Ayane (Dead or Alive)

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Ayane
Ayane DOA.png
Ayane in Dead or Alive: Dimensions (2011)
Series Dead or Alive
Ninja Gaiden
First game Dead or Alive (1998)
Created by Tomonobu Itagaki
Voiced by (English) Gina DeVettori (DOA2)
Janice Kawaye (NG)
Janna Levenstein (DOAX2)
Wendee Lee (Dimensions)
Voiced by (Japanese) Wakana Yamazaki
Portrayed by Natassia Malthe (film)
Fictional profile
Nationality Japanese
Fighting style Mugen Tenshin Ninjutsu (Hajin Mon style)[1]
Weapon Kodachi, kunai
Weapon name Fuma Kodachi
Occupation Kunoichi

Ayane (あやね 綾音?) is a game character in the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden video game series by Team NINJA and Tecmo Koei. First appearing in Dead or Alive in 1998, Ayane was featured in all of DOA games so far, including as the protagonist of Dead or Alive 3,[2] as well as the entire Ninja Gaigen series ever since its reboot in 2004, and was confirmed to return for Ninja Gaiden 3 and Dead or Alive 5 in 2012.[3][4]

Ayane is a teenage master of ninjutsu, her deadly fighting style has given her the nickname "Female Tengu".[1] She has also a complex relationship with Kasumi, the lead character of the Dead or Alive series, ever since they grew up together.[5] Ayane is Kasumi's half-sister, whom she bears jealousy and hatred for being a shinobi destined to live in the shadow of her older sister.[1] She feels strongly drawn to her half-brother Hayate[6] and also admires Ryu Hayabusa, the protagonist of the Ninja Gaiden series. She is one of the most popular Tecmo characters but was also a subject of some controversy regarding her age and sexualization.

Contents

[edit] In video games

Ayane was born as the result of Raidou raping Ayame, Kasumi's mother and wife of Shiden, leader of the Mugen Tenshin clan. Though Ayane was allowed to stay in Mugen Tenshin village, she was always looked down upon and generally detested by many in the clan. Ever since they were children, Ayane secretly looked up to Hayate as a way of increasing her self-esteem and lifting her sadness. Hayate too was fond of her, as he might have learned of the true circumstances behind Ayane's birth and did not see the point of isolating her as everyone else did. Along with a burning hatred for Raidou, the man who ruined her life by creating it in the first place, the focal point of her ire rested on Kasumi, who has been brought up in a priviladged environment unlike herself.[6] This envy that Ayane harbors is similar to the hatred Raidou had over Shiden, Kasumi's father.

Quiet and reserved, Ayane has honed her skills in an attempt to make others see her to be more than the "demon child". With the death of her former master Genra at the end of DOA3, Ayane is now the strongest ninja of the Hajin Mon (覇神門?) sect, the dark side the Mugen Tenshin clan, and has pledged her entire existence to assist in Hayate's task of destroying the Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee (DOATEC).[6][7] She may have managed to reconcile her feelings of hatred towards Kasumi somewhat, as demonstrated when she stops Kasumi from entering the burning DOATEC building seconds before it explodes in DOA4. Most of the time Ayane appears to be murderous, haughty and arrogant, but sometimes displays her softer side, such as when she cried at Genra's funeral pyre.[8]

[edit] Design

According to the book Video Game Art, Ayane's design requirements are of "beauty and mystery".[9] Ayane is the youngest girl in the series, at only 16, but possesses the second largest bust (stated at 93 cm / 37"), falling just behind Tina Armstrong.[10] Her fighting style is very different from Kasumi's Tenjin Mon style (according to Kung Fu Cult Masters, Ayane's "pirrouetting slaps are harder to imagine in a film, but draw from a spinning/twisting dynamics of martial arts choreography"[11]).[12] She also has one of the most distinctive appearances out of the DOA girls because of her unusually-colored purple eyes and hair. Character designer and producer Tomonobu Itagaki described her character and personality as much "harder" than Kasumi and said she fit in the "very hard-edged" universe of the Ninja Gaiden series.[13]

Regarding her costumes, Ayane uses a variety of mostly purple and black female ninja suits and other attires (including a schoolgirl uniform[14] and a Carnival of Venice-style costume[15]), often coming with a miniskirt or tunic, repeatedly featuring a butterfly motif.[16] In the compilation game Dead or Alive Ultimate, one of her 20 outfits is inspired by this of the character Millennia from Kagero: Deception 2, and one of her alternate costumes in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 pays homage to Sun Shangxiang (Lady Sun) from Koei's Dynasty Warriors series. Ayane's face changed slightly for Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2,[17][18] the game that "has the lovely Ayane at her sexiest" according to GamePro.[19]

[edit] Dead or Alive series

In Dead or Alive 2 (1999), Ayane joined in the Dead or Alive World Combat Championship as an assassin in pursuit of her sister Kasumi, a runaway shinobi who has left the Mugen Tenshin behind and was promptly branded a "traitor" to their clan.[1] Ayane encountered and rescued an amnesiac Hayate, who went by the name "Ein". When confronting Helena, Ayane was accused of murdering Helena's mother Maria, but later it was revealed the assassin was really Christie.

