| Kasumi | |
|---|---|
Kasumi in Dead or Alive: Dimensions (2011) |
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| Series | DOA |
| First game | Dead or Alive (1996) |
| Created by | Tomonobu Itagaki |
| Voiced by (English) | Lucy Kee (DOA2) Kari Wahlgren (DOAX2-present) Amanda Troop (Dimensions (as Alpha-152)) |
| Voiced by (Japanese) | Sakura Tange (DOA-DOA2, Dimensions (as Kasumi Alpha and Alpha-152)) Houko Kuwashima (DOA3-present) |
| Portrayed by | Devon Aoki (film) |
| Fictional profile | |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Fighting style | Mugen Tenshin Ninjutsu (Tenjin Mon style) |
| Weapon | Wakizashi |
| Occupation | Runaway shinobi |
Kasumi (かすみ/霞) is a player character in Dead or Alive fighting game series by Team Ninja and Tecmo. Kasumi has served as the main character of the Dead or Alive franchise since its premiere in 1996, being the official protagonist in the first two main games in the series,[1] and playing very important roles in the rest of the franchise. She has since become a popular sex symbol in gaming and is known to be personal favourite of Team Ninja's founder and the series' creator Tomonobu Itagaki.[2] There are also two Dead or Alive characters who are clones of her.
According to the game canon, Kasumi (her name translates to "Mist"), also known as "the Kunoichi of Destiny", is a teenage female shinobi skilled in the Tenjin Mon (天神門) style of Mugen Tenshin (霧幻天神流) ninjutsu. She was to become the 18th Master of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan, but ran away in order to enter the Dead or Alive tournament and defeat Raidou who crippled her brother Hayate. Leaving the secretive ninja clan made her a nukenin (runaway shinobi), obliged to live on the run from her former comrades who are now seeking to hunt her down, including her younger half-sister Ayane.
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Kasumi is portrayed throughout the DOA series as a more compassionate character than Ayane and most of the other fighters. Though she is a highly skilled kunoichi with deadly abilities but she does not enjoy fighting and often expresses a desire to avoid confrontation. She values her family and seeks to return home in peace. In all of the tournaments except the first her goal is not to win or even to fight; she simply wishes to meet Hayate. Kasumi dislikes seeing people suffer from at the hands of her skills and often shows mercy even to enemies. However, she is a trained shinobi who is capable of killing, though, and she foregoes showing mercy to particularly dangerous adversaries or those who have wronged her or her family: Raidou (first game), her clone (second game) and Helena (fourth game).
Just like the other girls in the franchise, Kasumi was designed by Tomonobu Itagaki to have a buxom figure (her official measurements are 35-21-33). When asked if he was fine with "sexualizing" a 17-year-old girl, he answered: "In Japan, that's okay. Maybe it's 20 in America."[3] Asked about Ayane and Kasumi, Itagaki said: "The basic concept of Ninja Gaiden was very hard-edged, but Kasumi is very soft. That's why she wasn't in it. DOA is based on a "softer" concept, and she is rather symbolic of the game as a whole."[4] Kasumi is "of course" Itagaki's favorite DOA character[5] and he feels "very close to her".
Kasumi uses a wide range of costumes through the series, from several female ninja outfits (her main colors being white and red at first, later becoming blue and white) to feminine teenage-girl casual clothes to Japanese schoolgirl uniform[6] (Itagaki's favorite[7]) to beach bikinis.[8] According to IGN, she had the best overall outfits of Dead or Alive Ultimate, the expanded compilation of the first two DOA games ("she looks great and her outfits are fantastic").[9] Some prototype costume designs for the series' newest installment, Dead or Alive: Dimensions, reportedly "upset fans" when the game was announced in 2010.[10]
Kasumi is the respected heiress-in-line of her clan, the Mugen Tenshin, along with her brother Hayate. After Hayate was crippled in the attack by their treacherous uncle Raidou, Kasumi was supposed to take over leadership of the clan. Kasumi, however, left her village without permission on a personal quest of revenge.
Kasumi eventually killed Raidou and avenged Hayate, winning the first DOA tournament. However, she was then captured by Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee (DOATEC), who used her genes to create a clone called Kasumi Alpha as part of a project to develop a new breed of ultimate soldiers. Kasumi managed to escape, defeating her first clone in the process, and attempted to return to her village, but like Raidou, she too was banished because a dishonored ninja could not rejoin their clan. Now labeled as a "traitor" in her village, Kasumi has been pursued incessantly by assassins from her clan and not a day passed without an attempt on her life. Despite this, she still wished to see her brother Hayate and half-sister Ayane and entered the third tournament to meet with them one last time.
