Soshiro Hoshina

* Manga
* Anime

### Epithet

The Defense Force's Strongest Close-Quarters Combatant (防衛隊最強の近接戦力, *Bōei-tai Saikyō no Kinsetsu Senryoku*)

## Relationships

### Affiliation

Defense Force
- Third Division

### Relatives

Unnamed Father
Soichiro Hoshina (Older Brother)

## Debut

### Manga Debut

Chapter 4

*"Rainy days, snowy days, birthdays, new year's days... I've lived every day of my life since childhood wielding a sword. I've lived my life with blade always in my mind. That blade... the sword-slay techniques I've cultivated... this thinly cut mass of iron... if there's even the slightest thing that can be saved by any of that... then I've got no choice... but to wield my sword."*
— Soshiro Hoshina.
**Soshiro Hoshina** (保 (ほ) 科 (しな)  宗 (そう) 四 (し) 郎 (ろう) , *Hoshina Sōshirō*) is the vice-captain of the Third Division of the Defense Force. He is the main protagonist of *Kaiju No. 8: B-side*, a spinoff series of *Kaiju No. 8*.

He is a member of the Hoshina Family, a renowed clan of swordsmen from the Muromachi period. He is also Soichiro Hoshina's younger brother.

## Appearance

Soshiro is a athletic young man of average height with a lean and muscular build and dark violet short hair in a bob cut style. His red eyes are closed most of the time and he always has a jovial expression on his face, except when serious scenarios made him display an imposing expression with his eyes opened.

When on-duty, Soshiro wears the usual Defense Force uniform. He also wears the standard combat suit used by Defense Force members when on the battlefield. While wearing Numbers Weapon 10, Soshiro wears a combat suit with light-purple scale-like armor with green outlines, a long mechanical tail, and Kaiju No. 10's signature eye in the middle of the chest plate.

As a child, Soshiro was mostly identical to his current appearance, most wearing a traditional training outfit.

### Gallery

Soshiro as a childSoshiro's training attireSoshiro's Defense Force uniform
## Personality

Soshiro is rather laid-back, always having a smile on his face. He seems to enjoy making fun of others, especially Kafka Hibino considering him a comic relief. However, he does have some serious moments when he speaks firmly and open his eyes to emphasize the seriousness of his words. Soshiro also likes to tease captain Gen Narumi from the First Division. Despite Soshiro's relaxed and friendly appearance, he is very intelligent and intuitive. He was the only one who correctly deduced Kafka Hibino's identity as Kaiju No. 8, thus one of the main reasons he accepted him in the Third Division despite failing the exam was to keep an eye on him.

Soshiro has a great, yet hidden, sense of loyalty towards the Defense Force, and feels very thankful towards Mina Ashiro, his captain, for letting him into her division. His sense of loyalty to his role in the force is so strong that he deep down sees it as his only reason to live. Soshiro is also very thankful, as seen when he talked to Kafka two months after he proved to be Kaiju No. 8 and thanked him for saving his life and those of his subordinates showing to hold no grudge towards him.

Soshiro is also very linked to his family and its swordsmanship tradition. His father's skepticism of his abilities and his feeling of inferiority towards his older brother brought Soshiro to hone his swordplay and idenitify his whole being within the art of the blade. He was also seen training alone despite being very late at night, replaying in his mind the fight he had against Kaiju No. 8. This further proves that Soshiro is also very hard-working and determined to be strong enough to defeat all the kaiju. During his fight with Kaiju No. 12, however, No. 10 digged into Soshiro's psyche and made him realize that he always had fun swinging the sword , with Soshiro finally accepting his simplemindedness as his main resolve for fighting and improving himself.

Soshiro is aware that times have changed and the era of swords is more than over and most members of the Defense Force look down on him because of his figthing style. Despite this he feels it is his duty to wield his sword because he's spent better part of his life in training and improving his swordmanship and it's the only way he knows to fight against kaijus.

## Power & Abilities

**Overall Abilities**: Soshiro is the vice-captain of the Third Division of the Defense Force and a very powerful combatant, capable of fighting on par with Kaiju No. 10. While his skill set puts him at a disadvantage against large-sized kaiju, Soshiro's proficiency in defeating small to mid-sized kaiju in battle surpasses that of the captain of the First Division, "Japan's Strongest Anti-Kaiju Combatant", Gen Narumi. His older brother and captain of the Sixth Division, Soichiro Hoshina, states that Soshiro stands above everyone in the Hoshina Family, past or present.

