Characters / Soulcalibur VI 1

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Heishiro Mitsurugi

Mercenary in The Warlike Age

Heishiro Mitsurugi. Do not forget this name!

Origin: Bizen, Japan

First Appearance: Soul Edge (1995)

Weapon: Shishi-oh, a katana

Fighting Style: Tenpu-Kosai-Ryu Kai

Height: 173cm (5'8")

Weight: 73kg (157lbs)

Blood Type: AB

Alignment: Good

Relationships: Parents and brothers (all deceased)

Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa (Japanese), Ray Chase (English)

Mitsurugi was born as the fourth son of a family of farmers, all having been taken by sickness. A swordsman in an age where a revolutionary new weapon named the "Tanegashima" was sweeping Japan and leaving the old ways in the dust, he has set out to the world with only one goal: to seek the strongest warrior and challenge them to battle, where he wishes to reign victorious. Because of this, he draws himself to Soul Edge for that reason.

Mitsurugi is the Ryu of the series — a well-balanced character with no strengths or gimmicks, but also no weaknesses. While he's outshined individually in each category by other characters, and lacks any real special powers to utilize, he's well-rounded overall in range, speed and priority, and the lack of powers encourages the player to get down and dirty with the opponent. Mitsurugi is a very good choice for players who are new to Soul Calibur or to players who like good fundamentals.

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• Accidental Misnaming: A common occurrence in his story mode is that he keeps referring to Nightmare as "Knight of Mare",^note In the original Japanese, he instead refers to Nightmare as "Naitou", a relatively normal-sounding Japanese surname after hearing about him for the first time. The moniker even features in the title of one of his chapters. He also calls Geralt "Gerald" (despite Geralt being pronounced with a hard G).
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In the original timeline, his relationship with Setsuka's master Shugen was merely one of many opponents he faced. Here, Shugen is arguably the most important opponent he has ever encountered and a huge inspiration for him to adapt his fighting style and become stronger.
• Adaptational Dumbass: While no means a genius in the original timeline, he could be clever when the situation calls for it and did have a good memory. Here, he’s often messing up with names, confuses people with others, and can be easily manipulated. Also shown to be quite uncultured- and mocked for it.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: In the original timeline, he often tended to be aloof at best and contemptuous at worst when interacting with other characters. The Mitsurugi in this timeline, in contrast, is much more affable and more pleasant company to be around, and in Libra of Soul he even shows concern for the Player when their Evil Seed affliction starts hurting them. When meeting Arthur, he sympathizes with him for being a foreigner that lives in Japan because he faced a similar prejudice for being from a peasant family and his fight against Shugen was clearly a mutually agreed duel to the death where both opponents respected each other as honorable equals.
• Adaptational Personality Change: He's still hotblooded and always looking for the next challenge, but Mitsurugi in the Original Timeline was played much more seriously. Here, he's much softer and more comedic even if he's not trying to be, going hand-in-hand with the Adaptational Nice Guy and Adaptational Dumbass above.
• Always Someone Better: He's this towards Arthur, the latter whom is defeated by him.
• Animal Motif: His art features a tiger, which also appears as a decal on his pants, which is one of the very few new additions to an otherwise perfect recreation of his I costume.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Has the confidence to match his skill, that much is certain.
• Badass Boast: One of his win quotes.
  Mitsurugi: Not even the king of hell could stand against my blade.
• Badass Normal: Just a normal guy with a sword and lots of training and experience, yet is still amongst the most badass in the series. It especially stands out in this game, since the characters with special abilities now actually use them in battle, whereas Mitsurugi relies solely on skill. He can even give Geralt - an alchemically created Super-Soldier who can cleave a fully-armoured man in half with a single sword strike - a run for his money.
• Blood Knight: As in the original timeline, his main objective in this game is to fight strong opponents, and he sets his sights on Nightmare upon learning of his deeds. He always has a joyful expression upon being challenged by the enemies who cross his path.
• Bond One-Liner: "Can't stand? You're done for!"
• Boring, but Practical: His Critical Edge just has him hit his opponent really hard. Even compared to the other non-magical fighters and even those that fight mostly without use of their magic, who tend to be relatively flashy, it stands out as particularly mundane.
• Butt-Monkey: His Soul Chronicle mostly consists of Edge Master bamboozling him out of chances to find Soul Edge without him realizing it.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: Implied; he was able to take down a gang of bandits by himself with little effort in his Soul Chronicle. He also hits fairly hard for a Jack of All Stats, and one of his attacks involves jumping really high. The fact that he was able to at least go toe-to-toe with Geralt of Rivia further reinforces this.
• Connected All Along: After his first journey to find Soul Edge, Mitsurugi returned to Japan and happened upon a woman using Battoujutsu who would end up inspiring him to learn his now-iconic Relic stance and seek out the Kokonoe clan in order to learn more about such a fast technique that could potentially defeat the Tanegashima. That woman was Setsuka, and little does Mitsurugi know that she now wants revenge on him for killing her master in an honorable duel.
• Duel to the Death: His duel with Shugen in his side story at Setsuka's Soul Chronicle is the only on-screen example of this trope, being a mutually agreed affair. However, the narrations imply he does this regularly with most opponents he comes across.
• Dumb Muscle: Mitsurugi is a samurai of peerless martial skill...and is not very bright. He is convinced that the wielder of Soul Edge is called the "Knight of Mare".
• Everyone Has Standards: Mitsurugi takes way too much pride on both his skills and strength and will gleefully fight stronger opponents to test his potential, even his lust for battles have their limits. His victory quote against Setsuka asks her to let go of her vendetta quest and let Shugen rest in peace, knowing the fact that the path she's taking will bring nothing but more misery to herself.
  "There is nothing for you down that path... You know that, right?"
• Foil: He's a direct counterpart to Taki while also being an antithesis. Both are the same age, had their immediate families taken by sickness, became warriors on their own and are among the deadliest of the roster, went rogue, and they seek to find Soul Edge. The two divert from each other from there. Mitsurugi is a male samurai who's always looking for the next challenge and will go to any lengths to get it even if it means finding Soul Edge, and cares little about the well-being of others. Taki is a female ninja who's an overall force for good, watching out for the well-being of humankind (even if it's not in the nicest way), and seeks Soul Edge specifically to destroy it.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: Nothing in lore implies he can set his sword on fire, yet it does so in his Critical Edge.
• Graceful Loser: In Libra of Soul, he takes losing to the Player rather well and shows appreciation for being able to fight someone he regards as a Worthy Opponent — except if he loses a round due to being ringed out, though he's not the only one who thinks this way:
  —Mitsurugi: "Fight properly!"
• Hidden Depths: For someone who lived in feudal Japan, he's very receptive and sympathetic towards foreigners who live in his country, as he can relate to being an outcast due to his peasant background.
• Hot-Blooded: Loud, boastful, and always eager for a fight.
• Hunk: A very manly, yet fairly handsome Samurai at that.
• Ironic Name: "Mitsurugi" literally means "divine sword." That being said, his sword is normal and he has no magical powers of his own.
• Jack of All Stats: Mitsurugi has a very balanced fighting style. He doesn't specialize in any particular field like damage, speed, range, or combos, as there are characters who are stronger, faster, can reach farther, and can string together more damaging combinations than he can. Likewise, he does not have any sort of gimmick like the other fighters who possess magical abilities; no Teleport Spam, no Life Drain, no Projectiles, no Superpowered Evil Side, no Time Mastery, no Self-Healing, or anything else. While he has stances, they're there mainly to give him more options rather than as an essential part of his playstyle. The tradeoff to all of this is as that he doesn't have any real weaknesses to speak of. This means that, by lacking the specialties and gimmicks of the other fighters, he's a lot easier to use in the process. He's good at just about anything, but he just doesn't excel at them either, so it'll be up to the skill of the player to make the most of it.
• Katanas Are Just Better: His weapon as a Samurai, naturally. Because of his Jack of All Stats nature, it's a balanced weapon.
• Lightning Bruiser: Hits hard, moves quickly, and can take a reasonable beating.
• Men Are Uncultured: Not only he is portrayed as dumber than in the Original Timeline, he displays a noticeable lack of refinement. He can't pronounce big words like "indubitably" and mocks geisha's songs by calling them "slow". And this gets Gyobu Kokonoe to actually call Mitsurugi an "uncultured swine". Justified since he is the son of a poor farmer.
• Missing Mom: His parents died before he got to know them.
• Mr. Fanservice: Here's one for the ladies; if you break his lower armor, he's shown to be wearing a Fundoshi. This would normally be Fan Disservice if not for the fact that he's rather handsome and ripped.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Hilariously enough with Arthur on Libra of Souls. Mitsurugi pointed out that despite the former being a foreigner in Japan, his own peasant background lets him relate to Arthur’s own issues with facing racism and tells him that being the strongest so he can defend his family is very similar to Mitsurugi seeking opponents so he too can be the strongest fighter.
• Playing with Fire: His sword is set on fire during his Critical Edge.
• Recurring Element: A stronger-than-usual Badass Normal who's very good at fighting, but is a complete dumbass in every other field. Basically, Paul Phoenix as a Japanese Samurai.
• The Rival: To Taki, as always. They even have a special intro with each other that highlights this.
• Rōnin: Despite having the typical samurai look with his armor, he is actually a swordsman with no master and wanders the earth looking for opponents to fight.
• Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training: Mitsurugi is a master swordsman, but clearly isn't very educated outside fighting.
• Samurai: The main samurai of the series, though technically speaking he's a ronin. Still, he evokes the imagery with his armor.
• See You in Hell: After Shugen tells Mitsurugi that he will be waiting for him in Hell to duel again, the ronin responds with one of his recurring win quotes.
  Mitsurugi: In the fires of hell... we shall meet again!
• Simple, yet Awesome: Mitsurugi is one of the easiest characters to use, with many direct options, break attacks, and two different stances that compliment his fighting style without possibly getting in the way. Because of this, he's a Jack of All Stats who can stand up to just about anyone, provided the player is skilled enough to face them.
• Sliding Scale of Silliness vs. Seriousness: Despite suffering from his Butt-Monkey status, he's definitely a very powerful fighter, who just suffers such due to Adaptational Dumbass; most of the time, he isn't trying to make a fool of himself.
• Sore Loser: His greatest Berserk Button seems to be losing dishonorably, as he takes losing much better if his opponent bested him fair and square with honor (as seen with the conduit in Libra). His entire motivation is honing his swordsmanship after losing a duel to a rifleman, and one of his quotes after losing two rounds in a row is just wordless screaming.
• Spell Blade: His Critical Edge wreathes his sword in fiery ki before he slashes his opponent.
• Time-Shifted Actor: Has a new voice actor this time around that uses a noticeably younger voice compared to the gruff and more experienced portrayal that his previous voice actor brought.
• Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: His love for fighting and his hardheadedness is so great that it makes him fully aware in the Astral Chaos while dreaming, which prevents Acht from manipulating him into becoming the next host for Soul Edge, much to her dismay.
• Unknown Rival: He considers Geralt his biggest rival. Unfortunately, the latter sees him as just a hot-headed idiot who doesn't know his place. Downplayed once he does get a proper match against Geralt, as the latter recognizes his abilities even without any magic.
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: On the receiving end of this offscreen. The reason he's travelling around searching for Soul Edge is because he was beaten by someone wielding a Tanegashima matchlock back in Japan and he's trying to get stronger so he can prove his swordsmanship is superior to guns.
• Worthy Opponent: Ends up considering Shugen, Setsuka’s master, as this; initially Mitsurugi wanted to fight Shugen on just another whim of his after hearing Shugen’s style has means of deflecting bullets, but when he meets the man Mitsurugi is taken in by how much of a honorable and pleasing to talk Shugen is, they have their duel and Mitsurugi barely wins, the ronin even stops mispronouncing Shugen’s name as Shogun, forever taking the memory of the battle with him.
• Vengeance Feels Empty: Not him, but he Invokes this on Setsuka by defeating her. As Shugen died in a death befitting a dignified warrior as every samurai living by this virtue, knowing that Setsuka would go against Shugen's wish means she will only bring nothing but more misery to herself.

