Tengu (Dead or Alive)

The following is a list of characters from the '' Dead or Alive'' video game series, created by Tecmo and Team Ninja.

Characters

Main series

Spin-off series

''Xtreme ''series

Introduced in ''Dead or Alive''

Ayane

Bass Armstrong

Voiced by (English): Joe J. Thomas (''Dimensions''), Patrick Seitz (''DOA5''–present)
Voiced by (Japanese): Daisuke Gōri (''DOA''–''DOA4''), Kenta Miyake (''Dimensions''–present)
Live-action actor: Kevin Nash

is a semi-retired professional wrestling champion and Tina's overprotective father. He is also the widower of Alicia Armstrong, who died of a disease when Tina was only six years old, forcing Bass to take care of her by himself. He disapproves of Tina's aspirations of being a model (''DOA2''), a Hollywood actress (''DOA3'') and a rock star (''DOA4''). Consequently, Bass enters the DOA tournaments to put an end to her fame-seeking, only to fail at each attempt. In the fourth tournament, it is revealed that he intends to win so he would have enough money to enter the "Hyper Battle Grand Prix", which he then loses after seeing Tina's picture on a billboard and crashes into it after losing control of his bike. Like Tina in the English versions of the game, he, too, speaks with a Southern accent. In ''DOA5'', two years after the fourth tournament, Bass is a worker at an oil rig, DiG, and has befriended Rig. He decides to reenter the ring after the next tournament is announced, mainly after hearing that Tina will participate. He enters under the alias "Mr. Strong" so that his daughter would not recognize her; unfortunately for him, she does anyway. After defeating Tina in the quarterfinals, he is eliminated by Jann Lee in the semifinals.
Some time after the fifth tournament, DiG was somehow destroyed and Rig was homeless because DiG was like a home to him; Bass offers to stay with him. As ''DOA6'' tournament is about to start, he and Tina return to their wrestling career, with Rig hired to sponsor them. Bass is then introduced by his daughter's new MMA friend and their biggest fan, Mila, who eventually becomes his opponent and defeats him at the round of 16. When several groups and individuals such as the Mugen Tenshin, Hayabusa Ninjas, and the mercenary Bayman, are trying to come after Rig, Bass becomes worried about his best friend's situation and sudden disappearance, unaware that MIST brainwashed Rig into serving them.

In the live-action adaptation, Bass is played by professional wrestler Kevin Nash. In the movie, he tries to persuade Tina to return to wrestling. Bass' character is far more lighthearted in the movie, even applauding Tina when she beats him.

Bayman

Voiced by (English): Zach Hanks (''Dimensions''), Matthew Mercer (''DOA5''–present)
Voiced by (Japanese): Hisao Egawa (''DOA''), Banjō Ginga (''DOA2''-present)
Live-action actor: Derek Boyer

is a Russian and a former Spetsnaz who specializes in the sambo fighting style. He first joins the DOA tournament to assassinate Fame Douglas, and later joins the DOA3 tournament to retaliate against Donovan for the attempt on his life by a sniper. Bayman was born and raised as an orphan in the Soviet Union. He aspired to join the military and became one of the Soviet Army's highly trained commandos. But before he saw any action, the Soviet Union collapsed. Realizing the new regime would have no use for him, Bayman slipped through the cracks of the reformation and took up the life of a mercenary, putting his skills to good use in all manner of lethal assignments. He found particular pleasure in assassinations, especially challenging or high-profile assignments. His dream assignment came to him when he entered into the first Dead or Alive World Tournament under orders from Victor Donovan to assassinate its organizer, the renowned Fame Douglas, founder and chairman of DOATEC. With his task completed, Bayman fled, now branded an outlaw. After surviving a failed attack on his life by an unknown sniper who was sent by Donovan, Bayman decides to retaliate against his former client Donovan and shows up at the third tournament in vengeance. Bayman later enters the fourth tournament, still seeking revenge on Donovan. He meets Hayate who also shares a vendetta against Donovan. Bayman fights Christie to settle a score of the enmity that aroused between the two of them. At the end of the tournament, Bayman is held in captivity within the DOATEC Tritower and is being interrogated and drugged. During the chaos that erupts due to Ayane and Hayate's intervention, he frees himself from the drug by stabbing his own hand with a pen, while his interrogators flee and are killed in the process with Ayane's spell effects. In the fifth tournament, it is revealed that Bayman has survived the incident. He is no longer an assassin, but again works as a mercenary. After his men appears to be massacred at the hands of a Kasumi clone called Phase 4, but was spared, Bayman goes to Helena for answers, and decides to look into this on his own. He helps Hayate and Ayane find their target, first being a Kasumi clone, then take them to MIST secret hideout within the offshore, and departs. He later return to the sixth tournament, where he is presumably the one who rescued Lisa Hamilton off-screen, and one of the few people who found out Rig's situation as MIST's brainwashed pawn. Knowing that Rig was also Bass' best friend, he reveals Rig's current situation to Bass, but Bass does not believe him.

Gen Fu

Voiced by (English): Paul Nakauchi (''Dimensions'')
Voiced by (Japanese): Takeshi Aono (''DOA''–''DOA4''), Chikao Ōtsuka (''Dimensions''–''DOA5'')
Live-action actor: Fang Hue

is a humble book store owner and an old martial arts master who specializes in the xinyi liuhe quan fighting style, a powerful and dangerous martial art involving the use of the hands and upper body. The xinyi liuhe quan master became well known for possessing the iron fist, a legendary attack known for its awesome destructive power. He lived out his days in solitude and peaceful tranquility, looking after his young granddaughter, Mei Lin. At some point during the years, he took on Eliot as an apprentice; why he chose Eliot is a mystery, even to the boy himself. He fights in the DOA tournaments to obtain money to cure his sick granddaughter. In the second tournament, he wants to defeat Gohyakumine Bankotsubo because the nose of a tengu can cure any disease. However, after the events of ''DOA2'', he still needed money for the operation (the nose was only a temporary cure), so he joins again in ''DOA3''. His task fulfilled at the end, he no longer joins the DOA tournaments, though he still remains a playable character in later games. In ''DOA4'', he is revealed to be Eliot's teacher, and is the final boss for the latter's story mode. He is only seen at the end of Eliot's chapter in DOA5's story mode, and he is ready to teach Eliot a more advanced kung-fu prior to ''DOA6''.

