André Gide

André Gide (アンドレ・ジイド,) is the late leader of the European organization Mimic. Due to his actions in Osamu Dazai and the Dark Era, he is considered as one of the main antagonists.

Appearance
Gide is a tall man Sakunosuke Oda describes as 'handsome'. He has sharp grey eyes, grey hair swept entirely to his back with only a few bangs hanging on the front from the sides and pale skin. Over his normal clothes, much like any other member of Mimic, he wears a dark grey, ragged cloak.

In BONES' anime adaptation, he has red eyes, long white hair tied into a low ponytail that drapes over his shoulders, and tan skin. Underneath his dark grey cloak, he wears a light beige sweater, dark grey pants, and black knee-length boots. Both of his wrists feature black wrist cartridge holders.

Personality
Befitting a soldier, Gide is a cold and serious man with amazing leadership skills. As a soldier, he was a righteous and prideful man, smart enough to seize a walled city with 600 enemies with only 40 soldiers.

Initially, he displays himself as an emotionless man, only seeking the thrill from the war to be finally killed by his enemies. He rarely shows any emotions, with Oda being the only one whom he has shown his true character.

Desperate to die fighting to maintain his and his men's pride, he idolizes Odasaku's skill, essentially begging him to be the one to fight and kill Mimic. Despite his great respect for Odasaku, he doesn't hesitate to kidnap and slaughter the orphans Odasaku took care of as a means to push Odasaku over the edge. The thrill of the battle against Odasaku becomes Gide's main driving force. To a point, Odasaku considers Gide and Osamu Dazai similar in their wishes to die, but ultimately Gide's death wish comes from a point fundamentally different from Dazai's.

Ability
Strait is the Gate (La Porte Étroite; 狭き門 - Sekimon). His power is the same as Odasaku's, allowing Gide to predict the future for roughly five to six seconds as well. This makes Gide a formidable opponent, especially when paired with his marksmanship.

Background
Gide used to be a hero, an astonishing commander from an unknown army during an unknown conflict called The Great War, until they are betrayed by their own country and labeled them as war criminals after attacking a walled city, not knowing about the peace treaties signed behind their backs. Therefore, their actions are unknowingly treated as war crimes and were on the verge of being annihilated, if not for they decided to take their dead enemies' possessions and disguise themselves as ghosts to break through their former allies' lines and escape.

Unable to find a reason to live out from the battlefield, he swears to his comrades that together they'd die as soldiers.

Before coming to Japan, he and his organization sought war with the Knights from The Order of the Clock Tower but were ultimately expunged from Europe. Sometime later, Mori contacted them to lure them to the country.

Past
Not much is known about his childhood. During the Great War that happened 14 years ago, Gide contributed to the military of his home country (implied to be France) and distinguish himself in battle. He rose to the rank of Commander.

At the ending days of the war, he and his squad - Mimic is betrayed by their country and forced to flee while disguising themselves as the enemies they had killed.

Some of his comrades who were in despair chose to commit suicide. Gide couldn't do anything to stop them, but he promised they will all die as a soldier in the midst of war. With this reasoning, Mimic sought wars with organizations from Europe before being ultimately expunged from Europe by the Order of the Clock Tower.

Dark Era Arc
Gide was first mentioned by Ango Sakaguchi who fed information about Mimic to Oda Sakunosuke. He made his eventual appearance in chapter 3 where Mimic fought against Port Mafia lead by Akutagawa in the Yokohama Museum of Art.

In the battle, Akutagawa was able to restrain Gide, but the Commander proved himself as a strong opponent, breaking free from Akutagawa's restraints all while causing the port mafia members to shoot their own comrades. Akutagawa tried to attack Gide, but Gide was able to dodge all of Rashomon attacks and land a bullet on Akutagawa's leg. Akutagawa was able to survive due to Rashomon protecting his head from Gide's bullet. Just before Gide landed a finishing blow, Sakunosuke Oda interfered, escaping Mimic while carrying the wounded Akutagawa away.

Gide appeared some moments later, able to pursue Oda because of Akutagawa. The two fought a short battle, in which Oda and Gide both realized they possessed the same ability. Gide determined Oda as the only person that could end the war and kill him and Mimic. Oda refused the 'request', claiming he didn't want to kill because he had a dream. This enraged Gide and the former soldier fired some rounds to the unconscious Akutagawa. Oda shielded Akutagawa with his own body, revealing the bullets hit the bulletproof vest he wore under his shirt. Shortly after, Gide and Mimic left the scene after Gide proclaiming he will make Oda understand that between them, only one will survive, and he's looking forward to their battle.

Several days after the encounter, Gide decided to push Oda to the edge by killing his adopted children, causing Oda to fall into despair and throwing away his dream to become a writer. Oda went on a killing spree, storming Mimic's hideout and killing all of the soldiers in his way. He reached a grand ballroom where Gide had been waiting for him.

In his final moments, Gide tells Oda his past before coming to Japan. Oda tried to change Gide's mind, but it was useless as the former soldier only sought death. They both exchanged bullets, and Oda's bullet hit Gide. Gide told Oda that he will be seeing his fallen comrades, and he would like Oda to say hello to the children he had killed for him.

Post Dark-Era Arc
Due to his actions which lead Oda Sakunosuke to his demise, Dazai left Port Mafia and join the Armed Detective Agency 2 years later.

It is implied that the story of 55 Minutes is also affected by his death, as the Colonel in the stories said that to 'wake up' their fallen comrades, they need a loud sound.

Quotes

 * "We lost our homeland and our honor. We became ghosts wandering a wasteland in search of enemies to fight. (Oda asks: Are you sure you couldn't change your way of life?) I swore to my men that I would die a soldier. I cannot become anything else. No... Perhaps I could have. I may have been able to reshape my way of life and become someone who wasn't a soldier. Just like how you stopped killing."

Trivia

 * It is unknown which country he came from, though his nationality may be French, similar to his real-life counterpart.
 * His preferred weapon was a grey and slim pistol known as 'Grey Ghost (or Grey Spectre)'. The pistols may be based on European's P38.
 * Him reciting a Bible passage (John 12:24), could imply that he was a religious person or at least that he possessed some knowledge about the Bible.
 * In a promotional poster of André Gide, it's revealed that his ability name is "Strait is the Gate".
 * He appeared as an event character for the Dark Era collaboration with the game "Kimito Lead Puzzle 18". His card is obtainable from event stages as a drop.
 * Gide appeared in Bungo Stray Dogs' 2nd stage play (Dark Era), his role is played by Takeshi Hayashino. It is stated in the guidebook Gide is 185 cm tall, Takeshi Hayashino is 193 cm tall.