(no subject)
[ CHARACTER INFORMATION ]
Name: Kato Kiyomasa, Toranosuke
Age: Unknown, mid-20's?
Gender: Male
Fandom: Samurai Warriors
Timeline: Samurai Warriors 3, after defecting to the East.
History:
Samurai Archives - Here
Koei Warriors Wiki - Here
Character Personality:
Although he can be stubborn and firm regarding his beliefs, Kiyomasa is often seen as being the level-headed and collected one of the Fool Trio. He often gets between Masanori and Mitsunari when the pair provoke one and other, serving as a mediator of sorts - or rather, someone to tell them they're both behaving like fools.
There are three things that Kiyomasa holds in particularly high regard - loyalty, the house of Toyotomi and family. He views Toyotomi Hideyoshi as his own father, deeply indebted to the man for taking him in. Despite the way he argues and fights with Mitsunari (and Masanori), the trio are close as brothers - right down to affectionately referring to one and other as "fool". Mitsunari and Kiyomasa are the worst when it comes to butting heads, particularly at the canon point I'm taking him from. After the death of Hideyoshi, the Toyotomi were divided when it came to how to proceed. Though their forces were severely weakened and their morale depleted, Mitsunari refused to turn to the mercy of the East. Kiyomasa, on the other hand, believed the opposite. Siding with the Tokugawa army was the only way for the Toyotomi to survive. This caused a great deal of strife and turmoil, eventually leading to Kiyomasa turning his back on Mitsunari and taking half the Toyotomi army with him towards what he believed would be their salvation.
Touching more on Kiyomasa siding with the Tokugawa after the death of his lord - Kiyomasa did not see this act as a betrayal unto his Lord. He decided to side with Ieyasu's army as a means of protecting his home - Osaka Castle - and achieving Hideyoshi's dream of a unified Japan. While he could no serve beneath the Toyotomi flag, the ideals remained cemented and unwavering in his heart. His first and foremost duty was to protect the house of Toyotomi and he would achieve this by any means he deemed necessary.
The animal he is most commonly associated with is the tiger. Tigers are a symbol of power and protection, both of which Kiyomasa embodies. A tiger can represent ferociousness and valor in combat - but they can also represent stubbornness and the unwillingness to back down and compromise. It seems only natural that Kiyomasa's childhood name was Toranosuke ("Tiger Boy").
Expanding further on Kiyomasa's dreams, a desire he holds dear is to settle down and lead a peaceful life. He would like a wife to hold and a house to protect - that wife he would prefer, however, happens to be a woman the Fool Trio would consider their own mother.
...Yes.
To elaborate a bit more on this, I need to go further into the relationship he holds with his brothers. The Fool Trio all consider themselves to be deeply indebted to Hideyoshi and the Toyotomi clan. Although the three are around the same age, Mitsunari and Masanori likely came into Hideyoshi's care before Kiyomasa did. It's likely Kiyomasa was nearing adulthood (read: between ages 13 and 15) when he was welcomed into the Toyotomi, so unlike the other two, he doesn't quite have the same view as the other two in regards to their benefactors. While he does view Hideyoshi as a father, Nene isn't seen with quite so motherly eyes. While he does adore and revere her (which is emphasized more in the Japanese version), there's a certain attraction he holds for her that goes beyond the mother-son bond (which is emphasized in the English translation, the version I am playing from). Although he holds only the deepest respect for Hideyoshi, he does long for Nene to see him as something deeper than a mere son. However, he does seem to recognize that this can never truly be.
Conflict with his brothers - particularly Mitsunari - tends to have a negative view. When Hideyoshi was still alive, Kiyomasa and Mitsunari's relationship was strained but they were able to tolerate one and other. After his death, the negativity between the two further escalated. Kiyomasa felt as though Mitsunari was the true instigator of everything, the confrontational and uncompromising one. It was Mitsunari's fault that the Toyotomi was divided, it was Mitsunari's fault that everything turned out as it did. Despite the familial bond and years of working alongside one and other, Kiyomasa holds no sympathy for Mitsunari or his foolish plight. Mitsunari's desire to continue fighting for the West and absolute reluctance to ally with Ieyasu’s forces was viewed as nothing short of pig-headed and futile.
His relationship with Masanori is considerably more positive. Though he does tease the other man, Kiyomasa is generally quite supportive of him. Their relationship never got anywhere near as complex as Kiyomasa's and Mitsunari’s as Masanori was always genuine and more willing to get along with him. The two are very close and show only the utmost respect for Hideyoshi and Nene (always ensuring to address her as "Lady Nene"). Masanori has always been one to stay by Kiyomasa's side and it's definitely a bond that Kiyomasa appreciates.
Doubling back here to Kiyomasa's desire to protect his house is something than can be seen in how he treats the men under his command. After Hideyoshi's death, his desire for his clan's safety is what leads him to join Ieyasu - and the safety of the Toyotomi clan means the safety of his troops. The Tokugawa had grown to an immensely powerful force. In order to ensure the survival of himself, his men and the Toyotomi, he made the decision to serve under his flag. Though leaving Osaka was a difficult choice, protecting those under his command was a greater priority. Overall, he treats them respectfully and as humans - people with livelihoods and families to protect, as opposed to faceless fodder. He recognizes the importance of placing trust in those who serve him and in doing so, they are willing to follow his command and accept his decisions (as previously stated regarding Osaka, this includes the difficult ones). Kiyomasa takes his duty and position seriously and those under his command fully respect his authority over them, knowing his actions are for the good of the house.