Seong Mi-na

Daughter of the Bladed Rod

Let's get this over with!

Origin: Jirisan, Joseon Kingdom (South Korea)

First Appearance: Soul Edge (1995)

Weapon: Scarlet Thunder, a zanbatou / bladed staff

Fighting Style: Seong-style Longsword and Staff

Height: 162cm (5'4")

Weight: 48kg (106lbs)

Blood Type: A

Alignment: Good

Relationships: Seong Han-myeong, father; Hwang Seong-gyeong, brother-figure; Mother and brother (deceased, taken by illness)

Voiced by: Chinatsu Akasaki (Japanese), Erica Mendez (English)

The Tomboy-ish daughter of a Korean martial arts master named "Seong Han-myeong". A traditional man, he is insistent his daughter be wed, but Mi-na is a stubborn girl with no ambitions of the sort. As for Hwang, who was like a brother to her... well, it wouldn't have killed him to be a bit more understanding as well. Hwang was urged away on a mission at the behest of the Korean government to seek a powerful weapon to aid in the war against the Japanese, and leaving home seemed a more attractive idea to young Mi-na with each passing day...

Seong Mi-na is a Long-Range Fighter through and through, and the player is encouraged to stay out of reach as much as possible. She has a strong keep-away style of fighting with safe moves and guard harassment, as well as a unique trait where her tip does an increased damage compared to close-range, making her great at controlling space. However Mi-na is fairly slow and her long, hefty weapon turns into a liability if she has to fight up-close.

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• Achilles' Heel: Because Mi-na requires spacing to be effective, she's at her weakest when her opponent manages to get in close. Especially notable if her opponent is Taki or Talim, both of whom can be a walking death sentence if she can't get them off.
• A-Cup Angst: Despite being rather buxom herself, she rather nervously states that "Size isn't everything!" when matched against Ivy, and "I'm not jealous... not one bit." should she win. This isn't actually the first time, as she felt an inferiority complex over Taki's assets in the original timeline.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: She hasn't met Talim yet, so they don't know each other.
• Badass Normal: Mi-na is one of the few characters to not possess any supernatural ability, or cursed blood lineage. She's had to rely on raw muscle, martial prowess, and sheer tenacity. However, unlike other examples in Soulcalibur, this actually gets deconstructed in her Soul Chronicle, wherein she gets utterly curb-stomped by the magical Ivy, not helping that she couldn't prepare for the fight by virtue of not knowing magic actually existed until then.
• Balance Buff: In previous games, she was a low-tier character that was overshadowed by Kilik to the point where she was thought to have been a "clone" (a very touchy subject for the community). Thanks to some quality of life changes and being changed to be significantly different, she fares a lot better this time around.
• Blow You Away: Seen during her Critical Edge. She spins rapidly enough to generate a tornado, which suspends her opponent in midair until she administers the final blow.
• Bond One-Liner: "Phew...would you knock it off?"
• Boring, but Practical:
  • Her combat just revolves around keeping her opponent away with a strong weapon. It works really well.
  • Even in her moveset, one of her moves that just has her throwing her weapon forward below stands out. It's incredibly effective for how simple it is due to it dealing decent damage and for how fast it is. It becomes Simple, yet Awesome in her Soul Charge, where it becomes a deadly Break Attack.
• Braids of Action: Just like in the original timeline, she still sports braids.
• Character Narrator: Of her Soul Chronicle mode; she goes more into depth about her situations than the normal narrator does.
• Close-Call Haircut: Her default haircut has her normally long hair being cut as armor damage.
• Composite Character: One of the ways she was differentiated from Kilik involved her gaining Xiba's moves as part of her moveset.
• Daddy's Girl: It doesn't stop her from running away to seek Soul Edge nor does it stop her from yelling at him for treating her as anything other than a warrior, but her battle quotes indicate she at least holds him in a high pedestal.
  —Seong Mi-na: I won't lose, Father!
• Death Glare: Her character artwork is strangely intense, giving her a very aggressive and hostile look in her eyes.
• Despair Event Horizon: Subverted. As in the original timeline, Mi-Na suffered such a humiliating defeat from Ivy, that it left her in tears and nearly caused her to go back home. But her desire to prove herself to her father renewed her determination to continue her journey.
• Difficult, but Awesome: A downplayed case as she isn't too difficult to learn, but mastering her requires good spacing to make use of her sweet-spot damage and proper utilization of punish tools whenever her opponents manage to get in close.
• Divergent Character Evolution: Having been stuck with the idea of being a "female clone" of Kilik for years (despite being there first), VI marks the first time Mi-na has truly diverged from Kilik gameplay wise in terms of getting new moves and inheriting Xiba's exclusive moves. Now they play little like each apart from using rod-shaped weapons.
• Fatal Flaw: Once again, pride seems to be hers, as it further contributes to her humilation.
• Flower Motifs: Associated with the Hibiscus Syriacus down to her outfit.
• Foil: Oddly enough, to Groh. Both were curb-stomped by a member of the "big four" (Ivy and Nightmare, respectively) as a means of deconstruction of the Badass Normal trope. Both are quite sore about their loss, though Mi-na shows it more. There's also the fact Mi-na stays normal while Groh becomes malfested against his will.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: Despite being made different from Kilik, she still shares a few moves from the latter, the story explanation being that she got some training from Kong, a Ling-Sheng Shu practitioner.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: In terms of gameplay, Talim isn't the only one with wind based powers, as Mi-na's Critical Edge allows her to whip up a wind storm and lightning. But, unlike Talim (who's a wind priestess), Mi-na isn't canonically stated to possess any supernatural ability.
• Girliness Upgrade: Still a bit of a Tomboy, but she has a lot more feminine appearance compared to her original timeline counterpart, sporting a pink outfit with a rose motif.
• Glacier Waif: Mi-na is considered a "power/strength" character, owning to her large weapon of choice and how she uses it. That being said, she's actually one of the smaller characters even outside her category, and is notably much slower than the other female fighters.
• Hotter and Sexier:
  • Unlike her original Soul Calibur outfit, her default outfit in VI leaves her the underside of her breasts, her midriff, her hips, and her thighs exposed.
  • It's also this compared to her last appearance, where her costume went in a more conservative direction compared to all of her costumes beforehand and barring some midriff wasn't really played for fanservice (a very remarkable reversal compared to every other returning female going further in IV). Here, this costume is very much in the spirit of her prior appearances and may be her sexiest to date.
• Locked Out of the Loop: As far as Mi-na knew, magic wasn't a thing prior to running away, so she was treated by a surprise attack from a completely magical weapon, as well as being surprised upon seeing various lizardmen.
• Long-Range Fighter: Seong Mi-na excels at fighting her enemies at a distance, able to keep them at bay and deal heavy damage before they even get the chance to touch her and her special trait gives her increased damage at tip range encourages this. That said, should the opponent close the distance, she struggles, especially if said fighter specializes at that range. Thus, the player should avoid close-quarters combat whenever possible to make the most of her style.
• Male Gaze:
  • Her Critical Edge is positioned in just the right way so as to get a good look at her backside.
  • When activating Soul Charge, the effect will cause a gust of wind to blow her top half upwards to get a good looked at her generous bust.
• Missing Mom: Her mother and younger brother died when she was young.
• Ms. Fanservice: Dressed in a skimpy, pink two-piece that essentially amounts to small clothes over a swimsuit, and with thigh-highs, she's as good an example of this trope as the others. Mi-na is especially prone convenient wind taking effect on her. If you break her lower and middle armor, it will potentially leave her in a two-piece bra and panties.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Her VI costume is based on her pink Soul Blade bonus costume rather than her Soulcalibur outfit, but made sexier.
  • Her 2P outfit uses Green and White colors, the same as her 1P costume in IV
• Naginatas Are Feminine: She's actually wielding a Woldo, the Korean equivalent to the Chinese Guandao^note For whatever reason, the game calls it a Zanbatou, a Japanese weapon, but the effect is similar, especially considering fellow Rod-style fighters Kilik and Grøh uses a staff and a double saber respectively, on top of neither of them having a sweet spot mechanic.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: Her storyline makes a point of how out of her depth she is, and she lacks a straight up win against any named character (and a couple of humiliating losses). It's worth remembering however that she still carves through supernatural mooks just fine, and being part of the cast likely puts her into the top five percentile worldwide. This was also true for gameplay as well.
• Pink Means Feminine: Likely in an attempt to highlight her beauty, her costume is based on her Soul Blade appearance (as opposed to her Soulcalibur look like almost everyone else), but the pink version is used as the template rather than the original.
• Plucky Girl: As in the original timeline, she retains her unyielding spirit in spite of facing overwhelming odds against mystical forces.
• Proud Beauty: Or at least she's aware that a lot of people, both in-universe and out, find her attractive; Should she win a round with her critical edge, she'll turn around and look at the viewers to tell them to "knock it off", while smiling.
• Shipping Torpedo: Her character bio states she thinks of Hwang as being like her brother. When she found out her father still intended to wed her to him, she angrily replied (quote): "You don't give a damn how I feel!" and ran away from home. Ship sunk. Again.
• Shock and Awe: Her critical art ends with a lightning strike.
• Spin Attack: Her Critical Edge involves a lot of spinning around for momentum.
• Stripperiffic: May be her scantiest outfit yet, and considering her history of outfits, that says a lot.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Wears a bright pink outfit that has an obvious flower motif and has a rather feminine, complex ponytail braid despite being a warrior who trains a lot.
• Took a Level in Badass: Invokes this on herself by trying to become Kong's pupil following her defeat by Ivy.
• Worf Had the Flu: Prior to her run-in with Ivy, Mi-Na never imagined such a weapon as a whip sword even existed. So she was completely unprepared to deal with one, which along with becoming easily frustrated, lead to her being publicly humiliated in front of a crowd of spectators.
• World's Most Beautiful Woman: All the men were proposing to her back in Korea, as seen in her Soul Chronicle.

