Hiro Kitazoe

"You're finally motivated. I'm so happy."

- Hiro Kitazoe to Masato Kageura

Hiro Kitazoe is a B-rank (formerly A-rank) Gunner and a member of Kageura Unit.

Appearance
Kitazoe is a light-skinned young man with short, spiky hair, a hooked nose and small, round eyes. His cubby constitution belies a muscular body. Standing at 189 cm, he is one of the tallest Border agents. He appears to have a preference for cargo pants, light-colored, loose sweaters with simple or, more commonly, no motifs, and heavy, padded jackets.

Kitazoe's uniform is comprised of a double-breasted, black military jacket which folds over the right side, where the coat is fastened by a vertical row of five buttons. On the wearer's right breast are two piped patch pockets closed by the same flap, and a second pair recurs at the height of the wearer's abdomen. Kageura Unit's logo is emblazoned on the jacket's high collar. Gray plain button epaulettes adorn the jacket's shoulders. The attire is completed by light gray cargo pants with a piped patch pocket and a zipper on the front of each leg, and black combat boots.

Personality
Kitazoe is easily moved to tears and very open in his displays of emotion. Nonetheless, he is normally laid-back and level-headed, even in the face of imminent defeat. He used to be reserved and to shy away from fights, but Kuruma's influence made him more of a do-gooder and increased his empathy.

Masato Kageura
Kitazoe is Kageura's teammate and one of his closest friends. The two acknowledged one another after eight rounds of a solo battle, and enjoy a good relationship despite the Attacker's distaste of the Gunner's unfiltered displays of emotion. Kitazoe is undeterred by Kageura's reactions, to the point of not shying away from giving him the occasional curt response, and openly expresses his concern and affection for his friend, proving very perceptive when it comes to identifying shifts in his mental state and behavior. He will try to pacify him when his temper flares. The Gunner is more invested in rank battles than his captain, so he may spur him to act in a way more beneficial to the team and serve as Kageura's go-to option for information. They address one another by their respective nicknames, without honorifics.

Yuzuru Ema
Ema and Kitazoe are teammates and friends. The two hang out together on occasion, and with the rest of Kageura's closer circle of acquaintances. Kitazoe cares for the Sniper, tearing up in happiness of the thought of him having a girlfriend and expressing concern over his decision to throw the match against Tamakoma Second out of fear that he would be punished, a decision of which the Gunner was unaware until Kageura shared it with all his friends. Ordinarily, Ema is more nonchalant about rank battles than Kitazoe. He was impressed and pleased to see Ema motivated to secure a spot in the upcoming away expedition. Kitazoe addresses Ema by his first name, without honorifics, while the Sniper appends the honorific -san to his nickname.

Hikari Nire
Kitazoe and Nire are teammates and part of Kageura's circle of close friends. The Gunner often asks for her assistance during rank battles, unfailingly prompting her to complain about how much her teammates rely on her. Nonetheless, she shares with Kitazoe an interest in rank battles that exceeds Kageura's and Ema's, which might cause her to chide Kitazoe for his failures and to express a complete lack of concern for his survival in the competition. Kitazoe calls her by her first name and appends the suffix -chan, while she uses his nickname and no honorific.

Kō Murakami
Kitazoe and Murakami are part of Kageura's group of friends. They know each other well enough for Murakami to be aware of the ease with which the Gunner is moved when his friends are concerned, as well as for him to tell him so and call him by a nickname without honorifics. Kitazoe also refers to him in an informal manner, using his first name followed by the suffix -kun.

Isami Tōma
Kitazoe and Tōma are both part of Kageura's closer circle of friends. Kitazoe addresses the Sniper by his surname followed by the honorific -kun.

Atsushi Hokari
Hokari and Kitazoe are probably close, since the latter did not react when the Sniper jested about not being able to imagine him starving to death.

Tatsuya Kuruma
Kuruma is known to have been a positive influence on Kitazoe, having contributed to making him more empathetic and respectful. Kuruma refers to Kitazoe by his nickname followed by the honorific -kun.

Yūma Kuga
Yūma and Kitazoe have recently started hanging out together as part of Kageura's friend group. On their first night out, their interactions were mostly focused on Chika's inability to shoot, which Kitazoe cornered Yūma into confirming. At the end of the night, the Gunner drove Yūma home. Kitazoe refers to Yūma primarily, but not exclusively, by his surname, to which he appends the honorific -kun.

Kazuki Kurauchi
Kitazoe calls Kurauchi by a nickname in his commentary of round six, possibly suggesting that they are on good terms with one another.

Taichi Betsuyaku
Kitazoe refers to Betsuyaku by his first name followed by the honorific -kun, possibly implying that the two know each other.

Yuu Kunichika
Kunichika is on good enough terms with Kitazoe to light-heartedly refer to him, Tōma and herself as idiots, prompting the Gunner to interject that his grades are average, and to refer to him by his nickname followed by the honorific -san.

Quotes

 * (To Masato Kageura) "You're finally motivated. I'm so happy."
 * "Why is my sacrifice being treated like nothing?"
 * (To Yuu Kunichika and Isami Tōma) "Wait a second! My grades in school are average!!"
 * (To Kageura) "Seeing you have more friends makes me so happy."
 * "Yuzuru has a girlfriend now... That makes me so happy."
 * (To Tōma) "No matter how hungry I got, I can't imagine myself eating a bug."
 * (To Kageura) "Don't sweat it, man. We'll get our groove back."

Trivia

 * Kitazoe likes strawberries, spring rolls, donmono (rice-with-toppings), and mahjong.
 * Kitazoe has a motorbike license and a motorbike.
 * His primary gun Trigger is based on a MGL-140 grenade launcher.
 * Border Briefing File refers to it as a "grenade gun" (グレネードガン) instead of a "grenade launcher".
 * The author refers to Kitazoe as "a lion who can gain weight" and as a "lovable mascot".
 * Hidetaka shares his surname with Hidetaka Kitazoe. Their family information from Border Briefing File is also compatible, with Hiro having a younger brother listed and Hidetaka an older one. However, any blood tie between the two remains unconfirmed.