Gino Weinberg

Gino Weinberg (ジノ・ヴァインベルグ, Jino Vu~ainberugu) is the Knight of Three in the Knights of the Round, a position he achieved through his incredible piloting skills, though it was suggested by fellow Round Luciano Bradley that he was greatly aided by his position as a nobleman to achieve the rank of "Three", compared to Luciano's "Ten", despite Gino's unprofessional behaviour. He is voiced by Dave Wittenberg.

Appearance
Gino is extremely tall, standing at least a head taller than Suzaku, and has a muscular build. He has blond hair with three braids that are typically draped over his shoulder, and blue eyes. As the Knight of Three, he typically wears a Knight uniform, along with a green coat. Other times, he is seen wearing the Ashford Academy uniform.

Personality
In direct contrast to his stoic, deprecating best friends (Anya and Suzaku), Gino is an energetic, optimistic individual who always tries to see the best in everyone. This can be seen by his friendly one-arm hugs he often gives to Suzaku and his rather banterous relationship with Kallen Kozuki. A downturn to this is his somewhat dimwitted moves, which is a result of his sheltered upbringing. Despite this, he always tries to do the right thing, effectively gaining himself numerous friends on both sides of the conflict.

Character Outline
Gino comes from a very rich upbringing, and as such doesn't quite understand how the real world works. However, his cheerfulness and friendly demeanor earns him many friends. Gino is good friends with Anya Alstreim and Suzaku Kururugi, but his friendship with Suzaku seems slightly one-sided, as Suzaku seems unnerved with Gino's tendency to come into physical contact with him. He pilots the transforming Knightmare Frame Tristan and is an accomplished Knightmare pilot.

According to the Knights of the Round-themed light novels, Gino fell in love with his family's Eleven maid when he was 14, not caring about racial or societal differences. When his parents learned of the relationship, his father beat the girl and threw her out into the streets. Both parents admonished Gino to act in a fashion more befitting his noble status. Two years later, Gino ran away from home and joined the military. The novels also state that he was named a Knight of the Round a mere five months before Suzaku, making him the second newest member.

Second Season
Gino first appears in the second episode of the second season with Suzaku and Anya Alstreim. He mounts an attack on the Tokyo Settlement government building shortly after arriving in Area 11 to test their readiness but is stopped by Suzaku. They intervene in the Black Knights's attempted kidnapping of Nunnally vi Britannia, the new Viceroy of Area 11. Gino destroys Shōgo Asahina's Gekka and kills Ryōga Senba. Kallen Kōzuki defeats both him and Anya in her upgraded Guren Flight-Enabled Version, leading Gino to remark that her skill is on the level of a member of the Knights of the Round.

Gino finally meets Kallen face-to-face when she accompanies Zero to the pre-wedding party for the Chinese Empress. He claims she's more attractive than her wanted poster suggests and flirts with her from across the room. When the Chinese Federation requests Britannian aid following the kidnapping of the Empress, Gino faces off against Li Xingke, annoyed that Li robbed him of the opportunity to get a rematch against Kallen. He easily holds his own against Li's Shenhu, even slicing off one of the wings when Li is distracted by the Empress. He retreats with the rest of the Britannian forces when the Chinese revolt against the Eunuchs. He then enrolls in Ashford Academy with Anya to learn what it's like to live as a regular person.

During Kallen's imprisonment in Tokyo, Gino visits her and asks if she has any intention coming back to Britannia under the name of Stadtfeld. The attack on the settlement interrupts their conversation, but he gets his answer when she is set free and joins the battle. She confirms for him that she has chosen the name of Kōzuki, and when asked whether them meeting on the battlefield is a reason to be happy or sad, he claims that they should enjoy it. He then asks Suzaku to let him deal with Kallen himself, but Suzaku insists that she would not let him off so easily and stays to fight her.

After the founding of the UFN, more Rounds gather at Area 11 in preparations for the full scale war between the two powers. Gino comes to Kallen's defence when fellow Round Luciano Bradley comes to pester and possibly murder her in her cell, against orders. Luciano takes the opportunity to suggest that Gino's position as a Round is thanks to his noble heritage, perhaps either to explain his high rank of "Three" compared to Luciano's "Ten", despite Luciano tending to seem slightly more impressive, or at least more ruthless, as a pilot than Gino, or to explain Gino's comparatively poor professionalism and demeanour compared to Bismarck, Suzaku and Anya.