In Dead or Alive 3 (2001), the leader of the Mugen Tenshin's Hajin Mon sect (also written as Hajinmon[1]) and Ayane's former teacher and foster parent, Genra, has disappeared. Ayane, now as de facto leader of Hajin Mon, learns that Genra has been turned into a puppet by the DOATEC and its sinister Omega Project. Seeing what has become of her beloved father, Ayane realizes that the fate commands her to put Genra out of his misery. Achieving this, she comes out as official winner of the third DOA championship.

In Dead or Alive 4 (2005), Ayane has pledged her life to her half-brother and Mugen Tenshin clan leader Hayate in his cause to destroy the DOATEC for all the suffering the company has caused the ninja clans. Ayane has a threefold stake in this revenge trip for Raidou being changed into a monster, for Hayate being brainwashed in their attempt to realize Project Epsilon, and for the manipulation and death of Genra. At the end of the game, Ayane uses her secret ninpo technique to blow up the DOATEC Tri-Tower.[20]

[edit] Ninja Gaiden series

In Ninja Gaiden (2004), a younger Ayane at the age of 14 (Ayane is 16-year-old in the DOA series[21]) plays a minor role as a non-player character, serving Murai and the Shadow Clan as a stealthly infiltrator and courier assisting Ryu Hayabusa during his bloody vengeance.

In Ninja Gaiden II (2008), Ayane is a also an NPC, appearing only near the end of the game to give Ryu the treasured Eye of the Dragon, a jewel that increases the power of Ryu's fabled Dragon Sword. However, in Ninja Gaiden Σ 2 (the 2009 conversion of NGII for the PS3) she plays a more potent role as a player character in one level, which shows how she obtained the Dragon's Eye for Ryu and defeated the remnants of the Black Spider clan, and is available as one of three new alternate characters in the co-op and multiplayer modes for the entire game.

[edit] Spin-off games

Outside of the main DOA series, Ayane appears as one of the player characters in the beach volleyball spin-off games Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball (2003), Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (2006) and Dead or Alive Paradise (2010), following Kasumi.[5]

She is also featured in Zen Pinball: Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, a pinball game for the PlayStation Network.[22] Dead or Alive: Code Chronos, a DOA series' prequel project which was supposed to center on Ayane and Kasumi, has been officially cancelled in 2010 after Itagaki had left Team NINJA and Tecmo.

[edit] Guest appearances

Ayane makes an unplayable guest appearance in Koei's Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce (2009), where her Fuma Kodachi twin short swords are also available there as a player's optional weapon.[23] Her signature purple dress outfit is also an unlockable costume in Super Swing Golf: Season 2 for the character Kooh[24] and in the Director's Cut version of Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly as an alternate costume for Mayu, one of this game's two protagonist sisters (the other one, Mio, may wear Kasumi's costume).[25]

Ayane appears as a playable character in Warriors Orochi 3 (2011) in her design and primary costume from Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.[26] In this game, Ayane falls into a bend in a spacetime after DOA4, ending up in the world of Orochi.[27] Ayane stars at the Siege of Hasedō-themed stage and teams up with Yoshitsune Minamoto's party to find a way back home. She also follows Sima Zhao's army and helps them to locate and rescue the prisoners at Xuchang.

[edit] Gameplay

According to Prima Games' official guide for Dead or Alive Ultimate, if one likes "fast, unpredictable characters, there's simply no one better than Ayane" and she "is fun to play, and she is usable at just about any level of play, from beginner to expert, due to unorthodox fighting method and speed" as well as "devastating holds and throws". Ayane might not be the kind of character for those who prefer "huge, over-the-top moves", but for "more patient sort, there's probably no better character in the game."[7]

However, according to Prima's official guide for Dead or Alive 4, while in the previous DOA games Ayane has been "one of the easiest characters to use and was very difficult to fight against", in this game she "now requires much more skill in high-level players, as her best attack as nowhere as dominant as they were in the past". She was rated overall 7/10.[28] According to GameSpot, Ayane is "one of the more devious characters" of DOA4, "capable of devastating speed and some ingenious little fake-out animations", but she requires "a lot more practice than is apparent at first glance."[29]

