Asuka Kazama

**Asuka Kazama** (風間 飛鳥 *Kazama Asuka*?) is a character in the *Tekken* series who was first introduced in *Tekken 5* and has returned for every subsequent game in the series. She is known to be mysteriously connected to the series' lead character, Jin Kazama.

## Biography

### Personality

Asuka is surprisingly brash and arrogant. Although her profile states that she breaks up fights regularly, she seems to have no qualms about fighting and seemingly revels in it despite being beautiful. In her story mode, after defeating her target, Feng Wei, she decides to remain in the tournament in order to "have fun". Her pre and post-match quotes also demonstrate her confidence. As stated in her *Tekken 5 / Dark Resurrection* prologue, Asuka is also known as being a "nosy kid" who likes to solve other people's problems, "usually by knockout".

Asuka speaks in Kansai dialect (Kansai is a region of western Japan encompassing major cities such as Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe).

Asuka is somehow related to Jun Kazama (Jin's mother) and is the rival of Emilie "Lili" De Rochefort.

## Gameplay

Asuka is mostly a defensive character. She has one of the best keep-out games thanks to moves like ss2, d3+4 and many more, and her f2 is one of the best whiff punishers in Tekken. She also has the best reversal (arguably) that can reverse everything except lows, elbows, knees, heads, shoulders and 'jumping attacks' (such as a fff3).

Her Rage Art has her performing both White Heron Dance and a Windmill Kick to knock her opponent in mid-air as Asuka rolls her right arm and immediately knocks her airborne opponent with a powerful punch before she puts both her hands on her hips afterwards.

### Fighting Style

Asuka fights using the Kazama style martial arts.

## Character Relationships

* Mr. Kazama - Her father, for whom she enters the fifth Iron Fist Tournament solely to avenge. She was to seek out the one who assaulted him.
* Jin Kazama/Devil Jin - A presumed relative. With this believed knowledge, she entered the sixth Iron Fist Tournament in order to apprehend and capture him as the initial drive in her plot/story. It is unknown whether or not she is still searching for Jin.
* Jun Kazama - A presumed relative. They share the same Kazama Style martial arts background, but have opposite personalities. The most interesting part of their connection is the rare and mysterious, angelic-like power that she has possesses which can dispel the Devil's power. However, she is currently unaware of its presence.
* Emilie "Lili" De Rochefort - Her self-proclaimed rival after Asuka defeated her in *Dark Resurrection*, and they fight again in *Tekken 7*. Asuka cannot stand Lili's conceited and stuck-up personality as well as her whimsical attitude. The two seem to be polar opposites; Asuka coming from a rather poor family while Lili comes from a wealthy family, Asuka was trained in martial arts by her father since childhood while Lili was self-taught in street fighting, and Asuka has a more rash, yet selfless persona as she fights for justice while Lili has a rather graceful, yet spoiled persona as she fights for attention or personal interests. Lili is rival and companion in *Online Tekken Comic*(non-canon), and also her partner in *Street Fighter X Tekken*.
* Feng Wei - Her arch-enemy and the culprit behind her father's hospitalization prior to the events of *Tekken 5*. Asuka holds a grudge against Feng Wei for destroying her father's dojo and putting him in the hospital.
* Lei Wulong - The cop who informed her of Feng Wei's participation in *Tekken 5*.
* Ling Xiaoyu - An acquaintance met in *Tekken 6*. Xiaoyu was unknowing of what Asuka's general intentions in finding Jin were, initially thinking of Asuka as a love rival.
* Raven - Her opponent in the *Tekken 5* demo.
* Alisa Bosconovitch - Alisa tried to kill Asuka in the *Online Tekken Comic*, later she makes up with her and tells her the real purpose of her mission, cheerfully apologizing for the troubles she caused (non-canon).
* Bob - He saved her from being killed by Alisa in the *Online Tekken Comic* (non-canon).
* Leo Kliesen - Her friend in the *Online Tekken Comic* (non-canon).

### **TMNT X Pokemon:**

* Leo - Ally
* Donnie - Ally
* Raph - Ally
* Mikey - Ally
* April - Ally
* Casey - Ally
* Master Splinter - Ally
* Shredder - Enemy
* Fishface - Enemy
* Rahzar - Enemy
* Tiger Claw - Enemy
* Baxter - Enemy

## TMNT X Pokemon

Asuka usually have to break fights between others. However, she loves to fight anyone that gets in her way.

