Hitomi

Hitomi (ヒトミ, Hitomi) is a German high school student and karate black-belt from the Dead or Alive series, first debuting in Dead or Alive 3 replacing Ein. She has been practicing the art of karate under her father's tutelage since she was a child.

Hitomi enters the Dead or Alive Tournaments either to prove her skills and/or to see Ein. It is unclear whether she actually knows that the amnesiac, martial art prodigy that she once knew is actually Hayate, a shinobi master and leader of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan.

History
Hitomi was born in and grew up with her German father and Japanese mother, practicing her fighting skill by the teachings of her father since she was very young.

After the events of Dead or Alive, Hitomi found ‘Ein’ passed out in the after he had been abandoned by DOATEC during the Project Epsilon experiments. Taking him home, she and Ein studied karate under her father until Ein leave to enter the second Dead or Alive tournament. During this tournament, Ein regained his memories, remembering that he was really Hayate.



Dead or Alive 3
Hitomi enters the third Tournament in order to test her skills against other martial artists and prove to her father that she is a capable fighter. She crosses paths with Jann Lee, who also shares a keen passion for martial arts, and the two share some philosophies about the way of martial arts.

In the last few bouts, she finally meets with Ein, although after having recovered from his amnesia, he is now Hayate. She tries to convince him to come back to her father's dojo in Germany, as well as prove to him, her martial arts skill. He seemingly ignores her offer, and challenges her to a battle, asking her if she's ever fought an opponent stronger than herself. After acknowledging his proposal Hitomi raises her fists for combat and replies "I have, and as I was victorious then, I will be victorious as well!" despite not being able to convince him to return to Germany, she was still able to prove her martial arts skills by defeating him in combat, ranking third place in the tournament. With that, Hitomi's father let her leave the dojo and she moves on with her life.



Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball
Hitomi was invited to Zack Island for the fourth Dead or Alive Tournament. However, that was only a ruse concocted by Zack to lure the girls to a two week tropical vacation. Trapped on the island, she spent her time shopping and playing beach games, notably befriending some of the other girls during the forced vacation, particularly Lei Fang whom she first encountered as a combatant in the previous tournament.

Dead or Alive 4
When a sudden illness befell Hitomi's father, the family's dojo became afflicted with financial trouble. To help her father, Hitomi entered the fourth Dead or Alive tournament in an attempt to win the cash prize. During the tournament, she faces and defeats Lei Fang after a dispute over a lettuce, and yet again faces Jann Lee, after he 'rescues' her from a T-Rex, since she found it "cruel" of Jann to attack the dinosaur, despite its attempt to eat her.

Hitomi eventually encountering Hayate and she requested his help in rebuilding the dojo. Not so willing to go, Hayate challenged her to a fight, saying that if she proved herself by beating him, he would come back with her. It is unclear whether he ends up helping her, although it is assumed that she defeats him, for after the tournament, Hitomi returns home. As she energetically dances around her apartment while skillfully preparing breakfast, the doorbell rings, shocking her and making her spill her food on the floor. It is widely believed to be Hayate.

Dead or Alive Xtreme 2
After hearing that the new Dead or Alive Tournament would be held at New Zack Island, she vowed to make up for her loss in the previous tournament and left straight away only to once again becoming a victim of Zack’s fiendish trickery, ending up being stuck on the island for a vacation. She was the only one who had fell for the ruse, unlike the other girls who came for their own personal reasons.

Appearance
Also see: Hitomi's Outfit Catalogues

Although half-Japanese, Hitomi has a more Western European Caucasian appearance than Eastern overall: she has bright blue eyes and shoulder-long brunette hair, which is styled with long side-bangs and a front fringe, normally pushed back with a pink headband. Throughout the series her height and bust measurements have changed, through only by a couple of centimeters: In Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, she's 161 cm tall with a 89 cm bust; in Dead or Alive 4, she's 160 cm tall with a 90 cm bust, and in Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, she's 158 cm tall with a 89 cm bust.

Her clothing also bears a western-feel, consisting mostly of jeans, tank-tops and denim jackets, complete with protective fighter's gloves. A running detail on her jeans is that the back label always bear the initials of the game she's in; for example, in Dead or Alive 4, the label reads "DOA4". Hitomi also sometimes sports her own emblem, mostly printed on her top or the back of her jacket. The emblem, in its simplest form, is the shape of an eagle with fanned-out wings. More detailed versions of the emblem show the eagle in greater style, holding a banner in its talons with Hitomi's name upon it. Phrases like "Thanks for the fight" and "My fists are on fire" may also be printed on it.

