Shizuku

Shizuku
Japanese name	しずく
Shizuku in Xtreme Venus Vacation
Playable Character
Full name	Shizuku
Other names	Fox goddess (by Tsukushi)
First appearance	Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation
Dead or Alive debut	Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation
Dead or Alive appearance(s)	Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation
General information
Place of birth	Japan
Date of birth	May 18
Age	19
Status	Alive
Personal alignment	Neutral
Physical description
Species	Kitsune
Gender	Female ()
Height	157 cm (5'2")
Measurements	B80 W54 H86 cm (B31" W21" H34")
Eye color	Red
Hair color	Silver with pale purple hues
Career information
Current occupation(s)	Self-proclaimed cosplayer
Personal information
Hobbies	Making Lunch, Fishing
Favorite foods and drinks	Shishamono tempura, Hojicha latte
Favorite color	Lapis Lazuli Blue
Tropical zodiac sign	Taurus (20 April – 20 May)
Birthstone	Emerald
Birthflower	Carnation
Birthfruit	Banana
Portrayed by
Japanese voice actor	Hina Yōmiya

"To want to be with a fox spirit… You really are an odd human, Boss… ♡"

—Shizuku

Shizuku (Japanese: 雫) is a female kitsune or "fox spirit" who first appeared in the October 26, 2023 update in the DMM and Japanese Steam versions of Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation, and the September 5, 2024 update in the Singapore Steam and Johren versions.

Biography

Shizuku sought a sense of belonging, but was reluctant to do so due to her kitsune background and their negative reputation, and may have been driven off upon discovery at least once in the past. Largely because of this, she often participated in Japanese festivals at a distance. She also did at least one part time job at a kitchen in the past, presumably while disguised as a human. It was from this job that she learned how to make boxed lunches. Aside from this, she also volunteered to help out stray cats.

At some point, she found a pamphlet advertising the Venus Islands and its festival. Its usage of cosplay during festivals intrigued her since it allowed her an excuse to blend in with her true form and potentially find some belonging. She intended to maintain her human form at least until another festival. However, after sensing the Owner fall into the ocean, she prematurely ended up reverting to her true kitsune form while attempting to save him from drowning. She half-heartedly attempted to pass herself off as a fox cosplayer, but ultimately decided she probably wasn't allowed and considered leaving. However, to her surprise, the Owner allowed her to stay at the island. She eventually agreed to join the Venus Festival as a way to repay the Owner, and also to get another part-time job due to using up her expenses to get to the island in the first place.

Character

Appearance

Shizuku has pale skin, red eyes, and short silver hair with pale purple hues. She is of petite height and slim build, with a relatively small bust. She wears a short dark blue top with white trimmings and cut out shoulders, as well as a black bodysuit with see-through fabric and cutouts at the sides, heels and toes. The bodysuit also has a hole in the rear, which is implied to be so she can easily get her fox tail through if she transforms. She sometimes shows off her silver pointed fox ears with white hair in the canals and a furry fox tail with pale purple hues.

Personality

Shizuku is shown to be very shy, which is implied to be due to nervousness at exposing her kitsune background. In at least her kitsune form, she has hearing on par with that of canines, as evidenced by her hearing the Boss falling into the ocean from what's implied to be a significant distance in her debut episode. She was also able to converse with animals, particularly squirrels, with it being implied her ability to talk with them was due to her kitsune powers. Despite being of kitsune origin, she has a more benevolent nature to her, which is especially evident in her rushing to save the Owner in the first episode after hearing him fall into the ocean and nearly drown. She also helped out stray cats prior to her arrival at the Venus Islands, which she implied was due to empathizing with their being unwanted due to her own background.

Etymology

Shizuku is a feminine and masculine Japanese name that can be transcribed in Hiragana and Kanji. It generally refers to droplets or drops.

Relationships

Misaki

Misaki first met Shizuku inside of the Boss's room (as Shizuku arrived before her with the intent of meeting the Boss, but he had already stepped out), though she was aware of her via the Boss beforehand. She also noticed her fox ears and assumed the Boss had actually tasked her to do cosplaying due to his doing similar tasks for the various girls in the past, with Shizuku playing along slightly. She apparently did a photo date with Misaki sometime later, based on her report to the Boss during her welcoming party.

