Yuki (LB)

Yuki (雪, Yuki), whose name means "snow", is a character from the The Last Blade series, and is one of the few characters within it to not originate from Japan. She is abstractly symbolized by the image of falling snowflakes, and her official slogan is "Anxious White": 運命を貫く槍 (Unmei wo Tsuranuku Yari, lit. Fate-Penetrating Spear).

She is voiced by Hazuki Nishikawa.

Story
She is the daughter of a foreign family that managed ship trades; unfortunately, her family died in a ship accident. She is later adopted by the warrior Gaisei, who trains her along with two other students: Moriya Minakata and Kaede. Unlike her fellow companions, she is trained to wield the naginata instead of the katana, as Gaisei knew that her strength could adapt better to the polearm (at the time, the naginata was a common weapon for women; this more or less ended with the Bakumatsu). She secretly develops feelings for Moriya over the course of her training.

The year she turns 13, she returns with Kaede to find their teacher dead and Moriya standing over the body. Mortified, she watched as Kaede attacked Moriya. Moriya silently took his leave shortly thereafter. She and Kaede then embarked on a five year journey, eventually discovering the truth: a powerful swordsman named Shinnosuke Kagami was the one who had murdered their master. She assists Kaede in defeating Kagami, both avenging their master’s death and clearing Moriya's name.

In The Last Blade 2, Yuki and Kaede discover that she is the maiden that is to perform the sealing of evil, as evidenced by her necklace and its recent glowing. After this, she and Kaede part ways and she is left to make her decision about her destiny. Eventually she agrees, and she sacrifices herself to close Hell's Gate.

Personality
Yuki is a strong and determined woman who wants to make peace with her siblings' strife. She becomes more morose and soft-spoken once she learns of her destiny as the sacrificial maiden but retains her tough will to live. She cares romantically for Moriya, though she never admits her feelings to him.

Powers

 * Cryokinesis - Yuki has impressive control over ice, snow and low temperatures.
 * Create Ice - Yuki can create ice and snow out of nowhere. Her power allows her to create from simple shards of ice to enormous ice boulders that she uses to crush her enemies.
 * Cold Aura - Yuki can create an aura of cold energy around her weapon with varying degrees of intensity.
 * Ice Spikes - Yuki can create ice spikes out of the ground, and uses them as anti-air attacks.
 * Ice Shield - Yuki can create a shield of ice to reflect projectiles.
 * Ice Projectile - Yuki can throw a projectile of ice.

Fighting Style
Gaisei has said that her greatest strength was not her physical prowess but her impregnable spirit (hence the name). She uses her techniques to protect those that she loves, though she hesitates at times when Kaede and Moriya fight. The style relies on long-distanced fighting to make the best of her weapon's range. Her ice powers help to cover the weapon's weaknesses.

Yuki's Power guardcrush attack is too slow to be effective, and cannot be used reliably.

Yuki has one of the best anti-air attacks, and is more versatile in combos, whether in Power, Speed or EX. Despite being toned down, she can hold her own well, but takes more damage even in Power. Thus, great care must be given as Yuki is a classic example of a glass cannon, if the player is careless, especially in EX.

Game Appearances

 * The Last Blade
 * The Last Blade 2
 * The Last Blade - Beyond the Destiny

Cameo Appearances

 * Garou: Mark of the Wolves - in Hokutomaru's stage during the third round.

Mobile Appearances

 * SNK Gals Rhythm Combo Yudanshinaide!
 * Kimi wa Hero

Gekka no Kenshi Drama CD
Yuki is the main character in the drama CD, where she accidentally gets into trouble with the Shinsengumi while searching for Moriya and Kaede. She befriends Amano, and in the alternate ending ends up having Akari as her traveling companion.

The story presumably takes place some time before the first game, since Yuki's personality differs slightly from the one she has in the games (she still has the same personality and attitude when fighting).

During one of the miscellaneous parts, Yuki appeared to have rather unexpected mood swings. Her mood raged from insecure and anxious, to over-confident and brutish, to power-hungry (and arguably slightly insane with her "Evil-overlord-laughter"), to a little girl who just wants to have fun and back to her usual self within 5-10 minutes. This may have all been for comedic effect.

Gallery
Yuki (LB)