Kokoro

Kokoro (こころ, Kokoro) is a (Apprentice ), and Ba Ji Quan martial artist from the Dead or Alive series, who made her first debuted in Dead or Alive 4.

She is the illegitimate daughter of Fame Douglas and one of his former mistresses Miyako, making Kokoro the half-sister of Helena Douglas. It is possible that if Helena were to give up her control of the Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee, Kokoro would be next-in-line to take control.

Early Life
Kokoro was conceived by her mother Miyako while she was a mistress to Fame Douglas, but she moved back to Kyoto with her mother when she was too young to understand her situation, and was never told who her father was. Oblivious to her heritage, Kokoro was trained to be a geisha - a traditional, female Japanese entertainer who skills include classical music and dance. While she had her heart in her maiko training, Kokoro also gained a love for the martial arts so started to train herself in the art of Ba Ji Quan.

During the events of the third Dead or Alive Tournament, Kokoro was walking home and saw a passed out high school girl. This girl was Kasumi disguised as a highschooler to keep her ninja secret from getting out. Kokoro asked her if she needed any help. Kasumi refused and Kokoro touched her forehead revealing she had a major fever. On the sight of Ayane, Kasumi fled. When Ayane asked her where Kasumi ran off to, Kokoro refused to tell her. Ayane was angered and was forced to fight her. In the end Kokoro fled off.

The Fourth Tournament
At 17 years old, Kokoro started to focus more on her Ba Ji Quan training, and asked her mother if she could participate in the fourth Dead or Alive Tournament. While Miyako was not happy about her daughter's choice, she hesitantly gave her permission, but warned Kokoro that she might not necessarily like what would come of it.

During one of her initial matches, Kokoro faced the drunken master Brad Wong, who seemed to like her. Kokoro, however, was put off by the drunk and vehement fighter, and declined his offer for a drink. After several rounds of the tournament, Kokoro met Helena. Unaware that they were related, Kokoro was surprised when Helena recognized her as Miyako's daughter before their fight. It is then that Helena mentions that Kokoro should learn her fighting technique, Pi Qua Quan.

After the tournament, Kokoro returned to Kyoto where she resumes her maiko training, including lessons in, playing the and the taiko drum, and entertainment training.

Appearance
Also see: Kokoro's Outfit Catalogues

Compared to the other women in the series, Kokoro has a more youthful, girly appreance, even when next to the other feminine females. She is one of the smallest fighters, with rounded facial features, rosy cheeks, full lips and grey eyes. Her waist-long hair is black and is worn loose, with a small segment tied to in a bobble up-front on the left-hand side. In Dead or Alive: Dimensions her hair is tied back with a yellow bow. This is due to the 3DS not handling long hair physics.

Two of Kokoro's outfits are pink and blue feminized versions of the Changshan, an outfit typically worn by males in China. In the Dead or Alive 4 opening, Kokoro is seen in a pink kimono (some cases where she is seen in a blue kimono instead). These kimono are not accessible during gameplay, but the pink version of the kimono will be wearable in Dead or Alive: Dimensions. While it appear to be a proper, decreative kimono with a red collar of a maiko and a sash around the waist, it is actually incorrectly dressed so the skirt is loose, allowing Kokoro to move with ease, at the same time as exposing her legs. The outfit also includes sandles and a type of sock known as.

Personality
Possibly due to her up-bringing, Kokoro is well-mannered and well-spoken, but also delicate and soft in nature. Similar to Kasumi, Kokoro appears to be one of the more merciful and gentle-spirited fighters; after she wins a fight, she may ask if she has gone too far with the fight and extends an apology. The only time she acts harshly in words and actions is when Brad made an advance on her and she pushed him away.

She does seem weak emotionally at times. She does indeed fight to the best of her ability but if she loses, she calls out for her mother. This would indicate that although she is confident in her style, losing proves to be a bit too much for her. Her sheltered life and Miyako's protectiveness over her could have made it hard for her to adapt to the harsh reality of the tournament.

Etymology
The kanji used to spell Kokoro's name (心) means "Heart", which reflects her gentle and kind nature.

