Hibiki Takane

Hibiki Takane (高嶺 響, Takane Hibiki) is a character from The Last Blade game series and a DLC crossover character for Samurai Shodown (2019). She is symbolized by a sword that can quickly move to a stop and her official nickname is "Innocent Slash": (純潔の太刀筋 Junketsu No Tachisuji, lit. Chaste Bladesmanship).

Story
Hibiki is the daughter of Genzō Takane (高嶺 源蔵, Takane Genzō), a renowned swordsmith known throughout Japan during the Bakumatsu era. He had retired to an isolated area in the countryside with his daughter but continued his work with various swordsmen around the country.

The Last Blade 2
One fateful day, a silver-haired man approaches Genzō and requests that he forge a new sword. Though the man radiated an aura of pure, unfathomable evil, the master swordsmith finds himself unable to refuse the request. He spends a time of almost 3 months forging this sword, which he dubs the “Yaso Magatsu Hi no Tachi” (八十枉津日太刀, “Blade of Eighty Days Harbored Unwillingly”), detailing the amount of time he invested in the weapon. The labor renders him ill, however, and he is soon permanently bedridden.

He tells his daughter that the silver-haired man was the reason for his condition, and that she should pursue him and the sword that he had forged. With a concerned Hibiki by his side, he utters his last words: “The thing that I saw... that I felt, even you must understand.” Though she was confused by her father’s cryptic request, Hibiki gathers her belongings and leaves in search of the silver-haired man.

Several days later, a man named Hyo Amano stops by, hoping that Genzō would repair his weapon, the “Otokomae”, when he learns of the swordsmith's death, he sets out to find his daughter.

Hibiki has two endings in the game; in one of them she visits her father's grave and decides to improve her swordsmanship which can be gained if the player defeats every opponent they face in Arcade mode with her super moves. In the other ending should the player not use her super moves to finish all opponents, she tells her father that now she has a "companion".

Samurai Shodown (2019)
While staying in a nearby run-down house near the graveyard where her father is laid to rest, Hibiki is brought back in time to the middle Edo era (where the Samurai Shodown timeline takes place) in her sleep, fighting battles that ultimately leads to Shizuka Gozen. As she defeats her and frees her soul, she awakens from her slumber, only to find a sakura petal. This implies that the events aren't exactly a dream.

Just like in The Last Blade 2, she has two endings: in one of them she visits her father's grave, telling all about her encounters in that dream, either recounting her resolve in fighting or the meaning of her own path, while placing the said cherry blossom petal on the grave. In the other ending, she steps the sakura petal before visiting her father's grave. In front of him, she swears to find and kill the man responsible for his death, through a bloodbath.

Personality
Hibiki has a very calm and shy personality, probably because of the suffering caused by her father's death. Although she wants vengeance for her father's death, she is afraid of fighting and only wants to protect her father's legacy, and muses about the path she must take.

Her personality at her story ending depends greatly on how the player played: Should she become familiarized with her own swordsmanship, her personality becomes somewhat more determined, a little confrontational. In more recent appearances, she gains some haughtiness and becomes somewhat callous and prideful. Yet, her shyness and hesitation are still somewhat present, and in times of peace, she is cheerful and values companions like Amano.

In Samurai Shodown, her descent to madness as a result of slaying her enemies is amplified to the extremes, and sports a psychotic, and bloodthirsty mannerism, as seen in her quotes, facial expressions and tone, making her comparable to the Yandere archetype. She discards her righteousness and becomes a warrior who seek strong opponents, similar to Street Fighter's Akuma. If in The Last Blade 2, she would at least warn Amano, with Jubei, Hibiki openly threatens him. She also develops an obsession in chasing Setsuna, for being the one responsible for her father's death. Despite near-evil mannerisms, she is not amoral and will still call out things that are clearly evil.

As shocking as her spiraling to madness is, there are no confirmations however about Hibiki's ultimate fate in canon, whether her normal self prevails or otherwise, and are apparently left to the player to decide.

Powers

 * Fast Draw - Hibiki can draw her sword from her sheath with uncanny speed.
 * Gather Energy - Using the memory of her father as catalyst, she can absorb Chi energy from Gaia and use it to fill her skill gauge.
 * Teleportation - Hibiki can translocate herself to another place.

Skills

 * Sewing - Hibiki knows how to tend to clothes and presumably how to make or repair clothes.
 * Weaponry - As a skill likely acquired from her father, Hibiki is knowledgeable in weapons like swords, and can appraise weapons according to shapes, conditions and usage. This trait is most visible in her Samurai Shodown winquotes.

Fighting Style
Musō Shinden-ryū is a real style and an anachronism for the game; the style was not founded until 1932. It is a branch of Iaido. Some of her basic attacks bear some resemblance to Ukyo Tachibana's, where it involves frequent quick-draws, dashing-based slashes, as well as some solid counterattacks that require some precision but can prove to be fatal if landed correctly.

In Capcom vs. SNK 2, her Speed Mode 'Custom Combos' AKA the Ranbu Ōgi from Last Blade 2 is given to her as a normal super move. In addition she has slightly different animations for her supers in Capcom vs. SNK 2, with the blood being replaced by sparks.

Hibiki is among the few characters in CvS2 who has a unique winpose, if she defeats someone with her original SDM/Senzai Ōgi, with her hair untied as a result of her attack connecting. It's a visual cue that the landed attack will be fatal for the enemy.

In her appearance in Samurai Shodown, Hibiki plays true to her source game, but with adjustments to fit the cast, with new basic attacks. Also, she can't throw enemies anymore, but instead, break defense as with the rest of the cast. Her SDM has been simplified and only one attack needs to connect for the entire move to output maximum damage.

Voice Actors

 * Kyōko Hikami - The Last Blade 2, Capcom vs. SNK 2
 * Sumire Uesaka - Samurai Shodown (2019)

Music

 * Silver Phantom - The Last Blade 2 (Arranged soundtrack)
 * Determation of the Dawn -SAMURAI SHODOWN ver.- - Samurai Shodown (2019) (Sad Version)
 * [Passion] Fate -SAMURAI SHODOWN ver.- - Samurai Shodown (2019) (Evil Version)

Game Appearances

 * The Last Blade 2
 * The Last Blade - Beyond the Destiny - unlockable
 * Capcom vs. SNK 2
 * Samurai Shodown (2019) - DLC Crossover character

Mobile Appearances

 * Days of Memories (ninth title) - unplayable
 * Kimi wa Hero

Trivia

 * Her father is mentioned again in Genjuro's ending for Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and during her appearance in Days of Memories.
 * Her weapon name and her own name both means "Echo;" whether the naming has a significance or is a coincidence is unexplained.
 * In the character popularity poll on Neo Geo Freak's website, she was voted as the eighteenth favorite character with a total of 739 votes.
 * Even if she sees Akari survive her fatal attack through the use of her substitutes, her normal persona will still react as horrified as when she kills other opponents.
 * When Hibiki is chosen in any mode of Samurai Shodown (2019), the method of round narration in the game changes to match The Last Blade series. She is the only character so far who can do so.
 * Hibiki is the only character, whether in The Last Blade 2 or Samurai Shodown, whose spoken quotes, win quotes and mannerisms changes depending on player actions in battle.
 * In The Last Blade 2, to activate her evil side, the player must defeat her opponents with special attacks. In Samurai Shodown (2019), the player must press the A Button (Arcade), the Square button (PlayStation), the X button (Xbox) and the Y button (Nintendo Switch), before selecting her in any mode. This is similar to how Purple Nakoruru is chosen in previous games in the series.

Gallery
Hibiki Takane