Jann Lee

Voiced by (English): Darren Criss (''Dimensions''), Kaiji Tang (''DOA5''–present)
Voiced by (Japanese): Toshio Furukawa (''DOA''–''DOA4''), Nobutoshi Canna (''Dimensions''–present)

is a young martial arts expert who joins the Tournaments to show his superior Jeet Kune Do fighting abilities. Jann Lee has never seen the faces of his parents; they died when he was very young and left him an orphan, alone to fend for himself. He lived in poverty, having to wander the streets for food, and faced many hardships. In order to protect himself, Jann Lee learned Jeet Kune Do by watching various martial arts films; especially from Bruce Lee. At first he fought to replace the feelings of loss from when his parents died, but eventually Jann Lee fought purely for the sake of fighting. Eventually, he got skilled enough to get a job as a bouncer at a high-class club. He is met at the first tournament by Leifang, a girl he had saved some six years prior from a gang's attack. In the time since she had become an accomplished martial artist, vowing to prove herself not helpless by defeating Jann Lee in the DOA World Combat Championship. Not satisfied, Jann Lee enters later DOA tournaments to prove his fighting skills and looking to test himself against worthy opponents. Although he loses to Leifang in the fourth tournament, he manages to defeat her in the next one. He later claims the title of winner of the fifth DOA tournament after defeating Hitomi. Although he wins, he is still unsatisfied, and he sets his sights on his new rival: Rig. On the sixth tournament before his final match against Diego starts, Jann Lee finds and defeats Rig; however, he realizes that Rig was not himself, unaware that the latter being brainwashed by MIST. Though Jann Lee was almost bored of being the long-standing champion of DOA, he finally considered Diego, who defeated Jann Lee in an unofficial Round 2, as a worthy rival.

His name, as well as his overall appearance and mannerisms, pays homage to legendary martial artist Bruce Lee (the name "Jann Lee" is directly inspired by Bruce Lee's birth name ). GamesRadar featured him on their article "Kickass Bruce Lee Clones," citing his similarities with Bruce Lee and with one of his shouts featured in famous quotes.

Kasumi

Leifang

Raidou

Voiced by (English): Michael McConnohie (''Dimensions''), John Snyder (DOA5), Jamieson Price (DOA6)
Voiced by (Japanese): Koji Yada (''DOA'', ''DOAU''), Tetsu Inada (''Dimensions''–present)

is Ayane and Honoka's biological father, Kasumi and Hayate's uncle, Shiden's older brother, Burai's eldest son, and the main antagonist of the first and sixth ''Dead or Alive'' games. A power-hungry shinobi, Raidou sought to master all of the Mugen Tenshin clan's techniques. During his youth, his father trained him and Shiden in the most advanced skills of the Tenjinmon of Mugen Tenshin ninjutsu. As he grew older, his anger and rage became more unstable as Shiden was constantly getting stronger than him, physically, mentally, and spiritually. When Burai refused to let him lead the clan, Raidou became insane with rage and left the village, determined to become the most powerful ninja in history. When he returned to the village while Shiden was away, Raidou raped Ayame (Hayate and Kasumi's mother) who became pregnant with Ayane. As a result, Raidou was banished from his village. Years later, he returned to gain the clan's signature technique, the Torn Sky Blast, and confronts Hayate after easily defeating Ayane. Hayate uses the Torn Sky Blast to attack Raidou, but Raidou counters with his own version of the technique (despite only seeing it once) and defeats Hayate after a brief struggle, knocking him into a coma. Raidou was killed by Kasumi in the first DOA tournament out of revenge for what he did to Hayate, thus deeming her the tournament's winner. He is playable in all console versions of the original ''Dead or Alive'' once unlocked. He also appears in ''DOA Dimensions'' as an unlockable character. He is later returned in ''Dead or Alive 5 Last Round'' (canonically in ''Dead or Alive 6'') as an undead cyber ninja, becoming MIST's secret agent after Donovan retrieved his corpse and orders MIST's newly recruited scientist NICO to remove some of his memories, except his insatiable lust for power, death and revenge. His resurrection requires the powers from his two illegitimate daughters, Ayane and Honoka; this was actually his plan from the beginning of his death all along. Even after being resurrected, he is destroyed by a combined effort of Kasumi, Hayate and Ayane, leaving no trace of him left behind. While he no longer participates in the DOA tournaments, he still remains a playable character in later installments.

Cheat Code Central ranked him #5 of their "worst video game dads" list in 2012, calling him "a blight on virtual humanity" and adding that "we can all agree the DOA universe is better off without this power-hungry monster".

Ryu Hayabusa

Tina Armstrong

Zack

Voiced by (English): Khary Payton (''DOAX2''–''Dimensions''), Keith Silverstein (''DOA5''–present)
Voiced by (Japanese): Bin Shimada
Live-action actor: Brian J. White

is an eccentric DJ who specializes in the muay thai boxing style. After hearing about the tournament, Zack enters to increase his popularity and make a name for himself, and apparently succeeds in that endeavor to an extent. Zack enters the next tournament to please his fans and gain more money, in which he once again succeeds and then returns to his life of leisure. After exhausting all his financial reserves, Zack enters the third tournament to earn more money so that he can enjoy a Las Vegas vacation. However, it is revealed he did not actually win the tournament, but Ayane, who defeated Omega (Genra). Due to Ayane's departure after the tournament, Zack claims the title by default. Shortly afterwards, Zack goes to Las Vegas and using his earnings, bets it all in various casinos. He wins enough money to buy Zack Island, an extravagant private beach resort. He then invites all the women of ''DOA'' under the false pretense of another tournament, who take the bait and arrive on the island where Zack, accompanied by his girlfriend Niki, convinces them to stay for a brief two-week vacation. Unfortunately, the Zack Island has sunk to the bottom of the ocean.
In the fourth tournament, Zack's sights are already set on his next conquest: the DOATEC Tritower, three enormous pillars stretching up to the sky. Unfortunately, the tower catches on fire (as a result of the Mugen Tenshin attack) as Zack is climbing it, but he manages to escape the flames, saving Helena's life in the process. He is then made the winner of the fourth tournament due to his bravery (Helena was the original winner). After finding the treasure of an undead Egyptian pharaoh in ''DOA4'', Zack and Niki use their newfound wealth to form an unexplained contract with extraterrestrials who use a tractor beam to raise Zack Island (now called "New Zack Island") from the ocean floor, allowing Zack and Niki to once again restore it into an island paradise for the ladies of ''Dead or Alive'' to come play in. After proposing to Niki, Zack appear to be engulfed in a fiery explosion after a series of flaming meteorites once again destroys the island. However, it is later revealed that he was saved by the ambiguous alien abduction ray in a Deus Ex Machina fashion.
Before the fifth tournament, Zack joins Helena as her assistant in the newly reformed DOATEC. He made the official international announcement for the next tournaments and had a new arenas built for them. He personally invited Hitomi, Tina, and Jann Lee to participate in the tournament, although he understands the situations of Diego's mother as the main reason why Diego unable to join in at first. When Kokoro felt conflicted upon learning her connection to her half-sister Helena, Zack helped her out and managed to get her to reconcile with Helena.

Zack's appearance is based on former NBA star Dennis Rodman. In the film '' DOA: Dead or Alive'', Zack is portrayed by Brian J. White, retaining his natural personality. He also seems to have some interest in Tina, as in the games; in his last appearance of the film, Zack fights Tina and is defeated by her.

