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Sōsuke
Kanji

さすけ

Romaji

Sosuke

Feature films

Ponyo

Gender

Male icon Male

Age

5

Birthdate

May 25, 2003

Affiliation

Himawari Nursery School

Relatives

Koichi (Father)

Lisa (Mother)

Ponyo (Adoptive sister; lover)

Voice

Hiroki Doi (Japanese)

Frankie Jonas (English)

Mom! Ponyo came back, and she's a little girl now!
—Sōsuke to his mother, about Ponyo's return

Sōsuke (さすけ, Sosuke) is one of the main protagonists of the film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea directed by Hayao Miyazaki. He is the son of Koichi and Lisa, as well as Ponyo's lover.

Film

Sōsuke first appears when Ponyo sees him running down the hill from the house she was looking at. When he arrives at the cove with his toy boat, he immediately spots a goldfish trapped in small jar. After briefly failing to pull it out, he runs back onto a high rock as a big wave comes in. He gets a little freaked out when he saw eyes appear from it. He then quickly uses a big rock and successfully breaks the glass jar and saves the fish, while cutting his right thumb in the process. Sosuke checks to see if the goldfish is really dead, but turns out to be alive after licking Sosuke's wound. He grabs the goldfish, and his toy boat and runs back up before a bunch of eye-sporting waves could reach him.

After putting the goldfish in a pail of water, Sosuke heads for his mom's car when a mysterious man walks up. Following a brief argument between the man and Sosuke's mother they quickly drove off. Than his mother drove Sosuke (including Ponyo) to his mothers work which was next to Sosuke's nursery school. When Sosuke got to school, he hid Ponyo in the bushes and covered her with a leaf so no cats could catch her. When recess came, he decided to check on Ponyo, then Kumiko followed Sosuke and pressed him to letting her see Ponyo. He grabs Ponyo's pail and runs off to the seniors home because Ponyo got Kumiko's dress wet. Meanwhile, a distraught Fujimoto searches frantically for his lost daughter whom he believes to have been kidnapped. He calls his wave spirits to recover her, leaving the boy heartbroken.

Later in the film, Ponyo returns to Sōsuke, who is amazed and overjoyed to see her. Lisa, Sōsuke, and Ponyo wait out the storm at Sōsuke's house. Worried about the residents of the nursing home where she works, Lisa leaves to check up on them and promising Sōsuke that she will return home as soon as possible. Sōsuke and Ponyo wake up to find that most of the land around the house has been covered by the ocean. Since it is impossible for Lisa to come home, the two children decide to find her. With the help of Ponyo's magic, they make Sōsuke's toy pop pop boat life-size and set out across the swollen ocean.

When Ponyo and Sōsuke make it to the forest, however, Ponyo tires and falls asleep only to be woken by Sōsuke, who implores her to ignite a second candle as the one powering their boat is about to go out. Ponyo then dozes off multiple times before concentrating enough to make the candle, which then goes out. She then passes out, and Sōsuke has to push the boat to shore, only to find that the boat, deprived of Ponyo's magic, is reverting to its toy size. Sōsuke drags Ponyo to the shore. Sōsuke finds Lisa's abandoned car. Ponyo then wakes up, and the two decide to continue looking for her.

Ponyo and Sōsuke head into a tunnel, Ponyo is getting much weaker now falling asleep more often, and is now sleeping, and sleep walking almost. As they approach a large tunnel Ponyo wakes up again, as her hair starts to get shorter. He asks Ponyo is she is ok and she replies. "Don't like this place." They walk into the tunnel as Ponyo's hair gets shorter as she dozes off again.

Inside Ponyo reverts to being a fish due to overuse of her magical powers. Meanwhile, Lisa and the residents of the nursing home, temporarily granted the power to breathe underwater by Granmamare, are waiting excitedly below the surface for Ponyo and Sōsuke to arrive. Sōsuke and Ponyo encounter Fujimoto, who warns the boy that the balance of nature is in danger and begs Sosuke to return Ponyo to him. Sōsuke doubts Fujimoto and attempts to flee, but the two children are quickly captured and Fujimoto takes them down to the protected nursing home.

Sōsuke is reunited with Lisa and meets Granmamare, with whom Lisa has just had a long private conversation. Granmamare asks Sōsuke if he can love Ponyo whether she is a fish or human. Sōsuke replies that he "loves all the Ponyos." Granmamare then tells her daughter that if she chooses to become human once and for all, she will have to give up her magical powers. Ponyo agrees to this, so Granmamare encases her in a bubble and gives her to Sōsuke. She tells him that kissing the bubble will complete Ponyo's transformation. The balance of nature is thus restored and the previously stranded ships head back to port. Fujimoto respects his daughter's choice to become a human, having decided he can trust Sōsuke with Ponyo's welfare. Ponyo then joyfully jumps high in the air and kisses Sōsuke, completing her transformation as a human.

Appearance

Sosuke original sketches

Sōsuke bears a conspicuous resemblance to his mother: he has dark eyes and dark brown/black hair styled into a bowl cut with grey roots. He also has tan skin and his characteristics are later duplicated by Ponyo.

Sōsuke's typical attire consists of a short-sleeved yellow shirt and a pair of dark grey shorts. If not barefoot, he usually wears uwabaki slippers.

Personality

Sosuke is depicted as intelligent, loyal, heroic. He is based on Hayao Miyazaki's son Garo Miyazaki, when he was five years old.

Relationships

Ponyo

Sosuke is highly attached to and deeply loves Ponyo.

Kumiko

Sosuke doesn't appear to enjoy her presence.

Gallery

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