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"Beliefless power... has no meaning."
—Jota, Justice Rage
Jota, also known as "The Prideful Silhouette", is a member of The Sumeragi Seven, a group of Adepts whom serve under Nova, and an antagonist in Azure Striker Gunvolt.
Descended from a long line of soldiers, Jota originally served in the military. However, he became disillusioned with them after witnessing how ineffective they were against Adepts, promptly joining the Sumeragi Group. He has an affinity for the Septima Lightspeed, which allows him to control photons and manipulate light to perform high-speed movements.
English Website Description
Jota is the Adept responsible for protecting the UTU Media Tower, Sumeragi’s massive communication tower used for broadcasting their propaganda all across the nation.
He possesses the Septimal power known as "Lightspeed," which allows him to attack his foes with very powerful lasers. Formerly part of the military.
Jota abandoned his military career and joined Sumeragi with the belief that joining them would be the only way to truly bring peace and restore order to the nation.
The Glaive which holds his Septimal power is known as the "Shadow Dragon." [1]
Appearance
Jota is a teenager with cyan, somewhat spiky hair, and green eyes, as well as a large scar on the left side of his face. He wears a standard black Sumeragi officers uniform with gold highlights, a white shirt underneath, a blue tie and a pair of brown boots. His uniform has green stripes on its shoulders similar to the uniforms of Nova and the group's top executives, indicating that Jota has a high rank. Numerous artwork depicts him wielding a katana.
In his Weaponized form, Jota gains black eyes with green irises and his hair becomes more spiky and turns a light green. His scar turns green. He wears black and grey armour with green highlights. His feet also turn into jets. On his back is a white halo with detachable spearheads that also double as lasers.
Personality
Representing the sin pride, Jota is serious, stoic and formal, never seen smiling or joking about. He is rather arrogant, boasting of his speed and battle prowess during his fight, dubbing himself "Sumeragi's shining sentinel", and looks down on others greatly, belittling his opponents for how slow they are compared to him (claiming he is "as fast as light" while his opponents are "slow as sound"). However, despite his obsession with speed, he despises hurriedly drawing to conclusions.
Jota is also very patriotic, joining Sumeragi with the belief that only they could bring peace to the nation, and is also fiercely loyal to Nova, who is the only person who's presence Jota humbles himself in, and spends much of his time promoting Nova's ideals, believing the young lieutenant to have the makings of a grand leader.
Jota also seems to despise Adepts wasting their powers, and hates those who are unwilling to do anything with them. This often puts him at odds with the more pessimistic Viper. Jota also disapproves of what he considers "today's youth", despite the fact that he himself can be classed as said "youth".
Plot Role
Jota was born into a famed family known for producing many great soldiers. Jota was no different, and soon enlisted in the military.
However, in a mission to try and suppress adepts, he saw how powerless the Japanese army was against them, and the adepts were only stopped by the Sumeragi Group, Nova in particular.
After talking with him a few times, Jota decided to leave the army, claiming a wound made him lose his sight, and joined Sumeragi. Once there he dedicated his efforts into helping Nova consolidate his position within the conglomerate.
However, despite his change in allegiance, Jota would continue to play a major role in the National Defence alongside Nova, especially after Sumeragi took over control of the armed forces.
Jota is assigned to protecting Sumeragi's UTU Media Tower, which streams the Muse's Anthem to the nation. The streaming is likely used to find the locations of adepts in the nation.
Azure Striker Gunvolt
Media Tower (Minaret)
At the onset of the story, the protagonist Gunvolt rescues the Muse from the Sumeragi Group, stopping any further broadcasting of her Anthem. As a temporary countermeasure, Sumeragi begins broadcasting propaganda through UTU Media Tower.
In order to mitigate Sumeragi's influence on the nation, Gunvolt sets out to shut down the media tower. Upon ascending to the top of the tower to meet up with Asimov, Gunvolt encounters Jota. Standing his ground, Jota declares he will not be defeated by a traitor like Gunvolt, before transforming using his glaive and engaging his foe.
During the fight, Gunvolt calls Jota misguided, to which he replies that Sumeragi is the country's protecting light, which is why he left the military to join them. Gunvolt stats that manipulating Lumen and hunting Adepts is pure insanity, but Jota claims traitors will never understand, and warns Gunvolt of his mesmerizing light, boasting of his speed. Gunvolt dully notes Jota's arrogance, to which Jota responds with even more gloating. Gunvolt just calls him all flash, but nothing else, infuriating the Prideful Silhouette. Eventually Jota is beaten and killed.