Taki

Fu-ma's Shadow

The seal is complete.

Origin: Fu-Ma no Sato, Japan

First Appearance: Soul Edge (1995)

Weapon: Rekki-maru & Mekki-maru, a pair of kodachi

Fighting Style: Musō-Battō-ryū (夢想抜刀流)

Height: 170cm (5'7")

Weight: 53kg (117lbs)

Blood Type: A

Alignment: Neutral/Good

Relationships: Toki, master; parents and siblings (deceased)

Voiced by: Nanako Mori (Japanese), Cynthia Holloway (English)

A kunoichi of the Fu-Ma ninja clan, Taki was exiled for her theft of the cursed sword Mekki-Maru, which was forged from a shard of Soul Edge - a weapon she seeks to destroy. Crossing the seas in search of the cursed sword, Taki fought and defeated the dread pirate Cervantes and evacuated the wounded Sophitia. Returning to Japan to attend to more personal matters, Taki soon heard troubling news from the lands of the west, that Soul Edge has reemerged in the hands of a new owner, an Azure Knight wreaking havoc across the land. Sophitia managed to destroy one of the swords Cervantes wielded, but what happened to the other one?... Realizing she had missed her chance, Taki began a new journey back to Europe to end the cursed sword once and for all.

Taki is the Ninja of the series and it holds true here. She excels when close and is able to close the distance with fast movement and her teleportation ability. She's one of the few characters with projectile based attacks, but those are mainly to initiate more combos and thus can't be relied on their own. Her Mekki-Maru does Scratch Damage at all times, even outside of Soul Charge. Taki is fantastic at keeping the momentum going and pressuring on an enemy.

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• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Taki sports jet-black hair, and is a fairly cold person. She's also one of the tallest of the female fighters, with only Ivy being taller.
• Anti-Hero: Unless you are Kilik in the main storyline, Ivy or Mitsurugi in their respective character episodes, she is this. This is justified somewhat as Taki makes no hesitation of eliminating those who are connected to (or trying to seek out) Soul Edge, good or evil otherwise.
• Armor-Piercing Question: How she told Ivy about the truth of her cursed blood. Ivy didn't take that very well.
  Taki: Think. Who is your real father?
• Aura Vision: Taki is described as having a "sixth sense" that enables her to detect evil. The exact specifics aren't expanded up on much in the lore, but she can sense evil spirits inside others, and is strong enough that she can track people from great distances with it.
• Batman Gambit: Towards the near-end of Mitsurugi's character episode, it seems that she is in cahoots with Edge Master to prevent the samurai from reaching Soul Edge.
  Taki: Hah! Do you really think Soul Edge would be around here? Can you not see that you've being duped?
  Mitsurugi: What?!
  Taki: You've made my job a lot easier. I must go thank that elderly gentleman! Farewell!
• Bad Powers, Good People: Her second sword has a portion of Soul Edge, yet she remains one of the good guys, if somewhat cold.
• Baritone of Strength: Most especially in the English version, provided by Cynthia Holloway.
• The Blacksmith: She forged her ninjatō, Rekki-Maru, and imbued it with mystical abilities.
• Bond One-Liner: "You'll be lost to history!"
• Char Clone: One of the two examples in-game, the other being Raphael. And she has the hallmarks to prove it: in fact, she sports a red, skintight bodysuit, plus a Cool Mask. On top of that, considering her overall look; she fits the mold of being one of the fastest characters in the game and is The Rival to one of the game's mainstays in the form of Heishiro Mitsurugi.
• Close-Range Combatant: Taki has amazing speed and damage potential, but her attacks are short in range. Thankfully, she has access to a good number of tools to help her stay close to the enemy, or to quickly catch up to them.
• Continuity Nod: Her overall look takes cues from her all of her past appearances. Her physical appearance is based on IV albeit with slightly more Asian features like her earlier versions (a complaint about her previous appearance in IV was that she looked a little too European), the costume itself based on the I appearance with a purplish-red hue, but with the Cleavage Window removed (as many thought it detracted from the outfit) and replaced with a open back and sides that lines it up as an expansion of the II version. She also has a ninja mask much like her I counterpart, but rather than cloth, it's actually made of metal and demon-themed much like she had in III.
• Contract on the Hitman: Targeted and hunted by the same clan she was once a part of, due to stealing the cursed sword Mekki-Maru.
• Deadpan Snarker: She isn't above using sarcasm in her dialouge, as seen in her intro battle. She even snarks at Maxi's hair in reversal edge.
• Evil Weapon: One of her two swords is a cursed ninjatō called Mekki-Maru, which was infused with Soul Edge's power.
• Experienced Protagonist: She's 25, and has been hunting demons, fighting evildoers, acting as a spy and blacksmith since her early childhood. Of the female fighters, Taki is easily the most combat-trained and mentally disciplined, the others just starting out in comparison (Xianghua, Talim, Amy, Cassandra), have god-given skills (Sophitia), aren't as trained in combat over magic (Ivy), or insane (Tira).
• Final Boss: For Ivy and Mitsurugi's respective character episodes.
• Foil:
  • She's a direct counterpart to Mitsurugi while also being an antithesis. Both are the same age, had their immediate families taken by sickness, became warriors of their own and are among the deadliest of the roster, went rogue, and they seek out to find Soul Edge. The two divert from each other from there. Taki is a female ninja who's an overall force for good, watching out for the well-being of humankind (even if it's not in the nicest way), and seeks Soul Edge specifically to destroy it. Mitsurugi is a male samurai who's always looking for the next challenge and will go to any lengths to get it even if it means finding Soul Edge, and cares little about the well-being of others.
  • Additionally, she's a foil to Yoshimitsu. Both are demon-themed Japanese ninja who use mystical arts in tandem with their fighting, and hold a strong sense of justice. However, the contrast comes in the fact that Taki is a much more traditional ninja in using standard ninja kodachi and ninpo, whereas Yoshimitsu is a very untraditional ninja using katanas and Combo Platter Powers. Taki is a Stoic no-nonsense type, while Yoshimitsu is a Large Ham who treats everything like it's a big joke. While Taki is a rogue ninja who fled her Fu-ma clan, Yoshimitsu is the leader of his own Manji clan. Though both believe in looking out for the innocent, Taki goes after major evildoers while Yoshimitsu is a Karmic Thief that steals from the corrupt. Also, their appearances contrast — though both are Highly Visible Ninjas, Taki's suit leaves nothing to the imagination whereas Yoshimitsu leaves everything to the imagination.
  • Also, she is one to Setsuka as far as it concerns Mitsurugi. Taki and Mitsurugi have a mutual rivalry with one another and will run into each other whenever the latter is on a journey to seek after Soul Edge. Whereas Setsuka seeks out Mitsurugi and wants nothing more but to kill him to avenge Shugen's death. Surprisingly enough, Taki and Setsuka were treated as outcasts by their respective clans — in Taki's case, she was more of a "nukenin"^note a runaway shinobi, which is the ultimate crime a ninja can commit by being exiled from their village. for keeping Mekki-Maru in her possession; whereas Setsuka, after being taken in by Shugen, had to face the brunt of being bullied by the Kokonoe clan due to her European heritage until Shugen's death.
• Going Commando: Because wearing underwear would look very unsightly in Sensual Spandex.
• Good Is Not Nice: Taki isn't exactly the nicest person, threatening to seal her enemies and boasting about her abilities, even talking down on those who oppose her in a condescending manner. That said, she's still a heroic figure who looks after the innocent, hunts down evildoers, and puts her life on the line to protect others.
• Hero Antagonist: To Kilik and Xianghua, with her going after the former because of his evil power and isn't exactly nice going about it, yet it's because she's genuinely trying to protect others.
• Highly-Visible Ninja: Screams a lot in combat, wears a bright spandex and uses flashy ninja magic. Plus she's got some... talents that would give her away.
• Immune to Mind Control: The effects of evil forces that corrupt other beings, even those who are fundamentally good, have absolutely no effect on Taki. For one, she's able to pull out many shards of Soul Edge from Sophita without even being remotely affected. She's also able to be around the same kind of evil energy that corrupted her master Toki, without even being tainted in the slightest. This is actually why she's able to wield Mekki-Maru after fusing it with a shard of Soul Edge, and benefiting from the great power of it. Anyone else holding it would most likely be corrupted, but for her it's an Amplifier Artifact she has full control over.
• Ironic Name: While her name is written in katakana (タキ), when converted into kanji, it means "much rejoicing"^note 多 - ta - 'many'; 喜 - ki - 'joy'; 'rejoicing'. However, her personality speaks otherwise.
• Knight Templar: She hunts those infected by the Evil Seed and kills them lest they succumb to their corruption and become Soul Edge's slaves, putting her at odds with Kilik — who while Malfested is fighting to overcome his curse.
• The Lad-ette: The most boy-ish out of the female characters, being recognized as a fighter first, with her gender being secondary.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Inverted; she's one of the few people aware of the fact that Soul Edge is anything but holy.
• Male Gaze: Her Critical Edge gives us a closer look at her buxom chest. Should she defeat her opponent with it, we also get a shot from behind.
• Missing Mom: Both of her parents died of an illness, and don't have listed names.
• Ms. Fanservice: Buxom with a skin-tight outfit that highlights everything.
• Ninja: The iconic ninja of the series.
• Nipple and Dimed: Not only does she continue to avert this in that you can easily see her nipples through her tight suit, but she takes it to an even more ludicrous extreme in that you can now distinguish her vulva between her legs.
• Not So Stoic: When placed in a match against Voldo and engages in a reversal edge, she makes a comment on him, while sounding legitimately creeped out.
  Taki: The way you move creeps me out.
• Oh, Crap!: In the Chronicle of Souls, she initially scoffs at Xianghua when the Chinese soldier challenges her to protect Kilik, but realizes she bit off more than she could chew when she senses that Xianghua's nameless jian is actually Soul Calibur.
• Painted-On Pants: Her suit is as skin-tight as ever.
• Perpetual Frowner: Never seen with anything other than a scowl.
• Pet the Dog: Despite her Knight Templar tendencies in regards to Soul Edge she didn't take the risk of removing the shard of Soul Edge from Sophitia as it would have killed her.
• Power Tattoo: Her body lights up in symbols when she unleashes her powers.
• The Rival: To Mitsurugi, as always. They even have a special intro with each other that highlights this.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: One of Taki's specialties is sealing away evil souls, trapping them in her weapons or objects, while they're still fully alive and aware of it. In game, she threatens various characters with it, and even warns Kilik that this fate awaits should it come down to it.
• Sensual Spandex: It just wouldn't be right if Taki wasn't wearing her signature skin-tight suit that highlights everything.
• Sexy Backless Outfit: As an addition to a costume that's already made for Fanservice, her backside is partially exposed to give us a good look at her skin.
• Shown Their Work: It's not really an accident that Taki is one of the more fanservice-y characters given her profession, as while there are no indications that she herself partakes in it, it's theorized that real-life kunoichi used their beauty as a weapon and distraction.
• Smug Super: Taki has great skill and supernatural abilities beyond most of the cast, and loves to lord that fact to others. In particular, she'll bring up the fact that she can seal people away inside of an object while they're fully aware of it. One of her win quotes also demonstrates this attitude.
  Taki: This just shows how much better I am than you.
• Statuesque Stunner: Downplayed, as she's 5'7" (an inch shorter than standard) but she's notably taller than most of the other female characters. Only Ivy is taller, in fact. Also consider that she's Japanese, which makes her much taller than average.
• Stuff Blowing Up: Her Critical Edge ends with a big explosion.
• Tomboyish Ponytail: Contrasting both Sophitia's and Mi-na's Braids of Action, Taki has a simple ponytail.
• Vapor Wear: It's very obvious that Taki isn't wearing anything under her skin-tight suit. Made evident after being battle damaged after a lethal hit.

