Josuto (Manga)

## Josuto

***Josuto*** (*ジョスト*) is a Japanese manga created, illustrated, and written by mangaka Ryoko Uematsu. *Josuto* is set in a realm named Taria where the Akari are the sole race of people. Akari are unique in that they have two facets of power. Firstly, the Akari have elemental powers known as Hypers. These can be Fire, Water, THunder for example. Their second facet of power however Hypers change and become unique depending on the person Color, or their color energy. For example, if an Akari is born with a Fire Hyper and a Blue Color energy, their resulting power is a unique Blue Fire.

## Characters

### Main Protagonists and Allies

###### *Josuto Shirokuro*

Black, White and Cyan Thunder

The main character of the Josuto series, Josuto Shirokuro is a snarky, arrogant, cunning, and hard-hearted teenager who is always smirking. While he fights villains, he is neither a protagonist nor an antagonist. His unique tri-color combination was deemed "special" and has never before been seen, not only because he has three color at the same time, but also because Black and White combinations were thought "impossible."

###### *Rikari Reido*

Yellow Metal

Rikari is Josuto's best friend. He is upbeat, goofy, and sometimes gets into trouble.

###### *Blaze Kai*

Pink Fire

Blaze is Josuto's former rival turned best friend. She is stoic but can easily become enraged. At an early point in the manga, she had feelings for Emilia, which sparked a short-lived rivalry and brief skirmish with Josuto.

###### *Emilia Skylily*

Gold Ice

Emilia is the Knights' de-facto leader born of a wealthy family. She is stuck-up, chic, and has a major unreciprocated fondness for Josuto.

###### *Sam Tango*

Orange Wind

One of Josuto's closest friends. He is easygoing and calm.

###### *Diane Bellamy*

Lime Flora

She is quiet but regal.

###### *Alafin "Alf" Quigly*

Clear Fire

Comedy relief nerd with weaker powers but a great mind.

###### *Bolt Stein*

Red Thunder

Josuto's rival and the quintessential jock. Ironically, he is best friends with Alafin, his polar opposite in terms of character.

###### *Scarlet Shade*

Scarlet Mind + Vampire Flight

Josuto's initial girlfriend and later Knights member. Scarlet is a tall, sultry Vampire-Hypercolor hybrid.

###### *Totensha Fahrbach*

Blue and Red Time

A small girl with dual Colors which grant her the ability to manipulate time in distinct ways.

###### *Sun Gamma*

Fulvous Fire

Dr. Gamma's half Hypercolor\* half human daughter.

###### *Dr. Geo Gamma*

Dr. Geo Gamma is a supporting character. He is Sun Gamma's human father.

###### *Joshua Roxrose*

A warrior from an alternate world who ended up in Erobos' realm. He is a guest character from the *Joshua Roxrose* manga penned by Matsubara Yoshiro, a close friend of Ryoko Uematsu.

###### *DX Kai*

He is Blaze Kai's brother. He always dressed in white, baggy clothing with paint smears, and his face is always concealed by a white scarf. He uses two paintbrushes (which he calls Pain Brushes) to channel his flame abilities.

### Main Villains

###### *Ghostmouth*

Ghostmouth, real name Malva do Ceniza, is a deranged mob boss with an eccentric and comical personality. Ghostmouth attacks using his dual tongues. He can suck people's souls out with these tongues and can use them to control others as well as steal their powers temporarily.

###### *Dr. Harold Bigno / "Bignose"*

*Magmarex*

Magmarex is a strange reptilian with a large eye on his forehead. He dons a dark red cloak and a viking-style helmet with two large horns. From the middle of his "eye," he can shoot deadly flames. He grows more eyes around his body as he changes forms.

###### *Erobos*

Erobos is a banished deity from the Dark Dimension. Erobos' gender is unknown, as the villain's appearance is androgynous.

###### *Ladie*

Ladie is a humanoid cosmic being from the Wish World. She is extremely tall and towers over all characters in the series. She has a mask-like crest that "covers" her lower face. She dresses in witch-like garments.

###### *Quarott*

Quarott is an elderly man with a bald head and a long grey beard. He has a muscular physique, has "screws" all over his face and body, and his left eye is concealed by a triangular contraption. During the final chapter of the Peacetime Arc, a mysterious man, revealed to be Quarott, sets Josuto up. This causes a skirmish between Josuto and the Knights, and eventually a showdown between Josuto and Quarott.

*Terror the Werewolf*

He is a muscular wolfman with dark-blue and white fur.