## Trivia

**General**:

* The kanji for Asuka's name individually mean: "wind" (風 *kaze*); "interval" (間 *ma*); "fly" (飛 *asu*); "bird" (鳥 *ka*).
* Asuka was named after the Asuka river in Nara prefecture of Japan. This is because Katsuhiro Harada'sparents live near there.[1]
* Before releasing the game in the arcades, franchise developer Namco released images of three new characters as part of their *Tekken 5* promotions back in 2004. Amongst the new characters were Asuka, a Chinese martial arts master named Feng Wei, and a mysterious ninja named Raven. Immediately afterward, speculation began to spread about Asuka's role in the story and her possible relation to Jin Kazama.
* One bit of fan speculation addresses a potential romantic relationship between Jin and Asuka, which several fans have formulated after viewing the circumstances of the two relatives' first encounter. However, there so far is little to suggest that such a pairing may actually occur, despite the conditions of their meeting were often used as a setup for many romantic couples in several popular forms of Japanese media. There is also the belief that Asuka's special powers of subduing the Devil may lead to another encounter with Jin, friendly or not.
* Asuka's appearance bears a resemblance to Rena Hayami from *R: Racing Evolution* (a *Ridge Racer* spin off also created by Namco).
* Asuka and Jun's ability to dispel the Devil Gene could be a reference to Japanese priestesses, this was reinforced as Asuka can be customized as a Miko warrior.
* Asuka is voiced by Ryoko Shiraishi.
* She speaks with an Osakan Kansai dialect. When she is annoyed she commonly uses the words ドアホ (*Do-aho* meaning "super idiot") and しばいたる (*shibaitaru* which in kansai dialect means "to beat-up").
* Asuka has been in the opening intro of every *Tekken* game so far since her debut and wears a different costume in all three openings.
* Asuka is similar and often compared to Sakura from the *Street Fighter* series.
	+ Sakura has also Asuka's school outfit as her Swap Costume in *Street Fighter X Tekken*.
	+ The two also have rivals very similar to each other; Asuka's rival Lili, and Sakura's rival Karin.
* It was revealed in Alisa's journal that she is a substitute teacher at her father's dojo.
* Asuka's anger mood resembles Tsubaki Yayoi from the *BlazBlue* series.
* In the Scenario Campaign mode, if playing as Alisa on Asuka's stage in said mode, Alisa will theorize that Jin and Asuka might be brother and sister.
	+ It is commonly said that Asuka is Jin's cousin especially in games such as *Tekken 6/Bloodline Rebellion* and *Street Fighter X Tekken;* however, according to Harada-san, "it's not that simple." [2]
* Asuka is also similar to Midori Himeno from the game *Evil Zone*.
	+ Both girls are Japanese Fighters.
	+ Both girls are trained by their fathers with their respective fighting styles. In Midori's case, her fighting style is Fuin Ancient Martial Arts.
	+ Both girls have a personality of being brash and arrogant although the latter is confident in fighting her opponents during her story.
	+ Both girls' primary outfit are light blue as the color of their top are different (Asuka's top is blue while Midori's midriff is purple).
	+ Both girls are wearing white headbands. In Asuka's case, she wears a white headband while wearing her Player 1 outfit.
	+ Asuka's primary outfit in *Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection* resembles Midori's alternate appearance as the color of her outfit is red and black.
* Asuka is the fourth character to appear as a student, and is the first one that isn't a student at Mishima High (though there is some debate over this).
	+ In *Tekken the Pachislot 2nd*, however, she and Lili are in Mishima High along with Ling Xiaoyu, this isn't canon, however.

* Asuka is said to resemble actress Airi Taira.

***Tekken 5***and***Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection***:

* Asuka's sub-boss is Feng Wei, the unknown Chinese man that destroyed her father's dojo and injured him and his students.
* Asuka has two alternative costumes. Both of them are bought separately for 500,000 gold. One is a schoolgirl uniform, selectable by pressing the "Triangle" button, and the other is a geisha-like outfit, selectable by pressing the "Circle" button. In *Dark Resurrection*, these costumes are available from the start of the game, without having to purchase them.
	+ Asuka's geisha-like outfit also gives her a tattoo on her inner left thigh that says 通天閣 (*Tsūtenkaku*). "Tsuutenkaku" is the name of a famous tower in Osaka, Asuka's hometown, and it may have been the one that Asuka jumped off of during the *Tekken 5* opening.
* Like several other characters, Asuka has a secret move. Asuka's secret move will only work against Jin and it is called "Asuka's Ultimate Tackle".
* In *Dark Resurrection*, one of Asuka's customization items is Jun Kazama's hairstyle. She also has knee-high socks that are very similar to the ones that Jun wears with her Player One costume, with the only difference being that Asuka's are navy blue, while Jun's are pale blue.
* It is revealed that Asuka has the same ability as Jun to undo the devil gene as seen in her ending when she tries to wake Jin up and his devil markings disappear.

