Sogetsu Kazama

Sogetsu Kazama is a character in the Samurai Shodown series. He first appeared in Samurai Shodown IV as one of the main protagonists.

Personality
Sogetsu is a stoic and reserved young man, locking away his emotions so he can serve the part of a ninja faithfully.

He values his family and loves his siblings and shows his care by sparing their lives and remaining distant. He quietly watches over them, careful to steer other members of the clan away from their locations. Despite saying to Hazuki that she is dead in his eyes, he never implied abandonment at all, knowing he has a facade to maintain to ensure all their survival. This is further emphasized in Kazuki's ending in Samurai Shodown VI where he helps his siblings reintegrate into their clan.

In battle however, he turns into a haughty and narccistically merciless warrior who belittles incompetent foes, but occasionally takes interest on those that provokes his curiosity. This attitude is most likely the result of the taint from Suija, sealed from within his sword. He becomes just as boastful as Suija himself as Suija Sogetsu.

In moments where he and Kazuki face off, they would go out of their way to fight competitively, but never go as far as a deathmatch. Sogetsu knows he is clearly superior to Kazuki, but somehow senses that the latter has more latent potential than what is evident. He will never think of killing Kazuki, even if the latter dares him to, as seen in Sogetsu's ending in Samurai Shodown Sen.

His ambitions for power are never clearly explained though it is implied that he maybe driven by ulterior and personal motives, and a possibility using the leadership to bring back Kazuki and Hazuki to the clan officially. Should opportunities to be the leader of their clan present itself, he will rise to occasion and prove his worth especially to his critics.

Powers

 * Hydrokinesis: Due to his ninjutsu training, Sogetsu can control water. He can create it from thin air, create bubbles of water, deliver slashes with water, and create geysers of water. In some cases, he can use water as an impenetrable shield against attacks.
 * Translocation: Using his ninjutsu, Sogetsu can move from one place to another very quickly.
 * Bunshin - Sogetsu can create a mirror image of himself and attack his opponent from both sides.

Fighting Style
Sogetsu, unlike Kazuki, has several long-ranged attacks, most notable of which is his strongest slash attack. His power over water allows him to keep opponents at distance from both the air and ground level as he can raise geysers and throw bubbles to thwart their advances. In his Rasetsu/Bust form, later adopted as Suija's fighting style, he becomes an effective close to mid-ranged fighter, able to shield himself from attacks during jumps and splash powerful geysers at close range. In Samurai Shodown 64 and Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage, his ninjatō changes to a longer tachi. His stance changes to keep his sword unsheathed to hold it at shoulder level ready to strike.

He keeps this stance in Sen with his free hand used only for normal throws. He utilizes kicks and teleportation tactics to confuse his opponents.

Music

 * Incarnation of Water - Samurai Shodown IV, V
 * Dew - Samurai Shodown 64
 * Reflection in the Water - Samurai Shodown (2019)

Voice Actors

 * Naoki Oikawa - Samurai Shodown IV~Samurai Shodown Sen
 * Junji Majima - Samurai Shodown VI
 * Yoshiaki Hasegawa - Samurai Shodown (2019)

Games

 * Samurai Shodown IV
 * Samurai Shodown 64
 * Samurai Shodown 64-2 - players will only encounter Suija Sogetsu as a CPU opponent
 * Samurai Shodown V
 * Samurai Shodown V Special
 * Samurai Shodown V Perfect
 * Samurai Shodown VI
 * Samurai Shodown Sen
 * Samurai Shodown (2019) - DLC character

Mobile

 * Samurai Shodown Online
 * Samurai Shodown Tenkadaiichi Kenkakuden

Cameos

 * Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits: Bushidou Retsuden (Neo-Geo CD version only; cameo)
 * Samurai Spirits (pachinko)
 * Samurai Shodown (2019) - in Kazuki's ending; also mentioned in Kazuki's story and in some quotes

Similar Characters

 * Suija
 * Suija Sogetsu

Etymology

 * The name Sogetsu means "blue, pale" (蒼) (so) and "moon" (月) (getsu).
 * Sogetsu's surname Kazama means "wind, breeze, way, manner, blaster, gale, gust, sirocco, method" (風) (kaza) and "while, time, interval, space, pause, chamber, room, apartment, leisure, chance, entr'acte, intervening, as" (間) (ma).

Trivia

 * In the 1997 Gamest Heroes Collection, Sogetsu was ranked the staff's 21st favorite character.