Introduced in ''Dead or Alive 2''

Ein/Hayate

Voiced by (English): Yuri Lowenthal (''Dimensions''–present)
Voiced by (Japanese): Hikaru Midorikawa
Live-action actor: Collin Chou

is the oldest child and only son of Shiden and Ayame, the leaders of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan, and was born to be the next leader of the clan. When Genra requested to Shiden for Ayane, the village's "cursed child"-, to help him in his duties, Hayate treated the girl with kindness, which most of the clan did not give her. The two formed a strong bond, although Hayate did not know that Ayane was actually his half-sister, conceived when his uncle, the rogue ninja Raidou, raped Ayame when Hayate was only seven years old. Years later, Raidou attacked the Mugen Tenshin Village in an attempt to steal the clan's ninja technique, the Torn Sky Blast. Ayane attacked Raidou to defend Hayate and out of revenge for her birth, but was defeated. Hayate ran to her side, but when Raidou called him a "weakling" for hiding behind a woman, Hayate attacked him in rage, using the Torn Sky Blast to fight Raidou who stole it from him. As both of their attacks collided, the resulting explosion threw Hayate into a tree, cracking his spine and sending him into a coma. During the first Dead or Alive Tournament, Hayate was captured by DOATEC and was made to undergo various experiments as part of "Project Epsilon". After Project Epsilon was deemed a failure, Hayate was abandoned and was later found in the Black Forest of Germany by Hitomi, whose family took him in. Suffering from amnesia, he was named and studied karate under Hitomi's father, later mastering it and became an instructor. He later joins the second Dead or Alive tournament to seek out his forgotten past, encountering many who knew him, including Ayane, Kasumi, Ryu, and Helena; he is eventually bested by Ryu in the tournament, while also recovering his memories through a combat against Kasumi per Ryu's request. However, he and Ryu learn that Ayane's foster father and ninja master, Genra betrays Mugen Tenshin and align with a company who cloned Kasumi, DOATEC. Soon after discovering Kasumi became a nukenin, Hayate and Ayane returned to his home village. In ''Dead or Alive 3'', Hayate was assigned as the new leader of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan, becoming the 18th leader, succeeding his father. He joins the third tournament to help Ayane and Ryu defeat Omega-empowered Genra. Although he feels it was his duty to defeat Omega Genra as leader of the clan, Hayate is bested by Ayane, who then proceeds to the final round and prepare settle score with her foster father on her own, citing that it was a personal affair. Despite a minor setback when both Christie and Genra set up a trap to lure Ryu into after the former when she kidnapped Irene, Ryu is able to arrive on time to aid Hayate to weaken Genra, allowing Ayane to kill her traitorous foster father. He later returns in ''Dead or Alive 4'' with Hayabusa and Ayane to defeat DOATEC and its latest creation, Alpha-152. He crosses paths with La Mariposa, who reveals that she manipulated them into attacking the Tritower. He appears as the final boss in Hitomi's story mode (as Ein), where he offers to help the latter rebuild her father's dojo if she could beat him in a fight. In the fifth tournament, he and Ayane are asked by Zack to follow Kasumi and assist Helena in her attempt to investigate the newly formed MIST. He encounters a Kasumi clone and kill her. After being freed by Lisa from Rig's trap, he helps the real Kasumi, Hayabusa and Ayane defeat the remaining clones. In the sixth tournament, Hayate is given by Lisa a prototype anti-Epsilon bracelet to prevent the effect from freezing his body, before going to rescue both Honoka and Ayane from being used by MIST to resurrect their father, Raidou. Hayate along with Kasumi and Ayane would later track down the resurrected Raidou who again calls him out for having women accompanying him in a fight. Hayate calls him out for being a traitor and using his abilities for evil purposes. With their combined efforts, the trio destroyed Raidou for good, leaving no trace of him behind.

In the live-action film ''DOA: Dead or Alive'', Hayate is captured by DOATEC after winning that year's DOA competition rather than being captured by DOATEC in his home village. He is meant to test Donovan's newest invention rather than being tested on Project Epsilon and is the reason for Kasumi's entrance in the tournament, much like the first game. Donovan states that Hayate is stronger than Kasumi and that he has a "perfect blend of skill, timing and strength." Hayate and Ayane are also shown as lovers rather than half-siblings. The fighting style he used was eagle claw.

While have yet physically appearing in a modern-era ''Ninja Gaiden'' game, he is mentioned in ''Ninja Gaiden 3''. Overhearing Hayabusa was cursed by the Regent of the Mask (a brainwashed Theodore Higgins) into having sword merge with his right arm and slowly hurt him, Hayate sent Ayane to lend his signature sword, Jinrai-Maru to be used by their friend throughout the third entry of modern-era ''Ninja Gaiden'' game's chapters.

Helena Douglas

Kasumi Alpha

Leon

Voiced by (English): Richard Epcar (''Dimensions''–present)
Voiced by (Japanese): Koji Totani (''DOA2''–''DOA4''), Jōji Nakata (''Dimensions''–present)
Live-action actor: Silvio Simac

is an Italian mercenary who, like Bayman, specializes in the combat sambo style of close-quarters combat. While he was on the Silk Road, he met Lauren, a young thief, and fell in love with her. The two were in a loving relationship until Lauren's sudden, tragic death in the desert. As Lauren died in Leon's arms, her final words were: "The man I love is the strongest man in the world." To prove this claim, Leon enters the second DOA tournament, where he fights Zack, who he seemed to have recognized from the past (though Zack does not seem to remember or actually know him), and Gen Fu. He loses in the second tournament, but returns in the third tournament where he encounters Jann Lee. After the events of the third tournament, he returns to the desert oasis where he had buried Lauren, and sees the mirage of his lover who gives him a desert flower before disappearing, indicating that he has fulfilled her expectations. He no longer participates in the DOA tournaments, though he remains a playable character in later installments.

Silvio Simac's portrayal in the live action film has been praised by fans of the games who stated that he portrayed Leon exactly as they wanted.

Tengu

Voiced by (English): Joel Swetow (''Dimensions'')
Voiced by (Japanese): Osamu Saka

is a tengu, a mythological creature from Japanese folklore. First appearing in ''DOA2'' as the main antagonist, he escaped to the human world from the Tengu world after murdering his leader, Kuramasan Maouson. He wants chaos to reign over the human world, but is stopped by Hayabusa. With his death, it not only brings a good news to the Tengu civilization, but also caught the attention of the said world's princess Nyotengu. He later appears as an unlockable character in ''DOA Ultimate'', ''DOA4'', and ''DOA Dimensions''. It is later revealed in ''Dimensions'' that Genra allowed him to escape to the human world.