Babel (Stratosphere)
At some point in time after his demise, Jota is resurrected by Sumeragi's necromancer, Elise. He, along with Nova's other resurrected Adepts, await Gunvolt as the last defence between him, and Nova and The Muse.
As anticipated, Gunvolt ascends an Earth-to-space elevator (after killing Merak) to Sumeragi's orbital space station, Firmament, to finally topple Sumeragi. As he rides the elevator, Stratos, Jota and Viper attack him one by one in an effort to destroy him.
After Stratos is killed a final time, Jota beams in via Elise, declaring himself Gunvolt's next opponent. Forced to fight him again, Gunvolt dryly wonders if there was a sale on resurrection tech, to which Jota says if fine with him if it is for Sumeragi's noble goal.
Gunvolt asks how stripping away Adepts' freedoms is noble, but Jota just laughs in his face, claiming "freedom" is merely adulation. He says that Adepts are a ticking bomb, ready to take the world with them, going on to say how Nova is greatly concerned with Japan's future, and states he will gladly give his life once more for his country.
Soon, Jota does just that, perishing one final time as Viper takes his place as Gunvolt's foe.
Azure Striker Gunvolt: The Anime
Jota makes a cameo at the end of the OVA, surrounding Gunvolt along with the other Swordsmen (minus Merak) as a silhouette.
Justice Rage
Sword Holders
Jota, with Nova in one of Sumeragi's cars, notices his commander having a bad dream, and promptly wakes him up, the latter assuring him that he is fine. The car pulls over, and the two get out to walk to their destination.
Noting the destroyed area, Jota dubs it merely as the "remains of some past territorial war", and asks Nova to take note of this, given his high standing, and insists that Nova's ideals and the Diva Project must be pushed forward. Nova states that the Diva Project is only appeasement, and that a plan in which nobody gets hurt is ideal.
Jota then worries he was too presumptuous, but Nova reassures him of his worth. They then mention their target, the notorious gang leader Viper, whom Jota immediately disapproves of, though Nova is convinced he is worth the effort, and dismisses Jota's concerns that someone of his rank shouldn't be doing this work.
Jota listens as Nova begins explaining about Glaives, and how whenever a high-ranking adept like them uses a Glaive, it is recorded in company files. Nova then reveals that he can still use his septima without a Glaive, much to Jota's surprise, though he agrees to keep it a secret. The two then hear someone calling Viper's name, and go to investigate.
Flame and Water
Jota and Nova arrive to find Viper and a water adept from another gang in a brawl, and decide to watch as Viper quickly beats his opponent and sents him running. The gang leader then senses the two, and orders them to come out.
Despite Jota's concerns, Nova introduces them as members of Sumeragi, and offers Viper a place in the group. Viper viciously refuses, whilst Jota mutters about the "modern youth", to the formers annoyance. Eventually, Nova decides to show his power, and engages Viper in combat.
Justice & Rage
As Jota assumes, Nova effortlessly beats Viper to his knees. Viper then falls into an angry depression, asking if that was all there was to his septima. Jota replies that power with no belief has no meaning, and that he could never defeat Nova, calling Viper's power a "bluff", asking if he even knows what it's for.
This causes Viper to fly into a rant on how he never wanted his septima, prompting more insults from Jota. On Nova's intrusions however, Jota backs off, and watches as his superior unsuccessfully tries to win Viper over. Eventually, Nova gives Viper his business card, and he and Jota take their leave, leaving him with his thoughts.
Armed Blue Gunvolt
Some time prior to the events of the first game, Eden launched a terrorist attack on the nation to bring down the barrier that protects it. Gibril and Teseo launched a two-pronged assault on the UTU Media Tower. Gibril would attack the tower itself while Teseo would hack the tower's main computer. In truth, this was a cover so that their spy could infiltrate Sumeragi.
Upon receiving word of this attack, Nova orders Jota to guard the tower. Gibril and her band of soldiers arrived at the tower only to be confronted by Jota. Jota at first mistakes Gibril for a child and offers to spare her if she surrenders, expressing disgust at Eden for using child soldiers.
Angered, Gibril unveils her Septima and engages the Prideful Silhouette in a grueling battle. Before a victor could be decided, a satellite strike from Nova causes the fight to end in a draw and Gibril retreats on Tenjian's order.
After the attack, Jota and Nova have a conversation and The Prideful Silhouette apologizes for forcing him to use the Star Dragon Satellite. Nova brushes it off and commends Jota for defending the tower.Other Appearances
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2
Jota is featured as the DLC boss of the revamped Babel stage, featuring altered attacks from the first game.