Ever since wearing Numbers Weapon 10, Soshiro's physical attributes have been dampened due to the weapon being the first kaiju weapon in the history of the Defense Force to have a mind of it’s own. However, when reaching a temporary status of synchronization, Soshiro is able to easily overpower minor kaiju, with the potential to use his Numbers Weapon to the fullest.

Against Kaiju No. 12, the improved and final version of Kaiju No. 10, Soshiro is initially overwhelmed by the monster due to it possessing far superior speed, strength and fighting ability compared to No. 10. But after revealing his secret weapon, Soshiro is able to gain the upper hand on No. 12 for a short period of time before the monster adapts to his fighting style. Eventually, after a very tough battle, Soshiro is able to defeat No. 12 with a new technique that he develops during their battle.

### Powers

* **High Unleashed Combat Power**: As a vice-captain, Soshiro is capable of using an extremely high amount of his combat suit's power. His maximum unleashed combat power in a standard Defense Force combat suit is 92%, however abusing the suit's power will cause him to overheat. While wearing Numbers Weapon 10, he is capable of a "Full Release" which allows him to use 100% of his suit's power.
	+ **Enhanced Strength**: Soshiro has incredible physical strength, able to slice through Kaiju No. 8's incredibly tough skin with ease. He is also capable of slicing through Kaiju No. 10's tough skin despite being heavily damaged, something not even Kikoru Shinomiya could do with her own personal weapon. During his training session with Kafka and without wearing a combat suit, Soshiro is able to overwhelm the latter with only a few punches, and sends him back a great distance with one punch while he is holding a reinforced training bag.
	+ **Immense Speed and Reflexes**: Soshiro is an extremely fast combatant with extraordinary reflexes. He is shown killing a kaiju without any noticeable movement. Kafka in his kaiju form is shocked by how fast he moves and states that his speed is on a whole other level when compared to Kikoru Shinomiya. His speed is so great that he even impressed Kaiju No. 10 with how fast he can move. He is also capable of dodging extremely fast attacks from Kaiju No. 10, as well as Kaiju No. 12, at point blank range.
	+ **Enhanced Durability**: Soshiro is an incredibly durable combatant, as shown when he emerges completely unscathed after Kaiju No. 10 sends him flying through a building.
	+ **Enhanced Endurance**: Soshiro possesses tremendous levels of physical endurance. Despite being heavily injured after taking a powerful punch from Kaiju No. 10, he is able to continue fighting even after his suit overheats. After going well beyond his suit's limit, he is still able to push beyond and use 63% of his suit's power despite being heavily fatigued.

### Abilities

* **Master Swordsman**: Soshiro is a master swordsman who hails from the Hoshina Family, a family of kaiju slayers dating back to the Muromachi period, and is one of the Defense Force’s strongest blade specialists. When using his custom-made swords or his katana, Soshiro can quickly cut down his opponents with extreme speed and precision. According to his father, even at a very young age, Soshiro would’ve been considered a prodigy in the Edo period due to his extraordinary mastery in swordsmanship. Soshiro further showcased his mastery in swordsmanship by coming up with a new form in the middle of the fight against Kaiju No. 12.

* **Martial Arts Mastery**: Despite specializing in swordsmanship, Soshiro is a highly skilled unarmed fighter. He is capable of using Isao Shinomiya's fighting style with great proficiency and easily overpower Kafka in their training session. His close-quarters fighting ability is stated to be the strongest within the entire Defense Force.

* **Leadership Skills**: As the vice-captain of the Third Division, Soshiro has shown excellent leadership skills, able to guide a whole platoon and multiple officers on the battlefield during major battles.

* **Keen Intellect**: Soshiro is a very intelligent man. He is shown explaining, in detail, the catastrophes that Kaiju No. 9 caused as well as it’s abilities to the eastern division of the Defense Force, and is able to deduce the location of No. 9's whereabouts. He also likes to plan for the future, as shown when he asked Konomi Okonogi to develop a new secret weapon just in case Kaiju No. 9 observed his battle with Kaiju No. 10.

