Hachi

Hachi (ハチ) is the commander of defense of APE Operational Headquarters. He is currently based on Plantation 13.

Appearance
Hachi appears to be a tall, young man. He has shaved, dark blue hair and usually appears either unemotional or frustrated. He wears the standard APE uniform.

In episode 18 during a flashback, he is shown to have chin length blue hair parted in the middle back when he was a parasite.

He gets a vertical scar over his right eye after the battle with the VIRM in episode 23.

Personality
Hachi is a composed individual with a pragmatic perspective. He believes, through well-defined laws and regulations, all solutions can be dealt with. Unlike the friendly and kind Nana, Hachi tends to speak with a tone of iron, which includes being incredibly blunt and never expressing any emotion. When the children tend to misbehave or get carried away with their antics in and off the battlefield, Hachi would help Nana mediate and discipline them, though in Hachi’s case, he tends to give them a brief lecture on how any distortion could affect their ability to pilot the FRANXX and this endanger the plantation and its citizens. He acts stern with them and refers to them by their code numbers rather than their names.

Hachi is loyal to APE and abides by Papa‘s orders. He takes his duties as an APE Defense Commander seriously and pays ample attention to the parasites to make sure they remain compatible pilots. He is reasonable I just about everything, remaining calm and even-handed in all situations. He holds back on showing any compassion and sympathy for the parasites, as he had viewed them as tools for warfare for so many years and they were destined to die in battle. However, he is not completely indifferent towards them and will offer them solutions to absolve any obstacle - both professionally and personally - that bothers them.

His cold demeanor begins to diminish as he watches the parasites live peacefully after the Gran Crevasse siege and he witnesses the children in distress as Kokoro and Mitsuru get taken away for wanting to get married and have a child. He later admits to Nana that he wonders what he could have don’t to comfort the children if he had emotions. He starts to exhibit a kinder side in retribution for not helping the children. He firstly rescues Nana from isolation and then helps lead the squad in the galactic battle against Papa and VIRM. He later dedicates himself to helping the parasites rebuild the planet for the sake of survival. He even admits to Nana that her desire to see the children prosper and live their own lives is not bad, proving he no longer sees the children as tools for warfare but as genuine people with feelings and free will.

Episode 01: Alone and Lonesome
Hachi meets with Hiro to discuss the conditions for him to return to the Garden. Hachi says Hiro has been offered a chance to remain in Miltisteinn because APE has high expectations for him but Hiro declines. Hachi later attends the startup ritual for Squad 13 until a klaxosaur appears and begins attacking the plantation. Nana and Hachi try to evacuate the parasites until Strelizia begins fighting it and easily kills it when Hiro successfully synchronizes with Zero Two.

Episode 02: What it Means to Connect
Hachi resumes the squad’s startup ritual the next day. As the parasites begin the connecting phase, Hachi announces he will be giving overall strategic instructions and all field decisions will be made by Delphinium as the leader unit. Hachi instructs then to whole-heartedly trust their partners to fully synchronize and active their FRANXX units.

Afterwards, Hachi and Nana announce they will have Hiro participate in a mock battle to test his abilities and decide if he should be promoted to a stamen. Zero Two offers to be his partner but Hachi and Nana agree to let Ichigo be his partner while Zorome and Miku volunteer to be the opponent. During the battle, Hachi watches along with Nana and the others. When Ichigo pilots Delphinium alone after failing to connect with Hiro and takes down Argentea, Hachi declares the match over.

Episode 03: Fighting Puppet
After running tests on Hiro, Nana says Hiro is the first sample to pilot with Zero Two and taken little damage. Hachi wonders why he failed to connect with Delphinium but is compatible with Strelizia even though he was unconscious at the time. Both wonder if this because of the ‘special specimen‘.

Hachi receives orders from HQ to have Squad 13 sortie against a Conrad klaxosaur that has been residing in the outskirts of the plantation near the magma energy drilling area. Strelizia will not accompany them because they need to learn to defend the plantation on their own. When Mitsuru and Ikuno fail to connect, Hachi announces Chlorophytum will stay behind while the other units will proceed.

Nana
Nana is his fellow APE colleague. Because of their similar positions within the plantation, they often discuss their plans together and what their actions should be. A flashback in Episode 18 shows that they were teammates in their parasite days. Albeit vaguely, Hachi displays concern for her. He was the one who pulled Nana out of her FRANXX when it crashed. Even when she relapsed into puberty, he continued to keep her around until eventually she was detained by the authorities. In Episode 22, when Nana asked why didn't he just leave her, Hachi remained silent. In Episode 23, he shields her from an explosion in the klaxosaur ship, permanently scarring his right eye. In Episode 24, Hachi wonders if he would be able to change (by having emotions) if Nana stayed by his side forever.

Dr. FRANXX
Hachi respects him as a superior and seek advice from him from time to time.

Etymology
八 (pronounced Hachi) means Eight in Japanese, possibly referring to Hachi's code. It is revealed in Episode 17 that he is a former Stamen, but his true code is still unknown.

Trivia
Hachi