Hitomi

Hitomi first met Shizuku at a temporarily-running Cosplay Café. Although she was aware that she was to serve a cosplaying visitor, she did not realize Shizuku was the customer in question and just hired her to act as a waitress and cook, with Shizuku largely going along due to having done part-time work in the past. However, she ended up collapsing in exhaustion after going through various orders, with Hitomi then realizing that Shizuku was the customer she was to wait on and apologized, with Shizuku not minding too much as she admitted she herself screwed up by not mentioning it beforehand. She also complimented Hitomi on her cooking skills and admitted she herself makes boxed lunches, with their agreeing to cook together in the future. Sometime afterwards, they also had a boxed lunch making date based on her report to the Owner during her welcoming party.

Tsukushi

Tsukushi stumbled upon Shizuku while she was napping near the pool and believed her to be an actual Kitsune, even trying to tell Amy about this discovery, to the latter's disbelief until she saw Shizuku with her own eyes. Tsukushi got nervous about talking and attempted to have Amy do so instead. Shizuku then woke up and went up to them, with Tsukushi being startled initially before being enamored by Shizuku's smile. After introducing herself, she asked if the ears and fox tail were part of a cosplay due to coming across as real. After learning Shizuku watched anime for cosplay ideas, she offered to watch anime with her and then help design cosplays as well, although the manner in which she asked creeped Shizuku out a bit. She ultimately agreed under the condition that Amy participate as well when the latter volunteered.

Amy

Amy learned of Shizuku's existence via Tsukushi, although she denied that Shizuku was an actual kitsune, even with her knowledge of Kanna (an oni) and Nyotengu (a tengu) being on the island until she saw for herself. Amy was reluctant to speak on Tsukushi's behalf to Shizuku, mostly because of her poor social skills. Eventually after Shizuku came up and greeted the two, Amy after chastising Tsukushi for panicking attempted to greet Shizuku only to flub it up, to Shizuku's amusement. After Shizuku introduced herself, she offered to give any assistance under the pretense of being workmates. Amy then inquired as to how Shizuku was able to operate her ears and tail, speculating they were either done via voice recognition or brain-machine interface technology, although Shizuku didn't understand what she was talking about. After Shizuku got creeped out by Tsukushi's offer to watch anime with her, Amy offered to come along as well, while slightly defending her decision to do so as allowing Shizuku to come up with more cosplay ideas.

Koharu

Shizuku and Koharu made some small talk as the latter was bathing, with Koharu also apologizing after she absent-mindedly called Shizuku an animal. She also offered to provide clothing to Shizuku, although she ended up letting slip that there was going to be a welcoming party for her (which she had earlier promised to keep a secret), with Shizuku assuring her she'd pretend she didn't hear about it. Comments made by Koharu and Shizuku during this time implied that Koharu might have been aware of Shizuku being a fox spirit, or at the very least believed Shizuku insisted on being in-character while bathing, as Shizuku mentioned she never got a chance to transform before bathing due to Koharu staring at her constantly.

Momiji

She met Momiji when trying to get clothing for her welcoming party. She tried to pass herself off as a fox cosplayer after the latter noticed her ears, but Momiji saw right through her and deduced she was an actual kitsune due to her role as a shrine maiden on the island. Shizuku became scared when she learned of Momiji's status as a miko priestess, trying to assure her that she's not an evil kitsune, and even going as far as to engage a surrender pose and beg for Momiji to not exterminate her. After Momiji reassured her that she wouldn't even dream of doing something like that, Shizuku then explained she simply wanted to find a place to live regarding her arrival on the island, and also apologized not just for the overall deception to everyone, but her fearful reaction to Momiji. Momiji then advised her that humans often have a similar disposition regarding hiding their true views just to get along, though she admitted that Shizuku's case of being a kitsune may have been more severe in her case. She also suggested she go as herself for the festival, though it's implied Shizuku ultimately didn't go through with it due to lingering insecurities.

