Kurutsu

Her wardrobe leans toward a deliberately relaxed look: an open white shirt worn loose at the collar, paired with an ankle-length green skirt and tall black boots. Brown hair of moderate length falls across the left side of her face, framing the composed features of a woman still young in appearance.

Toward the Major she shows an oddly warm attachment, behaving as though the two share some earlier acquaintance. That fondness never wavers even when the Major openly defies orders and states plainly that she has no wish to serve under her; where another commander would discipline such insubordination, Kurutsu lets it slide entirely.

Unit 501 is the organization that turned Motoko into a fully synthetic body, and Kurutsu rose to command it following the death of its earlier chief, Lieutenant Colonel Mamuro. Had the Major stayed with the unit rather than moving to Section 9, she was positioned to one day inherit that same leadership. The final Arise film supplies the explanation for Kurutsu's uncanny familiarity: the name and role were adopted long ago by a companion from the Major's past, which is why she seems to recognize her before they ever work together. Cornered by the threat of arrest, that person takes her own life. English releases also list the character under the spelling Kurtz.