While he may be second-in-command to Reinhard, it doesn’t mean that he’s capable of being an excellent commander on his own skills and merits. Granted he’s not as ambitious as Reinhard but very early on, he shows that he could be equal or maybe even greater than Reinhard as a tactician. This is proven in episode 8 of when he suppresses The Castrop Rebellion. So, what was it about the Castrop Rebellion that made it look impossible? Maximillian Castrop, the son of the former treasurer, kept some money he stole from the Empire, and used an advanced weapons system to protect the planet he was on (we’re talking something almost akin to the Death Star). Kircheis found a way to make the system work against itself instead of fighting head on, and instantly proved himself to be a great leader based on his own merit.

Reinhard, his best friend since childhood, is rightfully an ambitious man with pure plans for galactic domination. Not just for the sake of money or power but to make it a better place! Reinhard was born from low nobility while Kircheis was born as a commoner. Growing up as neighbors, they played a lot and were both heartbroken when the previous Kaiser bought Reinhard’s sister from their father. Disgusted with how the upper class abuses their power, Reinhard wishes to take over and wants Kircheis to help him. While Kircheis supports his best friends efforts, his presence allows Reinhard to stay humble and remind himself why he wishes to take over since his ego and ambitions can get the best of him at times.

OK, so he’s an admiral that orders people to kill one another, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. He’s just a soldier following orders and once you get to know him, he’s really one of the nicest people you could ever meet. After Reinhard wanted to punish another admiral for disobeying orders, Kircheis pleaded with Reinhard to be lenient with that admiral, and got him to calm down. When he visited the Alliance controlled Iserlohn Fortress to exchange POWs, he went out of his way to greet Julian, Wen-Li’s ward, to stay healthy and acknowledged him as an equal.

Annerose, the sister of Reinhard, is pretty much the object of Kircheis’ affection from the moment he set his eyes on her. Even after 15 years, his feelings for her never wavered as he was willing to put his life on the line for her. After the Kaiser died, everybody knew there was going to be civil war as Reinhard was gaining power through the chaos, and his enemies thought if they couldn’t get to him, they might as well get to his sister. Anticipating this would happen, Kircheis was already keeping watch at her compound and quashed any attempts on her life.

Inheriting the role from Masashi Hironaka, the original voice actor, is Yuuichirou Umehara, who you likely know as the voices of Goblin Slayer in Goblin Slayer, Takuma from Tiger Mask W, and Hazama Kuroo in Young Black Jack just to name a few. As Kircheis, Umehara does an excellent job of capturing the character’s composure, fairness, his boyish charms, and his relatable charisma of being someone who can connect to regular people despite his position. Thanks to his chemistry with Mamoru Miyano, the voice actor for the ambitious Reinhard, you get an effective contrasting of these two characters as both equals who can’t leave without the other, and as commanding officer and subordinate.