- "The powerless will always be stepped on by the strong! You have to lift their boots off you with your own hands! You think your 'friends' care about you? That's all lies! Strength is all that matters!" —Ritsu Mishuyo
Ritsu Mishuyo is a character in Octopath Traveler II. A lowborn warrior and Hikari’s rival. They are both training partners and stalwart allies on the field of battle. However, Ritsu's desire to be remembered by history eventually drives him to betray Hikari, resulting in him being the first boss of Hikari's story.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Ritsu wears a red tunic with brown sandals, a flaxen scarf, and black pants. He also wears a notable red headband with metal inlays. Upon his promotion to general, he trades out his red tunic for a black one.
Personality[]
Being lifelong friends with Hikari, Ritsu greatly admires Hikari and his swordsmanship, often aspiring to be like him in combat. Despite coming from a commoner background, Hikari treats Ritsu no differently than any other friend, to which Ritsu has much gratitude for. However, as much as he enjoys sparring with Hikari, Ritsu remains somewhat frustrated at not having bested Hikari in a swordfight even once.
But as time passed, so did their friendship wither. He grew jealous of Hikari's swordsmanship, and chose Mugen over their friendship because he was stronger than him. As time goes on, Ritsu becomes more and more desperate to cement his place in history, even going so far as to murder his commander after the latter failed to kill Hikari, and then attempt to use his death as a way to curry favor from Mugen by claiming that the commander was a traitor and Ritsu executed him.
Prior to Story[]
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(I don't think this is where I should be going at the moment...) The following section contains potential story spoilers! |
Eight years before the events of Octopath Traveler II, Ritsu and his younger sister Mikka built a memorial to their father after he was murdered by a Ku soldier for being lowborn. They met Hikari as he paid his respects while promising to bring those responsible to justice. Ritsu and Hikari formed a friendship as their sparred together despite their different backgrounds. Five years later, Ritsu accompanied Hikari during the Ku army's conquest of the southern region of Hinoeuma. During an engagement against an enemy general, Ritsu heavily wounded him and was eager to finish him off, but Hikari prevented him from doing so. After the battle, Hikari and Ritsu reminisce briefly on their childhood.
Story[]
Having aligned himself with Hikari's older half-brother General Mugen to become a captain in the Ku army, Ritsu is sent to spring Mugen's trap on Hikari to personally execute his former friend. Ritsu engages Hikari in battle alongside two other Ku soldiers under his command, only to fall back when defeated by Hikari as he resists the urge to finish him off Ritsu.
Ritsu later joins General Rou's company to secure weapons for the Ku army from a merchant in the Secret Forest. They were stopped by Hikari after the transaction, with Ritsu forced to observe Rou personally challenge Hikari and be defeated when Hikari's dark power took hold. Ritsu is ordered by the defeated Rou to fall back, learning of the Ku Clan's cursed bloodline before executing Rou out of self-preservation. He presents the general's head to Mugen, telling him of his "betrayal" of helping Hikari discreetly. Ritsu then left the room after being dismissed, unaware that Mugen knew that he fabricated the story. Despite this, he was later promoted to general.
Later, after visiting his sister, Ritsu was summoned by Mugen, who ordered him to be his personal guard during Hikari's ambush. While outside the throne room, he was confronted by Hikari, who asked him once again to step aside. Refusing, Ritsu engaged his former friend in battle, only to be defeated and mortally wounded by Hikari. Before dying, Ritsu implored Hikari to change Ku for the better.Ritsu Mishuyo will begin battle with 2 Ritsu's Footman at his side.
Abilities[]
- Attack: Physical attack, single target.
- Hard Slash:
- Trifold Slash:
- Heave Sand:
- Armor Cleaver:
- Ritsu emits a murderous aura!: Ritsu Mishuyo enters boost mode for 1 turn. Uses Blade of the Sands if not broken before Ritsu Mishuyo's next action.
- Blade of the Sands:
Minions[]
Abilities[]
- Ritsu's eyes gleam with bloodlust!:
- Attack:aim at a single party member
- Sunder Earth:deal heavy physical attack on whole party
- Trifold Slash:attacks three times on single party member
- Armor Cleaver:
- Severing Sword:
- Ritsu's hostility grows!:
- Sandstorm Strike:
- Ritsu's hostility grows further!:
- True Sandstorm Strike:
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Ritsu is one of only three bosses that was a temporary playable character before the main character's story end, the others being Pirro and Rai Mei.
- As a playable character, Ritsu possesses two abilities:
- Wild Cut (9 SP): Deals 3 sword strikes to an enemy.
- Hurl Sand (7 SP): Inflicts Blindness on an enemy for 2 turns.
- Ritsu is the only first chapter boss (aside from Pirro's specter summoned by Claude) that is fought again in the final chapter prior to fighting Mugen.
- Ritsu is also currently the only boss in the series who is fought more than once throughout a traveler's main story. Of note, Pirro, Mother and Father are also fought in a later chapter; however, they are merely phantom specters summoned by another boss which have the same moveset and appearance as their original battle and can also be skipped if the main boss is killed quickly enough, whereas Ritsu is actually physically encountered and has a different sprite and moveset between both encounters.
- Ritsu's weapon of choice is one half of the warrior's base coverage set, as he focuses on Swords. The other half, polearms, are covered by Rai Mei, presumably an intentional detail to show both of their relationships with Hikari, the base warrior of the second game.
- After Hikari's story has been completed, a 9-year-old boy in Ku: Castle Town can be Scrutinized/Inquired of to reveal that he was saved by a soldier wearing a headband, but cannot find his savior to offer his thanks. Given the circumstances, Ritsu is likely the boy's rescuer.