Ayane

Ayane (あやね) is an original character created by Team NINJA for the Dead or Alive series.

She made her first appearance in Koei games as a guest NPC for the PlayStation 3 port of Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce. She is one of the collaboration characters being included in Warriors Orochi 3, Shin Sangoku Musou VS and Warriors All-Stars.

Dynasty Warriors
In Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce, she would give quests to players to find Ryu; completing this quest allowed players to use her weapon in the game. The fourth anniversary PlayStation 3 version of Dynasty Warriors: Online allowed players to download parts of her costume for their female avatars.

Warriors Orochi
After the conclusion of the fourth Dead or Alive tournament and before the third Ninja Gaiden installment, Ayane is mysteriously teleported to the dimensional realm in Warriors Orochi 3. She stars in an alternate Hasedō, which has been modified to resemble parts of Seaside Paradise from Dead or Alive 4. During the heat of the battle, she is discovered by Yoshitsune and his party. Although she is unaware of her surroundings, Ayane quickly decides to team with the coalition to find a way back home.

She follows Sima Zhao's army after Hasedō and helps them in their hunt for Shuten Dōji. Thanks to her intelligence and Taigong Wang's leadership, they are able to track the demon and other prisoners at Xuchang. She advises using stealth to save their imprisoned allies and leads the main party to easy infiltration points. Ayane also helps Bao Sanniang in her search for Guan Suo at Mt. Niutou.

In Ultimate, Ayane learns of an unusual disturbance at Yan Province and goes there to investigate together with Nemea and Diaochan. The cause of this disturbance turns out to be none other than her half-sister Kasumi who had been transported to the dimensional realm as well. In spite of her older sibling's status as a runaway fugitive, the younger kunoichi chooses to put her grudge aside and asks the former's help in slaying the serpent forces surrounding them.

Development
According to Furusawa, Ayane was chosen to represent NINJA GAIDEN in Warriors All-Stars to give Ryu another companion from his series and for action variation with her weapons. For her reprisal in Warriors All-Stars, Yamazaki struggled to keep Ayane being blunt to so many characters. She hopes fans still like her character in this title.

Personality
Haughty and shrewd, Ayane is a kunoichi who follows her clan's strict teachings. Fueled by her hated jealousy for her half-sister Kasumi, she seeks to hide her pain and weaknesses whenever possible. Ayane often buries her woes by perfecting the murderous craft of her sect, focusing on succeeding her missions rather than her emotions. She has a sharp and cynical tongue and often gloats to her opponents. Although best known for her scathing and aloof persona, Ayane can be compassionate and may even help others when they are in need.

For her Warriors Orochi appearance, she shares an affinity with Ryu, Kasumi, Kunoichi, Nene, and Yoshitsune. Her scantly clad outfit flusters Yoshitsune, who bashfully insists that she cover herself during their conversations together; his overreactions mainly amuse her. She sees Kunoichi as an effective sparring partner, and is fond of her lighthearted personality. She admires Nene's motherly personality, saying she could never compete with her in that regard. She also has the desire to learn her "Nene Ninpo" ability, often asking Nene to teach her how to perform it.

Voice Actors

 * Wakana Yamazaki - Dead or Alive series, Warriors Orochi series, Warriors All-Stars (Japanese)
 * Janice Kawaye - Ninja Gaiden series, Dead or Alive 6 (English)
 * Gina DeVettori - Dead or Alive 2 (English)
 * Janna Levinstein - Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (English)
 * Wendee Lee - Dead or Alive: Dimensions (English)
 * Brittney Harvey - Dead or Alive 5 (English)

Quotes

 * See also: Ayane/Quotes


 * "How are you, Ayane?"
 * "How am I? Neither good nor bad."
 * "Wow. What a conversation killer that was..."
 * Kunoichi and Ayane; Warriors Orochi 3


 * "You have a sister, don't you? Do you like her?"
 * "Of course I do, she's my sister! ...Why are you making that face?"
 * Ayane and Daqiao; Warriors Orochi 3

Warriors Orochi

 * Ground Moveset
 * undefined, (undefined), (undefined): Launches an overhead heel drop, a flying horizontal kick, and a short-ranged spinning slash leading up to a roundhouse kick.
 * , undefined, (undefined), (undefined): Kicks opponents into the air, does a high kick to launch them further, and drags them down on the ground.
 * ,, undefined, (undefined), (undefined): Lands a flying kick towards the enemy, hits them again with another kick, and sends any remaining target into the air with a somersault attack.
 * ,, , undefined, (undefined), (undefined): The first button input is a short spinning slash, while the second sequence has the user doing several low slashes while dashing back and forth. The last hit is a stomp attack powerful enough to produce fissures within the vicinity.
 * ,, , , undefined: Spins continuously while moving on the ground and leaping forward.
 * ,, , , , , , : Swings left, right, and upward followed by multiple slashes done at an angle and one upward cut.