***Tekken 6***and***Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion***:

* She retains her Player One and Player Two outfits from *Tekken 5*. Her schoolgirl outfit has also returned, but as a customization item. She also gains a Matsuri outfit that is traditionally worn at Japanese festivals as a customization item. It consists of a vest with cords tied on the sleeves and the back, with a bra top underneath, shorts, and knee-high, boot-like, open-toed sandals. Several customized versions of the vest have been seen with different colors and designs.
* Asuka's Item Moves are a giant white paper fan and a bow and arrow.
* Asuka is a boss at Kazama-Style Traditional Martial Arts Dojo.
* On the official North American *Tekken 6* website, Asuka was incorrectly stated as being Jin's half-sister, despite them not sharing a biological parent. While they are related, at that time they were thought to be cousins. Harada revealed much later that they were not siblings of any sort, nor cousins. But in some manner, they are related, as they are part of the same clan, evidenced by the last name. This has since been corrected on the North American website, but the error is still present on the European website.
* In *Tekken 6*, Asuka can be customized to resemble Claire Redfield from Capcom's *Resident Evil* series, Yumi from the animated cartoon *Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi*, Gaz from *Invader Zim* (wearing a trendier outfit rather than a black dress with long grey sleeves and purple leggings), and Mizore Shirayuki from the manga/anime series *Rosario+Vampire*.
	+ She can also be customized to resemble Jun Kazama.
* In the *Tekken 6* art book showing her 3P costume (the geisha-like outfit), she is seen choking Paul Phoenix with her scarf.
* Her Stage 1 and Stage 2 opponents in the Arena mode are Lei Wulong and Feng Wei.
	+ She is an opponent to Feng Wei (stage 2) and Ling Xiaoyu (stage 1) in the Arena mode.
* If the player plays as Jin Kazama in the Scenario Campaign mode and plays in her stage, Jin says: *"Asuka Kazama? So, that would make you my cousin, and a particularly loud and annoying one at that*". Nevertheless, this clearly does not prove their relationship.
	+ However, If Lars is played in Scenario Campaign on Asuka's stage, Alisa will state that a sibling of Jin's mother has opened the dojo. This means that Asuka or her father could be a sibling of Jun. Despite these facts, Harada has stated (as explained above) that they were not cousins but only relatives.

***Tekken Tag Tournament 2***:

* If the player pairs up Asuka and Jin, a special win pose shows Asuka offering a kind of "good teamwork" hand but Jin, instead of answering with shaking her hand, does not respond to her and walks away. She then glares at him.
	+ Another win pose shows Asuka pointing at him accusingly but Jin walks past her. She, however, keeps glaring at him.
* Asuka also shares a win pose with Lili, where they high-five each other too hard and hurt each other. They also share a "Continue?" cut scene where both girls keep slapping each other until Asuka finally knocks her down.
* Asuka can be customized to resemble Kaname Chidori from the *Full Metal Panic*series.
* Asuka can be customized to resemble Hikage from the Senran Kagura series. Coincidently, both are voiced by Ryoko Shiraishi in Japanese.
* Asuka's *Tekken Tag Tournament 2* CG Art pose is similar to Chun-Li's *Street Fighter IV* pose.
* Asuka's partners in the Ghost Battle (in order from lowest to highest rank) are Feng Wei, Jun Kazama, Miharu Hirano, Emilie De Rochefort and Jin Kazama.
* Her ending is the first scene of the connected endings between, Lili, Miharu, Kuma, Panda, Alisa, and Xiaoyu.
* Asuka is portrayed by Vivian Nguyen in the "Girl Power" trailer.

***Tekken 7****and****Tekken 7: Fated Retribution***:

* Asuka is the first character to have a new pre-fight animation to ride a bike. The other one is Hwoarang.
* One of her default win animations has been revamped as Asuka is shown to remove the dust from her hands while putting both hands on her hips before walking away satisfied as a close-up of her face is shown smiling while walking away on her defeated opponent.

**Other**:

* Asuka appeared in the *Online Tekken Comic* (along with Emilie De Rochefort, Leo Kliesen, and her unnamed father) as the main character.