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Kat (birth name, Alua) is a gravity shifter, and is the main protagonist in the PlayStation exclusive series of video games, Gravity Rush. She was the queen of Eto before she fell to Hekseville, and lost her memories. She was designed by Shunsuke Saito.
She also appears in the two-part OVA special, Gravity Rush: The Animation - Overture.
Why She Rocks
- Down to earth and selfless personality, willing to make personal sacrifices for anyone who asks her for help. She doesn't do any of this of fame or self gratification, rather she does it because she likes to.
- Generally speaking, she is adored by the public due to her selfless nature, but she has enough enemies so that she comes across as a Mary Sue.
- She has a load of cool moves at her disposal, all of which revolve around controlling gravity. One of her powers involves transforming into a Panther!
- She can kick some serious ass in spite of her scrawny appearance, with or without her powers. She can hold her own against her former rival Raven in a fight, and even win couple of games of B'oarack against a trained martial artist without using her powers!
- Unfailingly cute in terms of how she looks, and how she acts. You'd only need to look at some of her photo gestures in Gravity Rush 2 to see this.
- To a degree, she negates a lot of the clichés associated with amnesiac heroes/heroines; rather than brooding and actively trying to learn about who she is, she instead uses her powers to help those around her, and embraces her role as a hero to the locals.
- She is very fond of cats, as her interactions with her companion (and source of her powers) Dusty would no doubt imply.
- She wears a very distinct outfit that gives her an easily identifiable appearance. It consists of a black leotard with a golden trim, and a matching scarf that goes just past her hips.
- Her design is derived from the gyaru (ギャル) and ganguro (ガングロ) subcultures of Japanese fashion. Her darker skin tone and blonde hair give her a more European/Western appeal, when her designers were concerned about making Kat "too Japanese".[1]
- Kat only ever resorts to violence if she feels she can't reason with hostile people, or as a means of self defense. Otherwise, she will take the diplomatic approach first. Best seen when she and Raven butt heads for the first time.
- She has a strong will and an optimistic attitude. This trait has earned her respect from other characters like Cecie and Fi, the latter of whom also respects Kat as someone who is genuine to herself and her ideals.
- Kat has a lot of dry humour in her. Typically expressed in her thoughts, she'll make snarky comments towards certain people, especially Syd.
- Kat by nature is curious, independent, and tends to run when things get rough. These traits are often found in cats, which is what her guardian Dusty resembles, giving her an animal motif.
Bad Qualities
- Kat's powers are tied directly to Dusty. This makes her reliant on Dusty being healthy, or else they are weakened. She will lose them entirely if the two are separated.
- Kat tends to be rather naive at times. While it can be quite cute, it can also lead to her getting into trouble, or even injured.
- Sometimes, Kat can be very foolhardy, brash, and reckless. She has had her moments where she leaps into action without thinking. Her recklessness almost got her into trouble with a jeweller after she wrecked her shop while trying to catch a potentially unfaithful boyfriend.
- She doesn't react very well to criticism; Kat has been shown to get a little upset when Aujean and his son Eugie criticised her for slacking off while fighting some rebels.
Trivia
- Due to her popularity, Kat was a featured guest character in other PlayStation games like Everybody's Golf 6 (on PS Vita), PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale, Ragnarok Odyssey, LittleBigPlanet Vita, and Destiny of Spirits.
- She's ironically the only character to ever swear in the series despite her lovable personality, uttering a single use of the word "crap" or "damn" depending on the game's region.
- Kat is voiced by the same actress who voices Chris Thorndyke (as a child) in the Japanese dub of Sonic X. Like every other character in Gravity Rush, she has no English voice actress.