When Schneizel begins his plans to assassinate the Emperor, Gino objects and is held prisoner so he won't interfere. He is later seen with the remaining Knights observing Lelouch's ascension to the throne. After Lelouch becomes Emperor, he joins the assault to remove him from power. Suzaku disables the Tristan without killing Gino, leaving him to wonder what he is fighting for. After the Black Knights join Schneizel in order to defeat Lelouch, Gino agrees to fight, despite that he would be going against Britannia, telling Kallen that he understands her feelings a little. He engages Suzaku in combat, refusing to accept the new Britannia which created by Lelouch and Suzaku, but is defeated. He uses his last attack to allow Kallen to take over. After Kallen comes to a stalemate with Suzaku, losing consciousness as the Lancelot explodes, Gino catches her. Two months later, Gino is one of the members slated for public execution next to Tianzi and Kanon Maldini. He is then released after Lelouch's death. Gino's only appearances in the epilogue are in two photos: one where he is attending Ohgi and Villetta's wedding photo, in which he is standing between Kallen and Anya; and the second, where he is posing with Tianzi.

Code Geass: The Manga
Gino and Anya fight against Suzaku in the Damocles. He and Anya enroll as students in Ashford Academy in the end.

Trivia

 * Soichiro Hoshi, Gino's seiyu, also provided the voice of Kira Yamato, the main protagonist of Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny, another series produced by Sunrise. An inside joke from the video game Super Robot Wars Z2 has both Gino and Kira being friendly with each other during fights.
 * His name 'Gino' means well-born, noble in Greek.

Quotes

 * "It's shake time!"
 * Conversation with Kallen:
 * Gino: "Kallen! So in the end, you chose the name Kozuki over Stadtfeld."
 * Kallen: "That's right - which means you and I do battle once again. So should I be happy or sad about that, Gino?"
 * Gino: "What if we just enjoy?"
 * "Because Suzaku's been acting so weird lately, I thought this [a packet of photos] might help take things off his mind for a while. I found it hidden deep in a locker like it was something valuable - there a few missing photos here and there, though. Ones of you, too! But I suppose he couldn't leave behind evidence that shows him palling around with a terrorist. Yet, everyone seems... well..."
 * "Getting in here couldn't have been in easier! These guy are almost annoying sloppy! Is this the best line of defense Area 11 has to offer... ah-ha... perhaps I was being a bit hasty."
 * "What have I become? Am I a Knight of Britannia? And if I'm not... then what am I fighting these battles for?"
 * Conversation with Lelouch and Rivalz:
 * Gino: "Lelouch, old man!"
 * Lelouch: (shocked to see Gino) "W-what?"
 * Gino: "Mind if I go to your chess games with you? Only the underground ones - where you gamble!"
 * Rivalz: "When I told him how you gambled on your games he begged me to take him along!"
 * Lelouch: "Rivalz, I swear..."
 * "This has gone beyond war."
 * "...They're using a Knightmare to create a giant pizza?"
 * "Can't ya look a bit happier when somebody saves your life?"
 * Conversation with Zero:
 * Gino: "You said you'd stop fightin' and join in on the Special Zone - but do you have full consensus on that from all of the Black Knights?"
 * Zero: "I have more than that... a million people have been mobilized."
 * "Should we take a tour of where the commoners go to school?"
 * "Will you wake up, Suzaku?! You can still come back to us!"
 * Conversation with a Britannian Soldier:
 * Soldier: "You think there'll be a riot?"
 * Gino: "If there is? We'll have the perfect excuse for a full-scale crack down. Ah, but remember! We don't move until they do, got it?"
 * Soldier: "Yes, my Lord."
 * "The Mordred always handles things in its own... unique way. Anya - don't do that again, okay? We don't wanna kill the viceroy now, do we?"
 * "I can see you guys still have a lot to learn around here, don't ya? This is a school for commoners - things like this take place alllll the time!"
 * Conversation with Anya:
 * Anya: "This is the ace of the Black Knights - pilot of the Guren."
 * Gino: "Yeah, the one from before! She's a lot prettier than her wanted poster - that's my kinda woman!"
 * "Look at that smile. And that's more like the real you, Kallen."
 * "Have you no sense of pride, dear Sir Bradley - threatening an unarmed, imprisoned woman?"
 * "Geez, you really need to loosen up, my friend."
 * Conversation with Kallen:
 * Kallen: "Are you sure you want to join with us? It means you'd be fighting against Britannia."
 * Gino: "You know, right now... right now, I think I understand your feelings just a bit."