in, the Earth forces would retaliate, and eventually defeat Ingram Prisken and his R-Gun Rivale and many other Aerogaters. This would prompt Levi to launch in the mighty Judecca, acting as the living core for the machine, and face the Original Generation cast.

During battle, Radha Bairaban reveals to Levi Tolar that she is, in fact, the missing Mai Kobayashi. Levi wouldn't hear of such words, for she believed she was solely an Aerogater warrior. Chance would come to the Original Generation cast when Levi started to receive a headache, while losing control of Judecca. Levi would be defeated, and the Judecca destroyed, but not before revealing the mass of Zfylud Crystals in Meteor-3 was taking form, into that of Septuagint. The Earth forces would barely manage to destroy Septuagint, thus ending the Aerogater invasion.

Mai Kobayashi would appear in Original Generation 2, as Kenzo's youngest daughter. She would be assigned to the SRX Team for learning purposes and become the pilot for the upgraded R-Gun Powered. However, unknown to most of the cast, Mai was, in fact, Levi Tolar: after the lab accident, Mai was kidnapped and brainwashed by the Aerogaters into thinking that she was Levi. At the site where Septuagint was destroyed, the remains of Judecca was found. The core of the unit was discovered, and inside lay Levi, alive and unconscious. Seeing an opportunity to use the Psychodriver to power the functional T-Link System for the SRX, they decided to treat her once again, as Aya's sister, Mai. However, Levi was still buried deep beneath Mai's subconsciousness, and would try unsuccessfully to convince Mai to turn against her comrades and pilot the Judecca again. But support from the cast, especially that of Ryusei, Aya, Arado Balanga, and Shine Hausen would prevent Levi's presence within Mai to control her, and allow her to make her own decisions, free from any influence. Mai would choose to fight alongside the SRX Team for the rest of Original Generation 2.

Levi Tolar's origins in the Alpha timeline is similar to the Original Generation timeline, albeit the fact she was convinced to join the Londo Bell forces against the Aerogaters. After being freed from the mind-control of Judecca, Levi pilots the R-Gun and fights the invaders. Levi would reappear in Alpha Gaiden, piloting the mass produced Huckebein MK II, in the final battle against Shu Shirakawa and his Neo Granzon. When she appears in Alpha 3, Levi now goes by her original name, Mai Kobayashi, having recovered most of her memories. News of Aya's apparent death after the SRX is nearly destroyed by Hazal Gozzo's Vaikran hits her hard, but she is instrumental in making Ryusei recover his fighting spirit. When the SRX Banpreios rolls out, Mai becomes one of its supporting pilots, but since Aya is not present, the T-Link System could not be utilized to the fullest of its abilities, that is, until the Alpha Numbers reach the Balmarian homeworld and rescue the captured Aya. With her sister in the Banpreios, the unit's capabilities are heightened, thanks to the psychic abilities of the two.

In the animated Super Robot Wars Original Generation: The Animation, Mai appears as one of the bridge operators aboard the Hagane.

Trivia

• Since it is a trend that many Balmarian characters and mechs are given names of Hebrew origin, the name Levi Tolar might possibly be translated as Rabbi Torah. Although Levi is one of the twelve Israelite tribes that is dedicated for jobs in the temple (such as priests), a rabbi, however, is a teacher in Judaism, who teaches the law of God. Torah in Hebrew means the Law, or can specifically refer to the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This also matches Mai's dedicated background music, Marionette Messiah.

• Mai's eye color has changed many times over the course of the series she has appeared in. While Mai was Levi Tolar, she was heterochromic: her right eye was red, the color that matched her hair, and her left eye a golden yellow. However, when performing the Judecca attack of the same-named mecha in Original Generation, the accompanying cut-in shows her left eye colored blue. In Alpha Gaiden, her intermission portrait shows both eyes to be red. This is again changed in Original Generation 2 and Alpha 3, where, perhaps now made canonically, both her irises are blue, although this could also be interpreted that with Levi's influence gone, Mai's natural blue eye color returned.

• The voice actors for Mai and Aya, Ai Orikasa and Yumi Touma, respectively, also voice siblings in Namco's Tales Of Symphonia OVA, as Genis Sage and Raine Sage.