Hitomi (Dead or Alive)

Hitomi (ヒトミ) is a fictional German/Japanese character from the Dead or Alive video game series.

Her first appearance was in Dead or Alive 3 and she later appeared in Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, Dead or Alive Ultimate, Dead or Alive 4 and Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. Hitomi is a karate expert and the daughter of a Japanese mother and German karate master. She knows Ein well because they learned to fight in the same dojo. She has been practicing karate under her father's tutelage since she was a child.

History

Dead or Alive 3

She enters the DOA3 Tournament in order to test her skills against other martial artists and prove to her father, a German Karate master, that she is capable of her skills. She crosses paths with Jann Lee, who both share a keen passion for Martial Arts.

In the later stages, she finally meets with Ein, although now he is Hayate. She tries to convince him to come back to her father's dojo in Germany, as well as prove to him her martial arts skill.

Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball

Hitomi was invited to Zack Island for the Dead or Alive 4 tournament. However, that was only a ruse concocted by Zack to lure the girls of DOA to a two week tropical vacation.

Dead or Alive 4

A sudden illness has befallen Hitomi's father, the owner of a successful Karate dojo and prominent member of the German martial arts community. Although he has recovered, the family's training hall is in financial trouble. Hitomi's days are very busy as a result, but one of her greatest strengths is not letting the gravity of the situation faze her.

During the fourth Dead or Alive tournament, she looks for Ein as she remembers him from when they trained together in Germany. Hitomi hopes Ein can come up with an idea to save her father's dojo.

Dead or Alive Xtreme 2

Hitomi returns to the island to participate in the Dead or Alive 5 tournament after receiving a false invitation from Zack. Hitomi is the only one to fall for Zack's ruse a second time, as the rest of the girls had their own motivations for returning to the island and did not have to be tricked.

Personality

Hitomi is a martial artist through and through. Her victories have come as a result of a grueling training regimen as well as a complete commitment to her studies and her art. Not only has Hitomi practiced her techniques, she has studied them, coming to understand the deeper principles behind karate as well as the art itself.

Hitomi is very much an honorable competitor and follows the traditions of her art to the letter. She always fights fairly in a match, for to do otherwise would bring shame to her name, her martial art, and her father's dojo. Hitomi is also fair in her dealings with others, treating everybody equally and with the respect that they deserve. She will not underestimate a foe by acting in a brash or overconfident manner. At all times, she will fight to the best of her ability, as she wishes to test her strength and training to the fullest.

Gameplay

Hitomi can be considered the successor to Ein, in terms of fighting technique and statistics, except that Hitomi is slightly faster, and Ein's strikes are somewhat more powerful. Hitomi's fighting style relies on quick, medium-damage strikes, and her recovery time frame is excellent. Her tell-tale "wind-up" shared with Ein, however, is a popular counter-attack weakness for her, and the majority of her attacks lack good mix-up's, which means that most high-to-mid holds are effective against her. Her "interruption attacks" however (such as the Tsubauchi) are competent in keeping the opponent off guard, as well as making Hitomi preferable for aggressive players.

Trivia

• Hitomi and Kasumi share similar motives, both enter the DOA tournaments to find Ein/Hayate (respectively) in order to help them achieve their goals.
• Hitomi is the first racially mixed character in the DOA series.
• Despite her Japanese name and study in Karate, it appears that Hitomi is acclimated more into the German lifestyle than that of the Japanese - living in Germany, sporting western attire, blue eyed, and having a relatively close, more visible relationship with her German father (who is also her Karate Instructor) than her Japanese mother.
• Hitomi is the first DOA cover girl to replace Kasumi - with the release of Dead or Alive 3, the advertisements were noticeably more focused on Hitomi rather than Kasumi.
• Hitomi is unlockable in 'Dead or Alive Ultimate by having a save of either Dead or Alive 3 or Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball in the hard drive or memory unit.
• Hitomi ranked 3rd place in the third DOA tournament.
• Hitomi has an interesting relationship with Lei Fang, during the Dead or Alive tournament (DOA4 specifically) they seem to bear slight animosity towards one another, however during the DOAX series the two get on very well and in most of the trailers and in the opening FMV's are always seen together. This could be strengthened by the fact they are both very keen martial artists.
• Hitomi seems to be friends with Tina.
• Hitomi is also featured in the movie, but as a male fighter. Though not explicitly stated, the scoreboard after four fights shows that Hitomi has been knocked out of the tournament, though the other three losers are explicitly shown as Jann Lee, Brad Wong and Eliot, making Hitomi the yellow-clothed male who Helena defeated. (There were more fighters than the ones listed on the scoreboard. For example, when all of the contestants are practicing, there is a female fighter in pink shorts who wasn't shown in the fight montage). But you can also see a female fighter in the lobby while Donovan is talking, on the left of Bass there appears to be a brunette headed girl with a pink headband and a blue denim jacket, this is Hitomi's primary costume in the games. Portrayed by Hung Lin. (Hung Lin's IMDB page lists her character name in the film as Hitomi.)
• Similar to Kokoro, Hitomi is half Asian and half Europen. Hitomi's mother is Japanese but has lived her whole life in Germany.
• Hitomi starts to go out with Jann Lee (though would be more suited to Hayate/Ein).