### Other Allies and Villains

###### *Hana*

While never directly seen or mentioned by name, Josuto's first "mother" and first half, Hana, is seen in a hallucination during the Ghostmouth arc. After Josuto feels compelled to save Sun from the explosion in the storage building, he sees a translucent "dame in white" smiling.

## Story Sagas

#### Ghostmouth Arc - Chapters 1-19

The Powers Carnival is a yearly

After the Carnival concludes, a mob legend emerges from the shadows. Ghostmouth, the most dangerous name in Valencia, kidnaps Dr. Gamma and his daughter Sun. The selfish Josuto, looking for the reward money offered by the police, tries to retrieve the two. For help with this, he summons forth the winners of the Powers Cup. The fight is on; the group begins targeting Mafia hideouts to find out more about the Gammas' whereabouts.

After a long struggle with the Valencian Mafia, particularly with bigwigs Stonder and Hurp, Josuto and co. finally tick off Ghostmouth. Eventually, the team is challenged by Ghostmouth at an oil yard. The final showdown begins and goes on for a long time. Josuto manages to claim victory over Ghostmouth by tricking him to kill himself. After this, the teenager is given the reward money, which he uses to buy a secluded house in the Valencia Plains.

Josuto soon realizes that he alone "beat that little crybaby who those fools were so scared of," and that his abilities could be used for even more gain. The wily Josuto, seeing opportunity where others wouldn't, sneakily arranges things so that Bess, the Valencia Mayor, takes note of his "heroic" acts and approaches him for a job.

Josuto's plan works; the Mayor of Valencia soon invites the Powers Cup team to become full-time protectors of Valencia. Josuto is devilishly elated. He quickly but coolly agrees. Some of the others decline, but after Josuto ridicules and challenges them, they feel compelled to join. It is at this moment that the Knights are born.

#### BignoCorp Arc - Chapters 20-37

The Knights receive their first mission; infiltrate BignoCorp headquarters, eavesdrop, and arrest Dr. Harold Bigno. BignoCorp is currently being investigated due to allegations of Kimeratech development.

The Knights are stuck in the BignoCorp maze. They must escape Bigno, who is tracking them down.

#### Magmarex Arc - Chapters 38-59

The Knights are sent overseas to investigate reports of a monster trapping people in eggs.

#### Upside Town Arc - Chapters 60-80

A year after the Magmarex arc, winged creatures begin to appear in Tharia, alongside disappearances of many civilians. After an investigation, Diane and Totensha determine the source of this problem; the next-door realm. The Knights request to go there using the Great Garden's Potion of Worlds. Josuto is excited about the pay.

A deity named Erobos is the ruler of this gothic world named Gravidi. Joshua Roxrose, the Pure Dark swordsman, makes his debut in this arc as a Gravidi native.

#### M Arc - Chapters 86 - 106

Erobos escapes to Tharia. Meanwhile, another threat exists; M Thurner. He aims to eliminate his younger brother, C. Ordinary [police have tried to stop him to no avail. The Knights are summoned to both stop M Thurner and find Erobos, which is a gargantuan task.

Josuto allows Zephyr to fuse her soul with his. DX makes his debut in this arc.

M Thurner is sighted entering the Academy where C studies. Oscar, Blaze, Rikari, and Emillia are sent there.

In the school, M Thurner fights Oscar. Eventually, Oscar is impaled against the wall by M and killed.

Zephyr form Josuto and M Thurner duke it out at the Academy. Zephyr-Josuto wins, but M Thurner cowardly runs away before he can get killed. Josuto almost catches him but fails.

Erobos, hiding in the shadows, witnessed the bloody defeat of M. Erobos proposes a partnership with M, who was nearly strong enough to kill Josuto. M accepts, he will do anything to kill his little brother.

Emillia beats M Thurner to a pulp after he gravely injures her mother. Then, she finishes off both M and Erobos.

In the “slice-of-life” episodes / chapters at the end of the arc, Josuto begins dating a young woman named Scarlet Shade who later joins the Helix Knights.

#### Wish World Arc - Chapters 106-130

One day,. After Josuto tampers with it, a massive sword-esque lift appears from beneath the plains. Josuto and Sam investigate on their own. After their disappearance, the Knights and their reinforcements take the sword’s elevator. Soon, they discover that it leads to an ethereal, cosmos-like world.

Ladie squares off against Josuto, Sam, and Arcane. Not even Zephyr-form Josuto can take down Ladie and he suffers an epic defeat. He is thrown by her into the Ocean of Stars and disappears for a sizable part of the arc.

Josuto returns for the last half of the story.

#### Josuto Arc - Chapters 142-166

Josuto splits from the Knights after being set up by a mysterious figure.