Maxi

Dandy of the Seas

Boring, just like the rest of 'em!

Origin: Shuri, Ryukyu Kingdom (Okinawa)

First Appearance: Soulcalibur (1998)

Weapon: Fatibal, a pair of Nunchaku

Fighting Style: Shissen Karihadi

Height: 174cm (5'8")

Weight: 78kg (168lbs)

Blood Type: O

Alignment: Good

Relationships: Parents (deceased); Kyam, sworn brother (deceased); Pirate crew (deceased); Kilik and Xianghua, friends; Astaroth, sworn enemy

Voiced by: Shigeo Kiyama (Japanese), Steve Van Wormer (English)

The son of a merchant from the Ryukyu Kingdom, an island nation to the far east home to unusual fighting styles and weapons. With his dying words, Maxi's father urged the boy to travel the world and see as much as possible, and heeding his words but vowing to never be shackled by the whims of trade, Maxi gathered young men from his hometown and formed a pirate crew. One fateful day at a port in India, Maxi and his crew were beset by a horde of Lizardmen led by a huge figure brandishing a massive axe. Maxi's crew were slain to a man, and Maxi swore to hunt the axeman to the ends of the world and avenge his comrades.

Maxi generally does low damage per hit, but each hit is very fast, and can come in unexpected places, which allows him to build up to strong combos with more damaging attacks. He has seven different stances, which he shifts in-between during attacks depending on the input, allowing a wide variety of different options available to use. He can also stop to enter a Pure Soul Loop stance, where he gets a damage buff. However Maxi's defences are somewhat lacking.

---

• A Father to His Men: He cared deeply about his crew, which is why he wants to slay Astaroth when the latter killed them.
• Anime Hair: Has very stylish Elvis hair without even trying. The other characters will use that as an insult against him in Reversal Edge. It seems Maxi is quite proud of it, given his taunts if the opponent messes it up.
  Maxi: Damn, my beautiful hair! / Ugh, you messed up my hair!
• Arch-Enemy: Astaroth, who murdered his crew.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Full of himself, but is a skilled fighter all the same.
• Badass Normal: Just a normal guy with nunchaku who holds his own in a roster filled with sorcerers, mystical ninjas, alchemists, god-empowered warriors and other such magical beings.
• Barefisted Monk: He's actually not one, but his weapon style is commonly used on characters from other franchises made in the Create A Soul system that are.
• The Big Guy: Of the Power Trio, to Kilik's The Hero and Xianghua's The Lancer.
• Big Guy Fatality Syndrome: He goes down fighting Astaroth, just before Kilik and Xianghua go to fight Nightmare and Inferno. If things turn out like in the original timeline, he'll come Back from the Dead for the next game.
• Bond One-Liner: "Night night, sleep tight!"
• Bruce Lee Clone: His fighting style has him mimicking Bruce Lee, on top of making similar battle cries.
• Butt-Monkey: All the characters comment on his hairstyle during reversal edge, most of them not particularly nice, while Astaroth insults his eyebrows.
• Difficult, but Awesome: While he seems masher-friendly on the surface, playing Maxi effectively at higher levels is this trope. A lot of his strings have different variations depending on the situation, some moves requiring just inputs, requiring exact frame moments during an animation. Many of his attacks do middling damage, and instead rely on you being able to string them together in various combos to overwhelm the enemy. That, and he's close-range as his nunchaku don't have much in the way of reach and thus he must close the distance. Many struggle with him, but a good Maxi player is quite a sight to behold.
• Elvis Impersonator: Visually speaking at least, he's got that hairdo.
• Foil:
  • To fellow pirate Cervantes; Maxi is a Nice Guy despite said profession, while Cervantes is an unrepentant Sadist and conqueror. Additionally, while both are Strong and Skilled, Maxi has a flashier, yet more methodical fighting style and has no actual powers, and thus has to rely solely on his actual skills, while Cervantes uses mainly brute force, and has cursed powers that enable him to fight with an advantage over a mortal.
  • Along with being rivals in the story, Maxi is also this to Astaroth in terms of gameplay. Astaroth is a hulking brute whose playstyle is based around dealing massive amounts of damage with his huge battle ax and array of throws. Though he's too slow to string many hits together in one combo, his ax gives him enough reach to outrange most opponents and does good damage with each hit. Maxi meanwhile is Weak, but Skilled; his nunchaku do little damage per hit and have woeful range, but he has good mixups and combos that can confuse and overwhelm the enemy if he's able to get in close.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: A Maxi player will be Weak, but Skilled in comparison to other characters in the roster who have actual powers. Many of his attacks do little damage, but they're fast and can be comboed into more attacks that do an increasing amount of damage, making it entirely possible to remove very large chunks of health with a single combo. This perfectly reflects Maxi as a whole, who has no magical abilities to speak of, but a very skilled fighter that can beat foes more powerful than him through his fighting prowess.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: Despite explicitly having no magical powers, Maxi will have a fire dragon engulf his fist when finishing off his Critical Edge to add some extra power to the attack. Presumably, this isn't something he can actually do in the lore itself.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: He becomes close friends with Kilik.
• Leitmotif: "Man of Fortitude", which is a reorchestrated version of his original Soulcalibur stage theme "Sail Over the Storm". It plays in his Soul Chronicle ending as well as when you meet him for the first time in Libra of Souls.
• Lovable Rogue: The museum in VI even states that he and his crew are closer to curious adventurers rather than blood-thirsty criminals.
• Mythical Motifs: His character art in VI features an Asian dragon coiling about in the background.
• Nice Guy: Obviously brash and cocky, but Libra of Soul is quick to point out that he’s an incredibly friendly and personable guy.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: His Critical Edge has Maxi unleashing blow after blow using his nunchaku on his opponent's face, finishing them off with a massive punch.
• Pirate: Though unlike Cervantes, Maxi is rather affable and uses it as an excuse to explore.
• Playing with Fire: His Critical Edge ends with a fiery dragon punch.
• Rage Quit: While most other characters tire out in a loss due to a time-up, Maxi simply sits down and throws his nunchaku behind him. One of his time-up defeat quotes is "Piece of Crap!"
• Shipper on Deck: He frequently teases Kilik and Xianghua about their growing feelings for each other.
• Sinister Scythe: One of his customizable weapons is a Kusarigama.
• Strong and Skilled: His nunchaku were specially made to fit his fighting style, with an equal balance between raw power and finesse; said nunchaku are lightweight while he lets his muscle do all the work. That said, he's still a Badass Normal in a Fantasy Kitchen Sink world, making him Weak, but Skilled in the grand scale.
• Surfer Dude: While not explicitly shown or mentioned as surfing, he definitely fits with his use of anachronistic slang and speech patterns. When activating his Critical Edge, he yells "The surf's gonna get rocked!" and in the middle of it says "I'm gonna ride the waves!", giving off this vibe.
• Uncertain Doom: Passes out from blood loss after his fight with Astaroth. He survived in the original timeline, so chances are good he'll be back for Soulcalibur VII. In Grøh's Side Story 1 which is available in Soul Chronicle for free after Update 2.20, it is revealed that Grøh saved Maxi's unconscious body from being taken by some malfested, and his body ended up taken by the river, with Grøh expecting his circumstances will allow him to be rescued by someone along the river eventually.
• Unknown Rival: Played for Laughs in his fight with Mitsurugi. Turns out the latter was hunting down an entirely different nunchuka-wielding Elvis Impersonator.
• Weak, but Skilled: Maxi is easily top tier as far as normal humans go. However, this is a world where god-empowered warriors, mystical ninjas, demonic entities, alchemists, vampires, immortal beings and sorcerers exist, and non-magical humans are on the bottom of the totem pole in comparison. That said, while he won't overpower his enemy through brute force, his sheer skill makes him a force to be reckoned with nonetheless. This even extends to the gameplay itself, as many of Maxi's attacks are weaker, with his stronger attacks requiring to be used in the middle of a combo. Unlike other characters who can access highly damaging moves quickly, Maxi has to overwhelm his enemy with speed and well-timed attacks to keep them off, which if successful provides a perfect example of how someone with experience can best another who only has brute strength.

Voldo

Hell Guardian

(hissing noises)

Origin: Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily (Italy)

First Appearance: Soul Edge (1995)

Fighting Style: Self-taught contortionism

Height: 183cm (6'0")

Weight: 79kg (174lbs)

Blood Type: A

Alignment: Evil

Relationships: Parents (deceased); Four brothers (deceased, killed in warfare); Vercci, master (deceased)

Weapon: Manas & Ayus, a pair of katars

The enigmatic and deadly guardian of a treasure trove known as the Money Pit. Deprived of his sanity and all senses except his hearing, Voldo's only purpose was to loyally honor his late master Vercci by eliminating intruders and thieves. One day, he hears the voice of his master telling him to seek out Soul Edge, and so Voldo sets off in search of the legendary sword his master desired in life.

Voldo relies heavily on Confusion Fu and having his back facing his opponent is something he'll do at least half the time. He can use a crabwalk stance and a crawl stance, and can use Reversal Edge while backturned. This gives him some very strong mix-up and evasion tools. Because of his weird nature, he's often seen as both tricky to use and fight.

---

• Adaptational Origin Connection: With Cervantes. While Voldo's master Vercci did hire Cervantes to search for Soul Edge in the original timeline, there was no direct connection of Voldo personally providing his iconic Nirvana pistol-sword as part of the payment.
• Ambiguously Gay: His outfit and fighting style give off strong BDSM sub vibes, and he seemingly only cares about defending the legacy of his deceased master Vercci, who is also apparently the person that turned Voldo into what he is now. Really, the only thing keeping it "ambiguous" is that the creators have yet to outright confirm that Voldo and Vercci were lovers.
• Ambiguously Human: Seemingly incapable of speech and has a weird sixth sense that lets him track down his master's artifacts. Considering that Vercci was a Collector of the Strange, it's not inconceivable that he had some magic items down there in the Money Pit that could have mutated Voldo somehow.
• Ascended Meme: A couple of the female fighters comment on Voldo's antics, most of them disturbed. This came from his Memetic Molester Status.
  Seong Mi-Na: I hate this type!!!
  Taki: The way you move creeps me out.
• Ax-Crazy: Lost his sanity due to his duty as a guardian of said treasure; He also has a creepy, animalistic fighting style to boot.
• Bald of Evil: More Bald of Crazy, but the effect is the same.
• Berserk Button: Don't steal his master's gold. He'll know and come after you.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: Wields a pair of Katars/Claws.
• Blind Weaponmaster: His eyes are closed out. He can still tell where you are.
• Body Motifs: Ironically, his outfit has a lot of eye imagery. The most obvious being his pair of katars and pauldrons.
• Confusion Fu: Basically what his fighting style boils down to, with having many stances, each of them having their own miniature moveset.
• Contortionist: As a fighter, he uses his body more than anyone else as a weapon in itself.
• Difficult, but Awesome: Most of his difficulty comes from just how many stances he has as well as how big his moveset it, dependent on his position. That said, he has a nasty way of dealing with opponents due to said massive moveset.
• Dual Wielding: Katars don't need to be used in pairs but Voldo does because his contortionist-like fighting style requires him to be able to use all of his limbs with his body in any orientation, meaning he can't be limited by having his weapon hand be inaccessible by his current position.
• Fan Disservice: They've stayed true to the tradition of making Voldo's outfits ever creepier in each successive game. Spiked nipples, spiked codpiece, spiked eyes...
• Fights Like a Normal: Voldo's so weird that many people initially assume him to be some sort of monster or undead, but besides his magical sixth sense, he is in fact a normal, albeit Ax-Crazy man, and he seemingly doesn't have any other magic to fight with, mostly just using his natural skill and contortion.
• Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Ambiguously Human Italian bondage ninja.
• Paranoia Fuel: Invoked; he comes after his victims, often robbers after his master's gold, when they least expect it.
• Rummage Sale Reject: His costume is a fusion of all of his previous costumes with nary a concern for flow or synergy, which makes his outfit look like a mix-and-match S&M suit.
• Scarily Competent Tracker: Has a sixth sense that lets him know the exact location of anything in the Money Pit. If someone manages to successfully steal from it, Voldo will track them to the ends of the earth to murder them and reclaim his master's possessions.
• Spin Attack: His Critical Edge has him start off by spinning around like an exaggerated Spinning Top.
• Undying Loyalty: Eternally devoted to guarding the Money Pit, Vercci's last legacy.
• Unwitting Pawn: Unbeknownst to Voldo, the ghostly voice of Vercci that he "reports" to is actually Inferno, who is able to manipulate him easily due to his insanity.
• Vader Breath: His only vocalizations are animalistic hissing and strained, heavy breathing.
• The Voiceless: As usual for him, Voldo cannot speak. He is only capable of muffled breathing and hissing.

Sophitia Alexandra

Second Advent of The Vow

O' gods, guide me!

Origin: Athens, Ottoman Empire (Greece)

First Appearance: Soul Edge (1995)

Weapon: Omega Sword & Elk Shield, a short sword & shield

Fighting Style: Athenian Style

Height: 168cm (5'6")

Weight: Refuses to reveal

Blood Type: B

Alignment: Good

Relationships: Achelous, father; Nike, mother; Cassandra, younger sister; Lucius, younger brother; Rothion, husband-to-be

Voiced by: Chie Nakamura (Japanese), Erica Lindbeck (English)

A heroic girl from an unlikely background, Sophitia was selected by Hephaestus, the ancient Greek god of forging and masonry, for a holy mission to destroy Soul Edge. Transformed from a simple baker's daughter to a powerful holy warrior, her travels brought her to battle against the dread pirate Cervantes. Sophitia managed to sunder one of the swords but her body was mutilated by the deadly shards, and she was saved by the ninja Taki and brought back home to Athens to recuperate.

In time, Sophitia's terrible wounds healed and she went back to working at her family's bakery alongside her sister Cassandra, though the cursed sword and the gods were not yet done with her. Sophitia kept having visions of Soul Edge's evil under its new wielder, Nightmare; which episode led to two fateful encounters for her.

Sophitia met a blacksmith named Rothion by chance when the young man went to her family's bakery, the two quickly fell in love and got engaged. While Sophitia and Rothion sought blessings for their marriage by Hephaestus, the god had more pressing matters, and asked Sophitia to take arms again to fight against Soul Edge once more. Rothion tried to free Sophitia of her mission by offering himself in her place, but Hephaestus chose Rothion to forge Sophitia's weapons instead.

Sophitia went on her journey, fending off several malfested warriors by healing them with her divine blessing. A chance encounter with Siegfried - who had once been Nightmare but had been freed from Soul Edge's control - resulted in her freeing him of some of his inner demons, though she could not completely cleanse his malfestation. Sophitia took this encounter as her mission being fulfilled and let Soul Edge itself be taken care of by Siegfried.

Sophitia is a very well-balanced character overall, with decent speed and damage. She has great combo potential, especially in Soul Charge where her strings are extended, but plays a fairly strong punishment and poking-in game too. Overall, Sophitia is a very beginner-friendly character who only has one real definitive weakness: a lack of reach.

---

• Action Girlfriend: Played even more explicitly than in the original timeline. When Hephaestus gave Sophitia her new mission, Rothion asked to be sent in her place instead. However, the god declined, and Sophitia was clearly determined to take the mission anyway.
• Apologetic Attacker: When pitted against Siegfried or Nightmare.
• Bond One-Liner: "I, too, cannot afford to lose..."
• Boring, but Practical: "Boring" is kind of a stretch here due to her blessing, but she uses a simple sword and board, and is a Jack of All Stats. This doesn't stop her from being a very powerful and versatile character to use.
• Braids of Action: Her braids are much thicker than Mi-na's however.
• Close-Call Haircut: Subtly. She loses her hair tie and her hair becomes unbraided as armor damage but her hair is slightly shorter, indicating that part of her hair was cut, causing it to become unbraided.
• Childish Bangs: Just like the previous timeline but more pronounced. Not only does she look more young and innocent, she also acts more innocent. It seems that she was redesigned to more closely resemble her daughter, Pyrrha.
• Disco Dan: Her overall look and worshiping of the Pantheon is anachronistic of the 16th century, more in line with Ancient Greece than the Ottoman period. That said, this is explicitly a factor in her storyline, as the oddity of this is noted in-universe, and she was specifically empowered by Hephaestus because she was a true believer.
• Experienced Protagonist: Despite barely being in her twenties she's already gone on a literally god-given mission to face off against Soul Edge.
• Fanservice Pack: Well, she's not the trope page image for nothing. This time around it's not as noticeable in her artwork as in the one she got in IV, but her in-game character model seems to have even bigger breasts than in previous entries.
• Good Is Not Soft: Sophitia may be one of the most kind-hearted characters in the game, but make no mistake, she will not hesitate to kill you if she knows you're evil and must be stopped. She has special voice lines for fighting Cervantes, where a bunch of her somewhat playful/affable lines ("Pardon me" when doing her stab attack) become downright intense and ruthless ("Stay down!")
• Gorgeous Greek: While far from being the only Ms. Fanservice in the game as other entries can attest, the best known Greek representative in the cast happens to be an angelically beautiful young woman.
• Groin Attack: Her forward kick, Holy Punishment, goes right for the opponent's vitals, and will actually cause the opponent to crumple if it hits as a counter. While it behaves the same against the entire cast, male characters have the impact accentuated with a comedic *Ding!* sound.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Even more than in the original timeline. Although she still fights when she needs to, in her story line she also tries to heal the souls of the Malfested with the gods' power.
• Happily Married: She and Rothion tie the knot and it's clear they were made for each other.
• Hero of Another Story: SCVI's story picks up after Sophitia’s climax battle against Cervantes in 1583, where she already had her big moment. Chronicles of Souls digs deeper from 1586 and forward, where Sophitia plays a more subdued role — offering some advice and encouragement to the actual protagonist Kilik in the main Chronicle, and in her own Chronicle she heals some Malfested and helps Siegfried with his inner demons.
• Instant Expert: Justified Trope. Sophitia may not have all the training the other cast members have, but being empowered by the Greek gods certainly helps remedy that.
• Jack of All Stats: Balanced around speed, raw damage, and range.
• Light Is Good: If her white outfit wasn't an immediate indication, Sophitia having the holy modifier rather than neutral during her Soul Charge and being The Paladin who went out to slay Cervantes should be.
• Lightning Bruiser: Now a literal example thanks to her Season 2 buffs. Part of which gives her the ability to summon lightning strikes at the end of several of her attacks while she's soul charged. Her standard attacks have also been improved by doing increased damage. She still can't match her sister's speed and attack power, but Sophitia has narrowed the gap between them.
• Meet Cute: Met Rothion, her husband to be, when out with her sister.
• Mid-Season Upgrade: The Season 2 Pass gives her several significant buffs that increases her attack power and overall effectiveness. When soul charged, several of her attacks (such as her Guardian's Judgement) now end with lighting strikes and she gains new finishing moves for her Angel Step.
• Mini Dress Of Power: As always, she sports one. Here, it's reminiscent of her old design.
• Mission from God: She was tasked by Hephestus to destroy Soul Edge, gifted with the Omega Sword to accomplish that task.
• Ms. Fanservice: Young, blonde, buxom, and with a skirt combined with high kicks. Do the math. Her design is basically that of her I outfit, but made Hotter and Sexier with a few elements from other entries.
• Murderous Thighs: Some of her grabs involve using her legs to crush her opponents, via head snaps.
• Nice Girl: Just like how she was in the original Timeline, Sophitia is a kindhearted and altruistic young lady who is willing to fight to protect her loved ones.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Outside of her fanservicey throws, in the story mode, she gets very touchy felt with Kilik, a stranger, although this is out of a sense of great empathy.
• Oneesama: Cassandra idolizes her.
• The Paladin: Her mission and the divine nature of her quest qualify her for this character class.
• The Paragon: Not only is she heroic, she actively helps other people to become more heroic themselves. In this game, she has that effect on Kilik, Yoshimitsu, and Siegfried.
• Possession Implies Mastery: Has no actual training, but compensates with her skills literally being god-given.
• Religious Bruiser: Her faith in the Olympian Pantheon is as strong her sword.
• Retcon: A minor one that delays events, rather than change them. In the original timeline, Sophitia goes back to her village, gets married to Rothion and has her first child. In the new one, she's engaged to Rothion, but they don't tie the knot at the end of her story line, but rather later on, at end of Cassandra's story. And albeit she's already pregnant during the wedding, her children aren't born just yet (It's also implied that, unlike the original timeline, she may not have any twins this time, but a single child. Albeit that's yet to be seen, most likely in a sequel).
• Retired Badass: She was a holy warrior of Hephaestus tasked with destroying Soul Edge, and while her mission is still unfinished she's still recovering from her fight with Cervantes — the shard of Soul Edge imbedded in her body causing her chronic pain.
• Semi-Divine: The god Hephaestus granted her access to the Greek gods' power. It's made explicit here that it does more than just grant her skills she didn't have, as she can now channel lightning in her attacks like she does with her Critical Edge.
• Sexy Backless Outfit: The cut on the back is so low that it gives us a very good view of her skin.
• Shock and Awe:
  • Sophitia's critical edge launches her opponent and impales them on her sword, which acts a lighting rod. The opponent is struck down by a bolt of lightning in midair.
  • The Season 2 Pass includes new moves for each character. Sophitia now has the ability to summon lightning strikes at the end of several of her attacks while she's soul charged.
• Sideboob: If she suffers Clothing Damage in the middle section of her outfit, the two straps of clothing that (barely) cover her breasts still show a bit of this from certain angles.
• Warrior Therapist: When she comes across Kilik brooding at an ancient temple, Sophitia offers him some kind words of advice to help him let go of his pain. She encourages Siegfried to not give up and alleviates the symptoms of his malfestation. She also makes Yoshimitsu question and turn away from his desire for revenge.
• Wound That Will Not Heal: Despite Taki's best efforts, she could not remove a shard of the shattered Soul Edge from Sophitia as it was embedded too close to her heart. Because of it Sophitia suffers from chronic pain.

Siegfried Schtauffen

A Soul in Purgatory

My life... is not for your taking!

Origin: Ober-Getzenberg, Holy Roman Empire (Germany)

First Appearance: Soul Edge (1995)

Weapon: Requiem, a zweihander

Fighting Style: Self-taught

Height: 172cm (5'8")

Weight: 70kg (154lbs)

Blood Type: A

Alignment: Good

Relationships: Frederick, father (deceased); Margaret, mother

Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama (Japanese), Kirk Thornton (English)

The son of the renowned German knight Frederick Schtauffen, Siegfried fell into a bad crowd and joined a bandit group named the Schwarzwind. One fateful night, the bandit warband launched a surprise attack on a band of knights deserting from the army. Besting the knights' leader in single combat and lifting the severed head into the pale moonlight, he gazed upon the ghastly and pained face of his own father Frederick and screamed. Crazed, he ran into the woods and convinced himself that someone else had killed his father, and so he set out for revenge against a killer who existed only in his fevered mind. Finding the cursed sword in Valencia Port, he was corrupted by Soul Edge from the moment he grabbed the hilt, and became a monster named Nightmare.

Newly freed from Soul Edge's control by Xianghua and Kilik, Siegfried is haunted by guilt and seeks to atone for the sins he committed as Nightmare, as well as for the patricide that had sparked his descent into madness and search for the cursed blade. However, freeing himself from Soul Edge's curse will prove more difficult than he realizes.

