Kokoro

Kokoro (こころ, Kokoro) is a -in-training and Ba Ji Quan martial artist who made her first debuted in Dead or Alive 4. She is the illegitimate daughter of Fame Douglas and one of his mistresses Miyako, making Kokoro the half-sister of Helena Douglas. It is possible that if Helena were to give up her control of DOATEC, Kokoro would be next-in-line to take control.

Translated from Japanese, Kokoro's name means "heart, spirit", and it is written with the hiragana writing system.

History
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 geisha training, Kokoro also gained a love for the martial arts so started to train herself in the art of Ba Ji Quan.

Dead or Alive 4
At 17 years old, Kokoro starts to focus more on her fighting skill and asks her mother if she could participate in the fourth Dead or Alive Tournament. While Miyako is not happy by her daughter's choice, she hesitantly gives her permission, but warns Kokoro that she might not necessarily like what would come of it.

During one of her initial matches, Kokoro faces the drunken master Brad Wong, who seems to like her. Kokoro, however, was put off by the drunk and vehemently, and declines his offer for a drink. After several rounds of the tournament, Kokoro meets 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 returns to Kyoto where she resumes her geisha training - including thinks like, playing the and a small drum - and becomes a full-fledged geisha

Dead or Alive Xtreme 2
It is unclear exactly for what reason Kokoro had for going to New Zack Island, however it's known that she came to the island without her mother's knowledge.

Personality
Similar to Kasumi, Kokoro appears to be one of the more merciful and gentle-spirited fighters; in one instance, she asks if she has gone too far with the fight and extends an apology. She does seem to be a little more delicate than Kasumi, as 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. Nonetheless, she is well-mannered, well-spoken and fights to the best of her ability, regardless of the outcome.

Helena
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 Mikyako. 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.

DOA
Kokoro's Ba Ji Quan fighting style incorporates many effective low kicks and powerful high kicks to assist her powerful elbows and strikes. 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 Paradise
Kokoro is one of the ten playable characters in the Dead or Alive Xtreme spin-off, Dead or Alive Paradise. Like other Xtreme titles before it, the game features the girls of Dead or Alive enjoying a two-week vacation on a tropical island, playing volleyball and exchanging gifts with one another.

Musical Themes

 * Moonlit Lady - Dead or Alive 4

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''.
 * Kokoro's main tag partner is Hitomi (DOA4).
 * She also has tag moves with Ayane, Brad, Eliot, Hayate and Lisa.
 * 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 second racially mixed character to appear in the Dead or Alive series, the first being Hitomi.
 * 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 but there are some cases where she is seen in a blue kimono instead. These kimono are not accessible during gameplay.
 * Kokoro's favorite color is Orange.