Tsubaki Yayoi

Tsubaki Yayoi is one of the major protagonist in the video game series Blazblue. She is Jin Kisaragi's childhood friend, Noel Vermillion's former roommate from the Military Academy, and a major of the Novus Orbis Librarium's Zero Squadron. She originally appeared as a non-playable character in the story mode of Calamity Trigger, but starting with Continuum Shift, she became a playable character.
She is voiced by Asami Imai in the Japanese version of the anime and Julie Ann Taylor in the English version, the latter of whom also voices 5pb and Akiha Tohno.
==Information==
A fellow classmate of Jin, Noel, and Makoto from the Academy, Tsubaki comes from the noble Yayoi family. She's also Jin's childhood friend and has harboured a secret crush on him since they were young. After graduation, she served under the Zero Squadron/Wings of Justice, whose duty is to punish those who rebel against NOL. After the True Ending of the first game she was given orders by Hazama to execute Jin and Noel for knowing about his plans. And so she is sent out to Kagutsuchi to accomplish her mission, armed with an Armagus called Izayoi which steals light and uses it as a weapon. Later story developments will have her learning some awful truths which makes her go down the dark path, and her friends must save her.
Her canon path reveals much of her family's history. The Yayoi family is one of the oldest members of the Duodecim - the twelve noble families who helped form the original NOL. Her house and the Kisaragi house, which Jin belongs to, have very close relations with one another. Both families are quite famous, but also infamous within the NOL. Both families have very strange ethics, which causes them to be seen disdainfully in the eyes of the other families. In the Kisaragis' case, they take in children from all around the world due to their talents and are seen as mercenaries. In the Yayois' case, however, they are the opposite - family is the most important thing. So important, in fact, that when children began exhibiting weaker ars magus aptitude were born, members started resorting to incest and inbreeding in the mad delusion they would get stronger. Tsubaki is not the first-born child of her family - she is the first to survive. The day she met Jin, however, was like meeting a long-lost relative to her, and the two became close friends throughout their childhood.
==Personality==
Tsubaki is a serious, mature, and intelligent person. She has always followed her orders from the NOL and has complete faith in them (likely to honor her family name). She has always had a childhood crush on Jin, and deeply loves and cares about him. She was also good friends with Noel, Makoto and Carl Clover  when they were at Military Academy. However, when Hazama told Tsubaki about the alternative timeline where she was always with Jin as his secretary and how Noel usurped that position away from her, she becomes extremely jealous. She begins to harbor a hatred toward her best friend that, once manipulated by Phantom's sorcery, evolves into a desire to kill her in order to be with Jin. Even after changing sides, she still respects Hakumen despite sharing different views.
==Appearance==
Tsubaki is a young woman with long red hair and blue eyes. She wears a white cloak with an eagle eye mask to cover her face. When she is in battle, she wears the Izayoi hat, a Japanese-style military uniform, and black military boots.
When not on a mission as a member of the Zero Squadron, she wears a white cloak and black tights with her white military boots. Her hair is hidden under her white beret as well as under her cloak.
==Power & Abilities==
Tsubaki's fighting style is an interesting interpretation of the standard "sword and shield" style of traditional Western swordplay, where her oddly shaped, floating book acts as a small buckler shield. Tsubaki's short sword is capable of adopting a variety of shapes, sometimes as appearing as a fencing foil, a whip sword, a floating claymore or even a staff. Her book, similarly, can change its form. 
Her Drive, Install, fills a meter that increases the power of her attacks. In Chronophantasma, her Overdrive is Second Install, which causes her charge gauge to automatically regenerate.
In the fourth game, her Exceed Accel Shinbatsu: Mei wo Iru Ikazuchi / Macto Lux Kyrie has her stun her opponent with the Izayoi book. Then she turns her blade into a bow of light and then fires a multitude of laser arrows at the opponent. Her Astral, Shinsei: Hito wo Sabaku Kami / Requiem Aeternam, has her using Izayoi's power to turn her into an angel and bind the opponent in place as a statue of a goddess (the same one seen in the background of Jin's stage) finishes the opponent off by impaling them with its massive spear. 
==Gallery==
===Images===
Tsubaki_Yayoi_(Continuum_Shift,_Character_Select_Artwork).png|Continuum Shift
Tsubaki_Yayoi_(Chronophantasma,_Character_Select_Artwork).png|Chronophantasma
Tsubaki_Yayoi_(Centralfiction,_Character_Select_Artwork).png|Centralfiction
Img_tsubaki.png|Alter Memory
Tsubaki_Yayoi_(Chibi,_Chronophantasma).png
Magical_Beat_Tsubaki.png|Magical Beat
Tsubaki_avatar.png
Izayoi (Chronophantasma, Character Select Artwork).png|Chronophantasma, "Izayoi"
Izayoi_(Centralfiction,_Character_Select_Artwork).png
Izayoi_(Chibi,_Chronophantasma).png
Izayoi_avatar.png
Tsubaki zand_Hakumen_by_Sephirothic7.jpg|Hakumen and Tsubaki
Tsubaki izayoi-concept-artwork2.png
====Other Appearance====
Alicia Costume Collaboration.jpg|Seven Knights (Alicia as Tsubaki Yayoi)
LOV3 Tsubaki.jpg|Lord of Vermilion 3
===Theme Music===
BlazBlue CP OST - Condemnation Wings II (Tsubaki Yayoi's theme)
Blazblue CS Condemnation wings (Tsubaki's Theme)
BlazBlue Chrono Phantasma OST - Justice Sword
==Trivia==
*Tsubaki's birthday, March 14, falls on the same day as White Day in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China which is an mirror equivalent to Valentine's Day where girls respond to boys who gave them gifts on the said holiday. This reflects her relationship with Jin, as his birthday is Valentine's Day.
*In the drama track The Wheel of Fortune, it is revealed that Tsubaki actually loves chocolate so much, that Jin advised her that it was harmful for her health.
*Tsubaki's Astral Heat uses what appears to be the statue located in the Cathedral. However, in Chronophantasma, the statue is black, reflecting Tsubaki's corruption.
*During her gag ending in Continuum Shift, Tsubaki admits that she hates pandas upon seeing the panda (Lao Jiu) in Litchi Faye-Ling's hair. The reason for this is unknown. Strangely, she is extremely gullible in the gag ending, as she even believes that Litchi (who at the time was drunk) had been taken over by Lao Jiu and gets 'coerced' into cosplaying and getting a new Peking duck.
*The name of Tsubaki's Armagus, Izayoi, means "sixteen-day-old moon" in Japanese. A sixteen-day-old moon has just passed its fullest phase, so it is at this point that its brightness begins to decline. This is another clear reference to Izayoi's blindness-inducing nature.
*Within the game's files, mainly the images for character name graphics from places like the selection screens, a file for a name Tubaki Yayoi is found. This is a common mistake Japanese people make when romanizing the tsu sound due to using an outdated transliteration method.
*Some of her special moves bear names from movements/chants for a Requiem Mass.
*According to Mu-12's winquote against Tsubaki in Continuum Shift II, the Izayoi's side effect has already affected 65% of Tsubaki.
*When she became corrupted by Phantom's magic, her black clothes have silver/white highlights and a green ribbon tying her corset in Continuum Shift. It has been changed in Chronophantasma, it shows her with her original gold/yellow highlights and red ribbon.
*There is a piano remixed version of her theme, Condemnation Wings, used exclusively in the drama track The Wheel of Fortune.
*There is a bug in Carl's scenario in which when Tsubaki appears, she will have no mask and when Carl starts talking, the mask pops out on Tsubaki's face, to be removed right after.
*Tsubaki and Noel are the only characters in the BlazBlue series with playable alternate forms. In Tsubaki's case, Izayoi serves this role.
*In BlazBlue: Alter Memory, Tsubaki's eyes became dark blue after she fights with Noel with the usage of the Sealed Weapon Izayoi.
*When Amane Nishiki uses his Astral Heat on Tsubaki, she has red eyes, despite hers being originally blue.
*Tsubaki's Zero Type Izayoi form outfit moderately resemblances Noire's outfit from Hyperdimension Neptunia series. Coincidentally She and Noire are voiced by Asami Imai.
*Tsubaki is similar to Erika Wagner from Under Night In-Birth series in a lot of ways:
**Both are design based around Valkyrie themes and used sword and shield as their primary weapons.
**Both are portrayed as one of more serious characters in their respective series.
**Both are born and grew up in a strict family and eventually served their respective organization without much questions (Licht Kreiss and Novus Orbis Librarium).
**However, differences between Wagner and Tsubaki are that:
***Wagner is an Anti-Hero while Tsubaki started off as an Anti-Villain.
***Gameplay wise, Tsubaki has an all-rounded playstyle while Wagner is more rushdown heavy.
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