Character Abilities:
Kiyomasa's main talent is fighting with a halberd. Be it on foot or mounted on horseback, he's very skilled with polearms. He possesses enough dexterity to quickly swing and twirl the heavy weaponry and he's capable of using it both one-handedly and two-handedly with absolute ease.
Borrowing a page from his historical counterpart for a moment here - it's said that he is protected by the Buddist deity Samuhara, a God of protection and endurance. It is said that engraving Samuhara's name on one's weapon will grant longevity and courage and the historical Kiyomasa did this before the siege in Korea. His belief that the diety would protect him was seemingly enough to keep him alive and make it through the war. In Samurai Warriors, one of Kiyomasa's rare weapons has Samuhara's name engraved on the blade so to imagine he did it for the same reasons as his historical self is no difficult stretch.
Like the SW counterpart for Mitsunari, Kiyomasa also excels in strategy. While he may not be quite as keen as his "brother", he makes up for it in physical strength. Out of the the three fools, Masanori is the most skilled at combat and Mitsunari is the one with the sharpest intellect. Kiyomasa, however, excels in both areas, able to back up his strategies with a fierce offence and well-prepared defence. Because of his skill in both areas, he doesn't favour one over the other and can incorporate both into the best laid plans.
One of Kiyomasa's physical skills, as displayed by everyone in the Samurai Warriors series, is his Musou ability. In essence, this just means "go crazy and glow and stuff and hit samurai dudes in the face with [weapon] until they die". There are two stages of Musou - regular and Kaiden/Ultimate --
• Regular: Kiyomasa glows and rapidly swings his halberd left and right, alternating directions with each step until his Musou gauge is emptied.
• Kaiden: Kiyomasa will jump forward and slam his halberd down into the ground, sending out powerful shock waves that knock the enemy back and damages anything within its wide radius.
Character Weaknesses: Despite being considered the more mature and level-headed of the fool trio, Kiyomasa is stubborn almost to a fault. He doesn't back down from his beliefs and often his desire to prove he's right outweighs most logical thinking. He's represented by the characters for "incite" and "rend" for a reason - he clashes fiercely with Mitsunari over certain subjects (ie. siding with the Tokugawa) which lead to the Toyotomi clan being completely divided due to this rivalry.
Borrowing again from his historical self, Kiyomasa was a very "no nonsense" kind of general. He's straight-laced and focuses on the task ahead of him. Whatever he's assigned to, he will do it and do it well. While his historical self went to far as to claim poetry and dancing was shameful and samurai caught engaging in such activities should go so far as to kill themselves, the SW version of Kiyomasa isn't quite as harsh. Still, he would find such activities to be a foolish waste of time - the guy isn't very good at relaxing.
[ SOUL CAMPAIGN SECTION ]
ABILITIES:
-Mad Halberd Skillz. This will carry over to SC in terms of what sort of Weapon he looks to partner himself with and serve as a basis for his general skill in using them (as a basic weapon, not necessarily in terms of how well he manages to resonate with them).
WEAKNESS: Kiyomasa will not be able to use his Musou skill and randomly power up and slam pointy sticks into the ground and create massive shock waves. At least, not at first - whether or not he ends up with a Weapon that can produce said shock waves will be another matter entirely. Generally speaking, he'll remain as physically fit as he currently is - perhaps stronger than your average male but not superhuman by any means.
However, mentally, he's going to be completely lost. Death City will provide quite the shock for him in terms of technology and culture. It's going to take him a fair amount of time to fully adjust, if he ever truly manages to. Coming from the Sengoku era of feudal Japan, modern conveniences and luxuries are going to completely blow his mind. Running water?! Twinkies?! Let's not even touch on how confused he's going to be when it comes to things like motorcycles and computers... Being removed from everything he knew is going to be harsh.
PLANS:
Kiyomasa is a man of the military, through and through. Though his style of warfare is considerably different from the war he'll be fighting in Death City, he will be more than willing to put forth his all towards Shibusen's efforts if it means protecting his beliefs. I intend to have him grow in the city and learn that his beliefs aren't necessarily the be all and end all - that compromise just may be key to his survival. Through this, I want him to come to realize just how blinded he's been and with any luck, he will realize the mistakes he's made by tearing his family apart (as he's coming from before this sort of realization in his canon - I want to see how it may play out differently in this sort of setting).
[ MEISTER ONLY SECTION ]
Why your character should be a Meister: Although he pledges himself to servitude under the Toyotomi banner, Kiyomasa is a leader in himself. Upon Hideyoshi's death, he is not afraid to challenge Mitsunari and walk away with half of the Toyotomi army following his command. He cares deeply for the people of Osaka and those under his command, willing to fight for and protect what they hold dear.
He isn't afraid to prove himself and he isn't afraid to stand up to others when it comes to what he feels is just. He shows no fear in the face of adversity and it's proven that he will own up to whatever consequences his actions hold. He's willing to accept the responsibility of a leader, even if the decisions he's forced to make (such as severing the bonds with his "family") are among the most difficult.
Meister Ability: Soul Adrenaline - Makes them stronger the longer they fight, like a chain combo in a video game
[ SOUL INFORMATION ]
Soul Description: Stubborn, Fraternal, Dedicated, Protective, Unwavering, Proud
Soul Appearance: YOU'RE A KITTY!!
Okay, maybe not quite. His soul is rounded and a medium green with pointed hair wisps jutting out at various angles (that look a bit like his hair). Along his back and down the tail of his soul are small, black stripes that give him a tigerish appearance.