She eventually managed to meet her brother and tried to convince him to forget about DOATEC and return to the Mugen Tenshin village with her, only to be interfered by their half-sister Ayane, who attacked Kasumi but lost. Kasumi pursued Hayate to the DOATEC Tri-Tower, where she confronted Helena, who had taken control of DOATEC. Kasumi fought her way past Helena and then headed down to the lab to destroy her ultimate clone, the Alpha-152. Kasumi fought to her best efforts, but in the end Alpha-152 escaped in the chaos of the destruction wrought by the Mugen Tenshin attack. Upon spotting Helena entering the blazing helipad, Kasumi tried to risk her life and intervene, but was prevented from doing so by Ayane, who by doing that saved Kasumi's life as the building started exploding seconds later.
Kasumi was confirmed to return in Dead or Alive 5 (2012).[11]
According to the series' storyline, DOATEC created many clones of Kasumi as part of their Project Alpha with the aim of creating a perfect fighter.
Following the third Dead or Alive tournament, Kasumi has been invited to Zack Island, an imaginary place that has all the DOA girls for the fourth DOA tournament. Kasumi, hoping to see Hayate, goes to the island for the tournament. However, the tournament turns out to be a hoax crafted by Zack, and they are stuck for two weeks on the tropical island, playing beach volleyball in Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball. Kasumi later returned to the New Zack Island in Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 upon hearing that her brother was there, even though she wondered what he was doing on a tropical island. It was there that Kasumi began to develop a more friendly relationship with Ayane.
Kasumi made a cameo appearance in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (starring Ayane and Ryu Hayabusa), wearing a new outfit. She also appears in the iPhone game Girls of DOA BlackJack ～ the Kasumi version ～, in which she acts as a blackjack dealer.[13][14] Dead or Alive: Code Chronos, a DOA series' prequel game which was supposed to center on Kasumi and Ayane, was canceled in 2010, following Itagaki's departure from Tecmo.
Kasumi appeared as an optionally playable "monster" in the games Monster Rancher 2 and Monster Rancher 4.[15] Her blue ninja outfit is an unlockable costume in Super Swing Golf[16] and Super Swing Golf: Season 2[17] for the character Arin, and is an alternative costume of Mio Amakura in Director's Cut version of Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly.[18]
Similar to the other Dead or Alive ninja characters, Kasumi is considered a mid-to-top tier character due to her balanced character traits. She features good speed, execution, and fairly simplistic input commands, but her range is lacking and her single strikes do little damage. Kasumi's playing style has differed slightly over the series: in the original Dead or Alive and its sequel, her commands were suited to performing air combos and juggles. In the later games, however, she became a pressure character, focusing more on extremely fast attacks and great interrupters to keep the opponent constantly on the defense.
According to Prima Games' official guide for Dead or Alive 4, in this game Kasumi is "faster than ever" and her techniques have been modified considerably; she was ranked overall 8/10, while her clone Alpha-152 was ranked 10/10.[19] According to GameSpot's guide to DOA4, Kasumi is "an interesting character for many reasons ... while she doesn't rely on brute strength to get the job done, she has a dizzying array of quick strikes and more than a few teleportation moves to dazzle your opponents and pull them off guard, allowing you to sneak behind them and attack from the rear, or just confuse them mightily."[20]
Kasumi appeared in the 2006 action-comedy film DOA: Dead or Alive, loosely based on the game series, as its main character. She was played by Devon Aoki, who however bears no physical similarity to the character she portrayed and it many felt she appeared to be miscast in this role. This sentiment which was shared also by Itagaki; when asked about whom he would choose for the film, he said it would be Kumiko Gotoh "from the time right after she made her debut".[21]
In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Aoki said this about Kasumi: "Yes, she's pretty badass. ... and she's a princess. She's never been outside the palace walls. She's been very, very sheltered, because she's a princess and that's the way it is…until the point where she actually decides to leave, she's basically been pretty sheltered but she's a capable fighter."[22] The scene of her leaving the clan was named the movie's "most ridiculous" scene by GamesRadar when it was included in their 2009 list of the 16 "most awesomely bad videogame movie moments".[23] "Transitioning from martial art fight scene to skydiving without blinking" was also chosen as the film Kasumi's defining moment by UGO.com, with a snicker comment how Aoki's portrayal is "keeping conservative in a world full of boob".[24]
In the movie, Kasumi fights against Leon and wins. The film Kiss of the Dragon is referenced when she pierces an acupuncture needle into the villain Victor Donovan, who then suffers paralysis and perishes in an explosion. In the end, she did go home with her brother despite being a runaway shinobi, but has to make a fighting stand against her clan with her new friends in order to get to stay.
