Kars (カーズ, Kāzu) is the main antagonist of Battle Tendency.
Kars is the designer of the Stone Mask, and the 102,000-year-old leader of the Pillar Men.
Kars takes the appearance of a tall, very well-built man. He has elegant, relatively feminine facial features, and a much lighter complexion than the other Pillar Men. He has long, dark, wavy hair; which he keeps under a dark, tight head-wrap (taking it off as a sign of either honor or aggression).
He is otherwise minimally dressed, wearing high boots, forearm guards, a thong, and a flowing loincloth. When attacking, he produces long, shimmering blades from his forearms.
While travelling to Italy, Kars dons a fedora and a longcoat in order to appear less conspicuous.
Initially, he appears to be the most aloof and no-nonsense of the Pillar Men, rarely smiling and often being the one who has to remind the other two of their ultimate objective. Kars is obsessed with the Red Stone of Aja, and is willing to trample anyone in his way, no matter how dishonorable the method. With the advantage of his resilience and immortality, Kars is a methodical and patient individual, advancing his pawns carefully, planning several moves ahead. Unaffected by setback, he will relentlessly struggle to win.
Still, Kars possesses a murderous and sadistic nature. He has stated that a life without enemy is boring and has shown to enjoy fights occasionally, even though he only really appreciates seeing his enemies being in a weak position and panicking, and often licks his lips in anticipation of their demise. Kars also came across as mockingly polite, as he offered Lisa Lisa poison in order to die on her own terms. These tendencies only become more clear when he attains his ultimate form, and is seen to thoughoutly enjoy his status as the most powerful lifeform on Earth.
Kars reveals himself a power-hungry Pillar Man, fixated on controlling the full potential of his body and the idea of resting "at the top". When he discovered that the Pillar Men's brain held untapped potential, much like humans, Kars wanted to control it. That obsession made him build the Stone Masks and look of the Red Stone of Aja. The fact that the rest of his tribe didn't want to "conquer the sun" as he wished, albeit they were fearing that Kars would kill every lifeform on Earth in his attempt, enraged him.
Kars keeps an ambiguous relationship toward those around him. Attached to his companions, being a reasonable companion and leader to Esidisi and Wamuu, he didn't hesitate to wipe out his tribe when they went against him and was only moderately angry at Joseph slaying his fellows. Moreover Kars looked down on Santana, describing as a weak puppy. He also seems to have a certain respect for nature and animals, as he killed a drunk driver who threatened to hit a puppy, and when he fell off a cliff, and he deliberately complicated an otherwise-simple landing to avoid falling on a flower. However, he does later attack a squirrel when testing his Ultimate Form's abilities and is said to have threatened an entire ecosystem fueling his Stone Masks. Thus Kars holds a certain amount of affections, but those affections only come second to his goals.
Light Mode (光の
Bodily Manipulation: As with the other Pillar Men, Kars also has the same body manipulation capabilities shared by his companions. When he gains the power of the Red Stone, Kars' bodily manipulation abilities are enhanced to the genetic level, to the point where he is capable of reactive evolution. Kars was also shown to be able to mutate parts of his body into various living creatures and control them accordingly whilst in his ultimate form.
Ultimate Form Abilities: As the Ultimate Life Form (
Kars was around during the brink of evolution where his people lived underground and strived off the essence of all living things at the same time, failing to reproduce since they had such a long and worthy lifespan.
Frustrated by their ignorance of perfection, Kars wanted the beings to find a way to "tame the sun" and leave the underground to become perfect.
In time, Kars created the Stone Masks in order for his race to become immune to the effects of the sun, and proceeded to kidnap humans in order to test the effects of the Stone Masks. However, the masks that he created, while capable of turning humans into vampires, were unable to penetrate deeply enough to unlock the Pillar Men's full potential, only resulting in some increased body manipulation powers at the cost of greatly increased hunger.
Eventually, his race began to fear him for his obsession and sought to execute him as the increased hunger caused by the mask would threaten their way of life if its use became widespread. Kars was shown protesting their actions before being forced to slaughter the race of Pillar Men himself, including his own parents. Along with Esidisi, one of the only members of his race who agreed with his ideals, he took two children, who were presumably the Pillar Men to be known as Santana and Wamuu.