Kanna

Kanna met Shizuku during the Harvest Festival (which Shizuku helmed, officially because of her fox cosplayer status), with Shizuku being familiar with Kanna's Oni status. Due to Kanna being more experienced than her as a venus, she offered to show her around the festival. However, things nearly got off on the wrong foot when Shizuku made comments that hinted at her true species. Although Kanna made clear she's familiar with Kitsunes due to her millennium-long lifespan, it's left ambiguous whether she's actually aware of Shizuku's true nature as a Kitsune.

Kasumi

Shizuku and Kasumi met each other during the Harvest Festival, and went off for small talk regarding the moon and waves. Shizuku after meeting Ayane deduced their status as siblings due to the two carrying a similar aura. It's also implied that Kasumi was actually aware of Shizuku's true nature as a Kitsune, but was willing to overlook it due to wishing to look out for her.

Ayane

Ayane met Shizuku face to face during the Harvest Festival when trying to retrieve her and Kasumi, although she was aware of her since her arrival. Shizuku also deduced Ayane's sibling relationship to Kasumi due to their giving off a similar aura, although Ayane pointed out that, if anything, Shizuku had more similarities to Kasumi, citing Shizuku wanting to keep things to herself as the biggest similarity to her. Ayane also privately admitted to Kasumi that she had already deduced that Shizuku was an actual Kitsune and not a cosplayer, but decided to overlook it due to Shizuku trying to be considerate in her own way.

Sayuri

At some point, Sayuri proceeded to "spoil" Shizuku, though she then discovered the latter's abnormally high temperature, seeking to treat it due to believing she had a fever (it's implied that this was actually her normal temperature as a kitsune, but Sayuri did not realize it due to believing Shizuku to merely be cosplaying instead of an actual kitsune). Shizuku reluctantly obliged and went to the hospital despite hating them mostly because of her own reluctance to divulge her true species to her. However, she eventually found herself forced to flee the room after misinterpreting a comment Sayuri made that implied she was going to give her a shot (she actually was considering giving her oral medication instead), although not before apologizing for being "a bad fox." Sayuri, feeling guilty for scaring her, yet still concerned about her "fever", proceeded to leave pills to treat the fever at Shizuku's bedroom.

Monica

Shizuku encountered Monica at the casino by accident shortly after fleeing the hospital area due to misunderstanding a comment from Sayuri, learning Monica's day job as the casino's dealer. Monica convinced her to play some casino games with her, with Shizuku losing a few times. Monica then suggested to her a wager of having the Boss do whatever they want. Shizuku then won (implied to be via the use of "magic") and got extra attention from him.

Fiona

Although Shizuku's first on-screen interaction with Fiona occurred in A Fox's Gratitude, dialogue from both girls implied they'd interacted off-screen before, including tea parties. At one point, Fiona expressed curiosity over Shizuku's fluffy outfit and after learning Shizuku personally designed it was impressed at her sewing skills. She also indicated that Shizuku would make a great domestic wife someday, or at least the definition of a domestic housewife Koharu gave. She also proceeded to explain the basic steps on how to act like a domestic wife, including a warm welcome (although she was embarrassed and surprised that Shizuku was familiar with the concept from anime). She later offered to talk in depth about marriage over tea next time after learning that marriage exists among foxes.

Elise

Shizuku interacted with Elise shortly after meeting with Fiona to request her aid in distracting the Owner so she could prepare a "warm welcoming home" surprise for him. Elise agreed under the condition that Shizuku teach her a thing or two about cooking (as Shizuku could not pay her back monetarily and Elise realized merely supplying dietary supplements to him wouldn't be satisfying for the Boss). Shizuku did, however, grow concerned when Elise implied she also agreed in order to ensure the Owner completed various business tasks, citing that she ought to complete everything fast before he "got into trouble."

Kokoro

Kokoro alongside Patty encountered Shizuku during a fishing festival, the latter having bad luck with catching fish. Kokoro when learning Shizuku's dilemma recalled Amy once led her to a good fishing spot when she had similar problems in the past. After catching some fish thanks to finding the ideal fish gathering spot, including a particularly large one, Shizuku expressed gratitude to Kokoro, and offered to repay her in the future, though she admitted that if they swim next time, it not be "in costume."

Owner

She met the Owner after saving him when he fell into the ocean and nearly drowned. Because of her being in kitsune form as a result of her sensing him fall in, he was the only one besides Momiji, Kasumi, and Ayane to know she was actually a kitsune. Despite this, he nevertheless allowed her to stay on the island as well as faked being deceived by her human form, both to repay her for saving him, and mostly due to ignorance about the legend of the fox spirit.

Appearances

Dead or Alive series

• Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation (playable, 2023, add-on)

Music themes

The following are the music themes used for Shizuku throughout the series.

Theme	Game appearances
"Everything Means Nothing"	Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation

Gallery

Promotional images

Scans
Famitsu 6th anniversary development section for Shizuku

Merchandise

Bromides

Trivia

• Shizuku was first teased on October 25, 2023, the same day as the announcement of the livestream debuting her voice actress. Misaki when unveiling the teaser indicated that she had silver hair and seemed mysterious. The same teaser also hinted at her true nature by having her say "bakeru" (化ける), a phrase usually used when about to transform into another, non-human form.
• Shizuku is tied with Nagisa, Kanna, and Elise, Tina, and Shandy for having the second-most paid SSRs in the DMM/Japanese Steam version, having three, with only Leifang having more. She, alongside Nagisa, Kanna, and Shandy are also the only ones to have three Star Gacha suits as Elise, Tina and Yukino's third paid suits were for collaborations.
• Shizuku is the second character to have her voice actress listed during a livestream prior to formally debuting, after Yukino.
• Shizuku is the seventh character to not refer to the Owner by any honorifics in the Japanese version, after Misaki, Nanami, Elise, Tina, Amy, and Yukino.
• Shizuku is the third yokai character to appear in the Xtreme games, after Kanna (oni) and Nyotengu (tengu).
  • She is also the only yokai character to not have a "Special Day" (instead having a standard birthday), and the only one to not be of extreme age (instead being 19).
• Like Nyotengu and Kanna, she technically lacks a nationality due to being a yokai, though she's implied to hail from Japan due to her name being written in Hiragana as well as her recognizing Momiji as a miko shrine maiden when meeting her. She is also familiar with the Niiname no Matsuri and gives some details about the festival when the Owner selects her to helm the festival.
  • On a similar note, her second paid event Fluffy Days had her helming Niiname no Matsuri, the Japanese Harvest Festival, partly due to her fox cosplayer status, alluding to how foxes are considered a symbol of a bountiful harvest in Japan (though she implies that didn't necessarily mean kitsunes had the same positive connotation).
• She occasionally ends her sentences with "Kon", which is a Japanese onomatopoeia for a Fox's bark.
• It's implied that her occupation was listed by the Owner as self-proclaimed cosplayer as a way to cover up her kitsune origins due to her accidentally unveiling her true nature while saving him.
• According to Sakuta D. in Famitsu's coverage of the sixth anniversary, Shizuku was designed to be a kitsune partly to avoid being overshadowed by Yukino due to the latter character's popular reception (which their original plan of making her a human dandere character ran the risk of happening), citing Nyotengu and Kanna as precedence. He also gave the option to have her alternate between human and kitsune forms in case the audience gave negative reception of her due to the concept of furries. He also implied she may factor into more collaborations in the future due to her "self-proclaimed cosplayer" status.
• Shizuku is the seventh girl to have a different release order between the DMM/Japanese Steam and Singapore Steam/Johren version, after Fiona/Nagisa as well as Nanami/Elise/Koharu/Tina. In this case, it was because of Reika's global debut in both versions while Yukino was still behind a paywall.
• According to the calculations of the base POW and TEC stats, Shizuku is physically the strongest venus.
• According to her third episode in the Fluffy Days arc, Shizuku suffers from Trypanophobia, which acted as a major factor in her fleeing from Sayuri.