Izayoi

""Please, show me... your justice!""

Izayoi (イザヨイ) is the alternate form of Tsubaki Yayoi, an alias she adopts whenever she uses the Zero-Type Izayoi.

Izayoi first appeared and was made playable in BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma.

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 recognise 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.

As a result of Jin's power weakening, Izayoi is shown to have inhereted the Power of Order from him. Either the Power of Order or Izayoi itself allows for Tsubaki to have heightened intuition; she is able to sense certain presences such as Amane Nishiki being an Onlooker and also Hazama being free of the presence of Yuuki Terumi.

Creation & Development
Izayoi was first teased during the Chrono Phantasma arcade opening movie on October 17, 2012. In the 29th November issue of Weekly Famitsu, she was officially announced as a playable character for BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma on November 15, 2012, and would later be added to arcades on December 12, 2012.

Izayoi's design was a collaboration between Yuuki Kato and Toshimichi Mori, with Kato handling the inner design and Mori designing the armor. Mori initially wanted Izayoi's waist unit to have wiring attached due to the Izayoi's nature as a prototype, but the idea was scrapped due to movement limitations.

Much like the majority of emblems, Izayoi's was designed by Konomi Higuchi. "Tsubaki's emblem includes feather designs, but in Izayoi's emblem the entire wing becomes the motif. The weapon in the middle is a huge sword, and the emblem's overall form also mirrors Izayoi's silhouette."

Creator's Comment
Kato: ''When I first drew her design I thought, "Something seems off." With that feeling of unease I slept on the idea and redrew her character many times. At first her design had more of a Japanese feeling to it, but it clashed with her story too much and was thrown out. Mori-san and I ended up discussing the design and throwing ideas back and forth until pieces would stick. Among all of the characters, she took the most time.'' Mori: ''Kato-san's design had her holding a Japanese blade, but after much deliberation we settled onto the weapon as you see it now. If you're curious as to why she wasn't given a Japanese sword... that's a secret (haha).''

Early Designs
"From a Japanese style to simple costumes with minimal armor, Izayoi's design experimented with various possibilities. However, the hair ornaments imitating wings is a detail that stuck during revisions."

Izayoi
''The Zero-Type Izayoi is the true form of the Sealed Armament Izayoi, as awakened by the Imperator. It represents Tsubaki's transformation.

''She exists to serve the Imperator's form of justice, fighting anyone who stands in her way.

''Nevertheless, when confronted by Noel, Makoto, and Jin, Tsubaki is able to break free of the Imperator's curse by waking up to her own forgotten feelings.

Appearances in other Media

 * The mobile game Mabinogi Duel stars Izayoi as a playable card.
 * The arcade collectible card games Lord of Vermilion 3, from Square Enix, has Izayoi appear as a super awakening for Tsubaki Yayoi.
 * The MMORPG Phantasy Star Online 2, by SEGA, features Izayoi's outfit, hairstyle, voice (only female avatar) and weapon as customization for the player character.
 * The mobile game Hoshiribe features Izayoi as a playable character.

Trivia

 * Izayoi's alternate palette references include the following:
 * Testament (Guilty Gear series)
 * Altria Pendragon (Fate series)
 * Jin Kisaragi
 * Metis (Persona series)
 * Kuon Glamred Stroheim
 * Millia Rage (Guilty Gear series)
 * Weiss Schnee (RWBY series)
 * Rachel Alucard