In the DOA Extreme beach volleyball games Ayane has excellent technique and jump abilities, but poor defense, power and speed.[5]

In Ninja Gaiden Σ 2, Ayane's attacks (many of her Fuma Kodachi combos resemble her combos from Dead or Alive) and finishing moves are far faster than these of Ryu, but the player has to learn to dodge much more as she has worse blocking abilities.[30] According to Prima's official guide for this game, Ayane's short range and limited attack power "make her the worst choice of the three new characters for almost every mission" and "her only saving graces" are a powerful ninpo spell and deadly Flash Kunai projeciles; in addition, the CPU-controlled Ayane "doesn't seem to know what to do in any situation".[31]

[edit] In film

DOA: Dead or Alive is a 2006 non-canonical live-action film loosely based on the game series. In the movie, Ayane is a ninja assassin and Kasumi's former servant who is dedicated to seek and kill her, as Kasumi is being considered an outcast to the clan (a nukenin, though the word "shinobi", which really means simply a ninja, is mistakenly used instead throughout the movie). Ayane first confronts Kasumi before she flees the temple, then several times on the island. She has feelings towards Hayate (she is not his half-sister in the movie, and neither she is Kasumi's),[32] and initially believes him to be dead. Ayane fails to kill Kasumi but finds Hayate and aids him against DOATEC. During the film's finale, she saves him from a potentially fatal fall.

Ayane was controversially portrayed by Natassia Malthe, a half-Norwegian half-Filipino actress who was also much older than Ayane is supposed to be in the games. Tomonobu Itagaki later said he "wanted to have Japanese actresses portray Kasumi and Ayane", however the director Corey Yuen "believed strongly in his casting choices". Itagaki said he would have chosen Aya Ueto to play Ayane.[33]

[edit] In promotion and merchandise

A number of merchandise items featuring Ayane was created as well, such as a range of statuettes and action figures by Shunya Yamashita,[34] Kotobukiya,[35] Volks[36][37] and Mr Big,[38] an UFO Catcher claw crane figure by Sega,[39] and various others, including one of which came with the limited edition Japanese release of Ninja Gaiden[40] and another which could be undressed to a bikini.[41][42] Other merchandise included a very special coffee mug for Banpresto's arcade redemption games[43] and a Dead or Alive talking clock which was bundled with a figure of either her or Kasumi.[44]

In 2004, a pinup picture of Ayane from Ultimate in a bikini outfit was printed in Playboy.[45] In 2011, a demo version of DOA5 featuring Ayane and Hitomi as playable characters was added as a downloadable bonus to the pre-order version of Ninja Gaiden 3 for the PS3.[46]

[edit] Reception

Since her introduction, Ayane remains a face of the series alongside her older half-sister,[47][48] and was featured through the fan-made CGI series Dead Fantasy from the start.[49] However, in contrast to Kasumi, often commended for her personality, overwhelming most of critical attention Ayane received regarded solely her physical appearance. According to IGN in 2004, Ayane "is most notable for her anime purple hair and jigglin' jumblies."[21] Featuring Ayane as a Videogame Babe of the Day in 2006, IGN commented: "After that awkward goth stage in high school, not many people continue to rock the violet locks, but Ayane is different… she's hot enough to get away with it."[50]

GameSpy collectively ranked her an the other Dead or Alive girls as second on their 2003 list of top "babes in games".[51] While awarding The Annual GameSpy E3 Award to Dead or Alive Ultimate in 2004, Psylancer (Raymond Padilla) wrote: "Ayane should be my new girlfriend."[52] The Polish edition of GameStar included her as one of 20 candidates in a poll for the title of Miss of the Video Game World (Miss Świata Gier) in 2006.[53] In 2009, Ayane was ranked seventh on Fandomania's list of top "fictional ninjas".[54] In 2011, Complex ranked her as the 14th best looking "sideline chick" in games, adding: "Kasumi's cool and all, but we definitely prefer Ayane's cold and killer demeanor."[55]

In 2009, Ayane shared being GameDaily's Babe of the Week with Momiji and Rachel, also sharing with Rachel the seventh place on the list of "most incredible chests" by Joystick Division.[56] Along with other DOA girls, Ayane was collectively ranked tenth on Complex's 2010 list of the "hottest women in video games".[57] GamesRadar also ranked hers, Ryu's, and Momiji's guest appearance in Strikeforce as 49th on their 2010 list of most awesome character cameos in the gaming history.[58] Gavin Mackenzie of Play jokingly rated her breasts as two of the top ten best things one can expect to see in Dead or Alive 5 (the other places held by the breasts of Hitomi, Christie, Kasumi and Tina).[59]

