To me, Kasumi of the Dead or Alive franchise is a very captivating character who has many depths to her personality. I’ve been a very dedicated Kasumi fan for more than a decade to the point where she has been appointed as my number one favorite character of all time. Through her, I was able to meet many amazing friends, people, and experience memorable opportunities—especially within the DOA community. I also gained confidence through Kasumi. To put it simply: Kasumi has been a huge inspiration for me and still continues to inspire me to this day. This Kunoichi is more than a character, she is very dear and important to me.
To say that Kasumi’s character is “bland” is basically an insult to the late Tomonobu Itagaki’s work. Itagaki has stated that Kasumi is “far more than just a protagonist” of DOA; she’s basically the face of the franchise and “a symbol of (Itagaki’s) artistic philosophy regarding “beautiful” combat.”
“Kasumi is strong because she’s beautiful. And she’s beautiful because she’s strong.”
She also serves as an emotional anchor for the franchise’s storyline. Often shown as a compassionate character, especially during the first four DOA tournaments, Kasumi always apologizes after defeating an opponent (except Raidou for obvious reasons). Beneath her gentle exterior, she’s very capable of being strong and deadly when necessary. I always like to state that Kasumi is far more than what she appears to be. She is not afraid to speak her mind and is honest with her feelings. Kasumi is intelligent and caring as well.
She is known to be very family oriented. She loves her family and often puts those she cares about first before herself. She’s very selfless when it comes to family and this often causes her to act out stubbornly—the girl is controlled by her emotions. Kasumi is a very emotional character who thinks about other people’s wellbeing. She especially cares about her older brother, Hayate, whom she went to seek revenge for. The relationship between Ayane and Kasumi is shown as a conflict, but despite Ayane’s bitter attitude, it has never seemed to phase Kasumi. She has never retaliated against Ayane out of spite and has only shown care and concern towards her half-sister. They were very close during their childhood after all, and I’m more than certain that Kasumi still holds onto those memories and refuses to see Ayane as her enemy. Fortunately their relationship went from hostility to mutual respect as of recent (from DOA4 to DOA6).
Not only does Kasumi show compassion towards her family, but towards Helena as well during the events of DOA4. When confronting Helena during the fourth DOA tournament, Kasumi has an understanding of how much the Prima Donna truly hates DOATEC. Despite Helena threatening her at gvnpoint, Kasumi still shows devastation over Helena’s sacrifice, even attempting to run towards a blazing DOATEC before being stopped by Ayane (depicted in Helena’s DOA4 ending).
Usually Kasumi doesn’t show nor harbor any deep hate towards anyone—but the ones she does hold strong antagonism towards are: Raidou and her clones. Her hatred towards Raidou is rooted in his involvement of Hayate’s crippling injury. Raidou is the cause of Kasumi’s fate as a “Runaway Kunoichi” after leaving her clan to avenge her older brother. In fact, she despises Raidou so much that she eliminates him at the end of DOA1 which shows just how strong she truly is. When it comes to her clones, she wants nothing more than to get rid of them and views them as a mere abomination. She sees them as pawns who exist to ruin her image and reputation.
Jumping to the timeline of DOA5 and DOA6, we now see a more mature and mentally stronger Kasumi. Seeing a more confident Kasumi in comparison to her timid self in the previous titles is very refreshing to see. In DOA6, we see that her relationship with her siblings is healing. She also remains in contact with her mother, Ayame, through letters while being kept safe within the Hayabusa village. All of this signifies that her family remains top priority.
Kasumi also has a shy and humble side to her. In DOAXVV, she becomes timid when complimented about her beauty. She’s also a very modest girl and has shown to be flustered and uncomfortable when it comes to wearing revealing outfits.
So in conclusion, I believe that Kasumi is far from bland and is more than fitting to be the face of DOA as she has always been. I believe that DOA wouldn’t be as groundbreaking nor iconic as it is if it weren’t for Kasumi and her image. If you really look beyond her character, then you would know how complex she really is. I will continue to see how current Team Ninja develops her character further and I look forward to it.
Every day I miss my Shinomas Senran Kagura: New Link account because I had Kasumi (as well as Ayane, Tamaki, Honoka, and Marie Rose) on it during their DOA collab. I really treated this game as a dress up game for Kasumi. I will never get over its EOS. Thankfully I saved plenty of screenshots and video clips and might be making gifs or graphics out of them soon. 🌸