A wide range of merchandise items featuring Kasumi was created as well, such as multiple statuettes and action figures of various scales,[25][26] including one which was bundled with a special edition of Dead or Alive Paradise for the PSP.[27] Some figures can be stripped topless[28] or to her underwear.[29]
Other items include an Xbox 360 face plate,[30] a PSP box cover,[27] a very special mousepad,[31] and even a live-size 160 cm long (Kasumi's height is supposed to be 158 cm) body pillow which was bundled by Microsoft with the 5000-unit "Kasumi-chan Blue Xbox" limited edition batch of the Xbox consoles in Japan.[32][33][34] She and Hitomi were also used in the iPhone digital clock application Bijin Tokei[35] and a Dead or Alive talking clock which was bundled with a figure of either her or Ayane.[36]
In 2010, the gamebook Destiny Kunoichi Kasumi was released in the Queen's Gate series of Queen's Blade,[37] for which another Kasumi figure was released.[38]
Kasumi was received well among the gaming fans and professional critics for both her sex appeal and her martial arts abilities, and sometimes also her personality. In 2000, WomanGamers.Com appreciated her portrayal "as a woman of action and deeds ... willing to risk everything in order to search for her missing brother", hurt by her eye candy aspect "for which the series is both famous and infamous", overally rating her 8.14/10 as "a very pleasing character".[39] In 2004, TeamXbox ranked Kasumi third top "Xbox babe", adding: "When we imagine our ideal Tecmo babe, Kasumi fits the bill perfectly. She has fought her way into the hearts and minds of millions of gamers."[40] The Age ranked her as 36th top Xbox character of all time in 2008, commenting: "Kasumi's appeal is no great mystery, is it? As the merciful ninja who avoids confrontation but finds herself again and again having to defeat challengers, she's just another heroine based on a well-loved archetype."[41] In 2007, Kasumi was included by Tom's Games among the 50 greatest female characters in video game history and "the video game vixens of today", as well as "and one of the most powerful - and sexy - ninjas in the world".[42]
Talking about her popularity in Japan, Itagaki claimed in 2004: "It's almost like there are too many Kasumi covers. If you look at Japanese magazines, maybe 10% of them have Kasumi on their cover."[43] In the 2005 G4 TV show Video Game Vixens Kasumi won in the category Dressed to Kill.[44] In 2007, Kasumi won the G-Phoria award in the category Best Hottest Babe after 55% of all votes were cast for her.[45] Ranking her as tenth in the list of "video game hotties" in 2006, UGO Networks called her "the most attractive ninja you'll ever see".[46] UGO also featured her in their 2010 lists of the 30 best swimsuits in all works of fiction[47] and the top 50 "videogame hotties" ("Kasumi is the flagship protagonist of the Dead or Alive series of games, and it's for good reason. Her huge breasts, flowing hair, and butt-bumpin' volleyball skills represent at least half of what the series is all about. It only helps that she's equally deadly when the fighting portion comes around."),[48] and ranked her as ninth in their 2011 list of the fighting games' "finest female fighters".[49] Also in 2011, GameFront ranked her breasts as the 14th finest in gaming history.[50]
Featuring her as their "videogame babe of the day" in 2006, IGN noted: "This sultry redhead is also a fan favorite, and it's not difficult to see why. In addition to being gifted as a fighter, she's been graced with one of the finest digital bodies ever. Also, she is a freaking ninja."[2] In 2007, GamePro ranked her third in their list of "top asses in gaming".[51] That same year, she was featured as the Babe of the Week by GameDaily as one of the series' "most delectable hotties",[52] and in the Babes of the Week articles Babes We're Thankful For in 2008 ("this voluptuous vixen has a killer body and the moves to match")[53] and Asian Beauties in 2009 ("there's no way we could ignore Kasumi"),[54] as well as in 2009's article about gaming's "greatest patriots" with a comment that "it's hard to imagine a video game world without the lovely Kasumi".[55] GameDaily also ranked her eight on the 2008's list of top 50 "hottest game babes", adding: "We love female ninjas, especially ones with gigantic breasts, flowing hair and a knack for beach volleyball. Kasumi remains the most recognizable Dead or Alive girl, and one of the most dangerous."[56] In 2011, machinima.com ranked her as third on their list of top 10 ninjas in all of gaming.[57]
When hackers found a way to turn Kasumi nude in DOA2, Itagaki felt this "was an attack on her"[3] and Tecmo's lawyers actually sued the authors of the naked Kasumi DOA2 hack (software company West Side) for a violation of Kasumi's dignity, winning the case[58] and two million yen in damages.[59]
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