Tony — xenosaga

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“

What? Impossible? Hey, hey, who do you think you're talking to here? There's no way Tony "Numero Uno" is gonna turn down a challenge like that!

—Tony, regarding flying the Elsa between two black holes

”

Tony (トニー, Tonī) is the helmsman of the Elsa, who enjoys womanizing and piloting in difficult situations. He assists Captain Matthews and Hammer. Tony's brilliant piloting skills come into play several times throughout the series.

Personality

Tony is proud of his expert piloting skills, and rightly so, as his abilities have saved the group from a number of dangerous situations, including flying between dual black holes.

Although he's a daredevil when piloting the Elsa, Tony is compassionate and genuinely cares about his friends and people in general. Tony's spiritual beliefs are important to him, and as such, he is careful not to disrespect the dead.

He has a tendency to be flirtatious, as well as to bicker with his fellow crewmembers.

Tony expresses interest in both men and women:

In XenoComi, when chaos asks everyone if they need anything while he's making a shopping list, Tony requests "money, women, and fame". chaos says none of those are sold on the Foundation, and Tony requests cigarettes instead (タバコ ) . Later on, Tony asks chaos if he got the "hopes and dreams and men and women" that he'd previously asked for (「ケイオス、頼んでた夢と希望と男と女、買ってきてくれた？」).
In Xenosaga Episode II, Ginevra states that Tony left her for a man (implied to be Matthews), and messaged her afterward to say, "I feel like I'm truly alive." If chaos is the party leader, she asks if there are any other men Tony is close to, and considers Hammer to be "another powerful rival". If Jr. is the party leader, she asks if he is also secretly going out with Tony, and threatens to pick a fight with him over it. Ginevra's comments may be closer to opinions or rumors than fact, but without further elaboration from Tony himself or the other Elsa crew members, it's difficult to confirm or deny this information.

Xenosaga Episode I

Tony outruns a squad of U-TIC Auto-Techs by riding the column wall in Hyperspace, and gets Shion Uzuki and her companions into and out of Proto Merkabah.

Xenosaga Episode II

Tony guides the Elsa through a maze of Ormus Society warships bent on destroying the ship before it can reach Old Miltia.

Xenosaga Episode III

At the end, Tony is one of those who embarks on a mission to find Lost Jerusalem, the lost homeland of humanity.

Relationships

chaos

chaos respects Tony's piloting skills.

Hammer

Tony has been friends with Hammer since childhood.

Matthews

Matthews rescued both Hammer and Tony when they got into trouble with a criminal organization after Hammer hacked into their database. They've worked on the Elsa ever since.

Tony teases Matthews about his determination to see the Seraphim Sisters live in concert, even though viewing the performance through the U.M.N. would be indistinguishable.

Gaignun

When Matthews wants to salvage scrap from the Woglinde, Tony backs up Hammer's concerns and says, "Master Gaignun told us to stay away from any “side jobs,” remember? He said it hurts the Foundation’s image. I don’t know…"

Jr.

Tony and Jr. respect each other. Jr. works with the group to rescue the Elsa crew in Episode III, and they're relieved to see him. When Voyager attacks the Elsa, Tony and Jr. team up to fire at him while chaos and Captain Matthews help Assistant Scott and the Professor.

MOMO

Although he initially thought Ziggy was the one piloting their ship, Tony is surprised to find out MOMO was the pilot, and is highly impressed with her skill. Like the rest of the Elsa crew, Tony cares about MOMO and looks out for her. This is especially notable in Xenosaga Outer File.

Shion

Tony flirts with Shion when they first meet. When they approach the Song of Nephilim, Shion asks if he can fly the Elsa so she can see the top of it, and he does so, which allows her to confirm that she did recognize the structure from spending time with her mother in her hospital room on Miltia. As they frantically wait for KOS-MOS to safely exit the self-destructing Proto Merkabah, Tony takes Shion at her word and brings the ship near the location from which Shion sensed KOS-MOS would emerge.

Quotes

"That's not a geocrystal, you idiot! It's a corpse!"
"You're kidding, right?! My dead grandma told me to be respectful of the dead. Sorry, but I don't want to any bad karma. You do it, Captain."
"Once we arrive, how about you and I get a suite and settle in with a nice bottle of wine…?" (to Shion)

Trivia

According to Xenosaga: Official Design Materials, Tony is classified as an Enneagram type 7, along with Hammer, Matthews, Miyuki Itsumi, and Shion Uzuki.
Tony's appearance (but not his personality) was based on Tetsuya Takahashi's friend named Tony, with whom he plays Airsoft.^[1]
Tony smokes.