Mighty Gunvolt
Jota appears as a boss at the Tower stage. He has similar attacks as he did in Azure Striker Gunvolt.
Mighty Gunvolt Burst
Jota appears as a collectable pixel sticker as a random drop from an enemy.
Powers and Abilities
As a human attuned to the Septimal stage of the Lifewave, Jota is a powerful adept capable of harnessing the septima known as Lightspeed, which, true to its name, allows him to control photons to manipulate light, similar to how Gunvolt can manipulate electrons to control lightning. Much like Gunvolt can shift his body into electrons when performing Prevasion, Jota can shift his body into photons to move at the speed of light, potentially making him the fastest known Adept.
However, this power isn't without it's drawbacks. When Jota is moving at light speed, his movements are simply too fast for his mind to keep up. As such, he cannot think during this time and can only move to places he has designated beforehand. Also, as he has no mass in this state, he cannot move and attack at the same time.
When activating his Glaive, Jota gains many more abilities. Jota can fly in the air at high speeds thanks to his rocket boots. In battle, Jota mainly fights with his five Photon Guns. The guns can fire lasers at opponents and can detach and transform into drills to attack enemies directly.
Jota also fights with wrist-mounted energy blades, using them primarily in his Flash Stinger skill. Jota is also skilled in swordplay, which is reflected in his Special Skill Phosphoratorium where he combines his Photon Guns into a gigantic blade and slashes forward, firing a wave of dark light and tearing a hole in space.
Skills
Azure Striker Gunvolt
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Jota's standard attack. Jota places his five laser bots at the four corners of the screen as well as an arbitrary point center-screen. The bots at the corners remain fixed in the direction they're facing, but the center bot rotates to track Gunvolt's location. Jota disappears from the screen after he has set all of the bots in place. The attack proceeds with the bots firing thin laser beams in the directions they're facing. At the conclusion of this attack, Jota reappears center-screen; at which time his bots fling themselves back onto the ring structure on his back.
| |
Jota's standard attack. Jota appears center-screen and shoots three laser bots in one lateral direction off-screen and two in the other direction off-screen. He then descends to the ground as the bots reappear at the sides of the screen. At the conclusion of this attack, Jota disappears from the screen as the laser bots turn into swirling lances and charge inward. The lances can be deflected if they come into contact with the Flashfield.
| |
| Jota begins using this attack at battle phase two. Jota begins the attack by forming mirages of himself at a position facing Gunvolt. He proceeds by appearing in place of his mirages and fires a barrage of lasers in the direction he is facing; the attack range covers any space above or in front of him.
| |
| Jota begins using this attack at battle phase two. Jota appears one side of the screen facing Gunvolt; his laser bots form a V behind him and transform into swirling lances. Jota proceeds the attack by propelling himself off-screen with a piercing forward thrust; the bots follow suit. As with the Calamity Ripper, the lances can be deflected when they come into contact with the Flashfield. | |
| "Blade within whose wake / Light declares us all condemned / Before we flicker out! Phosphoratorium!"
「いし残光、輝く刃 / 終焉を告げる光の煌めき / 地平を裂いて無へと還す ! ゼロブレイド ! 」 Jota's special attack. It’s a powerful attack which is based on altering to his needs a quantum mechanical idea. This particular idea suggests that only what we observe through our naked eyes actually exists, and it acknowledges that “light” is what’s shaping the world. Jota controls that “light” which shapes the world and, by turning it into zero, he can tear the world/space itself. He appears on the edge of the screen facing Gunvolt. His laser bots then form a giant sword, which Jota then slashes overhead to create a plane of dark light that spans the entire upper-half of the screen (the tear in the world/space). Jota finishes the attack by propelling himself off-screen with a forward charge across the lower-half of the screen, damaging Gunvolt on contact.
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Mighty Gunvolt
| Attacks | Description |
|---|---|
| Jota appears in the center of the arena alongside five laser bots to the left and right of the arena; Three on one side, and two on the other. He moves down to ground level before disappearing, and the bots drill toward the center. Their course can be changed by shooting them, but Beck is also able to slide to avoid the attack. | |
| Jota appears and places down a laser bot on his current position, then slowly moves to each of the four corners of the screen and places a laser bot in each one. Then, one by one, the laser bots begin shooting elongated beams toward the center of the arena. | |
| Jota's special skill, he only begins using this attack after having lost half of his health. Jota appears in one end of the screen alongside three laser bots placed in an inverted spike pattern. Jota rushes forward, and soon after the three laser bots drill in the same direction.