Personality
Hitomi is a very friendly, energetic girl but is also a hard-working martial artist, through-and-through. Her victories have come as a result of a grueling training regimen as well as a complete commitment to her studies and her art. Not only has Hitomi practiced her techniques, she has studied them, coming to understand the deeper principles behind karate as well as of the art itself.

She is very much an honorable competitor and always fights fairly in a match, for to do otherwise would bring shame to her name, her martial art, and her father's dojo. Often after winning a bout, she will compliment her opponent rather then shame them like other fighters in the series. She is also fair in her dealings with others, treating everybody equally and with the respect that they deserve.

Despite her Japanese name and study in Karate, it appears that Hitomi is acclimated more into the German lifestyle than that of the Japanese - she lives in Germany, sports western attire, is blue-eyed, and has a relatively close, more visible relationship with her German father than her Japanese mother.

Etymology
The kanji used to spell Hitomi's name (ヒトミ) means "Pupil of the eye".

Ein/Hayate
Hitomi found Ein in the Black Forest in Germany. After being used for the Epsilon Project, he didn't remember anything, so she brought him back to the dojo, naming him "Ein". The two of them trained together under her father, but Ein soon departed for the second Dead or Alive tournament, where he recovered from his amnesia. After this, Ein remembered who he is and left for the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan.

Despite Hayate moving on with the Mugen Tenshin, he and Hitomi still maintained a close friendship. Since she first met him, Hitomi knows Hayate by instinct and is the only non-ninja character to have a relationship with him. During the third and forth Dead or Alive tournaments, Hitomi tries to convince Hayate to go back to Germany with her but he politely tells her he cannot return with her, finally having to settle this pleading by challenging her to a fight.

Hayate seems to care for Hitomi, seriously considering coming back to her fathers dojo despite his mission to destroy DOATEC. Interestingly, he doesn't correct her when she refers to him as "Ein", again showing his affection for her and appreciation for all that she and her father have done for him. Also, when you look at some items in Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 like the romance novel, it would remind Hitomi of Ein, so she might possibly be in love with him.

Lei Fang
During the fourth Dead or Alive Tournament, Hitomi and Lei Fang seem to bear slight animosity towards one another, however this might just be a friendly rivalry between martial artists.

During the vacations on Zack Island, the two are seen to be very good friends, with Hitomi allowing Lei Fang to feed her strawberries and the two even playfully sitting side by side, sharing an ice cream.

Jann Lee
In the third Dead or Alive Tournament, Hitomi meets Jann early on, agreeing that true power comes from the mind, despite their different martial arts. They meet again in Dead or Alive 4, where Jann saves Hitomi from an enraged T-Rex, to her disdain. They seem to respect each others training in the martial arts, seeing one another as a worthy challenge.

Tina Armstrong
Hitomi seems to be friends with Tina Armstrong as she was seen in Tina's story mode in Dead or Alive 3, where Tina discussed her acting career to her. However, the two are not seen together in any other cut-scenes.

Dead or Alive
Hitomi can be considered the successor to Ein, in terms of fighting technique and statistics. However, Hitomi is slightly faster, compared to Ein's strikes being somewhat more powerful than hers. She has the strongest punch techniques amongst all the females characters in game.

Hitomi's fighting style relies on quick, medium-damage strikes, and her recovery time frame is excellent. Her tell-tale "wind-up" shared with Ein, however, is a popular counter-attack weakness for her, and the majority of her attacks lack good mix-up's, which means that most high-to-mid holds are effective against her. Her "interruption attacks" however (such as the Tsubauchi) are competent in keeping the opponent off-guard, as well as making Hitomi preferable for experienced aggressive players.

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Dead or Alive Xtreme
Being such a friendly, loving character, Hitomi is willing to partner with anyone, and vice versa, as no one has any notable qualms against her.

In beach volleyball, Hitomi lacks speed, has little technique, and is not very good at jumping. On the other hand, she has good defense, and is very powerful like Tina. Her spikes, or sometimes even normal hits can knock an opponent down; her counters are impressive, and her excellent recovery time combined with quick strikes can quickly incapacitate an unassuming opponent.