 * Dashing : Does a cannonball drill kick.
 * , : An air dash that renders the user temporarily invincible.
 * , undefined: Dives below and swipes at both sides.
 * , : Slashes at a downward arc.


 * R1: Throws a knife at high speed directly in front of the user. It then sticks to an enemy before exploding a few seconds after.
 * , R1 (Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate only): Tosses an explosive at the enemy while flipping back in the air.
 * Summons purple energy around the user, knocking opponents into the air and juggling them with an invisible force.
 * (True): Slams fist into the ground, causing a massive explosion


 * Horse Moveset
 * undefined: Horse rears on hind legs before smashing the ground with their front hoofs. If the horse is sprinting, it will perform a long jump instead.
 * , undefined: Does an ascending vertical slash with both weapons simultaneously.
 * Horse stampedes with a powerful aura.

Most of Ayane's abilities and skills are derived from the ones she has in the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive series.
 * Her Special Skill is the "Flash Kunai" projectile weapon she had in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.
 * The Finisher of her True Musou sequence is the "Art of the Raging Mountain God" Ninpo skill from Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.
 * Her dashing attack is clearly her "Genmu-So" move from Dead or Alive.

Warriors All-Stars

 * ,, , , , : Ayane does a cross slash, then a downwards axe kick. She then does a roundhouse kick to the right, then slashes to the right. She then does another cross slash, then spins in circles and finishes by slashing both blades to her right.
 * undefined: Ayane throws a single kunai forward. If it hits an enemy, she'll twirl at them with a spin attack and blow them away.
 * , undefined: Ayane slashes upwards to the right.
 * ,, undefined: Ayane kicks and flings the enemy forward into the air and ends with an explosion.
 * ,, , undefined: Ayane kicks forward and throws three kunai that spread out in an arc. Press undefined again and she will twirl at the enemy with a spin attack. The second undefined attack can be delayed slightly.
 * ,, , , undefined: Ayane does a cross slash forward, then turns around leaps up and then does another cross slash which puts her into the air, allowing for an aerial follow-up. (See below.)
 * ,, , , , undefined: Does a kick combo in the air, then grabs a single enemy and body slams them to the ground. Press undefined again and she will throw flash kunai, twirl at the enemy and then detonate it.


 * Dashing + undefined: Skids/slides on the floor with a kick, giving common foes heavy damage.
 * Dashing + : Skids/slides on the floor with a kick, giving common foes heavy damage.
 * Jump + undefined: Ayane will throw a flash kunai to the ground, which will explode upon impact.
 * Jump + : Does an aerial Genmu-Soat that is targeted at an enemy.


 * "Art of the Raging Mountain God": Ayane infuses her hand with purple energy by raising it up. She then slams the ground with her hand, generating a large purple explosion around herself, blasting enemies away.

(With Naotora Ii) Beautiful Gale: Ayane and Naotora Ii combine their strength to cause nearby enemies to become frenzied, while preventing you from being incapacitated and increasing your attack for a limited time.
 * Hero Skill:Fuma-in (Dancer's Mark in western version): Causes nearby enemies to become frenzied. (Unable to use Hero/Awakening Skills)
 * Awakened Skill: Butterfly's strike: Caused nearby enemies to become frenzied and attacks nearby enemy Heroes.
 * Combined Skill:

(With Shiki) Thundermill: Shiki uses the lightning generated with Punishment to envelop Ayane, who then attacks the enemy.

Fighting Style
She reuses most of her Ninja Gaiden moveset. The only Dead or Alive move that has been incorporated is her ariel attack, which looks like her Genmu-So from Dead or Alive, only she attacks with it diagonally.

Big Star Weapons
Ayane uses the following big star weapons in the game.
 * Avian Avengers
 * Exquisite Death
 * Lepidoptera (DLC)

Acquiring Mystic Weapon

 * Chapter 1: Battle of Mt. Niutou - Defeat Botryogen and 500 enemies in under 7 minutes.
 * Chapter 2: Battle of Yan Province - Defeat Sun Wukong and 800 enemies in under 13 minutes.

Etymology

 * The name Ayane is written in hiragana (あやね), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (彩音, 綾音 or 絢音), it could possibly mean:
 * 彩音 - "color" (彩) (aya) and "sound" (音) (ne).
 * 綾音 - "design" (綾) (aya) and "sound" (音) (ne).
 * 絢音 - "brilliant fabric design, kimono design" (絢) (aya) and "sound" (音) (ne).

Trivia

 * In Dead or Alive 5 Last Round DLC, She dressed as :
 * Millennia from Kagero.
 * Plachta from Atelier Sophie.
 * Nene from Samurai Warriors 4. Both shares the same Japanese voice actress. Wakana Yamazaki.
 * Wang Yuanji from Dynasty Warriors 7
 * Yukino Aguria from Fairy Tail.
 * Ayane, Millennia, Plachta and Wang Yuanji (Her outfit is her Dynasty Warriors 8 appearance) will also appeared in Warriors All-Stars.
 * Ayane's facial expression has updated in Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate.