Tsubaki Yayoi

""In my right hand, I carry the sword of judgement and in my left, the scales of justice. I serve the wings who govern the heavens. I am their word and their sword made flesh.""

Major Tsubaki Yayoi (ツバキ＝ヤヨイ) is a soldier of the Novus Orbis Librarium and the heiress to the Duodecim's Yayoi family. She wields the Sealed Weapon Izayoi and is very close to Jin Kisaragi, Noel Vermillion, and Makoto Nanaya. To Tsubaki, Jin means everything, and she strives to bring justice to the world.

Tsubaki first appeared as an NPC in BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger before becoming playable in BlazBlue: Continuum Shift. Her alternate form is Izayoi.

Appearance


Tsubaki is a fair-skinned woman of average size with blue eyes and back length, red hair. Her fringe is neatly parted to the left, and the side part of her hair that falls in front of her shoulders has silver, spherical hair ornaments.

In BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, Tsubaki's natural battle uniform consists of a beige shirt with a black collar, beige pants with a black waistband, grey gloves, and grey boots with a cross emblem embedded on the front. Over this is a beige cloak along with a mini-apron dress with a flower design on the waist area. It has a yellow lining, and the kneecap sections ends in the shape of three yellow flower petals. As she wields the Sealed Weapon Izayoi, she wears a winged hat, which matches the color of the rest of her uniform, and has a blue eye at the center. In BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma, she wears the same uniform, however, she takes on a darker color scheme. And finally, in BlazBlue: Central Fiction, her outfit once again only changes it's color, donning a much brighter color scheme than before.

At the Military Academy, Tsubaki wears the standard uniform; with a black, pleated skirt that falls past her knees, dark brown tights, and light brown boots that zip up from the side. The side part of her hair is short, decorated with hair ornaments of a more cylindrical shape; additionally, she sports a blue and white headband to match her uniform.

Personality
"Steadfast and an organizer of people, she is beloved because she never fails to consider those around her. However, she can be too serious and has a tendency towards stubbornness, so there are times when she's unable to adapt."

Calm, intelligent, modest, and outwardly professional with even the smallest of things-- Tsubaki was raised by the Yayoi family to be a responsible heiress. She uses her status as a noble to try and make a positive influence on the world around her; upon meeting Makoto for the first time and seeing her being the victim of racially motivated bullying, Tsubaki intervened, defusing the situation with her influence as the Yayoi heiress. This incident is what lead Tsubaki to become friends with Makoto and Noel. To the friends around her, Tsubaki is known to be kind, yet nosy and stubborn.

One of Tsubaki's more defining traits is her love for Jin, who she has known since childhood. Growing up in a strict house, Tsubaki was often confined to her manor, thus Jin became not only the first boy she had seen close to her age, but also the first friend she's ever had. Tsubaki's love is shown to be romantic as she has fantasized about marrying him; however, this love is not blinding, and she will stand against him if he acts against what she believes is morally right.

Despite her calm attitude, Tsubaki has an excitable side. She becomes easily flustered and angry when pressed about her feelings for Jin, and is shown to be passionate about historical dramas and the Six Heroes, particularly Hakumen, to the point she's read all the books and seen all the movies based on them. In addition to this, she can be dramatic in expressing her views of justice and has a hostile and childish disposition when interacting with Ragna the Bloodedge during situations she's forced to work with him.

Tsubaki struggles to find her own sense of justice, a weakness that is exploited by Izanami and Yuuki Terumi; she wants to act on what she believes is right, but struggles to defy the Duodecim and NOL which she was raised to be obedient to. She is also prone to jealousy; particularly, for those around Jin. Such feelings were manipulated by Hazama alongside Terumi to goad Tsubaki into fighting Noel. As time has progressed, Tsubaki overcame her family conditioning and dark feelings, fighting for her own beliefs and friends.

Powers & Techniques
Thanks to her bloodline and years of training in martial arts, Tsubaki is a fierce combatant. She has a high Ars Magus aptitude that allows her to effectively utilise the Sealed Weapon Izayoi, a weapon passed down the Yayoi household. When using Izayoi, Tsubaki is able to fight against most opponents on an even keel, and frequently switches between its whip and sword form for its blade. Izayoi is able to effectively blind Observers from using Phenomenon Intervention, and Tsubaki can even cast a Zanki Barrier to further fight against that class of opponent.

Tsubaki is the only known person able to use the Zero-Type Izayoi, giving her access to the Immortal Breaker. With this, she can kill beings like Rachel Alucard and force her opponents to recognize their own death. There is a drawback in that it cannot kill those with the Power of Order or individuals with unique circumstances like Izanami, who is a Drive. Regardless of Izayoi, Tsubaki is a skilled negotiator and quick-thinker who is constantly aware of her surroundings, having realised that the Battle of Ragna the Bloodedge was a trap to ensnare her from the second she was invited serves as one example.

Unfortunately, Tsubaki is not as powerful as Jin or Noel, who wield Nox Nyctores class weapons. She will lose to either in a straight fight, and is forced to rely on the Zero-Type in order to effectively best the strongest opponents, but even then this may not be enough. She was previously easy to manipulate thanks to her hidden feelings and tendency to confine her emotions for the sake of others, but Tsubaki has overcome this with time and the help of her friends. She already fallen prey once to Izayoi's nature to blind its user; however, Tsubaki's eyesight was restored thanks to the Imperator's power. In addition to this, she also once over-relied on her weapon to the point of dying in one Continuum Shift. Despite the drawbacks of using the Izayoi, it is implied that having a strong mind and will while wielding the Izayoi can help counteract the deadly side-effects, which Tsubaki was able to achieve after she awakened the Zero-Type Izayoi.