After the slaughter of his race, Kars and his followers traveled the world, searching for the Red Stone of Aja, which Kars believed would be able to help overcome the flaws of the Stone Mask. He developed a modified version of the mask that could combine with the Red Stone, but his search for the latter artifact proved fruitless. At some point, Kars and his comrades would travel to Rome and fight a battle with the Ripple users that would end in their victory; how they ended up resting in the wall is unknown.
Kars is introduced as the leader of the Pillar Men, getting attacked by Wamuu after stepping on his shadow and apologizing for having forgotten that trait. After Joseph's initial defeat, Kars and the other Pillar Men set off to find the location of the Red Stone of Aja, but eventually settle in an abandoned mansion in San Moritz, Switzerland. Having found a lead to the stone, Esidisi had planned to contact Kars after retrieving it, but was promptly defeated by Joseph instead. With no phone call, Kars assumes something amiss and sets off to Italy to handle things himself.
At the border between Switzerland and Italy, he is confronted by Rudol von Stroheim and almost effortlessly defeats him after some struggle. At the same time, Kars is able to retrieve the stone, but has it taken from him by Joseph Joestar after a short mingle off a cliff. Kars travels back to San Moritz, where he is eventually confronted by Joseph and Lisa Lisa. He agrees to have a fair fight with Lisa Lisa at the nearby ruins, but ultimately tricks her during their fight with a doppelgänger and steals the stone from her, leaving her unconscious.
This immediately enrages Joseph, who battles Kars but is continually trapped in a dilemma where Kars pierces Lisa Lisa's feet and strings a rope through the wounds, forcing Joseph to grab the rope to stop her from falling. An overconfident Kars approaches as Joseph lights his scarf on fire and attacks, but falls from the beam clutching the rope as Kars severs it to finish off Lisa Lisa. However, this is revealed to have been Joseph's intentional setup, as he drew Kars' attention to his upper body while he arranged the loop of rope with his legs below, tricking him into stepping into the loop and forcing him to keep his opponents above the spikes below. Kars faces Joseph in a final standoff with his arm blade, but is soundly beaten as Joseph's Ripple breaks the blade and wounds his arm, knocking him off the railing and into the spikes below.
Stroheim and his Nazi troops arrive along with Speedwagon, Smokey and the Speedwagon Foundation Special Forces. Stroheim gloats over Kars before ordering his troops to unleash the full barrage of their ultraviolet light on Kars.
However, Kars manages to don his modified Stone Mask, with the Red Stone of Aja in place. The ultraviolet light activates the mask and enables him to enter his ultimate form. In a final confrontation, he succeeds in severing Joseph's hand, but is blown into space by a volcanic eruption induced by his Ripple colliding with the Red Stone of Aja that Joseph instinctively held out. The Ripple sets off the eruption and blasts the slab of rock with Kars and Joseph on it into the sky. Kars prepares to fly off, but is interrupted by Joseph's severed hand stabbing into his throat. This lapse in concentration causes other hot volcanic shards that Kars could have dodged otherwise to hit him and finally propel him into outer space.
Kars prepares to return to Earth after being thrown out of orbit by ejecting the built-up air within his body, but the air freezes on its way out. His vital body begins to freeze from the near-absolute zero temperature and he becomes trapped in the void of space for eternity. Unable to die even though he wishes for it, Kars eventually stops thinking.
Kars makes his first appearance as a playable character in the PS3 title; he was confirmed alongside Rohan Kishibe. In the English release of the game, Kars' Lightblades are called "Shining Sabres" (keeping the alliteration of the Japanese name). Since Kars never exactly fought extensively in Part 2, most of his normal attacks consist of regular punches and kicks. Along with Wamuu and Esidisi, Kars uses the Mode style as part of his moveset, which expends the Heart Heat Gauge to temporarily boost his strength and performance among other things.
During a fight, Kars can use several different attacks that were featured in Battle Tendency.
By spending his HHG, Kars can activate Light Mode in order to not only increase the overall damage of his moves, but exclusive to him, make his Lightblade attacks unblockable. This mode lasts until the HHG empties, but can be ended at any time in conservation.
Sacrificing even more of his HHG, Kars can activate Shining Sabres Mode, strengthening his abilities even further and improving his ability to follow up on attacks.
Kars' HHA, simply titled "Shining Sabres", is a large array of Lightblade slashes done in a single movement of his arm. If they successfully hit, Kars moves past them in a samurai-esque fashion and brings his arm down, and after a short delay, the opponent suffers a final, bloody attack.
