page_title: Ayane (Dead or Alive)
section_title: Praise and popularity
hierarchical_section_title: Ayane (Dead or Alive) / Reception / Praise and popularity
caption_attribution_description: v&#160;• d&#160;• e English: Monaco Anime Game Show Festival; 2013 Français: Festival Monaco Anime Game Show; 2013 Description English: Photograph taken during the 1st edition of Monaco Game Show organised in 2013 at the Espace Grimaldi of Monaco. Français: Photographie prise durant la première édition du Monaco Anime Game Show organisé en 2013 à L'espace Grimaldi de Monaco. Camera location43°&#160;44′&#160;36.64″&#160;N, 7°&#160;25′&#160;54.65″&#160;EView this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap - Google Maps - Google Earth
context_page_description: Ayane is a video game character in the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden series by Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo. She debuted as a hidden character in the PlayStation version of the fighting game Dead or Alive in 1998, and has appeared in all of its sequels and spin-offs so far, including as the main protagonist of Dead or Alive 3. In the games, Ayane is a teenage master of ninjutsu and is characterised by her complex relationship with her half-sister Kasumi, the lead character of the Dead or Alive series.
  She is also prominently featured as a recurring supporting character in the Ninja Gaiden series since its revival in 2004 and has made multiple guest appearances in other games, in particular in the extended Dynasty Warriors franchise. Ayane is one of the most popular Tecmo characters and is one of Koei Tecmo's mascots, but has been a subject of controversies regarding her age and sexualization.
context_section_description: Since her introduction, Ayane has remained a popular face of the series alongside her older half-sister. Ayane was described as a fan-favourite by GMR in 2003, and was called "everyone's favorite purple haired ninja" by GameAxis in 2006.  In 2012, Angelo M. D'Argenio of Cheat Code Central, listing Ayane among the top ten hidden characters in fighting games, noted that she "is now one of the poster characters for both series, and it seems she becomes more popular by the day." Regarding the preferences of Dead or Alive online multiplayer players, Official Xbox Magazine wrote in 2005: "Of all the stats and figures, one of the most unusual is a rating for the most popular characters in America, Asia and the rest of the world. At the moment, Ayane is the most popular character to use by a long way." In QMI Agency's 2012 poll for the title of the Ultimate Fighting Game Champion, Ayane was the only DOA character to make the second round, as she defeated Morrigan Aensland before losing to Scorpion, the winner of the title. She was voted the DOA series' third most popular female character in Japan in the publisher Koei Tecmo's own poll in 2014, placing fourth in another popular vote in 2015.
  Ayane become a popular character among audience of both genders for various reasons. Model and actress Jaime Bergman chose the "quick and bold" Ayane as a Dead or Alive 2 character she would partner with. While awarding the Annual GameSpy E3 Award to Dead or Alive Ultimate in 2004, Raymond 'Psylancer' Padilla wrote, "Ayane should be my new girlfriend." He later elaborated: "To be honest, I always thought Ayane was an uptight bitch with a massive chip on her shoulder. I always rooted for Kasumi in their feud. Then a funny thing happened when I saw the trailer for Dead or Alive Ultimate during E3 2004 -- I started to care about Ayane. Learning more about her story, her upbringing, and the root of her feud with Kasumi made me change sides." Kotaku's Mike Fahey also described himself as "more of an Ayane sort of guy." In 2005, she was described as his favourite Dead or Alive character by James Mielke from 1UP.com. Featuring Ayane as a "videogame babe of the day"  in 2009, IGN's Chris Carle 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." "Kayane", pseudonym of the professional gamer Marie-Laure Norindr came from a mix of "Kasumi" and "Ayane".
  Ayane was ranked as the seventh top fictional ninja in a 2009 list by Fandomania. In 2010, Mikel Reparaz of GamesRadar ranked hers, Ryu's and Momiji's guest appearance in Strikeforce as the 49th "most awesome" character cameo in gaming history. In 2012, Gelo Gonzales of FHM listed Ayane among the nine "sexiest ninja babes in games", commenting that she is "like Kasumi, only moodier ... about as punk as ninjas get, and carries a get-the-fuck-outta-my-way-or-I-snap-your-arm-in-two-places attitude," comparing her to Ellen Adarna. In 2013, Jon Ledford of Sushi Arcade included her among the ten best video game "ninjas" in all her roles, "whether she’s playing volleyball, fighting her sister or helping Ryu Hayabusa save the world." In a 2015 article "The Truth About Ninjas", Kotaku's Matthew Burns included Kasumi, Ayane, and Mai Shiranui from The King of Fighters  among "the 'fan favourite' lady ninjas".
  Numerous publications commented noted Ayane's sex appeal, often including her among the most attractive female characters in video games. Spanish magazine PlanetStation put Dead or Alive 2 among the five sexiest PlayStation games for any fight between Ayane and Kasumi. In 2000, German magazine Video Games featured Ayane in their "Console Pageant" article, rating her "VG Sexy Factor" at 85%. In 2003, Bryan 'Sir Crossforge' Johnson collectively placed her with the other Dead or Alive girls at second spot on GameSpy's list of "top babes in games". 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) 2006. In
caption: Marie-Laure Norindr 'Kayane' in 2013. She said: "[Ayane] has a lot of charisma and is pretty. She’s full of anger but has a sweet heart in fact. I think she has the most interesting story and personality in the game."[178]
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