Asuka Kazama
Asuka Kazama (
Japanese: 風é–" 飛鳥
Kazama Asuka) is a fictional
character in the videogame series
Tekken.
Introduced in the videogame
Tekken 5, Asuka Kazama is more famously known as the cousin of the series' protagonist,
Jin Kazama. Not surprisingly, since Asuka and Jin have the same surname, it is known, through an official statement made by
Namco, that they are cousins.
Asuka's official story states that she was taught Kazama-style Traditional Martial Arts by her father, a dojo-master near Osaka, ever since she was a small girl. (As a side note, it's unknown whether or not her father is a sibling or cousin to Jun, as their exact relation is unknown.) By nature, Asuka believes very strongly in justice and devotes much of her free time to being a vigilante of sorts, breaking up fights nearby and saving kittens (as seen in the PlayStation 2 version of the
Tekken 5 opening). At the time in which the game takes place, Asuka is seventeen years old and is a
high school student.
Asuka returned home from school one day to find that her dojo was in shambles. The students there had been beaten severely and her father was so badly hurt that he had to be taken to the hospital. In the next several days, Interpol agent
Lei Wulong came to her and explained that the culprit would likely be entering the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. In order to get her personal revenge and redeem her dojo, Asuka enters the tournament as well.
Asuka defeats
Jinpachi Mishima, who dissolves into dust. Meanwhile, the advanced effects of
Devil Jin's transformation disappear, leaving a half-transformed Jin. Asuka rushes to Jin and tries to revive him, wondering what she should do. Though she is unware of it, her touch undoes the final remnants of the Devil Jin transformation, and Jin wakes up in his human state. Alarmed at his unfamiliar surroundings, Jin tries to stand up quickly, tripping over Asuka and landing face-first between her cleavage. Enough time passes for a tumbleweed to blow by before Jin finally sits up. Asuka, embarrassed at first, immediately turns angry and demands for Jin to explain himself. Jin, however, seems to be completely oblivious to the moment and continues to wonder where he is. Believing this to be a front, Asuka angrily punches Jin into a large rock yelling "You pervert!" and then stomps away angrily, leaving Jin to ask "What was that all about?" as a rock falls on his head.
It is unknown whether or not this ending will be considered canonical. However, as Devil Jin's presence in
Tekken 5 is presumed canon, and recent
Tekken 6 and
Dark Resurrection movies show Jin in both his natural and corrupted forms, this can be stated as a strong canonical possibility.
In appearance, Asuka dresses in a blue
halter top, blue short shorts, as well as matching
gauntlets and lightly armored
boots that are undoubtedly used as fighting gear. Her secondary costumes include a traditional
Aikido (or
Miko) uniform, a Japanese parochial
schoolgirl uniform with a yellow sweater vest and pleated skirt, as well as a
geisha-like outfit with Japanese kanji (possibly 通天閣 / "
Tsutenkaku"), written on her exposed leg. The latter two costumes are only available on the PlayStation 2 version of the game.
In personality, Asuka is brash and arrogant; traits that are seemingly rare amongst Kazamas. Though her profile states that she breaks up fights regularly ("by knockout", as added in the game's prologue), she seems to have no qualms about fighting herself and even seemingly
revels in it. In her story mode, after defeating her target (
Feng Wei), she decides to remain at the tournament in order to "have fun". Her pre- and post-match quotes also demonstrate her confidence.
Asuka speaks with a very heavy
Kansai Japanese dialect (Kansai is a region of western Japan encompassing the cities of Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe).
Another interesting fact is that Asuka seems to be the complete successor to a possibly deceased Tekken character named
Jun Kazama (mother of Jin Kazama), both in terms of gameplay (they share very similar moves and even dress alike) and in spiritual power. In previous Tekken games, Jun Kazama possessed strange angelic powers that allowed her to temporarily quell evil entities (such as the Devils which possess Jin Kazama and, possibly, Kazuya Mishima). Similarly, in her ending within
Tekken 5, Asuka manages to reverse Jin Kazama's Devil transformation simply by touching him. She did not seem to be aware of this power, however, nor did she seem to notice Jin's transformed state at all. At the end of their encounter, Jin accidentally fell face-first onto Asuka's breasts and, after a momentary look of embarrassment, Asuka retaliated by punching him into a wall of rock and stomping away angrily, never finding out about their relation.
What's interesting is that, if Asuka does not know about her power (or her relation to Jin), then it's possible that not everyone with Kazama blood has this ability. Jun seemed to able to sense the Devil within
Kazuya Mishima (Jin's father), but Asuka apparently has no such extraordinary sense.
This may be attributed to several factors:
* Asuka's age, as she is several years younger than Jun was when she appeared in
Tekken 2.
* Jun's title of "Chosen One" (which made her special even amongst other Kazamas, as stated in her
Tekken 2 profile)
* Asuka's "less-than-pure" behavior. While Jun was peace-loving and mostly
pacifistic, Asuka is eager to get into a fight.
*
Asuka Kazama - Tekken 5 - Moves List (
U.S.)
*She is voiced by
Ryoko Shiraishi.
*Name means "Flying Bird of the Open Space".
*
Jun Kazama*
Jin Kazama*
Feng Wei
