Slate (Soda)

General

Gallery

JSR Audio

Slate (Soda)
(Warning! The provided artwork is an edit. It will be replaced when the official high quality artwork will be released.)
Gender	Male
Age	19 years
Height	185 cm (6 ft 0.8 in)
Trait	Aloof
Likes	Puzzles
Debut	Kogane-cho after the Fight or Flight mission.
Appearances	Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Cameo)

Slate, (スレート, Surēto^?) or Soda (ソーダ, Sōda^?) in Japan, is a playable character in Jet Set Radio. His role in the game is minimal, being one of several rivals to challenge and, when beaten, joins the GG's. He was featured as one of the three characters usable in the demos and prototypes of the Dreamcast version of Jet Set Radio (replacing Corn). He can be seen leaning on the pinball machine in the garage after being unlocked.

Slate is a Technique type character whose best qualities are his 40 spray can limit and his notable health bar. His biggest hinderances are his rather large frame, similar to that of Combo, which means he is a bit on the slower side in terms of speed, and is a big target for enemies. He is also rather lackluster when it comes to scoring points while tagging too.

Overview

Appearance

Slate is a very distinguishable character. His most prominent features are his tall stature (the Jet Set Radio Perfect Guide states that he is 6 feet tall) and oblong nose (resembling the famous graffiti character Kilroy). He is virtually bald, save for what look like three brown braids that stick straight up from the very top of his head. He wears an orange jacket with a high collar that masks the lower half of his face, and goggles on his forehead. He has gray pants with lighter stripes, matching striped gloves, and blue skates with yellow wheels.

Personality

According to the official guidebook of Jet Set Radio, Slate is aloof and like puzzles. His small graffiti also references this as it is titled "Ya Gotta Cheat to Solve Puzzles". However, when Slate challenges the player to a race, he questions if they can beat him in a race and scoffs at the idea, showing off a cocky attitude, but after his defeat he responds in a more humble manner.

Role in Jet Set Role

In Jet Set Radio, Slate challenges the GG's to race in Kogane-cho after they finish the Fight or Flight mission against the Golden Rhinos. After Slate is defeated in the race, he joins the GG's, playing a miniscule role for the rest of the game. He leans on the pinball machine in the garage when not being played as.

Graffiti

SLATE - Ya Gotta Cheat to Solve Puzzles (No. 10)

SLATE - Blue Slate (No. 44)

W.S.W. - Wild Style Wars!! (No. 78)

Slate's graffiti in Jet Set Radio.

Dialogue

For audio relating to Slate/Soda in JSR, check out Slate/JSR Audio.

Jet Set Radio dialogue

• "Alright! Let's try another trick. Here's a hard one... think you can do it?" (Jet Set Radio E3 Prototype)

• "Well... I guess you can hang with me. But, this is only the beginning." (Jet Set Radio E3 Prototype)

• "Think you can keep up?"

• "Think you can beat me? Ha! Who ever tags first will win!"

• "Well, I guess you're not bad company."

Jet Set Radio (GBA) dialogue

• "Huh? Oh you want something? Yeah try keeping up with me? Ha!? Don't blink now!"

• "Must have gotten lucky... Oh well you win."

Stats

Soda's profile from the JSR Perfect Guide.

Style	Technique
Power	Mid to High
Technique/Speed	Low to Mid
Graffiti	Mid
Spray Cans	40
Graffiti Command	Corn Type

• Stats are referred by their descriptions in the Sybex guidebook. A translation of his profile from the Perfect Guide is also provided.
• An underline notes the character's highest skill(s).
• Slate/Soda's graffiti challenge begins with up, making him a "Corn Type" character. He can hold up 40 spray cans.
• He does the Full Torque, Rock Mac, and Unity grinds. His backwards grinds are the Ally-oop Makio and Porn Star.
• His air tricks are the Karate and Rocket. His halfpipe air tricks and backwards halfpipe air tricks are the Karate 180 and Flying Kite 540. His backwards air tricks are the Karate and Abstract 360.

Official profiles

Jet Set Radio Perfect Guide

• JP: バワーに優れ、スプレー缶を40本も持てる森の長いヤツ。専用エアー「カラテ」は一見の価値あり。

• EN: A long-nosed dude capable of carrying 40 spray cans. His exclusive aerial move, "Karate", is worth a look.

Jet Grind Radio: Sybex's Official Strategies & Secrets

• One of the last rivals of the game, Slate can pack away loads of Spray Paint Cans. Though his technique and graffiti skills aren't strong as many of the other characters, he's great for stages that require a great deal of tagging in a minimum amount of time, like the Golden Rhinos boss levels.

Jet Grind Radio IGN Guide

• This kooky looking cat can carry 40 cans of paint and he is good at tagging a large area very quickly. Slate is a good bet for the Golden Rhino part of the game. He does not have great graffiti skills so go for time points. Recruit Slate after finishing Fight or Flight.

Jet Set Radio GBA manual

• That crazy jacket he's wearing isn't just for fashion. Slate can carry enough paint to cover all of Tokyo-to without making a pit stop.

Other appearances

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

Slate's only appearance outside of Jet Set Radio is in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed via an unlockable sticker. His sticker can be obtained from freezing an opponent with the ice powerup from at least 100 meters away.

Gallery

For this character's full image gallery, see Slate/Gallery.

Slate/Soda's logo.

Slate/Soda's ranking icon.

Slate/Soda's arrival at the garage.

Slate/Soda's location in the garage.

Slate/Soda's animation.

Slate/Soda's character select dance.

Slate/Soda's finishing pose.

Slate/Soda's idle dance, the same dance as Beat.

Slate/Soda's maximum health, cans held, and starting graffiti challenge.

Slate's textures.

Soda's textures.

Slate/Soda's expressions.

Slate and Piranha's profiles for Jet Set Radio GBA.

Concept art of Slate/Soda and various characters.

Concept art from the Masayoshi Kikuchi and Ryuta Ueda interview by 4Gamer.net.

Concept art from The Visionary Mind Behind Jet Set Radio.

Trivia

• In the E3 prototype, Slate is known as Code (コード, Kōdo^?).
• As seen above, one other early name for Soda is "Stick" (スティック, Sutikku^?).
• From some angles, it becomes clear that Slate's head is not fully modeled. Instead, it simply ends an inch or so below his collar.
• The trick "Karate" is used only by Slate. It involves him striking a pose reminiscent of karate chops in midair.
• In the original Japanese release of Jet Set Radio, the song "Dunny Boy Williamson Show" by Deavid Soul, was associated with Soda as it played during his showdown. During localization and every release afterwards, it was changed to "Sneakman" by Hideki Naganuma.
  • "Dunny Boy Williamson Show" would also play in the E3 demo/prototype when Soda was teaching the player how to grind.
• Slate has the same idle dance as Beat.
• Soda is one of Naganuma's favorite characters from Jet Set Radio.
• Slate's name is likely derived from the game of pool or billiards, where slates refer to the underlying table surface made of rock of the same name to ensure a fair game. Considering he likes puzzles, pool and billiards also demand good calculating and how to ricochet balls around to ensure trajectory to win. How he is able to pack away the most spray cans without overt technological help may also play into him able to "hit up" and have the weight to go around to achieve his objectives like a "winner".
• Slate/Soda's logo would be featured in the Roller Champions Jet Set Radio Park alongside various other character logos as well.

Credits

• Character model reference sheet created by Wint.
• Translation of the Jet Set Radio Perfect Guide profile by 6eat.
• Art edited by dedtoot.