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Official Site Profile
''A soldier of the Novus Orbis Librarium's "Zero Squadron" that fills in the role of the military police. Her rank is first lieutenant. She received an imperial decree to eliminate her missing childhood friend Jin and her best friend Noel, and while tormented with doubts, takes in hand the heirloom of the prestigious Yayoi family, the "Sealed Weapon Izayoi," and chases after them. ''

BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Official Site Profile
''Tsubaki Yayoi, who had been filled with false light by the Imperator, was praised and promoted to Major for her confrontation with Ragna the Bloodedge. Tsubaki, as part of the Wings of Justice under the direct command of the Imperator, travels to the region of Ikaruga to subjugate those traitors who resent the NOL. However, her wings have been dyed black. ''

BlazBlue: Central Fiction Official Site Profile
''A soldier of the Novus Orbis Librarium belonging to the "Fourth Thaumaturgist Squadron" spearheaded by Kagura Mutsuki. Her rank is first lieutenant. With the heirloom of the prestigious Yayoi family, the "Sealed Weapon Izayoi," in hand, she chases after the missing Jin Kisaragi. ''Steadfast and an organizer of people, she is beloved because she never fails to consider those around her. However, she can be too serious and has a tendency towards stubbornness, so there are times when she's unable to adapt. ''
 * Story
 * Personality

BlazBlue: Central Fiction Library Entry
''The next head of the Yayoi Family of the Duodecim. She is a member of the Zero Squadron, Wings of Justice – the squadron in charge of policing internal affairs of the NOL.
 * Tsubaki Yayoi

''Though she was born into a prestigious family, she doesn't flaunt her status. She excels in both the literary and martial arts, is reliable and takes matters seriously; although, some might say she's too inflexible when it comes to rules.

''Jin and her are childhood friends, and she meets Noel and Makoto in the Military Academy. Despite her enlisting in to the services, she herself does not like fighting and believes her efforts will help establish order, which will eliminate war. For that cause, she is ready to soak her hands in blood.

''Tsubaki receives the order from commander in chief of the NOL, the Imperator, to terminate her best friends Jin and Noel for desertion. Her heart still torn, she takes her family heirloom, the Izayoi, and reluctantly heads to Kagutsuchi.

''Tsubaki tries to reason with her friends, but is instead consumed by her jealousy for Noel, falling victim to Hazama's scheme. When she hits rock bottom and is blinded by her path, she is saved by the Imperator. Her loyalty becomes even stronger.

''She heads to the Coliseum to capture Ragna, but is intercepted by Jin, Noel, and Makoto. The three of them help her realize her true feelings, breaking Tsubaki free of the Imperator's curse.

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle Official Site Profile

 * See Izayoi

BlazBlue Alternative: Dark War Official Site Profile
''A soldier of the Novus Orbis Librarium with the rank of "First Lieutenant." She is friend of Noel Vermillion from their time at the Military Academy, and a daughter of the "Yayoi family" belonging to the same Duodecim as the Kisaragi family. For a long time she's followed and adored Jin, and calls him "brother." An honor student excelling in both the literary and military arts, she is a girl who keeps everyone in mind, yet can sometimes be unyielding. She is currently part of the Zeroth Squadron of the Novus Orbis Librarium. ''

Appearances in other Media

 * In Dead or Alive 5 Last Round, Hitomi has a DLC collaboration costume based on Tsubaki's outfit.
 * The mobile game Seven Knights stars Tsubaki as a playable character.
 * The mobile game Mabinogi Duel stars Tsubaki as a playable card.
 * The arcade collectible card games Lord of Vermilion 3, from Square Enix, has Tsubaki as a playable card.
 * The PSVita music app NAX Music Player has Tsubaki as purchasable background skin.
 * The iOS/Android game Medal Masters: Call of destiny has Tsubaki as a playable character.
 * The iOS/Android game Venus Eleven Vivid! has Tsubaki as a playable character.
 * Tsubaki's theme 'Condemnation Wings' and background art depicting her are purchasable DLC in the musical puzzle game 0D Beat Drop.
 * The puzzle rhythm game Magical Beat features Tsubaki as an avatar and her theme 'Condemnation Wings' as purchasable theme.

Trivia

 * In the BlazBlue 10th Anniversary Character Poll, Tsubaki placed 13th out of the 84 candidates. She scored one place above Rachel Alucard and one place below Lambda-11. She had 2,176 votes.
 * Tsubaki's birthday is March 14, White Day, corresponding with Jin's birthday being February 14, Valentine's Day.
 * All members of the Zero Squadron use the same sprite in the story mode, but this sprite was originally used by Tsubaki. As such, there is a barely visible amount of Tsubaki's red hair and hairpiece in these sprites, even when they are being used to represent Zero Squadron soldiers.
 * Tsubaki shares her English voice actress, Julie Ann Taylor, with Kokonoe and Izayoi.
 * In every main game since her introduction, Tsubaki's main color scheme has changed. In Continuum Shift, her outfit is cream; in Chrono Phantasma, her outfit is black; in Central Fiction, her outfit is white.
 * Tsubaki's alternate palette references include the following:
 * Megurine Luka (Vocaloid software)
 * Millia Rage (Guilty Gear series)
 * Princess of the Crystal (Penguindrum series)
 * Hakumen
 * Yukiko Amagi (Persona series)
 * Kuon Glamred Stroheim
 * Oda Nobunaga (Fate series)
 * Makoto Nanaya