Introduced in ''Dead or Alive 3''

Brad Wong

Voiced by (English): Grant George (''Dimensions''–present)
Voiced by (Japanese): Yukimasa Kishino (''DOA3''–''DOA4''), Unshō Ishizuka (''Dimensions''–''DOA6'')
Live-action actor: Song Lin

is a drunken wanderer who specializes in the Zuì Quán fighting style. He embarks on a journey in search of a riddle from his old master Chen, who told him to "bring the legendary drink called Genra." After three years of wandering on his journey, he finds himself in the DOA fighting tournament. After his search for the legendary wine apparently ends after DOA4, he accompanies Eliot, much to Eliot's annoyance.

Christie

Hitomi

Omega/Genra

Voiced by (English): Andrew Kishino (''Dimensions'')
Voiced by (Japanese): Osamu Saka

was Ayane's foster father and the leader of Mugen Tenshin's Hajin Mon ninja. He was the one who sent Ayane after Kasumi after the latter left the clan in order to avenge Hayate. In ''Dead or Alive 3'', he was the main antagonist, used as a test subject by DOATEC for Project Omega, transforming him into the superhuman . As Omega, he appears as a hulking figure fully clad in dark samurai armor, and wields a tokkosho sword. Unlike most matches in the ''Dead or Alive'' series, his battles are fought at an obscure camera angle. In '' Dead or Alive: Dimensions'', Genra is featured as a boss character and as an unlockable character, and the stage's camera where he is the final boss in the third game no longer obscure. In the game's Chronicle Mode, it is revealed that he willingly gave himself over to DOATEC, particularly his accomplish, Victor Donovan to become stronger, revealing his cruel and power-hungry personality. It is also revealed that he allowed Bankotsubo, the Tengu, to pass through human world. He was finally defeated and killed by Ayane (with aid from Hayabusa and Hayate, as revealed in ''Dimensions''), who later ritually cremates him, taking his tokkosho. His appearances in the games are portrayed with his face obscured, usually with a wooden mask.

Introduced in ''Dead or Alive 4''

Alpha-152

Eliot

Voiced by (English): Rolland Lopez (''Dimensions''), David Vincent (''DOA5''–present)
Voiced by (Japanese): Junko Minagawa

is a high school boy from England and the sole apprentice to Gen Fu. He joins the fourth DOA tournament, very determined to prove to himself that he is worthy of being the successor. He is also revealed to be uncertain of why Gen Fu would choose him as his successor, seen while talking to Brad Wong. He later faces Gen Fu at the end of his story mode, and defeats him, proving his worth. He decides to enter the fifth tournament, and Brad follows him. He is eliminated in the semifinals after losing to Hitomi, and he is now ready to learn xinyi liuhe quan, as taught by Gen Fu. His principle outfits are usually traditional kung fu uniforms, though he also wears modern Western fashions. His fighting style is xing yi quan, until he obtain the xinyi liuhe quan as of ''DOA6''.

Kokoro

Voiced by (English): Kathryn Feller (''DOAX2''–''Dimensions''), Heather Hogan-Watson (''DOA5''-present)
Voiced by (Japanese): Ayako Kawasumi

is a Japanese girl that uses the bajiquan fighting style. Her mother, Miyako, was a DOATEC official and one of Fame Douglas' many mistresses, and after Kokoro's birth, Miyako and her child moved to the country. Kokoro began training to be a geisha, but her heart was actually in both training to be a geisha and martial arts. She asked her mother if she could participate in the 4th Dead or Alive tournament, and she hesitantly accepted, but also says a statement indicating she could possibly meet someone of significance ("blood is thicker than water"). After several rounds of the tournament, Kokoro meets the DOATEC heiress Helena, who, unbeknownst to Kokoro, is her half-sister, up until she learned in their connections in the sixth tournament from MIST scientist NiCO, and eventually get warmed up from the conflict of this revelation thanks to Zack, reconciling with her sister. Kokoro's CG ending shows her returning home to pursue her geisha training once again, doing things like fan dancing and playing the shamisen and taiko drum. After she and her mother move to Tokyo for her mother's business, Kokoro sees Helena's announcement for the next tournament, in which she loses to Eliot in the quarterfinals. Kokoro is one of the original nine qualified characters in '' Dead or Alive Xtreme 3''.

La Mariposa/Lisa Hamilton

Voiced by (English): Masasa Moyo (''DOAX2''–''Dimensions''), Wendee Lee (DOA5-present)
Voiced by (Japanese): Maaya Sakamoto

is a young African-American woman who first appears in ''Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball'', being hired by Zack as Zack Island's holiday representative. Prior to her appearance, she was once the lead scientist at DOATEC, being involved in the Epsilon Project. However she released Hayate. She then left DOATEC for a job as a stockbroker, though she still remains affiliated to DOATEC as its lead scientist for Project Alpha. Lisa is very sociable, getting along with everyone, including Ayane and Christie. She also seems to be a bit of a workaholic, evident by her multiple jobs, and the fact that she is almost always seen doing some form of work. Her multiple careers and job-changing is a trait she shares with Tina, her best friend from her high school days. In ''Dead or Alive 4'', she appears as a masked luchadora named , entering the tournament to match her wrestling skills against Tina's. She also confronts Hayate, revealing to him that she had manipulated him into destroying DOATEC. Also, in a cutscene involving her talking to Helena, she has shown to have some form of resentment with the company, specifically with Donovan's motives. She finally teams up with Tina to defeat a rival wrestling team at the end of her story mode, revealing her true identity in the process. In ''Dead or Alive 5'', it is revealed that she is an operative for Donovan's new organization, MIST In the game's true ending, after she frees Hayate and the Mugen Tenshin ninja and Hayabusa destroy the lab, she is trapped under some debris and her scream can be heard in the following explosion. Thankfully, she survived manage to get out of MIST's oil rig hideout as of ''Dead or Alive 6'', and was “replaced” by NiCO. Before sixth tournament, Lisa also prepared prototype anti-Epsilon brace to prevent the Epsilon freezing Hayate's body for a limited time.

Nicole/SPARTAN-458

Voiced by: Lyssa Browne

(codenamed "SPARTAN-458")is the result of collaboration between Tecmo's Team Ninja and Microsoft's Bungie. Team Ninja originally asked Bungie for permission to use the Master Chief, which Bungie claimed would be impossible due to storyline restrictions. But the staff at Bungie were intrigued with the idea and wanted to try something similar. As a result, Bungie developed the concept of a Spartan not entirely connected to the ''Halo'' storyline who could conveniently and somewhat plausibly be fit into the ''Dead or Alive'' universe. This concept evolved into the character of Nicole. Nearly all of the resources for her design came straight from ''Halo 2'' game data. The data was modified to work in the ''Dead or Alive'' game engine as a female combatant, but kept to the traditional Spartan design; a feminine figure would have been implausible for such a heavily armored, cybernetically enhanced individual. According to Nicole's fictional backstory, she is born in the Martian city of Legaspi in 2531. This, however, seems unlikely as the SPARTAN-II program used children of the age of 6 and born in 2511 (however it is possible as it is believed that there was a second class of Spartan-IIs). Members of the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) kidnap her at the age of six and enroll her in the SPARTAN-II Project, an initiative designed to develop the "Spartan" series of supersoldiers; this is the same program that the Master Chief, and other Spartans from the ''Halo'' series undergo. Bungie explained Nicole's presence in the ''Dead or Alive'' setting of the 21st century in an article that revealed the character's background. The studio stated that the character, who has never appeared in any other ''Halo'' fiction, is sent to the 21st century when a partially stable "bubble" in the space-time continuum opens near Nassau Station, where she and her unit are preparing for a secret mission. This "bubble" is created when Apocalypso, an ONI stealth vehicle, interacts with real-space, as a result of an unusual slipspace incident. This incident traps Nicole in the 21st century. While waiting for the bubble to collapse, which she hopes will enable her to return to the future, she battles any member of the DOA cast to arrive at the station, protecting its classified information. To keep the space-time continuum stable, she avoids lethal force in executing her current task.