Along with Ayane and Kasumi, Kokoro's name is written in hiragana.

Helena Douglas
While the two of them are half-sisters, Kokoro doesn't know who Helena is. On the other hand, Helena seems to know about Kokoro and Miyako. In Kokoro's story mode, she eventually finds and fights Helena, who wants Kokoro to master her fighting style.

Brad Wong
Brad seems to take a liking to Kokoro when he first sees her, offering her a drink under the trees. Kokoro, however, refuses him straight and the two engage in combat.

Kasumi
In Dead or Alive: Dimensions, Kokoro found Kasumi almost passed out on the road and tried to help her but Kasumi ran away at the sight of Ayane coming towards them. Even though Kasumi ran away, Kokoro refuse to tell Ayane which way Kasumi went.

In Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, Kasumi and Kokoro may have a friendly relationship with each other as seen in "Be Friendly" Gravure.

Ayane
In Dead or Alive: Dimensions, Ayane doesn't take too fondly of Kokoro. When Kokoro refused to tell Ayane where Kasumi fled Ayane was really annoyed at her. Kokoro battled her but soon fled.

Dead or Alive
Kokoro's Ba Ji Quan fighting style incorporates many effective low kicks and powerful high kicks to assist her powerful elbows and strikes. Her elbows and punches are very quick. She is described as being a character well-suited for beginners, due to her unbreakable chain throw, being the safest character in the game in relation to advantage and disadvantage, and being easy to execute moves and mix-ups.

However, one of Kokoro's biggest disadvantages is that she is a very easy character to counter. Bigger and stronger characters like Bayman and Tina Armstrong can inflict an incredible amount of damage to Kokoro, making her fairly weak in a fight like this. Furthermore, she has a lot of punches and kicks that would intend players to "button mash." Compared to the varying attack strings of her sister Helena, Kokoro's attacks appear to be less refined.

Dead or Alive Xtreme
Kokoro is easy to recruit, but sometimes you might want to wait a bit before asking her to become your partner. She is also very grumpy in the morning, so wait to talk to her, and give her gifts until the afternoon, or evening. In turn, Kokoro can easily become friends with everyone.

In beach volleyball, Kokoro seems to be an almost balanced player, just not as well-rounded as the likes of Helena, Christie, and Lisa. She has great speed, power, and good defense, but she is somewhat lacking in technique and jumping skill, making her aiming weaker then other's aim. As well as the balanced players, she can as make a good team with Lei Fang, who isn't as strong as Kokoro, but Lei Fang can play the more defensive part of the team. She can also strengh to a team-up with weak Kasumi, and still make a very fast pairing.

Dead or Alive Series

 * Dead or Alive 4 (2005 - 2006)
 * Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (2006)
 * Dead or Alive Paradise (2010)
 * Dead or Alive: Dimensions (2011)

Musical Themes

 * Moonlit Lady - Dead or Alive 4 and Dead or Alive: Dimensions
 * Estheticism - Dead or Alive 4 Ending Theme

Trivia

 * Kokoro's fighting style, Ba Ji Quan, is the sister art of Helena's Pi Qua Quan style.
 * Tomonobu Itagaki commented that Ba Ji Quan was first used in ', which he called the "origin of 3D fighting games". Virtua Fighters main character, Akira Yuki, used this fighting style but Itagaki hoped to reproduce the martial art more realistically with Kokoro in Dead or Alive 4''.
 * The reason Kokoro, Kasumi, Ayane and Eliot do not have listed ages in western versions of the Dead or Alive games is because they are under 18 years old. Tecmo decided to give them an undefined age to avoid the risk of a moral backlash from western countries.
 * Kokoro is the third racially-mixed character to appear in the Dead or Alive series, the first being Helena and second being Hitomi.
 * IGN featured Kokoro in their "Videogame Babe of the Day" series in 2006.
 * Kokoro's kimono that she wears in promotional arts and in the opening of Dead or Alive 4 wasn't used as a playable costume until Dead or Alive Dimensions.
 * Besides Nicole-458, who is a guest character, Kokoro and Leon are the only characters in Dead or Alive 4 who aren't sub boss for any character in Story Mode.