Zaka

"The world is no friend of the Darcsens. That's the truth of it. And this war's stirred up prejudice in people, so they behave inhumanely. I can sympathise with wanting to look away, but facing the truth makes a person grow."

- Zaka to Isara Zaka is one of the main protagonists of the video game Valkyria Chronicles. He is a former prisoner of the Empire who was held in an Imperial work camp and a member of the Fouzen Resistance. Like Isara Gunther, he is a member of the persecuted Darcsen people and so is often a victim of racism. After Squad 7 helps him with the resistance, he joins them as their second tank commander.

He is voiced by Kazuya Nakai in the Japanese version and Steve Blum in the English version.

Appearance
Zaka is a man in his early-to-mid thirties with the same dark hair and eyes as all Darcsens. He is very tall, standing at 187cm, making him nearly half a foot taller than Welkin and slightly taller than Largo. He seems to be missing his left eye, as he always has it closed. When the squad first meets him, he wears a flat hat, a red-and-yellow shawl, a blue denim shirt, grey trousers and brown boots. After he joins Squad 7, he switches to the Gallian militia uniform, though he keeps his hat.

Personality
Despite his somewhat intimidating appearance, Zaka is a very kind and gentle person; when Irene Ellet calls him a "grizzly bear", Zaka replies that he would rather think of himself as a "teddy bear." He is very good with children, and would frequently take care of orphans while imprisoned in the concentration camp. He sympathises with the militia and is very civil and patient with all the members of Squad 7, even the Darcsen-hating Rosie. He seems rather amused by Welkin's nature obsession, and even chuckles when he hears him compare humans to beetles, stating that was the first time he had ever heard someone compare humans to insects in a good way before (referring to Gregor calling Darcsens "maggots").

Zaka is generally a pacifist, stating that it's the Darcsen way to not respond to situations with violence, even if it leads to their deaths, and if they die, they die for peace. He also rejects the concept of revenge, believing that it accomplishes nothing but more deaths. However, while he doesn't believe in violence, he is willing to resort to it if it's the only option open to him; this is proven during the Fouzen operation, where he devises a plan to destroy the bridge in which Gregor's armoured train is situated in order to kill him, albeit indirectly. Before the operation, he states that he has been waiting for this day for a long time, suggesting a deep hatred for the man. Afterwards, he joins Squad 7 as a Gallian militiaman, telling Welkin that he admires him for his "fresh perspective."

Although they didn't know each other for very long, Zaka and Isara formed a strong bond very quickly, due to the fact that they are both Darcsens, and so can easily relate to each other due to the prejudice they suffer. Zaka knows full well that the world is not kind to Darcsens and so can sympathise with people's desires to just look away. Nevertheless, he believes that it's better to face the truth, stating it makes people stronger. Much like Isara, he hopes for the day where Darcsens will be treated as equals again, and believes it is up to them to change people's minds.