Nicole's fighting style is very quick and powerful, a variation of standard military close quarters combat. Her move list contains moves of other characters in the game; her fighting style is a hybrid of Leon and Bayman's movesets to create a blend of striking combos and throws. Her style meant to incapacitate an armed opponent in a matter of seconds and take advantage of her enhanced strength, as well as to exploit any environmental advantages. She is described as having great speed despite her large size. Many of her moves allude to the ''Halo'' universe, with names such as " The Great Journey" and "The Grunt Punt"; the former is a powerful move that sends an opponent down stairs or off a ledge. Also in Nicole's repertoire are several technologies from ''Halo'', including active camouflage, represented by her taunt and rendering her nearly invisible, and the plasma grenade, represented by a command throw. She speaks English and Japanese. Previews of ''Dead or Alive 4'' showed a Spartan among the game's characters; this attracted attention and curiosity regarding whether such a character would appear fully functional in the final version of the game. The character's moves, all of which were homages to the ''Halo'' series, and the inclusion of a ''Halo''-based level were positively described in pre-release reviews. Bungie returned the favor, and in the release of ''Halo 3'' there is an armor type called Hayabusa, for which its design is based on Ryu Hayabusa's appearance.

Introduced in ''Dead or Alive Paradise''

Rio Rollins Tachibana

Voiced by (English): Ali Hillis
Voiced by (Japanese): Marina Inoue

, full name , is a character from Tecmo's ''Rio'' series of pachinko games, which also received a 2011 anime series, '' Rio: Rainbow Gate!'', as well as the '' Rakushou! Pachi-Slot Sengen'' series of video games. She appears as a playable character in '' Dead or Alive Paradise''. She is a casino dealer who works at the famed Howard Resort, and her ability to grant good fortune to everyone around her has given her the nickname of "The Goddess of Victory".

Introduced in ''Dead or Alive: Dimensions''

Shiden

Voiced by (English): Lloyd Sherr
Voiced by (Japanese): Yukitoshi Hori

is Kasumi and Hayate's father, Ayame's husband, Raidou's younger brother, the biological uncle of Ayane and Honoka, Burai's younger son, and the former leader of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan. When he was a member of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan, he and Raidou were trained by their father in the most advanced skills of the Tenjinmon of Mugen Tenshin ninjutsu. Over the years, he became a physically, mentally, and spiritually stronger ninja than Raidou and eventually became the clan's 17th leader, succeeding their father Burai who was the 16th leader. This led to Raidou's departure from village out of jealously and rage. Shiden was furious at Raidou for raping his wife while he was away, and denounced him as his brother. The result of the rape led to the birth of his niece, Ayane. Years later, when Raidou returned and attacked the villagers, Shiden was bitter at Radiou for crippling his son Hayate which led to Hayate's comatic state. Shiden made the decision to have is daughter Kasumi take Hayate's place as heir to the head of the clan. Shiden kept the truth about Hayate's attacker a secret from Kasumi, worried that she would succumb to her emotions and seek Raidou out, but the attempt was in vain as Kasumi would learn the truth and left the village. After Hayate recovered from his coma, Shiden was filled with joy, and his position of leadership was ceded to Hayate in ''DOA3''. Shiden was mentioned in the first ''Dead or Alive'' and later made his first physical appearance in '' Dead or Alive Ultimate''. He later appears as a boss and playable character in ''Dead or Alive: Dimensions''.

Introduced in ''Dead or Alive 5''

Akira Yuki

Honoka

Voiced by (English): Kira Buckland
Voiced by (Japanese): Ai Nonaka

Honoka (ほのか) is an 18-year-old Japanese fighter capable of instantly learning any fighting move that she sees. She is daughter of Raidou, the biological niece of Shiden and Ayame, the cousin of Hayate and Kasumi and the cousin and half-sister of Ayane. She made her debut in ''Dead or Alive 5 Last Round''. She appears to have a similar aura and mimicry fighting style as Raidou, which led her connection with the Mugen Tenshin clan, including Raidou's daughter, Ayane, is remained unknown, until ''Dead or Alive 6'' finally confirms it as Ayane's older half-sister. Honoka did participate the 5th tournament's Asian qualification, with her past opponent was a male fighter known as Thomas Blake, until Raidou's demonic energy in her bloodline suddenly haywire into knocking both of her and her opponent, causing her being disqualified, and Honoka herself do not recall what was going on. Unfortunately, Honoka's life ended up in danger under MIST's eyes and ears, due to having a same energy as both Raidou and Ayane; her life is under protection of both ninjas and DOATEC to make sure she will never fall into the wrong hands such as MIST's. Unfortunately, both of she and Ayane end up being captured by MIST for Raidou's resurrection as an undead cyber demon ninja, draining most of their energies. Unlike her younger half-sister Ayane, Honoka is still completely weakened by their powers being used for Raidou's resurrection, with Hayate saving her life and giving her into Ryu Hayabusa and DOATEC's care before he, Ayane and Kasumi set off to hunt the resurrected Raidou.

Honoka was designed by Natsuko Kawakami. She is playable in ''DOAX3'', appearing on the cover due to her popularity.

Jacky Bryant

Mai Shiranui

Marie Rose

Voiced by (English): Christine Marie Cabanos
Voiced by (Japanese): Mai Aizawa

is an 18-year-old Swedish maid and the ward of Helena Douglas, who uses the Russian fighting style systema. She debuted in the ''Arcade Edition'' of ''DOA5 Ultimate'' and is a DLC character in the retail version of the game. When the sixth tournament was announced, Marie was tasked to guard Honoka, realizing MIST will come after her, including the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Ayane, to forcefully resurrecting their illegitimate father, Raidou as an undead ninja cyborg.

Marie was designed by Natsuko Kawakami. She is playable in ''DOAX3'', appearing on the covers due to her popularity.

Mila

Voiced by (English): Amber Connor (''DOA6'')
Voiced by (Japanese): Ryoko Shiraishi

is an up-and-coming mixed martial arts Spanish champion who has scored spectacular victories all over the world. She spends her days training at the gym in between shifts at her part-time job, honing her skills as a lightning fast, orthodox striker with a strong follow-up ground game. She also feels intense admiration for a certain fighter, and she has entered the fifth Dead or Alive Tournament to follow her dream of taking on her idol in the ring. Some days after an exhibition match with Tina, she loses in the quarterfinals to Hitomi, as Tina also lost as well, by her own father, Bass (as Mr. Strong). In the sixth tournament however, she finally won against Bass at the round of 16. Mila is one of the few people aside Zack who worried about Diego's situation with his ill-mother.

During a vote for the release of ''Dead or Alive Xtreme 3'', Mila was voted at 12th rank and amongst unqualified girls at the initial release of the game. Later, according to weekly Famitsu magazine on the final poll result of ''Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation'' 4th anniversary on November 18, 2021, Mila is one of the top three remaining mainline fighters alongside Tina and NiCO to be first qualify to appear in the said gacha game, with Mila is ranked at the 3rd, behind both NiCO (1st rank) and Tina (2nd rank).https://www.famitsu.com/news/202111/18241127.html

Momiji

Naotora Ii

Voiced by (English): Erica Mendez
Voiced by (Japanese): Yuka Saitō

is a guest character from Tecmo Koei's '' Samurai Warriors (Sengoku Musou)'' series. In ''Dead or Alive 5: Last Round'', Naotora was sent into the present day due to one of Victor Donovan's MIST time travelling experiments. Naotora is the ruler of Japan's Warring States era Ii Clan; she has no choice but to fight for life under the Ii name and keep the motto of her family: "once on the battlefield, one must face the enemy head on" in mind. A determined Naotora sets out to emerge victorious from this strange new challenge.

Nyotengu

Voiced by (English): Brina Palencia
Voiced by (Japanese): Akemi Satō

Nyotengu (女天狗) is a female tengu from the mountains of Japan. Nyotengu practices tengu-do, a unique fighting style passed down for ages. She is the princess of the tengu world who comes to the human world to seek out Ryu Hayabusa and test his strength for his reputation on ending Bankotsubo's life of crime. As Hayabusa proves his strength to her and spare her life as well, Nyotengu is finally satisfied. She made an unofficial guest star in the sixth tournament in an unofficial “half-time” battle.

Nyotengu is a DLC character in the retail version of ''DOA5 Ultimate'', and later included in ''Dead or Alive 5 Last Round''. She is also playable in ''DOAX3''. She was furthermore added to ''DOA6'' as a bonus character despite tight budget and schedule due to the designers' preference for her.

A character known as “Ancient Nyotengu”, based on ''Dead or Alive''’s Nyotengu appears as a DLC side boss in ''Nioh 2''.

Pai Chan

Phase 4

Rachel

Rig

Voiced by (English): Kyle Hebert (''DOA6'')
Voiced by (Japanese): Hiroki Tōchi

is a natural born fighter. He has used his powerful instincts to master of the art of taekwondo. He has run the oil rig from a young age, and his colleagues simply call him "Rig". But even he does not know his real name or where he comes from. He learned taekwondo on the oil rig, which led him to create his own style, with plenty of moves he came up with himself. Through playing story mode in ''Dead or Alive 5'', it soon becomes apparent that Rig knows more about his identity than he lets on, but ended up twisted in ''Dead or Alive 6'', as he is indeed never knew who he was and how he became evil at the end of 5th game is explained. Upon meeting MIST's undercover agent Christie, Rig was unaware that she was sent to implant him with a mind control device in his body, creating an evil persona known as Victor Donovan Jr.. Even after losing to Kasumi in a fight in the lab, in the 5th game's extra cutscene, the brainwashed Rig reveals to Donovan that Phase 4 is according to plan and ready to be mass-produced before recently being released from his brainwashed state and soon finding out the oil platform he live is somehow destroyed, with Rig being offered by his best friend Bass to live with him.

Before the sixth tournament starts, Rig overhears Mila and Zack's about the situation which a street fighter Diego is in, relating to his ill-mother, and manage to convince the latter to join the tournament for their sake. Rig also the one who handles the promotion of Armstrong wrestling family and Mila for the wrestling tournament. While in a middle of cheering the sixth tournament battles, Rig ended up being brainwashed by Christie twice. Rig's disappearance and why Mugen Tenshin and Hayabusa ninja clans are after him, cause Bass worries his situation.

Sarah Bryant

Introduced in ''Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation''

Amy

A recently graduated student and a computer engineer. Due to carrying a laptop that has AZERTY input layout, she likely hails from either France (same as Helena) or Belgium. She also went to the same graduate school as Luna.

Elise

A very strict Western European woman with a profession of disciplinary leadership from her time. It is said that she has been a previous owner of Venus Island before she was promoted to a higher rank, a life coach partly due to failing to set up the venus festival on time, while her previous owner title was succeeded by the current one who is a male.

Fiona

A British girl who is described to be a soft and fluffy, big-breasted princess. She arrived at the island to meet with and be at the Owner's side, having fallen in love with him at first sight.

Kanna

An Oni who came to the Venus Islands and placed the Owner under control. She is a rival of Nyotengu.

Koharu

An aspiring innkeeper whose parents owned a certain historical hot springs inn, she came to the island to get training on the job.

Luna

She is a scholar specializing in cultural anthropology and folklore who wants to investigate the surrounding area within the Venus Islands. The only thing that is known about her besides her name is that she likes eating roasted sweet potatoes, presumably since her grandfather made it for her in her childhood life, and that she originally hailed from a "very cold, poverty-stricken country." She also went to the same graduate school as Amy, though they did not interact much.

Lobelia

A daughter of a noble British family and Fiona's childhood friend, who is a much more talented dancer than the latter, and also both flower botanist and a botanical artist.

Misaki

She is an exclusive supporter, who always supports the owner. She is a modern-day girl who will lightheartedly come into contact with the owner like a friend. But there is also a side to her that avoids exposing her skin. She also has an older sister named Nagisa who is extremely protective of her.

Monica

An aspiring Casino Dealer who came to the Venus Islands in the hopes to be hired to the island's casino, participating in the Venus Festival to build up enough funding to ensure the casino is completed. She implies that the key influences to her career decision stemmed from both her father taking her to the casinos as a child and a man (heavily implied from the description to be Zack) telling her that casinos were where dreams come true.

Nagisa

A stage actress, who came to the Venus Islands to get her younger sister Misaki out, due to viewing the owner as a pervert. She respects Tina Armstrong, due to being a fellow actress with similar acting professions.

Nanami

An old friend of Misaki since middle school, and a popular track-field athlete. She implies that Zack was a major factor in her going to the Venus Islands.

Patty

A local girl to the same South Pacific archipelago where the Venus Islands were located. She stumbled upon the island during one of her daily walks and met the Owner when she lost her radio and he returned it to her. She had a keen sense of smell to the extent that she could even detect a person's nature via a said sense of smell.

