Ayane

Ayane is a video game character from the Dead or Alive video game series. She has been a member of the series from the beginning, starting as an unplayable training dummy in the Sega Saturn port of the original Dead or Alive. Ayane became a full playable in Dead or Alive 2. Ayane is also a non-playable character in the Ninja Gaiden series, helping Ryu Hayabusa with hints and clues.

Ayane is a ninja from the Hajinmon clan. She was born after Raidou raped Ayame, implying that Raidou is her birth father. She has a deep hatred for Raidou, Kasumi, and DOATEC; however she has a strong connection with Hayate. According to series canon, she won the third tournament by defeating Omega.

Besides the Ninja Gaiden series, Ayane made appearances in the live action film DOA: Dead or Alive and in Monty Oum's Dead Fantasy. Her purple ninja outfit was also used for Mayu from Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly. Ayane is yet another popular female character in the series.

Kasumi
Ayane and Kasumi are half-sisters. As kids, they were close friends; however Ayane was jealous of Kasumi because Ayane was treated like a demon child in the village while Kasumi was treated like a princess. Ayane shows her deep hatred toward Kasumi when she was sent to kill her for leaving the village. She also tries to keep Kasumi away from Hayate as well. Ayane may have managed to reconcile her feelings of hatred towards Kasumi somewhat, as demonstrated when she stops Kasumi from entering the burning DOATEC building seconds before it explodes in Dead or Alive 4.

Hayate
The connection between Ayane and Hayate is strong. Although she is Hayate's half-sister, Ayane fell in love with Hayate as he was the only person who would not see her as a 'demon child'. They remain at each other's side and shows in Ayane's ending in DOA4 that they look out and protect one another.

Raidou
Raidou is Ayane's biological father. Ayane shows deep hatred on Raidou as he was the cause of her birth. However Ayane failed to get revenge on Raidou as Kasumi defeated him in the first tournament.

Genra
Since no one cared for Ayane, Genra took Ayane in as if she was his own. Genra trained Ayane and made her joined the Hajinmon clan since he was the leader. After his defeat by Ayane, she cremated him which sadden her as Genra was the only person who cared for her.

Ryu Hayabusa
Mostly, Ayane's connection with Ryu was mostly shown in Ninja Gaiden as Ayane helped Ryu throughout his journeys. However, they were shown conversing in Dead or Alive 4, where Christie appears to fight either one of them.

Personality
Ayane was born as the result of Raidou raping Kasumi's mother, Ayame. Though Ayane was allowed to stay in the ninja clan, she was always looked down upon as a "poisoned child", generally ignored by many of the ninja clan. Ever since they were children, Ayane admired Hayate. She looked up to him as a way of increasing her self-esteem and lifting her sadness. Hayate as well was fond of Ayane; he might have learned of the true circumstances behind Ayane's birth and did not see the point of isolating her as everyone else did.

While Kasumi and Hayate joined the rest of the village in a festival, Ayame called her estranged daughter to her and revealed through tears that she was indeed her mother instead of being an orphan as she was probably lead to believe. Shocked at this news, her young mind quickly deduced that it seemed that everyone knew that she was indeed the daughter of Ayame, wife of the leader of their village. Along with a burning hatred for Raidou, the man who ruined her life by creating it in the first place, the focal point of her ire rested on the one who had been treated like a princess while she was treated like dirt even though they shared the same mother - Kasumi. This envy that Ayane harbors can be greatly compared to the hatred Raidou had over Shiden, Kasumi's father.

Quiet and reserved, she tries to forget her experiences as a child. She has honed her skills to unbelievable heights in an attempt to make others see her to be more than the "cursed child". With the death of Genra, Ayane is now the strongest ninja of the Hajinmon, if not the de facto leader.

Gameplay
Ayane's fighting style is Hajimon Style Ninjutsu. Ayane is more powerful than Kasumi as all her moves does twice as much damage and she is also a fast character. Although she is powerful, Ayane is a very hard character to master. Most of her moves require much practice. This means that Ayane is definitely not suited for beginners. Before using Ayane, it is recommended to practice with Kasumi first as she is a more balanced character. But once she is nearly or completely mastered, her spinning and quick attacks in general can be utilized to the fullest because much of her move set is difficult to predict and counter.

Performance in the Series
Dead or Alive 1 - Runner-up

Dead or Alive 2 - Semi Finals

Dead or Alive 3 - Winner

Dead or Alive 4 - Semi Finals

Musical Themes
Below are Ayane's themes that plays when you fight her.
 * Aya - Dead or Alive
 * TehuTehu - Dead or Alive 2
 * Prismatic Butterfly - Dead or Alive 3
 * Shade - Dead or Alive 4

Other Appearances
The announced game Dead or Alive: Code Chronos will feature Ayane, acting as a prequel to the Dead or Alive (series) series and detailing the history between Kasumi and herself as they grew up within their clan.

Ayane's signature butterfly dress is an unlockable costume in Super Swing Golf Season 2, alongside Kasumi's ninja clothes. The same clothes also appear in Fatal Frame II: Director's Cut.

Ninja Gaiden Series
Ayane has a recurring appearance in Ninja Gaiden. In Ninja Gaiden, Ayane is a young ninja in training at the age of 14 who first appears to inform Murai and incidentally Ryu Hayabusa that the Hayabusa Village is under heavy attack. Throughout the game, Ayane provides tips and assistance via her own kunai to Ryu while always keeping an eye on his progress. In the expansion Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden Sigma, if the player chooses the Ninja Dog Easy mode, Ayane condescendingly provides Ryu with assistance.

Ayane will also have a playable part in the upcoming action game Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma.

DOA Movie


In the film DOA: Dead or Alive, loosely based on the video game series, Ayane is portrayed by Natassia Malthe and therefore appears much older than her 16 year old self. Instead, she is the lover of Hayate and half-sister to Kasumi. She is assigned the task of killing Kasumi for abandoning the village and as a result follows her to the Dead or Alive Tournament, where she finds Hayate alive. She then realized that Kasumi was right about Hayate still being alive. At the end of the movie, she saves Hayate and they exchange a kiss. Her character was portrayed similar to herself in the video game series, in the sense that they are both somewhat cold and focused on their objective.

Dead Fantasy
With Kasumi, Hitomi, and Ninja Gaiden's Rachel, Ayane made her appearance in Dead Fantasy, fighting against the Final Fantasy girls, Yuna, Rikku, Tifa, Rinoa; and Kingdom Hearts' Kairi. Ayane appeared in the first two parts so far. She was supposed to be in the third part fighting Rikku. However in a recent blog by Mounty he said that fans of that fight would have to wait. She fights with the dual-blade energy sword that belonged to Genra.