On the other hand, Ayane's portrayal by Natassia Malthe in the film DOA: Dead or Alive was panned by fans and critics alike. GamesRadar nicknamed the motion picture version of Ayane as "White Girl Who is Somehow Also Japanese",[60] while UGO.com wrote about Malthe's role as Ayane: "Defining Moment: Zzzzzzzz".[61] Some also criticised the eye candy aspects of the character. In 2009, GamesRadar ranked the series of Team Ninja's controversial series of Sigma 2 commercials designed to draw attention to the fact that the "notoriously big-breasted" Ayane was a playable character (one of which was called by Destructoid "the best and worst thing to have ever been created"[62]) as the fourth most blatantly sexist game advertisement ever, adding: "God forbid a moment goes by where any part of her body might be covered up".[63] Her new costume for Dead or Alive: Dimensions also upset fans when the game was announced in 2010, according to Destructoid "causing distress among her creepy admirers".[64]

Just like Kasumi's, Ayane's age was not listed in the western versions of the games[12] to avoid backlash regarding underage characters. Nevertheless, some outlets raised and sometimes questioned the issue how much Ayane, an adolescent girl, is sexualized in the games (in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 players were even given control over the movement of her breasts through use of the Sixaxis game controller[19]). A writer for Destructoid has voiced concern about how a supposedly 14-year-old character (Ayane's NG Sigma 2 age) has such "huge busters", tongue-in-cheek commenting how this made him "worried that this now means I'm a pedophile".[18] In 2011, Nintendo of Europe decided to not distribute Dead or Alive: Dimensions in Sweden, apparently because of the local child pornography law encompassing drawn and animated characters (and despite the age of consent in Sweden being only 15).[65]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Dead or Alive 2 game manual (Dreamcast version), p. 28
  2. ^ Raymond Padilla, Itagaki Speaks on Dead or Alive Ultimate, GameSpy, May 16, 2004
  3. ^ Ninja Gaiden 3 Screen Drop, TheGamersHub, December 19th, 2011
  4. ^ Dale North, The girls of Dead or Alive 5: Ayane and Hitomi, Destructoid, 12.08.2011
  5. ^ a b c Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 manual, page 10
  6. ^ a b c Dead or Alive 4 manual, page 16
  7. ^ a b Eric Mylonas, Dead or Alive Ultimate (Prima Official Game Guide), Prima Games 2004 (p. 72)
  8. ^ Ayane's ending FMV in Dead or Alive 3 (video)
  9. ^ Nic Kelman, Henry Jenkins, Video Game Art, Assouline Publishing, 2005
  10. ^ Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 100% Completion FAQ - IGN FAQs
  11. ^ Leon Hunt, Kung Fu Cult Masters, Wallflower Press, 2003 (p. 187)
  12. ^ a b The Babes of DOA, IGN, March 26, 2010
  13. ^ Kikizo, Itagaki: The Kikizo Interview 2005, Video Games Daily, February 15, 2005
  14. ^ Dead or Alive 2 Schoolgirl Outfits Revealed, IGN, March 8, 2000
  15. ^ Mike Fahey, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Gets Fashionable DLC, Kotaku, November 13, 2009
  16. ^ Dead or Alive Ayane Costumes - Dead or Alive World[dead link]
  17. ^ Brian Ashcraft, Ayane, Your Face Looks A Little Different, Kotaku, July 27, 2009
  18. ^ a b Jim Sterling, NG Sigma 2: 14-year-old has huge boobs, new face, Destructoid, 06.29.2009
  19. ^ a b McKinley Noble, Motion-controlled breast jiggling in PS3 Ninja Gaiden 2, GamePro, September 11, 2009
  20. ^ Ayane's ending FMV in Dead or Alive 4 (video)
  21. ^ a b Hilary Goldstein, Girls of DOAU: Ayane, IGN, September 23, 2004
  22. ^ Mike Fahey, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Gets Its Own Pinball Table, Kotaku, October 6, 2009
  23. ^ Jim Sterling, Ninja Gaiden invades Dynasty Warriors, Destructoid, 09.23.2009