Sayuri

A beautiful, kind, and caring job-seeking nurse with a big sister attitude. She was originally seeking a nursery-based job after being fired for doing her job too well until she found one on Venus Island. Upon her arrival, she happens to find the Owner passed out due to heat exhaustion. The Owner wakes up to a soothing introduction from the nurse. She was then invited by the enthusiastic Owner not just as a nurse, but also as a participant in Venus Festival.

Shandy

A beautiful, and mature Singaporean bartender who specialized in making bar-based drinks, particularly cocktails.

Tamaki

is a swimsuit model-turned fashion designer who arrives to the Venus Islands looking to unwind. After joining the Venus Festival, she helps the Boss by designing swimsuits for the other participants. Even if Tamaki likes to constantly tease people and often oversteps boundaries, she's shown to be a kind and reliable "older sister" to the other girls. In March 2020, Tamaki was added to ''Dead or Alive 6'' as DLC where she is revealed to be an aikido fighter. She is the second character to make her fighting game debut from the ''Xtreme'' spin-off series after Lisa Hamilton. Tamaki has made guest appearances in Destiny Child and Shinobi Master Senran Kagura: New Link.

Tsukushi

An extremely shy and withdrawn university student and aspiring mangaka, she went to the Venus Islands to observe and draw the environment, especially the "goddesses" (referring to the female participants in the Venus Islands).

Introduced in ''Dead or Alive 6''

Diego

is a Mexican-American street fighter who grew up in the back alleys of the New York City. Diego started entering street matches to win money to support his ill mother, and quickly became known as New York's “uncrowned street hero.” After declining to enter the sixth Dead or Alive tournament multiple times, Diego is finally convinced by Rig, as well as Diego's mother. Although he is officially a runner-up after being defeated by fifth tournament champion Jann Lee, Diego won an unofficial round 2, earning Jann Lee his respect as a worthy rival, just as both fighters becomes exhausted from the battle.

According to the ''DOA6'' director and producer Yohei Shimbori, for Diego they "wanted an American fighter between the ages of 25 and 35 to whom the public could relate. This mericanaudience is less fond of styles like kung fu, they prefer a street fighter." According to designer Tom Lee, Diego was created specifically to give representation to the Hispanic community in America as well as appealing to American sensibilities. Diego was ultimately created from three different ideas presented by Lee.

Kula Diamond

NiCO

is a Finnish scientist who works for MIST and a fighter who utilizes both silat and electro-technomancy, powered by the technological rings that allow her to use long-ranged electric and teleportation attacks. She was responsible for resurrecting Raidou as a cyborg, with two of his daughters, Honoka and Ayane, as the keys to this process. As NiCO had never been loyal to MIST, she allowed herself to be recruited just to use them and Raidou's resurrection as stepping stones for the sake of resurrecting her own father. She also appears to have an interest in resurrecting Helena's mother Maria; however, Helena disapproves of the young scientist's plan to resurrect her mother and NiCO's father.

Yohei Shimbori said she "was created for anime fans around the world. We made her cute but also very smart, she's a scientist, all that in order to make her cool." Shimbori said her fighting style was inspired by him watching the Indonesian film '' The Raid.'' Previously he said NiCO has been created primarily for the Japanese and Asian markets, influenced by anime and light novels. She was at first supposed to be a Russian; her Japanese voice actor Sumire Uesaka was originally chosen for her Russian language skills. He also said that he initially wanted her to look even younger than Marie does. According to Weekly Famitsu Magazine on the final poll results of ''Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation'' 4th anniversary on November 18, 2021, NiCO is one of the top three remaining mainline fighters alongside Tina and Mila to be first qualify to return in the said gacha game, with NiCO is ranked at the 1st.

Other characters

Anne

is a German woman and the former mistress of Fame Douglas. She was murdered at gun point by an unknown person. She is briefly seen in ''Dead or Alive 4'' during Helena's ending.

Ayame

Voiced by (English): Kari Wahlgren
Voiced by (Japanese): Hōko Kuwashima

is the mother of Kasumi, Hayate and Ayane, the wife of Shiden and the biological aunt of Honoka. She was raped by Raidou in the past, thus giving birth to Ayane. Feeling too ashamed to raised Ayane, Ayame gave her up for adoption. Years later, Ayame revealed to Ayane about the circumstances of her birth after feeling guilty, and Ayame apologized for not raising her. Ayame was saddened when she learned that Kasumi broke shinobi code and left the village. Ayame would later ask Ayane to save Kasumi rather than be her enemy as Ayame believes that their family bonds are stronger than the shinobi code. She first appeared in ''Dead or Alive Ultimate'', she later appeared in ''Dead or Alive: Dimensions'', and is mentioned in ''Dead or Alive 6''.

Ayane's guardian

Ayane's guardian is an old man who raised Ayane until she was fostered by Genra.

Chen

Voiced by: Bin Shimada

is Brad Wong's old drunken master and great teacher of Zui Quan. He sent Brad Wong on a journey to search for the legendary wine named Genra. He can be seen in Brad Wong's story mode in ''DOA3'' and is later mentioned in ''DOA4'' and ''DOA Dimensions''.

Fame Douglas

Voiced by (English): Richard Epcar
Voiced by (Japanese): Jōji Nakata

was the founder and chairman of DOATEC, and Helena's biological father. He was assassinated by Bayman (who was hired by Donovan) after arguing with Donovan in ''DOA'', where it is thought that he was opposed to the human experimentation proposed by Donovan, which led to his assassination. His illegitimate daughter, Helena, stands to inherit his position as chairman of DOATEC, but in ''DOA3'' Donovan makes attempts to stop this from happening by kidnapping her and forcing her to compete in the tournament for her freedom. She escapes her imprisonment and goes on to inherit Douglas' position as chairman of DOATEC in ''DOA4''. He first appeared in ''DOA4'' as a cameo in Helena's ending. He makes his first physical appearance in ''DOA Dimensions''. He was mentioned in ''DOA5'' and appeared as a cameo in ''DOA6''.

Hitomi's father

Hitomi's father is a karate master and instructor who runs a successful dojo near the Black Forest in Germany. He taught his daughter everything she knows about karate has been training her since she was a child. After Hitomi rescues an amnesiac Ein after he was abandoned in the Black Forest, Hitomi's father took him as one of his students, and after training him in karate, he makes him another instructor at his karate school. When Hitomi showed interest in competing in the Dead or Alive tournament, he allowed her to participate. With his daughter ranking third place in the third tournament, he allows her to venture on her own. At sometime before ''DOA4'', he became too ill to run the dojo, as a result, the dojo was in financial trouble. Hitomi entered the fourth tournament in order to help him in their time of need. He appears in ''DOA3'' during Hitomi's ending and is mentioned in ''DOA4''.

