Nanase

Nanase is a minor antagonist in the 07-Ghost manga series. He was a Barsburg scientist and researcher who was killed by Raphael as revenge for trying to kill Roseamanelle Ouka Barsburg, whom Nanase had been manipulating since she was a child.

Etymology
'Nana' can mean 'seven' in Japanese. This could be a reference to his being the one responsible for choosing the seventh clone of the original Ouka to replace her (the original Ouka). 'Se' can be from 'sekai', which means 'world' in Japanese.

Taken as a whole, the name Nanase has many possible meanings depending on the characters used. One possible meaning is "seven rapids".

Physical appearance
Nanase was of average height, and usually shown with his eyes closed. He was mostly bald, with two patches of curly, light-coloured hair at the sides of his head.

Clothing
Being a scientist, he was always shown wearing a long, white lab coat. it is unclear what he wore under the lab coat.

Personality
Nanase was single-mindedly devoted to his cloning experiments, to the extent that he betrayed Emperor Wolfram although they had previously been allies. He also seemed to have a flawed or twisted understanding of love, as he said that he has loved Ouka 'since she was a cell', yet evidently only valued her in terms of how obedient she was to him.

Relationships
Roseamanelle Ouka Barsburg (OR-0007): Nanase claimed to have loved Ouka 'since she was a cell', but made her undergo brainwashing experiments and tried to kill her when she stopped obeying him. Ouka declared that she refused to continue being his puppet and killed him while possessed by the Eye of Raphael. She then ended the Raphael Project by destroying the other clones.

Raphael: Raphael apparently hates Nanase for what he did to Ouka, saying 'The punishment is far too lax for toying with my master.' after killing him, and lamenting that Nanase died before the archangel could tear him limb from limb.

Mikhail: Like Raphael, Mikhail hates Nanase for what he did to his (Mikhail's) master, Teito, referring to Nanase as 'that scum', and saying that he wanted to make Nanase 'taste living hell' for toying with Teito.

Early childhood
Very little is known about Nanase's early years. He does not appear to be a royal or a noble, suggesting that he is from a working class or lower-class family.

Adulthood
At some point in his adult life, Nanase began working as a researcher affiliated with the Barsburg Empire. He was apparently in league with Emperor Wolfram Eifeler Barsburg and Ayanami, aiding them in their plans to brainwash and manipulate the hosts of the Eye of Mikhail and the Eye of Raphael. However, he later betrayed the Emperor when the latter wanted to kill Ouka.

Death
In chapter 85 of the manga, Nanase tried to strangle Ouka. However, Raphael defended Ouka and killed him.

Quotes

 * 'Well then, behold the true power of the Eye of Raphael.'
 * 'There are still many things unknown about the Eye of Raphael. It would be better to let the princess live for some time yet.' (to Emperor Wolfram in manga chapter 79)
 * 'Where is my Ouka-chan? Where is the child whom I have loved since she was a cell?' (manga chapter 85)
 * 'OR-0007 is my child. I won't give her to anyone.' (when he betrayed the Emperor in manga chapter 85)
 * 'My brainwashing is perfect.' (thinking to himself in manga chapter 85)
 * 'Ouka-chan, to Papa, you are necessary.' (to Ouka, manga chapter 85)
 * 'Let's go to the new research laboratory, together.' (to a replica of Ouka in manga chapter 85)