Naotora Ii
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Naotora Ii |
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| Voiced by: | English: Erica Mendez (DOA5LR) Japanese Yuka Saitō (SWC2 - SW4 Empires, WO4, DOA5LR) |
| Birth location: | Japan |
| Natural tits: | Yes |
| Height: | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Body type: | Curvy |
| Eye color: | Dark brown |
| Hair color: | Black |
| Hair length: | Long, Double Ponytail |
| Hair shape: | Straight |
| Ethnicity: | Asian |
| Nationality: | Japanese |
Naotora Ii (井伊 直虎) is a fictional character (based on the historical figure of the same name) from the Samurai Warriors video game series by Omega Force and Koei Tecmo. She was introduced as a playable character in the Japan-exclusive 2012 hack and slash game Sengoku Musou: Chronicle 2nd. Naotora would later be introduced to the western audience as a playable character in the 2014 hack and slash game Samurai Warriors 4 and has since appeared in every Samurai Warriors game since (with the exception of Samurai Warriors 5), along with the Warriors Orochi spin-off games from Warriors Orochi 4 onwards, as well as Warriors All-Stars. and she also appears in the 2015 fighting game Dead or Alive 5: Last Round as a guest character. She is often depicted as a kind-hearted woman who is the head of the Ii clan, as well as someone who easily becomes embarrassed and constantly apologizes for everything. The character has been mostly well received, especially noted for her sex appeal.
Character Information
Development
Hisashi Koinuma, the producer of the Samurai Warriors series wanted to answer fans' requests for new characters while appealing to the team's desire to include characters who could fit the multiple scenario options in the main story mode. He comments that these characters feel as though they would not normally fit in a typical Samurai Warriors title. In Naotora's case, she was designed to be a contrast to previously established female characters in the series. The ladies in the cast more or less choose to fight, yet Naotora was conceptualized to be the woman forced against her will to battle. Koinuma remarks that this is derived from her historical inheritance as clan head, which seems as though it was imposed on her merely because she was the only surviving applicant. The developers are fond of her and call her "Naotora-chan".
She is visually modeled after Japanese actress Satomi Ishihara who Koinuma is noted to favor.
Saito comments that since Naotora is "cute and innocent", it's an effort to avoid making her sound too childish in her performances. She can relate to Naotora's masculine upbringing since she often talks in a masculine tone in her leisure, likes things often appealing to guys, and has a straightforward attitude. She's often called "handsome" by people who know her.
Furusawa stated that Naotora was selected for Warriors All-Stars in order to balance the gender representation of their Samurai Warriors selection. Gracia was considered but Naotora won favor over her due to her guest appearance in Dead or Alive.
Personality
Naotora is kind and optimistic but shy. She is habitually apologetic for any mishap she believes to have caused others, which even extends into battle against her enemies. She often remembers the words of Tazu or Naohira for guidance. Her friend's words instill her with the bravery to fight; her ancestor is the all-knowing sage of their family creed to her. She is unfortunately unaware that Naohira has become a loon in his elderly years and is often misguided to do several violent and/or unnecessary deeds on his behalf. Her lack of tact has made the elders of the Ii clan shake their heads in shame. Their condemnation and her bashfulness doesn't cloud her selfless desire to persevere for Naomasa's sake.
Although she half-dreads her duties, Naotora feels very insecure of her giant proportions. She towers over other women and men, and awkwardly sticks out in crowds. Her showy battle attire embarrasses her, but she keeps it because Naohira told her to wear it for their family honor. She mistakingly believes herself to be ugly, clumsy, and brutish. When she isn't worried about the future of her clan, she fears the possibility of forever forsaking her chance to live a normal life of femininity.
Ieyasu can sympathize with her plight as clan leader and encourages her positive attitude. Naotora is grateful to have someone understand her and feels safe with his reassurance. She often gains the courage to decide her clan's future through their private chats together. Naotora dotes on her adoptive son Naomasa and happily smothers him with affection. She frets when the daredevil antics from Naomasa offends others, often apologizing for him and voicing her faith in his honorable traits. Even when he reaches adulthood, she hasn't dropped her preference for calling him by his childhood name, Toramatsu, and struggles to correct herself. Naotora rejoices when Naomasa kindly permits her to keep using it.
In Warriors All-Stars, Naotora admires Ayane's beauty, independence, and strength. She looks up to the kunoichi for advice and encouragement.
Her Warriors Orochi incarnation has her admire Lu Xun's youth and his ability to lead his own family, despite him insisting that her abilities match his at the very least. Ares pushes her to have more self-confidence, reminding her to have more pride as she represents Aphrodite. Naotora looks up to Lianshi's more mature personality, idealizing her as the perfect woman.
In Dead or Alive 5: Last Round where she debuts as a fighter, she behaves the same way: she is still apologetic but going by her intros, she's determined to defend herself as she says she's ready to fight and after bowing and apologizing, she tells her opponent she cannot let them pass. In combat she can be heard saying sorry after moves such as a throw when done against a back turned opponent, when doing a cliffhanger throw, and during her power blow. After a match she may either run over and bow multiple times before apologizing for winning, becoming surprised at what she's done before apologizing for getting carried away, or she recites the Ii family motto of never backing down before becoming somewhat flustered. She doesn't seem to take defeat truly hard as she can be seen somewhat sadly smiling as she slumps to her knees apologizing before saying "No more..." as she begins panting.
Trivia
In Koei-Tecmo's Facebook Sengoku Musou Chronicle 2nd character popularity poll, Naotroa was tied for sixth place with three other characters. She is among the top ten characters in the Samurai Warriors 4 poll, ranking in ninth place. She won second place in the Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate popularity poll.
At 175cm, she is the tallest female of known height in the Samurai Warriors series.
She is currently the only female fighter in the Dead or Alive roster to be a confirmed mother, being the adoptive mother of Naomasa Ii despite biologically being his aunt, and one of only five characters in the roster to be confirmed parents (the only others being Bass Armstrong, Gen Fu, Shiden, and Raidou).
Dead or Alive 5 Last Round is the first game in which Naotora has been given an English voice actress, despite the fact that her home series has received western releases as well, and used to have English dubbing options within Samurai Warriors series' main games and their updates until Samurai Warriors 3.
She is the second Dead or Alive fighter to appear during the game as a result of Time Travel (in her case, travelling to the future), the only other being SPARTAN-458 from Dead or Alive 4, who travelled from the future in her case. Coincidentally, both also were guest fighters in their respective games.
She is the only playable female fighter in the Dead or Alive series whose weight and measurements remained unidentified.
Sumiya, one of the cosplayers in the Tokyo Game Show 2017 Cosplay Contest, won the Special Recognition award for her cosplay as Naotora.
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