Souther

Souther
	; Souther, as he appears in the manga.
Name in Kanji	サウザー
Name in Romaji	Sauzā
Alternate spelling(s)	Thouzer, Thouther, Souzer
Fighting Style	Nanto Hōō Ken
Family	Ōgai (adoptive father/sifu)
Position(s)	Holy Emperor (聖帝 Seitei)
Appearances	Manga (ch. 85-97); Anime (ep. 58-68) Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu; Ten no Haoh; Ichigo Aji and others.
Voice actor(s)	Banjō Ginga; Akio Ōtsuka (Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu); Toshihiko Seki (Ten no Haoh); Illich Guardiola (Ten no Haoh English dub); Nobutoshi Canna (Hokuto Muso);

""Never make way, never grovel, never look back! There is no escape from the Emperor!" (
帝王に逃走はないのだ～！！)"

— Souther

Souther (サウザー, Sauzā): Souther is the sole successor of the Nanto Hōō Ken (南斗鳳凰拳, "South Dipper Phoenix Fist) style and one of the Nanto Roku Sei Ken. He bears the destiny of the Star of Leadership (将星, Shōsei), also known as the Polar Star (極星, Kyokusei) and Star of the Southern Cross (南十字星, Minami Jūji Sei). The Star of Leadership rules over the Nanto constellation and therefore none of the other Nanto successors can defeat him.

History

Souther establishes himself as the Holy Emperor (聖帝 Seitei) after Raoh's setback against Kenshiro and becomes feared as a merciless tyrant, kidnapping children to construct his Holy Cross Mausoleum. Souther was once a warm and loving child, adopted by the previous master of Nanto Hō-ōken, Ogai. However, because of Nanto Hō-ōken's awful legacy, Ogai tricked Souther into killing him in order to be surpassed by his student. Souther was traumatized by his master's death and over time became hateful and inhuman.

He was present when young Kenshiro competed in the Nanto Junin Kumite. When Kenshiro lost his final trial to Shu, Souther ordered that the boy be executed in keeping with Nanto law but Shu intervened and sacrificed his own eyes for the boy's life. This awakened Shu's star of destiny (the Jinsei) and would see the two of them become enemies after the nuclear war.

When Shu recruits Kenshiro in his war against Souther, the Hokuto Shinken successor confronts Souther but finds his vital point attacks are futile against him. Souther defeats Kenshiro and prepares to use him as a human sacrifice for his mausoleum until Shu's son, Shiva, infiltrates the prison and aids his escape. Souther responds by attacking the resistance hideout, taking a hundred women & children hostage in order to blackmail Shu into surrender. He slices the tendons in Shu's legs, crippling his Nanto Hakuro Ken, and forces him to rest the capstone of the pyramid before his execution.

An enraged Kenshiro challenges Souther once more to avenge Shu's death and discovers his secret: Souther was born with a rare congenital condition known as dextrocardia situs inversus totalis-- meaning that his heart is on the right side and the positions of his vital points are reversed. After being crippled by the Tenha Kassatsu and losing his protection, Souther makes one last stand, but he is soon defeated by Kenshiro's merciful Ujō Moshō Ha technique. Overwhelmed by his opponent's compassion, Souther spends his final moments reconciling with the shrine of his beloved master, before breathing his last and passing away next to Ogai's body. Shortly afterwards, the holy pyramid comes crashing down under the weight of Shu's sorrow, whose spirit wept for Souther's tragic fate.

Kenshiro remarks that Souther's love "was the greatest of all."

In other media

In the 2006 movie Legend of Raoh: Chapter of Death in Love, Souther's death scene is different from the original manga. There is no reference to his sensei, Ogai, or the motivation behind the Holy Emperor's Cross Mausoleum. Refusing to die from Kenshiro's Hokuto Shinken, Souther rejects his pity and stabs himself in the heart.

Character Rating

From Hokuto no Ken: Kyūkyoku Kaisetsusho: Seikimatsu Haō Retsuden.

Level: AA
Power: 4
Speed: 5
Skills: 5
Looks: 4
Charisma: 5

Trivia

The word souther means "A strong wind from the south".
Geese Howard (from SNK's "Fatal Fury" and "King of Fighters" fighting video game series) is possibly based on Souther.
In the Touhou-based fighting game Touhou Hisoutensoku, the character Reiuji Utsuho has a combat style heavily-based on Souther's. Many of her moves share animations or have similar appearances to Souther's moves (sprite comparison here). Humorously, Utsuho herself is also a reference; she is a Yatagarasu (hell raven) with power over fire, ergo providing a humorous indirect homage to Souther's phoenix motif.
The fighting style of Menace (from the "Queen's Blade" franchise) and some aspects of her personality are possibly based on Souther. Justified, since Menace's VA, Yūko Gotō, is a big fan of Souther, not to mention being the producer of the Hokuto Musou game.
The character J in the manga series "Sakigake!! Otokojuku" shares a slight physical resemblance to Souther. The resemblance is greater in the anime adaption, in which J is also voiced by Souther's original seiyuu, Banjo Ginga.