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
Allegiance(s)	n/a
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 and others.
Voice actor(s)	Banjō Ginga; Akio Ōtsuka (Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu); Nobutoshi Canna (Hokuto Musou)

Souther (サウザー, Sauzā) 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. Souther bears the destiny of the Star of Leadership (将星, Shōsei), also known as 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 other five stars of Nanto; therefore, none of the other Nanto successors can defeat him.

Souther establishes himself as Holy Emperor (聖帝, Seitei) after Raoh's injury and becomes known as a merciless tyrant, kidnapping children to build his Holy Cross Mausoleum. Souther was once a warm and loving child, adopted by the previous master of Nanto Hō-ōken, Ōgai. 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 devastated by his master's death and over time became hateful and inhuman.

When Souther is confronted by Kenshirō, his immunity to Hokuto Shinken allows him to emerge victorious. He later executes the rebel leader Shū atop the holy pyramid and engages in a rematch with Kenshirō. This time, his opponent discovers that Souther has dextrocardia situs inversus totalis-- his heart is on the right side and the positions of his pressure points are reversed. After losing his protection, Souther makes one last stand but is defeated by Kenshirō'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. Shortly afterwards, the holy pyramid comes crashing down under the weight of Shū's sadness, whose spirit grieved for someone as misguided as Souther.

In the movie Raoh Den: Junai no Shou, his death scene is different than in the manga or TV series; there is no reference to his sensei Ogai or the motive behind the pyramid. The moment when he embraces his sifu's body is also omitted. Instead, Souther commits suicide by stabbing himself with his fist, refusing to die by Hokuto Shinken.

Trivia

Geese Howard (from SNK's "Fatal Fury" and "King of Fighters" fighting video game series) is possibly based on Souther.

Gallery

Souther at the age of 15
Souther prepares for his first battle with Kenshirō
Souther prepares for his second battle with Kenshirō
Souther in Ten no Haoh.