Irene Lew

Irene Lew (アイリーン・ルゥ, Airīnrū), otherwise known as Irene Liu and Aileen and by the alias Sonia (ソニア, Sonia) and the codename Sea Swallow, is an American CIA agent, and a ally of Ryu Hayabusa from the Ninja Gaiden series.

She is the main female lead in the original Ninja Gaiden trilogy, serving as Ryu Hayabusa's romantic interest and the series' damsel in distress. She is an agent of a Secret Auxiliary Unit, working under the codename "Sea Swallow" in Ninja Gaiden, however, she is shown to have quit that job and instead began working as a CIA analyst during the events of Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom. At some point she marries Ryu Hayabusa and helps him run an antique shop in America.

In the reimagining of the original NES series of Ninja Gaiden, Irene was first introduced in the 2008 title Ninja Gaiden II using the name "Sonia", before using her real name in Dead or Alive: Dimensions, marking her first visual appearence in the Dead or Alive series.

Ninja Gaiden II
Tasked with investigating the Fiends, Irene learnt of their attempts to resurrect the ancient Archfiend Vazdah and attempted to stop them by enlisting the help of Ryu Hayabusa, the Dragon Ninja. While enquiring on his whereabouts with Muramasa, they were attacked by the Black Spider Clan, who were working with the Fiends, and Irene was captured. Although Ryu appeared in time and tried to save her, the clan still managed to make off with Irene, taking for to the Fiend Lord Elizébet, possibly to get infomation out of her or to stop her from telling Ryu their plans.

Ryu managed to track them down and save Irene before Elizébet made off with her again, and once save, Irene told Ryu that the Fiends and the Black Spider Clan were trying to resurrect the Archfiend, and they were going to attack the Hayabusa Village to steal the Demon Statue; the item they need to active their goals.

Despite Ryu's attempts, Genshin, the leader of the Black Spider Clan, found the Demon Statue and told Elizébet to take it away. As Ryu followed Elizébet around the world to retrieve the statue, Irene went with him to help, aiding with transport and pieces of infomation.



Ninja Gaiden (NES)
Irene's first encounter with Ryu was in Ninja Gaiden, where she shoots and captures him with a tranquilizer dart. However, during his incarceration, she gives him the Shadow Demon Statue and allows him to escape. Later on, she is later taken hostage by Jaquio in order to force Ryu to hand over the statue. Although Ryu complies, Jacquio keeps Irene to be sacrificed and drops Ryu into a pit. Ryu manages to find a way out and defeats the Jacquio, escaping the collapsing temple with Irene. As the two fall in love, it is revealed that Irene was to kill Ryu after Jacquio had been defeated. Irene disobeys the order and instead opts to live with Ryu.



Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
One year later, Irene is captured by Ashtar and held at the Tower of Lahja. She proves to be a distraction to Ryu, which Ashtar takes advantage of to ambush the ninja. Although Robert manages to save Ryu, Ashtar takes Irene away with him through the Maze of Darkness. When Ryu finally reaches her, Ashtar maniacally stabs her from behind. Irene survives the blow however, and tasks Ryu with destroying an altar. While she is being escorted out by Robert, they are ambushed by the a resurrected Jacquio. Taken hostage yet again, Irene is sacrificed as a bait for the demons of the dark world when the Sword of Chaos awakens. She is resurrected by the Dragon Sword's magic however, after the destruction of the Sword of Chaos.

Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
Irene is attacked by Ryu's Doppelganger while investigating a secret lab as part of her duties as a CIA analyst. She falls off a cliff into the ocean and is presumed dead. Miraculously, she survives the fall, and turns up later during the last encounter with Foster. She attempts to arrest the man but her weapon is useless against the Doppelganger. She is reunited with Ryu at the game's close after his journey through subspace to defeat Clancy.

Appearance
In Ninja Gaiden II Irene is a slim, athletic woman with pale skin and a well-endowed chest. Her hair is platinum blonde, chopped into a short crop with a full front fringe. She also has full red lips, silver eyes, and a small red tattoo in the middle of her chest just above her breasts, which looks like a nautical star.

Her outfit in Ninja Gaiden is a black-and-silver, sleeveless waistcoat mini-dress with a high collar, and a plunging cleavage line. She also wears knee-length black boots, elbow-long black gloves, knee guards, a loose belt with pouches for ammo, black-cord bracelets and necklaces, and a handgun holster on her right thigh.

Irene's appearence seems to have changed in Dead or Alive: Dimensions, to match the "anime-style" of Dead or Alive. Her eyes are now blue and larger in size, her face is rounder, her lips are now pink, and her hair is slightly longer and more layered. She also wears a more casual outfit, as apposed to the spy-styled dress in Ninja Gaiden, composing of a hot pink corset-like shirt, a green army jacket, ripped black tights, and tanned boots and mini-shirt. She is still pale-skinned, platinum blonde, and still sports her red tattoo, a belt holding magazine holders, and cord necklaces, although the cores are now much shorter.

Personality
Irene is a gutsy woman who is also gifted with a knack for espionage. She is highly skilled with firearms of many different kinds, from hand guns to RPGs. She seems to have an affectionate eye on Ryu Hayabusa.

Etymology
Irene is fromthe name Greek Ειρηνη (Eirene), which derived from a word meaning "peace". This was the name of the Greek goddess who personified peace, and was one of the Horae.

The alias, Sonia is used in the many areas of the world including the West, Russia and India. In Hindi, the name means 'golden', derived from सोना (sonā) which means 'gold', which in turn comes from Sanskrit सुवर्ण (suvarṇa; su- means 'good' and varṇa means 'color'). Her codename "Sea Swallow" is another name of the Common Tern, a seabird.

Ryu Hayabusa
Her relationship with the young Ninja master began during the Demon Statue Incident in Ninja Gaiden II/Sigma 2. As things progressed she slowly developed feelings for him, as evidenced from when he defeated the Demon God Vazdah the first time around and ran up to hug him. In Dead or Alive: Dimensions, Hayate and Ayane can see something going on between the two, but Ryu and Irene seem to keep them guessing on what their relationship entails.

Ninja Ryūkenden OVA
Voiced by, Irene appears in the Ninja Ryūkenden OVA where she is once again kidnapped, forcing Ryu to take up his sword to protect her.

Trivia

 * Irene is mentioned in Dead or Alive through Ryu's biography.
 * According to a Japanese Tecmo site, while Ryu is watching Kasumi in the DOA tournament, Irene dutifully waits for Ryu at the shop.