Siegfried is a beginner-friendly character in early stages that becomes one of the more difficult characters to play effectively later on. He's a power-based character with a strong mix-up game, and has special stances that require mastery. His attacks have long reach, but are often linear and easy to dodge. A unique trait introduce in this game is the Dark Legacy state, where the lower his health gets, the stronger his attacks become (he can also force it by Guard Impacting enough times). This state will turn his standard attacks into Lethal Hits, and can be cashed in for a version of Nightmare's Soul Wave.

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• As Long as It Sounds Foreign: His first name is a common German forename, but the surname "Schtauffen" is pure bogus. It literally means ‘stuff’ in Luxembourgish, and they were probably going for ‘Staufen’, which means “staunch” (strong, loyal) — a better fit.
• The Atoner: After encountering Sophitia, Siegfried resolves to seek redemption for his sins; vowing to prevent Soul Edge from ever wrecking havoc again.
• Battle Aura: When he goes into his "Dark Legacy" mode his body begins emanating a blue, flaming aura.
• Battle in the Center of the Mind: Any match he has against Nightmare is canonically one of these.
• BFS: As always, his weapon is a Zweihänder as large as he is tall.
• Bond One-Liner: "I'd hoped I wouldn't have to rely on this strength..."
• Brainwashed and Crazy: As in the original timeline, he falls victim to Soul Edge's influence and becomes Nightmare.
• Characterization Marches On: As VI covers mainly SCI and parts of SCII Siegfried's arrogant Jerkass behavior from Blade is absent. He is also not a He-Man Woman Hater, which would have made his interactions with Sophitia very different. This is definitely a result of character development because these behaviors are present in Nightmare. presumably because that was Siegfried’s personality when he first found Soul Edge.
• Confusion Fu: Siegfried may wield a big frickin' sword, but he is anything but a brute force character. His main asset isn't range or power (even if he has both of them in spades), but his various stances that grant him an obnoxiously prolific mix-up game as well as pretty surprising combo potential. Add that he can cancel them into each other and Siegfried can overwhelm and frustrate opponents with a barrage of attacks.
• Continuity Nod: In the Febuary 2019 patch, his Soulcalibur V armor was released as DLC.
• The Corruptible: Siegfried was Malfested into Nightmare when he claimed Soul Edge, with Inferno exploiting his desire to use it to avenge his father by impersonating Fredrick. Even after being freed from Soul Edge's control, every life he takes while fighting to keep others from claiming it increases its hold on him.
• Critical Status Buff: Siegfried gains more power as his health depletes thanks to Dark Legacy, where he can perform new Lethal Hit moves and use Nightmare's Soul Wave.
• Despair Event Horizon: Siegfried spends the first part of his Chronicle of Souls as a sobbing wreck, overcome by despair and guilt at having killed his father and countless innocent people. Sophitia manages to snap him out of it, bringing him a measure of peace when she tries to cleanse his malfestation.
• Don't Make Me Destroy You: Despite his crushing despair over his sins, Siegfried realizes that if he lets himself be killed by those seeking vengeance for his crimes as Nightmare then Soul Edge will simply find a new host, and thus resolves to fight anyone who attacks him to the death.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: He is resistant to Sophitia's attempts to redeem him, and when using a Reversal Edge against her he'll angrily tell her he doesn't need saving.
• Driven to Madness: Siegfried's first transformation into Nightmare is revealed to have been helped along by Iska Acht, an offshoot of Inferno that infiltrated Siegfried's mind and preyed on his fragile mental state until he succumbed to Soul Edge's will.
• Empowered Badass Normal: He used to be just a physically strong knight, but his time as Nightmare has given him some powers as an aftereffect.
• Enemy Within: At the end of his Chronicle of Soul he becomes Nightmare again, his consciousness trapped inside Astral Chaos, but he manages to stop Inferno from devouring Soul Calibur and takes it for himself — biding his time until he has an opportunity to strike back and destroy Soul Edge from within. Unfortunately, the extension of Nightmare's Chronicle of Soul reveals that he's in a losing battle, as he only manages to stay in control for a fraction of himself and Soul Calibur itself is getting stained by Soul Edge's influence.
• Fights Like a Normal: If he can help it, he'd rather not use any of his malfested powers. He even comments on it if he slays his opponent with a critical edge.
• Height Angst: In his bio, it is stated that he feels that the BFS is not suited for someone of his height. This is ironic, because Siegfried is at the height of his V counterpart, the tallest he has ever been. This is also ironic to be brought up now, because he was much shorter in Edge and Soil Calibur 1, at 157 cm and 165 cm respectively. This makes sense because it was already hinted at in Edge that he had angst about his height.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: A lot of people still recognize him as Nightmare. Grøh even calls him an outsider, a term the latter uses for malfested. Grøh isn't wrong, as Siegfried still has some leftover power from his time as Nightmare.
• I Hate Past Me: Upon being freed from Soul Edge's control, Siegfried is overwhelmed by self-loathing and despair at the countless number of innocent people he'd killed as Nightmare.
• Knight in Shining Armor: Invokes the imagery of one at least, considering his armor is not only rather intricate, it has gold-colored parts in it.
• Knight in Sour Armor: A trademark of the character is that ever since he touched Soul Edge and left a trail of blood and bodies in his wake as Nightmare, he is constantly kicking himself and swearing that he will do anything and everything he can to end the taint of Soul Edge, no matter the cost both to himself and possibly others.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Siegfried is a rather handsome Bishōnen man with back-length blond hair, though in a flashback to when he became Nightmare he is shown with short hair.
• Mechanically Unusual Fighter: His unique Dark Legacy trait, where he becomes more powerful the more his health depletes as he gains new Lethal Hit moves and a version of Nightmare's Soul Wave. He can also force himself into Dark Legacy by using Guard Impact a number of times. Siegfried is the only one with a passive trait like this, with no one else having anything like it.
• Mighty Glacier: Has great defense and can dish out tons of damage, but his attacks are also slow to execute.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After regaining his sanity, he not only retains the memories of his actions as Nightmare but that he is his own father's killer; and is summarily horrified.
• Not Quite Back to Normal: Even as Siegfried, he still has residual malfestation from his time as Nightmare, and is able to use some of that power on his own. Not that he likes it.
• Painful Transformation: The beginning of the Story Mode shows him claiming Soul Edge — drawing from his end cutscene in Soul Edge — and being painfully malfested by it.
• Red Right Hand: He's still partially malfested, with his right arm having turned ashen.
• Reluctant Warrior: Despite being overcome by despair at the magnitude of his sins, Siegfried becomes determined to prevent Soul Edge from falling into anyone else's hands and kills those who come after him seeking revenge.
• Retcon:
  • In the original timeline, Siegfried slowly succumbed to Soul Edge and became Nightmare while trying to keep the cursed sword away from others; and only claimed Soul Calibur after Raphael stabbed the cursed sword's eye. In this timeline, he deliberately becomes Nightmare again in order to save Soul Calibur from being consumed by Inferno.
  • In the original timeline, Siegfried was 165 cm in I, and 168 cm in the games after, but in this timeline, he is 172 cm, the height he was in V, right away. This is notable because he would have been shorter than a handful of the female characters if he was 165 cm but is now taller than all of them except Ivy. He went from being the shortest male character in the original SC to the third. Only time will tell if he went through his original timeline’s full growth spurt early for whatever reason or if he will go through it but as a taller person from the start.
    • It is possible that similar to Kilik, the developers didn’t want Sophitia, who shares a story scene with Siegfried, at 168 cm to be taller than or the same height as Siegfried.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The reason he claimed Soul Edge was because he'd accidentally killed his own father, going insane and convincing himself someone else had done it before swearing revenge at all costs.
• Sanity Slippage: The more Siegfried fights the stronger Soul Edge's hold on him becomes, causing him to slowly begin slipping back into his Nightmare persona — though that simply reaffirms his resolve to fight it.
• Self-Made Orphan: Siegfried claimed Soul Edge to avenge his father... but after being freed from Soul Edge's grasp, he realizes that he was the one who killed his own father.
• A Sinister Clue: Tragic example; he unknowingly became Nightmare in search of power to avenge his father, only to find out, in his despair, that he did it himself. He's a lefty, or at the least, uses his left hand more than right.
• Ship Tease: With Sophitia. When Sophitia is adamant about saving his soul, Siegfried is very reluctant to fight her. After she alleviates some of the symptoms of his Malfestation, he is shown to very grateful and acts more tenderly with her than with any character. In battle, if he loses to her in a time out, he says that her light is too radiant for him.
• Stance System: To differentiate him from Nightmare, who has a more Attack! Attack! Attack! gameplan, success with Siegfried boils down to mastering his four alternate stances (Base Hold, Chief Hold, Side Hold, and Reverse Side Hold) and being able to bewilder the foe with a bevy of mixups and feints.
• Strong and Skilled: Siegfried has a rather methodical fighting style centered around liberal use of stances considering he used a greatsword. He apparently knew the weapon was a bad fit for him, but chose it anyway and used technique to compensate for any sort of physical shortcomings.
• Turns Red: Well, really blue. When he gets down to a certain point on his health meter, a blue energy begins to seep out, called "Dark Legacy" mode. He can also induce this himself by gathering evil within himself over the course of the match with a specific command. From this state, some of his moves become enhanced (such as turning certain attacks into Lethal Hits) and he can cash in the entire state for an explosion of energy, similar to what Nightmare can do but with the opposite effect (rather than put him into a Super Mode, it takes away Dark Legacy mode).
• Younger Than He Looks: Considering his past experience, incredible skill, and looks one would be forgiven for thinking Siegfried is one of the older members of the cast. It's the exact opposite as he's the same age as Kilik, who's 19.