#### Fighting Style

Soshiro's unleashed combat power when it comes to using firearms is low, so he prefers close-ranged sword fighting. Unlike other Defense Force officers, Soshiro uses his family's unique fighting style, known as Hoshina Style. His extraordinary mastery in swordsmanship allows him to brutally kill a kaiju before Kafka's eyes without the latter noticing any movement from him. After many battles, Soshiro even managed to created a completely new form mid-fight against Kaiju No. 12, showing how much his skills with the dual style Sword-Slay technique has improved over the years.

Soshiro's field of expertise with his style is the Sword-Slay Technique, used with a Dual-Blade form. His skills and power easily allow him to fight toe-to-toe with kaiju of Identified class, like No. 8, No. 10 and No. 12. He also proved to use the Quick-Slash Technique and the Single-Blade form with remarkable ability, despite the latter being Soichiro's specialty.

## Battles

* Soshiro vs Kaiju No. 8 (Interrupted): Chapter 19 - Chapter 20
* Soshiro vs Kaiju No. 10 (Interrupted): Chapter 25 - Chapter 30
* Soshiro, Kikoru Shinomiya and  Mina Ashiro vs Kaiju No. 10 (Win): Chapter 30 - Chapter 31
* Soshiro and Numbers Weapon 10 vs Chofu Airport Kaiju (Win): Chapter 73 - Chapter 75
* Soshiro and Numbers Weapon 10 vs Kaiju No. 12 (Win): Chapter 76 - Chapter 93

## Equipment

* **Combat Suit *(formerly)***: On the battlefield, Soshiro wears a standard Defense Force combat suit.

* **Rifle**: Despite having a low released force in shooting, Soshiro is shown wielding a rifle on the battlefield.

* **Respirator Mask**: Soshiro wears a respirator mask in battle.

* **Numbers Weapon 10** (識別怪獣兵器 (ナンバーズ) 10号 (ごう) , *Nanbāzu Jū-gō*): Soshiro's personal Numbers weapon, provided by Izumo Tech, is a special combat suit crafted from the body of Kaiju No. 10. This suit has light-purple scale-like armor with green outlines, a long mechanical tail, and No. 10's signature eye in the middle of the chest plate. It is the first Numbers weapon in the history of the Defense Force that has a will of it's own.

* **Swords**: Marked **SW-2033** and provided by Izumo Tech, Soshiro's personal weapons are two swords. The blades are sharp and durable enough to slice through incredibly tough kaiju like Kaiju No. 8 and Kaiju No. 10. He is shown to have multiple swords as a back up.

* **Katana**: Marked **SW-1023**, Soshiro uses a single katana as a secret weapon, despite this being a weapon usually wielded by his older brother. The blade is sharp enough to easily slice through Kaiju No. 12. He is shown to have multiple katanas as a back up.

Soshiro's combat suit and respirator maskSoshiro's Numbers Weapon 10 combat suitSoshiro's SW-2033 swordsSoshiro's SW-1023 katana
## Etymology

* The name **Soshiro** contains the kanji for "religion, sect, denomination, main point, origin, essence" (宗, *so*), "four" (四, *shi*) and "son" (郎, *ro*).
* Soshiro's last name **Hoshina** contains the kanji for "protect/protection, maintain, guarantee" (保, *ho*) and" family, department, section" (科, *shina*).

## Trivia

* Soshiro likes reading, coffee, Mont Blanc, and simple guys.
* Soshiro seems to be better at videogames than Gen Narumi.
* When designing Soshiro's **SW-2033** swords, Matsumoto was undecided between a combat knife or a ninja sword.
* Soshiro ranked #1 in the first character popularity polls.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Soshiro's character profile
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Chapter 29
3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Chapter 89
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Chapter 4
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Chapter 90
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Chapter 5
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Chapter 14
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Chapter 8
9. ↑ Chapter 72
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Chapter 10
11. ↑ Chapter 65
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Chapter 92
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Chapter 25
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Chapter 26
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Chapter 27
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Chapter 57
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Chapter 94
18. ↑ Chapter 73
19. ↑ Chapter 75
20. ↑ Chapter 81
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Chapter 93
22. ↑ Chapter 19
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Chapter 28
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 Chapter 20
25. ↑ Chapter 30
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Chapter 66
27. ↑ Chapter 69
28. ↑ Chapter 74
29. ↑ Chapter 12
30. ↑ Chapter 58
31. ↑ Volume 7 extra
32. ↑ Soshiro's SW-2033 info.