Kars' GHA, "I am the ultimate life form!", uses the Stone Mask (in combination with the Red Stone of Aja) to attempt to turn into the Ultimate Life Form. Kars, wearing the mask, will slowly rise upward. If the animation fully plays out uninterrupted by the opponent, the mask shatters, and Kars gains a completely new array of moves (it is also one of the longest and most difficult GHA to fully activate, taking about 5 seconds to complete).
Once his GHA is successful, Kars is dubbed as "Kars (Ultimate Life Form)" for the rest of the battle and gains a whole new moveset capable of dealing more overall damage than his previous state.
Ultimate Kars is not entirely infallible. If he falls victim to Kosaku-Kira's Bites the Dust GHA, Kars will revert back to his original form. He is also unable to use his HHA, Light Mode, or enter Shining Sabres Mode.
Kars also appears on the stage "The Battlefield" as a background character along with Lisa Lisa. If Wamuu is one of the combatants ingame, Kars will brag about Wamuu's strength. This is assuming that Kars himself is not part of the fight.
Kars also possess two alternate costumes, the first one being the attire he usually wears (the veil that covers his long hair) and the second one being the overcoat he used to fight against Stroheim.
Kars appears as one of the several Part 2 characters who posses a Metal Striker. His Finish Move consists of him using his Light Blades and cutting the opponent's defeated Metal Striker.
Kars returns as a playable character in Eyes of Heaven, confirmed alongside Wamuu and Esidisi. Kars'
Kars, compared to All-Star Battle, now possesses a GHA, with his transformation completely separated from the Dual Heat Gauge. After landing a kick to the abdomen, Kars unleashes a rapid, alternating barrage of slashes from the Light Blades on both his arms, finishing with a single downward slice that rends the opponent multiple times and sends them flying with the final hit.
After becoming the Ultimate Life Form, Kars' moveset shifts from utilizing his Light Blades and Light Mode to relying on his newly gained abilities. In this form, Kars can fly freely around the map at almost any height and fire feathers that transform into large tentacles that attack the opponent, among other things.
Kars' solo GHA has undergone a change as well. He deals two powerful slashes that leave the opponent lying on the ground, revels in the fact he can now use Ripple, before charging and unleashing an all-powerful Ripple blast straight into the downed opponent. This is a reference to the method he tried to finish Joseph off with during the final chapters of Part 2.
Unlike the previous game, his main color scheme is now based on his anime appearance.
He is paired with Pet Shop in the Eyes of Heaven Tournament; the team wins the Tournament, defeating Jolyne and Gyro Zeppeli in the finals.
Kars' Swiss attire
Kars' light mode
Close up of the blades
Laughing mad
Cruel smirk
There can be only one sitting at the peak!
Kars' underhanded victory over Lisa Lisa
Anger toward his own people
Kars about to evolve
Kars evolving into the "Ultimate Being"
Presentation of the Ultimate Being
Standing in the sunlight
Growing wings
Shell against the lava
The Ripple!
Launched into space
Kars' ultimate fate
Kars in his youth
Kars upon his throne
Kars challenges Joseph to an ancient chariot battle with Wamuu
Kars revealing his hair
Kars' underhanded victory over Lisa Lisa
Kars becomes the Ultimate Being
Showing his new powers
Kars pinned to Joseph's plane
Kars being immolated in a volcano
Kars slices off Joseph's hand
Kars in his shell armor
Kars prepares to kill Joseph
Kars in the BLOODY STREAM opening
Kars as he appears in All-Star Battle
Kars Costume A in All-Star Battle
Kars Costume B in All-Star Battle
All-Star Battle concept art
All-Star Battle concept art (Ultimate Life Form)
Kars Illustration, Eyes of Heaven
Ultimate Life Form Illustration, Eyes of Heaven
Kars in Eyes of Heaven PS3/PS4
Supernatural Beings | |
|---|---|
| Vampires | |
| Zombies and other Undead | |
| Pillar Men | |
| Ghosts | |
| Rock Organisms (Rock Humans) | |
| Miscellaneous | |
Ripple Users | |
|---|---|
Battle Tendency Characters | |
|---|---|
| Main Characters | |
| Minor Characters | |
| Groups | |
| JoJo's Bizarre Adventure | |
|---|---|
| Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan | |
| Other Araki Works | |
| Light Novels & Misc | |
