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Soma Cruz, known in Japan as , is a fictional character and the protagonist of Konami's action-adventure games ''Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow'' and ''Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow'', part of Konami's ''Castlevania'' video game series. He was designed by Ayami Kojima as part of producer Koji Igarashi's desire to try a "different route" for the ''Castlevania'' series. His return in ''Dawn of Sorrow'' was due to Igarashi's satisfaction with Soma and the storyline in ''Aria of Sorrow'', and he was redesigned with a new anime appearance. In ''Aria of Sorrow'', Soma is an 18-year-old transfer student studying in Japan (or simply a Japanese high school student, in the Japanese version), where he finds himself in the castle of Dracula, the principal antagonist of the ''Castlevania'' series. Soma discovers his "power of dominance," or his ability to claim the souls and abilities of the monsters he defeats as his own. As the game's story progresses, Soma learns of Dracula's demise, and that he is his reincarnation, and destined to become Dracula again (a position Graham Jones desired for himself before he was killed by Soma). The only reason he did not become the next dark lord immediately was due to the efforts of Alucard, using the pseudonym Genya Arikado. Soma eventually defeats the chaos running through the castle, narrowly missing both his own corruption and his possible death at the hands of Julius Belmont. ''Dawn of Sorrow'' features Soma fighting the attempts of a cult to slay him and create a new dark lord when one did not surface during the events of ''Aria of Sorrow''. Several video game publications have praised Soma's character. Although Soma himself was viewed as a stereotypical echo of previous ''Castlevania'' protagonists, the new context that the storyline ''Aria of Sorrow'' and ''Dawn of Sorrow'' provided for him rectified this. The storyline in particular that Soma was situated in was compared to the storyline of the widely acclaimed ''Castlevania: Symphony of the Night''. The switch to an anime character design in ''Dawn of Sorrow'' was notably criticized, as many reviewers preferred the designs made by Ayami Kojima. ==Conception and design== Soma debuted in ''Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow'', the third and final installment of the ''Castlevania'' series on the Game Boy Advance. He was created as part of the attempt by Koji Igarashi, the producer of several ''Castlevania'' games, including the highly acclaimed ''Castlevania: Symphony of the Night'', to try a "different route" for the series by setting it in a futuristic setting.〔 Soma was designed by Ayami Kojima, who had previously worked on the characters in ''Castlevania'' games such as ''Castlevania: Symphony of the Night'' and ''Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance''. Kojima's drawings are made in a dark, gothic style, and borrow heavily from bishōnen-style art.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Creative Uncut - Artist Profile: Ayami Kojima )〕 Nevertheless, keeping with Igarashi's "different route" motif, Soma's appearance was made noticeably more contemporary, sporting more modern clothing in comparison to the medieval attire of characters in previous ''Castlevania'' games.〔 Soma's inclusion in ''Dawn of Sorrow'', a rare sequel in the ''Castlevania'' series, was made by Igarashi, who stated that one of his primary motivations behind making ''Dawn of Sorrow'' was to feature Soma Cruz in another game.〔 Ayami Kojima was not included in the production team, as Igarashi wanted her to concentrate on her character designs for ''Castlevania: Curse of Darkness''.〔 Soma, along with the remainder of the characters, were redrawn in an anime style. This was a marketing strategy Igarashi wished to employ, as he felt that the Nintendo DS' target demographic was significantly younger than those of other consoles ''Castlevania'' games had appeared on, and he intended to court them with a more simplistic anime design.〔 Furthermore, Igarashi considered it a litmus test for whether the design would be incorporated into future ''Castlevania'' installments. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Soma Cruz」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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