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Battle Lines
| Event | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Phase Down | 光無き者が…… | My light has been blocked... |
| Luminous Rain | ふっ… 光よ！ | Hmph... Light of mine! |
| Calamity Ripper | 断裁せよ！カラミティリッパー！ | Be cut to shreds! Calamity Ripper! |
| 2nd Phase Down | 光を遮るか…！ | ... by a lightless being! |
| Judgement Ray | 逃がしはせん！光に消えよ！ | You shan't escape! Disappear within this light! |
| Flash Stinger | 斬り伏せる！フラッシュスティンガー！ | I'll cut you down! Flash Stinger! |
| Phosphoratorium | 終わらせる…！ゼロブレイド！ 光すら破断せよ！まだだ！ハァァーッ！ |
I'll end this here... Phosphoratorium! Even light itself, can break! We're not done yet! Haaaah...! |
| Upon Defeat | うっ！光あれぇぇーーっ！ | Ugh...! Where has my light gone---!!! |
Quotes
"My men warned me about a lightning wielding Adept. Seems like that was you. This is as far as you go, Gunvolt! I am Jota. Sumeragi's shining sentinel, defender of our nation's glory! This tower is a gallant symbol that spreads our message far and wide... I will not be defeated by traitorous scum like you!"
—Jota
, meeting Gunvolt
"Sumeragi is the shining light that keeps this country safe! That's why I left the military and joined up with them! All for the glory and protection of my homeland!
—Jota
, fighting Gunvolt
"Traitors like you will never understand. Prepare to be mesmerized... And blinded by my ultra high speed righteous light! They say the speed of light is pretty fast! But my light is even faster!
—Jota
, boasting of his speed
"That's some big talk... However! You are waaay too slow, Gunvolt! You'll never be able to keep up with me!"
—Jota
, continuing to gloat
"Not so fast... I'll be your next opponent!"
—Jota
, after his resurrection
"If it's for Sumeragi's noble cause, then that's fine with me!"
—Jota
, fighting Gunvolt once more
"Freedom...? Ha, nonsense!! 'Freedom' is what an enemy nation brings to the country it defeats!! It's just foolish adulation! Not that traitorous scum like you would understand! Adepts are like a bomb that is about to explode. This nation, no! This world is in peril! How many dangerous things do we face now?! Master Nova is in great distress over the future of our nation. If it's for my country, I will gladly give my life once again! I am light! I will illuminate this nation's future! I shall be it's sentinel! Trash like you who block out the light cast a dark shadow on us all! Drown in my radiance!
—Jota
, explaining the danger facing the nation
Designer Comments
Taking into account this character’s age, his “setting” of an ex-military is a bit forced yet, when I began his design, I had an image of him being around his mid 20s. His motif is the sin of pride and so I had in mind that he’d have a very prideful feeling to him and a fastidiousness of never recognizing anything that didn’t match with his sense of values. In the previous drafts he’d been an older guy but I changed him to have a younger image. His post-transformation form has radially aligned bits on his back which are based on the image of the peacock’s tail feathers. He’s the “leader” guy amongst the 7 bosses and so I was conscious of making him have a bossy silhouette to him when all of the 7 (bosses) were lined up (together).
(Hatakeyama Yoshitaka)
Trivia
- The Sumeragi Seven are based on the seven deadly sins and an animal that represents it. Jota represents pride and based on the peacock.
- Despite pride being considered the most serious of sins, Jota is not the most powerful Swordsmen. That title likely goes to Zonda, who represents lust, which is ironically considered the least serious of the seven deadly sins.
- During battle, Jota will only appear on-screen to initiate, perform, or conclude an attack. He shares this trait with Stratos.
- Jota's transformed state looks similar to Jehuty from Zone of Enders.
- Upon the defeat of Jota, Copen will begin using Arrogant Radiance in all subsequent battles.
- Jota is one of the two adept bosses that can be fought in the demo; the other is Viper.
- Official artwork frequently depicts Jota with a katana, suggesting that he is skilled in the art of swordplay.
- The names of Nova and The Sumeragi Seven are taken from luxury cars. Jota's name comes from the Lamborghini Miura Jota.
- Jota and Elise are the only Swordsmen whose primary colour schemes are not traditionally associated with their respective sins. Pride is typically associated with purple, while Jota is primarily green, ironically associated with envy. Elise shares the same situation, but reversed.
- However, his attacks do take the form of a purple-tinged light.
- Jota's arrogant personality, swordsmanship, green color scheme, and flight capabilities could be a reference to both Hivolt and Aeolus from Mega Man ZX and ZX Advent respectively. The former also shoots purple laser beams.