She would made a good team with one of the more weaker, but faster girls playing defense for her, such as Lei Fang, Ayane, or Kasumi. If the player wants a very powerful team, having Hitomi, and Tina together would ideal to continuously knock down the opponent, but either of them are very fast, so it might be a bit hard for them to catch a ball in time that went a far way.
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 * Stats
 * Power - 5/5
 * Technique - 1/5
 * Defense - 3/5
 * Jump - 1/5
 * Speed - 2/5
 * }
 * }

Dead or Alive Ultimate
Hitomi appears as a unlockable character in the the remake of Dead or Alive 2 included with the compilation collection, Dead or Alive Ultimate. To unlock her, the player must first have a saved game of either Dead or Alive 3 or Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball on the Xbox hard drive, then successfully complete Story Mode with Ein.

In Ultimate, Hitomi has a total of fourteen costumes, in which tweleve of them need to be unlocked by completing Time Attack Mode as Hitomi - costumes 3 through 7 can be unlocked on easy mode, 8 through 11 needs to be unlocked on normal mode, and 12 through 14 needs to be unlocked on hard mode.

DOA: Dead or Alive
Hitomi (played by Hung Lin) is also featured in the movie, DOA: Dead or Alive. Though not explicitly stated, the scoreboard after four fights shows that Hitomi has been knocked out of the tournament; the other three losers are explicitly shown as Jann Lee, Brad Wong and Eliot, making Hitomi the yellow-clothed female who Helena Douglas defeated.

However, later on you can also see a female fighter in the lobby that appears to be a brunette headed girl with a pink headband and a jean jacket, which is Hitomi's primary costume in the games. Aside from the cameo, Hitomi's sweet and bubbly personality was given to Helena's character in the film.

Dead or Alive Paradise
Hitomi is also a playable character for the Dead or Alive Xtreme spin-off, Dead or Alive Paradise for the. Like other Xtreme titles before it, the game features Hitomi and the other girls of the series enjoying a two-week vacation on a tropical island, playing volleyball and exchanging gifts.

Bijin Tokei
From the 1st April to April 30th, 2010, to celebrate the release of Dead or Alive Paradise, Hitomi was featured as a placard girl on Bijin Tokei; an iPhone digital clock application. She appeared at random times at least 10 times throughout the day, holding a placard with the current time written upon it.

Quotes
Dead or Alive 4:
 * ''"Watch the opponent's movement carefully..."
 * ''"I'm here to win!"
 * ''"No bad feelings!"
 * ''"Hitomi power up!"
 * ''"One good hit is all it takes."
 * ''"Thanks for the fight!"
 * ''"I can become even stronger."
 * ''"My fists are on fire!"

Musical Themes

 * It's To Show - Dead or Alive 3
 * Turn On The Lights - Dead or Alive 4

Trivia

 * Hitomi appears as a combatant in the fan-made CG movie series Dead Fantasy, where cast members of the Dead or Alive series fight cast members from the Final Fantasy franchise. She's (currently) the only person in the series so far that didn't enter the battle with any sort of supernatural powers and magic spells, but has incredible strength to make up for it. However, in the third episode, she stole most, if not all, of Tifa Lockhart's Materia and defeated her, giving her some magic for the time being. In the movies, Hitomi has suspicious and unexplained connections with Helena and Hayate.
 * Hitomi also features in a related music video, Dead Fantasy - Gee, dancing with other girls from Dead Fantasy to  by.
 * Hitomi's main tag partners are Zack in Dead or Alive 3 and Kokoro in Dead or Alive 4.
 * She also has tag moves with Christie, Hayate/Ein, Kasumi and Lisa.
 * Hitomi and Kasumi share similar motives: both enter the tournaments to find Ein or Hayate respectively, in order to help them achieve their goals.
 * Hitomi is the second racially-mixed character in the series, the first being Helena Douglas.
 * Hitomi was the first cover girl to replace Kasumi - with the release of Dead or Alive 3, the advertisements were noticeably more focused on Hitomi rather than Kasumi.
 * Hitomi was ranked #4 in TeamXbox's "Top Ten Xbox Babes" in 2004; one place behind Kasumi. She was also featured in IGN's "Videogame Babe of the Day" series in 2006.