  24. ^ Super Swing Golf Season 2 Cheats, Codes, and Secrets for Wii | GameFAQs
  25. ^ Fatal Frame II XBOX – Kasumi & Ayane DOA costumes[dead link]
  26. ^ Ayane Brings A Purple Haze Into Warriors Orochi 2, Siliconera, November 18, 2011
  27. ^ Official screenshots of Ayane in Musou Orochi 2 gets online, Tecmo Koei Players, November 18, 2011
  28. ^ Bryan Dawson, Dead or Alive 4 (Prima Official Game Guide), Prima Games 2006 (p. 61)
  29. ^ Dead or Alive 4 Walkthrough - Page 9 - Game Guides at GameSpot
  30. ^ Hands-on | Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 | Resolution Magazine
  31. ^ Bryan Dawson, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2: Prima Official Guide, Prima Games 2009 (p. 28, 51)
  32. ^ Alexander Villafania, Movie review: The girls of Dead or Alive, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2 February 2007
  33. ^ E3 2006: Tomonobu Itagaki Interview, IGN, May 8, 2006
  34. ^ Catch These Dead or Alive Figures!, Kotaku, September 4, 2008
  35. ^ No, Not A Kasumi Figure, An Ayane One, Kotaku, Dec 22, 2009
  36. ^ Ayane Is Not Cheap, Kotaku, January 26, 2010
  37. ^ Hamza CTZ Aziz, Volks, Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma Ayane figure is looking good, Destructoid, 01.27.2010
  38. ^ This Bayonetta Figure Pistol Kicks Out A Whopping Price Tag, Kotaku, February 8, 2011
  39. ^ Jim Sterling, Crane claws + big titties = Happy pervoids indeed, Destructoid, 09.04.2008
  40. ^ 『NINJA GAIDEN』, Famitsu, 2004/1/15 (Japanese)
  41. ^ Take Off Ayane's Top and Skirt, Kotaku, November 12, 2007
  42. ^ Jim Sterling, Strippable Dead or Alive figures for the dirty, shameful win, Destructoid, 07.21.2007
  43. ^ Dead or Alive Mugs With 3D Humps, Kotaku, December 5, 2007
  44. ^ Tecmo Announces Dead or Alive Voice Clock | When the Kasumi huggable pillow just isn't enough to fill that void in your heart., GamePro, November 04, 2004
  45. ^ Playboy's Newest Pinup: Video Game Characters, Associated Press, September 08, 2004
  46. ^ Ninja Gaiden 3 to Include Exclusive DOA5 Demo, Shoryuken, December 14th, 2011
  47. ^ Videogame Babes of the Day: Ninja Gaiden Black | What could be better than ninja ladies?, IGN, September 16, 2005
  48. ^ Matt Cundy, Sexiest game fan art, GamesRadar, February 5, 2008
  49. ^ Hamza CTZ Aziz, Dead Fantasy 1: From the guy who did Haloid. Also, CHICK FIGHT, Destructoid, 10.10.2007
  50. ^ Videogame Babe of the Day: Ayane | Purple haired ninjas rule, IGN, November 17, 2006
  51. ^ Johnson, Bryan (2003-05-04). Top 10 Babes in Games. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2008-12-29
  52. ^ The Annual GameSpy E3 Awards!, GameSpy, May 19, 2004
  53. ^ GameStar - Wybory Miss: Miss Świata Gier 2006 (Polish)
  54. ^ Jason Dorough, Top 10 Fictional Ninjas, Fandomania, December 4th, 2009
  55. ^ Elton John, The 25 Best Looking Sideline Chicks in Games, Complex.com, August 25, 2011
  56. ^ Rich Shivener, 10 Incredible Chests in Video Games, Joystick Division, August 1, 2011
  57. ^ The 50 Hottest Women In Video Games, Complex.com, November 8, 2010
  58. ^ Mikel Reparaz, 55 awesome character cameos, GamesRadar, April 30, 2010
  59. ^ Gavin Mackenzie, Dead Or Alive 5 – Top 10 things you can expect to see, PLAY Magazine, 4 August 2010
  60. ^ Mikel Reparaz, The 16 most awesomely bad videogame movie moments, GamesRadar, April 29, 2009
  61. ^ Natassia Malthe in DOA: Dead or Alive - UGO.com
  62. ^ Jim Sterling, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 'boob jiggle' commercial is amazing, Destructoid, 09.16.2009
  63. ^ Joe Newman, Top 7... Blatantly sexist game advertisements, GamesRadar, November 25, 2009
  64. ^ Jim Sterling, Ayane & Kasumi's new costumes in Dead or Alive Dimensions, Destructoid, 09.27.2010
  65. ^ Brian Ashcraft, Report: Dead or Alive: Dimensions Is Kiddy Porn in Sweden?, Kotaku, May 20, 2011

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