Irene Lew

Voiced by (English): Kari Wahlgren (''Ninja Gaiden II''), Amanda Troop (''Ninja Gaiden 3''-present)
Voiced by (Japanese): Yumi Tōma (anime), Mariko Suzuki (games)

is Ryu Hayabusa's ally and love interest from the ''Ninja Gaiden'' series for the NES, though only mentioned in the first ''DOA'' game in Ryu's backstory. Irene makes her first physical appearance in ''DOA Dimensions'', acting as a support character for Ryu and the Mugen Tenshin ninjas during their mission to take down DOATEC. Irene previously appeared in ''Ninja Gaiden II'' as the character Sonia, which is revealed to be her alias. She also uses this alias as the codename for the operation of taking down DOATEC in ''Dimensions.''

Lauren

Voiced by (English): Zoe Galvez
Voiced by (Japanese): Yuka Koyama

is Leon's lost lover. Prior to the DOA tournaments, Lauren was a young thief, who met Leon in the Silk Road and fell in love with him. The two were in a loving relationship until Lauren's sudden, tragic death in the desert, shown in a flashback scene in ''DOA2''. As Lauren died in Leon's arms, her final words were: "The man I love is the strongest man in the world." These words motivated Leon to enter the second and third DOA tournaments, by the end of which he returns to the desert oasis where he had buried Lauren, and sees the mirage of his lover who gives him a desert flower before disappearing, indicating that he has fulfilled her expectations. Until ''DOA Ultimate'', her name was mistranslated as Rolande.

Maria

is Helena Douglas's mother, former mistress of Fame Douglas and a soprano opera singer. She was fatally shot and killed by Christie intended for her daughter, leaving Helena alone and seeking vengeance. ''DOA6'' reveals that NiCO eventually reanimated her corpse, and showed it off to Helena when explaining her motives. Helena disapproved of it, citing that that one needs to move on, although it is implied from a POV shot from behind her canister that Maria was successfully revived regardless.

Mei Lin

Voiced by: Yui Horie

is Gen Fu's granddaughter. In the first ''DOA'' game, she suffered a terrible disease, resulting in Gen Fu entering three DOA tournaments to provide funds for her operation. In the fourth DOA tournament, she is fully recovered, hence Gen Fu no longer enters the tournament. She appears in Gen Fu's ending in ''DOA3'' and can be seen at the end of Eliot's ending in ''DOA4''.

Miyako

Voiced by: Tomoko Fujino

is Kokoro's overprotective mother and a geisha residing in Kyoto. In her earlier years, Miyako fell in love with Fame Douglas, and the two of them had an affair which resulted in Kokoro's birth. Being the center of the seeding workings at DOATEC, Miyako feared for her daughter's safety. To protect her, Miyako returned to Japan and raised Kokoro as a single parent, never telling her daughter about her father or her heritage to DOATEC, and started to oversee Kokoro's training to become a geisha. However, when Kokoro became more interested in martial arts than her geisha training and decided to enter the fourth Dead or Alive tournament, Miyako reluctantly allows her to go while warning her that she will not be satisfied in finding out the truth. Her affair with Fame was revealed by Helena. In ''DOA5'' it is revealed that she is the head of DOATEC Japan and is an operative for Donovan's new organization MIST, though Kokoro is unaware of this.

Muramasa

Voiced by: Takeshi Aono

is a character from the ''Ninja Gaiden'' series. He made several appearances in ''DOA4'' as the merchant who deals with Bass, Hitomi and Leifang at the Seaside Market. He also appears in ''DOA5'' in which he is taking care of and watching over Kasumi throughout most of the game's story.

Niki

Voiced by (English): Kari Wahlgren
Voiced by (Japanese): Yuka Koyama

is Zack's possible ex-girlfriend. They met in a casino after the ''Dead or Alive 3'' tournament, when Zack won a large sum of money that allowed him to buy an island which he named after himself. He invited most of the girls he remembered from the last tournament to his island under the false pretense of holding another tournament. The women arrived and after finding out it was a hoax, they decided to nonetheless spend their vacation there, but Zack and Niki were eventually left alone on the island. However, a previously inactive volcano erupted, and Niki decided to escape using Zack's jet pack. Zack survived, but his island was completely destroyed. During ''DOA4'', they are seen robbing an ancient tomb and escaping in a truck filled with gold. Niki is Zack's lucky charm (Lady Luck) and he takes her everywhere with him, going as far as naming a beach on his island's eastern shore after her. Niki joined the cast of ''DOAX2'', but not in a player-controlled role and appearing only in cut scenes with Zack as before.

Victor Donovan

Voiced by (English): Grant George (''Dimensions'')
Voiced by (Japanese): Moriya Endo
Live-action actor: Eric Roberts

is the main antagonist of the ''Dead or Alive'' series. He is the leader of DOATEC's anti-Douglas faction and is head of the Development Department, a state-of-the-art military fortress where Projects Alpha and Omega were developed. In the first ''DOA'' game, Donovan employed the Russian assassin Bayman to kill DOATEC's founder and chairman, Fame Douglas. This attempt is thought to have been successful, as Douglas died shortly after the event. The nature of Donovan's rebellion is thought to be controversy over experiments to be carried out to create the ultimate human weappon. In ''DOA3'' Donovan captures Helena, Fame Douglas' daughter, since she stands to inherit her father's position as chairman of DOATEC. He challenges Helena to win the third Dead or Alive tournament in order to gain her freedom and learn the truth behind the company, and also employs the assassin Christie to keep an eye on her. Meanwhile, Bayman seeks revenge after Donovan plotted his assassination to tie up any loose ends. Donovan is thought to be behind experiments such as Project Epsilon, to which Hayate was subjected; Project Alpha, the cloning of Kasumi; and Project Omega, the augmentation of Ayane's foster father Genra into the ultimate DOA fighter Omega. In Helena's ending of ''DOA4'', Ryu is shown destroying a ship with a man who may or may not be Donovan. The same figure also appeared to have been assassinated by Christie in a gentlemen's club. In what appears to be the canon telling of Donovan's fate, ''DOA Dimensions'' shows the shadowy antagonist placing on his face the same mask that corrupted Genra. An aura of demonic energy then surrounds Donovan as he walks back into the shadows, laughing maniacally. In ''DOA5'', which takes place two years after the fourth tournament, he sets up a new organization called MIST after DOATEC (now headed by Helena) disbanded its Military Division and Development Department, with Christie, Lisa, Miyako, NiCO and the brainwashed Rig as his operatives. At the post-end credits, he and Rig have a chat, confirming that the fourth stage of Project Alpha can begin as planned. ''DOA5LR'' (canonically ''DOA6'') reveals that Victor recovered Raidou's corpse two years ago after the first tournament, and send it to NiCO for his revival as a cyber-nukenin demon.

In the 2006 movie adaption, Donovan was killed in the explosion of DOA Island after being paralyzed by an acupuncture dart thrown by Kasumi.

See also

* Characters of ''Halo'' (source universe for SPARTAN-458 Nicole)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Dead Or Alive Characters

Dead or Alive