Hwang Seong-gyeong

Secret Royal Blademaster

I shall vanquish...the evils of the ages!

Origin - Jirisan, Joseon Kingdom (South Korea)

First Appearance: Soul Edge (Korean ver., 1995)

Weapon: Dark Thunder, a podao, in conjunction with talismans

Fighting Style: Hwang-style Longsword and Six Heavenly Arts

Height: 176cm (5'9")

Weight: 79kg (174lbs)

Blood Type: AB

Alignment: Good

Relationships: Parents (deceased); Seong Han-myeong, master; Seong Mi-na, childhood friend; Woo Soo-hyun, master of talisman magic

Voiced by: Subaru Kimura (Japanese), Lucien Dodge (English, Season 1; Seong Mi-na Soul Chronicle only, replaced in Version 2.30 update), SungWon Cho (English, Season 2)

A disciple of Seong Han-myong and friend of Seong Mi-na. A soldier in the Korean military, Hwang was appointed by them to obtain Soul Edge in order to bolster Korea's power against Japan. Hearing rumors that Japan had already begun invading Korea, however, he returned home immediately. Soon afterward, Hwang was once again sent out to find Soul Edge, this time in secret so none of his homeland's enemies would be aware of their intentions. He also has another objective, to return Seong Mi-na safely home.

Having done so, Hwang — who had developed doubts regarding Soul Edge being the legendary "Sword of Salvation" — set out to investigate a cult called the Society of Salvation — who were gathering shards of Soul Edge — and mysteriously vanished. Studying Taoism in the depths of the mystical Motien Pass, under the tutelage of the legendary Won Soo-hyun, Hwang emerged determined to purge the world of corruption and evil; disguising himself as an unknown soul cloaked in black and wearing a mask giving him the visage of an assassin.
Similar to Miturugi, Hwang is a well-rounded Jack of All Stats who has a variety of options for any given situation, but does not excel in any particular area. That, however, is where their similarities end. Unlike Mitsurugi, who has no magical abilities to speak of and only relies on his training and his wits, Hwang is a practitioner of Taoist magic, utilizing mystical talismans to grant himself a Status Buff or for various offensive purposes. This gives him access to some of the best moves in the game, but there's a catch. Hwang has a special "Lifeforce Counter" underneath his health bar, represented by a yin-yang symbol with a number next to it. Using any of his more powerful moves will cause this counter to decrease, and some will even take a toll on his health and guard gauge. He starts with 4 Lifeforce, with a maximum of 9 and a minimum of -9, and can increase this value in a number of ways, but if it drops below 0 and into negative territory, Hwang will be forced to sacrifice a portion of his health in order to refill his Lifeforce, meaning he will start the next round with less health. To master Hwang, one must carefully manage his Lifeforce and make good use of his talismans. In essence, he can potentially be one of the strongest characters in the game, but you'll be paying a heavy price if you don't manage his Lifeforce correctly.

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• Badass Normal: A very harsh deconstruction. Hwang's normalcy leaves him weak against the ever-growing supernatural threats that Soul Edge and those surrounding it possess, forcing him to become an Empowered Badass Normal.
• Blade on a Rope: Hwang can form a chain of talismans around Dark Thunder's handle, allowing him to swing it like a whip or a rope dart.
• Big Damn Heroes: His introduction trailer sees the original timeline's Mi-Na overpowered by a bunch of Malfested warriors, but he shows up just in time to kill them all and disappears without a word. He does this for real in his Soul Chronicle, where he arrives just in time to save Mi-na and the village from Won Gabok and his army.
• Bond One-Liner: "This victory... is for my homeland."
• Bridal Carry: Holds Seong Mi-na in this fashion at the end of her story. She finds it embarrassing and asks him to give her a piggyback instead.
• The Bus Came Back: This marks the first time Hwang has had any involvement with the series in the canon since Soul Calibur. No, his appearance as an unlockable character in III probably doesn't count.
• Call-Back: Hwang's new design incorporates design elements from the NPC enemy Assassin in II, who used his fighting style.
• Cool Mask: Wears a mask very similar to that of Assassin from II.
• Cool Sword: Hwang wields a mystical sword called Dark Thunder, which enables him to channel the power of divine Taoist artifacts like the Sword of Cleansing Flame and the Chains of Binding, as well as augmenting the talismans he utilizes.
• Compressed Hair: Somehow managed to tuck in all of his Anime Hair into a hood when under disguise.◊
• Crippling Overspecialization: Lampshaded in-universe, in a harsh and almost cruel way to boot. Hwang is a gifted warrior, but unfortunately this has left him with no countermeasures to more powerful, supernatural threats. This means that he is not prepared to face the likes of Soul Edge and its minions at all. Even worse, when he finally does learn magic, his overall growth potential is very limited because his body is not built to handle its full extent.
• Darker and Edgier: At least in terms of style. He's still the same as ever, but his new outfit gives a dark avenger vibe with his sword even being called Dark Thunder in contrast to his traditional sword, Blue Thunder.
• Dark Is Not Evil: His newest outfit has darker colors and his overall appearance makes him appear menacing, but he's still one of the heroes in the series and still a gentleman at heart.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Hwang may be a national hero of Korea and a powerful warrior in his own right who is willing to shoulder the burdens of his country and his people, but he is not invincible and his mindset leaves him oblivious to the fact that the friends he makes also want to help him. He learns this the hard way when he decides to investigate the Society of Salvation, and almost dies because he went in alone and couldn't defend himself. His status and fighting prowess are also meaningless in regards to his Taoist training, as he is noted to be The Unchosen One and thus does not have the potential to become a fully-realized Taoism practitioner, and is only able to go as far as the limits of his body will allow.
• Empowered Badass Normal: Hwang was a skilled swordsman lauded as a hero, but in his Chronicle of Souls he is malfested by Won Gabok and Acht. Hwang commits suicide to avoid being Reforged into a Minion, but is resurrected by the Taoist sage Won Soo-hyun; being taught how to use Taoist magic and talismans to empower himself.
• Fatal Flaw: Selflessness. Hwang's compassion for everyone is by far his greatest strength, but also his greatest weakness. He is so willing to put others before himself and sacrifice for them that he doesn't see the negative toll it takes on his health and his relationships with friends who want to aid him.
• Hero of Another Story: It's clear he has had adventures of his own, but isn't in the focus until he's added as a DLC character.
• Leitmotif: Gets a new one in the form of his stage's theme "Hidden Saga". A somber rearrangement of "Hidden Saga" also plays exclusively in the opening and ending of his Soul Chronicle.
  • Hwang also has a second leitmotif called "Shadowy Judgement" which plays during certain parts of his Soul Chronicle. The song notably contain elements of his classic theme from Soul Edge, "Horangi Arirang"
• Lightning Bruiser: He can be played in this manner, as he boasts some of the strongest moves in the game and is extremely well-rounded, but it will cost Hwang his lifebar if he ended the round with a negative number on his Lifeforce Counter.
• Like Brother and Sister: The extent of his relationship to Mi-na, at least according to Mi-na. Upon learning that Mi-na has been receiving marriage proposals from her father, however, Hwang questions whether he and Mi-na are Just Friends or if his feelings for her are romantic rather than plantonic.
• Magic Knight: According to his backstory, he studied Taoism extensively — learning how to channel the Six Heavenly Arts despite lacking a natural talent for Taoist magic or the capacity to become an immortal. In combat, he uses purifying talismans in addition to his martial prowess.
• The Men in Black: Hwang becomes a secret agent for a benevolent faction within his country's government whose goal is to destroy Soul Edge, and it turns out they are connected to the other established organization consisting of similar individuals - the Aval Organization. True to form, when on missions he dons an all-black disguise and passes himself off as an unknown soul to hide his identity.
• Mythology Gag: During Mi-na's story, he keeps an eye on her under a disguise that looks very similar to the design of the bonus character Assassin from II, who used Hwang's fighting style. He also disguises himself as an assassin in order to infiltrate the Society of Salvation.
• Nice Guy: When he's not fighting evil, he's a very polite gentleman. Not only is he respected and loved by Seong Mi-na and her father, but he also gets along with the Aval Organization because they both have the same goal of restoring peace and order.
• The Not-Love Interest: Despite Ship Tease here and there and it being an easy role to take, Hwang does not hook up with Seong Mi-na, and the feeling is mutual on both ends that they're friends and nothing more. In his Chronicle of Souls, he does question whether his feelings for her are romantic rather than platonic upon learning she's been getting marriage proposals.
• Paper Talisman: Uses purifying talismans in some of his moves.
• Power at a Price: Hwang has access to some of the best moves in the game, but using them costs a special resource called Lifeforce that influences how much health he has to sacrifice at the start of the next round in order to refill it.
• Resources Management Gameplay: Hwang has a special lifeforce counter below his health bar. This counter depletes whenever he uses a move involving his talismans, which can be used to grant himself a Status Buff or for various offensive purposes. It starts at 4 and can be increased through certain actions or automatically by 2 whenever Hwang starts another round, but if it goes below 0 and into negative territory, Hwang will have to sacrifice portion of his health to replenish the lifeforce counter, and he will start that round with less health.
• The Unchosen One: Quite notable, as for a man of his many accomplishments and dedication to defending his homeland, Hwang does not possess the qualities to become a fully-realized Taoist master like his teacher, as he lacks "the bones of destiny". This does not stop him from utilizing what he can do with his new Taoist magic to kick ass.
• Warrior Monk: Hwang is trained in the ways of Taoism, and is able to utilize divine invocations and talisman magic in combat.

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