Yukio Washimine (
Appearance[]
Yukio was a young 18-year-old[1] girl of Japanese descent. She had a skinny build, waist-length black hair with bangs, pale skin, and she had a small mole beneath the left side of her bottom lip. Most of the time, Yukio wore oval-shaped glasses and a navy blue female student uniform. In the anime, she later carried a Stechkin APS pistol for a weapon.
Personality[]
Yukio was a very mellow girl who was glad to help other people in need, be they her friends or family members. She was very polite and had a keen interest in philosophy, enjoying her free time mainly by reading stacks of books. She had applied her great philosophical knowledge to her life as demonstrated during her lunch meeting with Rock when she quoted Jean-Paul Sartre's quote comparing humans to dice.[2] Yukio did not like horror stories since she viewed them as a genre full of gloom. Moreover, Yukio did not like nighttime or seeing snow since she saw the night as an abyss that exhibited loneliness and could suck people in.
Biography[]
As the only surviving direct relation of the former boss of the Washimine Group, Yukio was the only one with a viable claim to the leadership of the Group. Yukio's mother had died sometime in her youth, and three years before the "Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise" arc, Yukio's father Ryūzō died. To help her, Tsugio Bandō financially took care of Yukio in Ryūzō's place so that she could continue school and eventually pass entrance exams.[3] Bandō also took control as the de facto boss while Yukio remained a student, staying after school frequently to help her friend Maki organize the school library. As an avid reader, Yukio was hungry for knowledge.
Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise[]
On one night, she helped Ginji Matsuzaki with his street stall at a Japanese new year's festival. That night, she and Ginji noticed Revy and Rock making a scene there as newcomers. When Revy stared down at Ginji, Yukio nervously interrupted them to recommend that they drink something warm, and Rock chimed in to agree in order to deescalate the situation. Whereas Revy and Ginji sat on one bench, Yukio sat with Rock on the other bench, striking up a conversation with Rock and finding out that he was Japanese too. Yukio was fascinated that Rock had an "international job" as a translator, although she was confused at Rock's comment that his job was sometimes dangerous. When Ginji recommended to Yukio that they leave since it was getting cold, Yukio bid Rock goodbye and told him her first name.[3]
Later another day, Yukio was in the school library with Maki and was reading Holzwege by Martin Heidegger. Surprised at the subject of philosophy, Maki politely declined to read it in the future, commenting that she read contemporary horror and romance novels. When Maki asked her what she did for light reading, Yukio answered with Natsuki Ikezawa and other Japanese writers and philosophers, turning off Maki's interest. The young girl asked her "senpai" if she read any horror books like those by Edgar Allen Poe, but Yukio replied that she did not read any horror, specifying that she did not like gloomy and lonesome stories, and she especially disliked nighttime and snowy nights due to the feeling that the night would suck her in.[4]
At a metro station, Yukio again encountered Rock once more, recognizing him from the new year's festival. When they heard from the metro station announcer that there was an inconvenience with the railway, Rock asked her if she knew of any great cafés around, so Yukio brought him to one, asking him if he planned on visiting his parents.[5] To his surprise, Yukio told him that she was once like him wherein she used to dislike her family but then after her father's passing, she appreciated her family's help toward her livelihood. Rock deemed her words wise, to which Yukio remarked that her friends said that she sounded like an old woman, prompting Rock to apologize if that was how his comment came off. Smiling, Yukio assured him that she was joking, and Rock commented that he still felt differently since he could not let go but would not do anything either. Placing down her drink, the schoolgirl asked Rock if he had heard Jean-Paul Sartre's quote about people being like dice insofar as they commit themselves to paths of their choosing. Rock complimented her analysis as blunt when her cellphone suddenly rang, so she briefly excused herself.
As Yukio assured Ginji that she was all right and was speaking with Rock from the other day, Rock overheard her mention Bandō's name, shocking him. When Yukio relayed to Rock that she had to leave, Rock calmly asked her what her surname was, and she told him that it was Washimine, recalling that her father gave her a feminine name to counter the Washimine surname's stern sound. That night, Yukio returned home and overheard Bandō and Ginji talking about the Washimine Group's potential shunning if the Kanto Peace Council knew about their alliance with Hotel Moscow. Curious, Yukio politely interrupted and requested them to let her in on the discussion, so Bandō reminded her about the Kōsa Council forcing the blood relative successor rule onto the Washimine Group knowing that Yukio could not enter the criminal world. To Yukio's surprise, Ginji informed her that the Japanese man whom she met earlier was the Russians' interpreter. The next day at the school library, Yukio assured the apologetic Mami and Yoshi that they could go to work and help her out another time. Immediately, she was lost in thought about the yakuza conversation when Maki snapped her out, asking Yukio if she was even listening to her grievance with her mother. Yukio apologized but refused to tell Maki about her own dilemma.[6]
Soon, she reluctantly took up the leadership when Balalaika killed Bandō and tossed a suitcase containing his corpse outside the Washimine Group office. At night, Ginji pleaded with her that she did not need to get involved, but looking up at the night sky, Yukio realized that she found snow and night beautiful for the first time. Shocked that she asked him to become her protector, Ginji knelt on one knee with his head down and agreed to serve her without hesitation.[2] Yoshida enthusiastically and angrily vouched for Yukio since many members of the Washimine Group were skeptical of a woman leader as well as her age. Because of this, she inevitably fell into the world of the yakuza, soon being devoured by the tragic darkness that she so feared. The night that she officially became the Washimine Group's fourteenth head, several cars pulled up when Yukio and Maki were exiting the school. Touching Maki's cheek, Yukio advised the frightened girl to continue being a good student and fix her relationship with her mother, and she entered one of the vehicles.
In the backseat of the car as Yoshida drover her and Ginji, Yukio asked if they had anything on Balalaika's whereabouts, which Ginji and Yoshida could not confirm at that time but were looking for Russians nonetheless. Deducing that Balalaika wanted to fight with them before the Russians left Japan, she ordered them to also surveil the Embassy of the Russian Federation as another location that the Russian gangsters frequented. Removing her own glasses, Yukio began to cry, prompting Yoshida to ask her if he should pull over. Wiping away her tears, she declined and declared that she needed to adapt to her new life, also thanking him for defending her earlier at the previous Washimine Group meeting. Stopping near a Russian front business, Ginji assured Yukio that he would get vengeance on her behalf.[7]
Returning to her residence, Yukio and Yoshida were suddenly greeted by the Washimine enforcer Chaka, surprising Yukio but angering Yoshida. As the young girl followed him inside, she saw Chaka with his own street gang, now gone rogue. Confused, Yoshida yelled at Chaka for showing such disrespect to Yukio, but Chaka only shot him in the abdomen, causing him to bleed and pleading with Yukio to run. As Chaka casually and gleefully shot Yoshida some more, Yukio ran into the adjacent hallway and bumped into the thug Hanada, who physically beat her for getting in his way. The brutal beating stopped when Chaka smashed Hanada's head with a vase since he did not want Yukio dead just yet.[1]
The same night, Chaka abducted her, and he and his gang took her to a bowling alley to play a strip game with bowling using the young girl's clothes. The bruised woman sat next to Okazaki as he joked with Chaka about which piece of clothing they would remove next. When Yukio refused to cry or look at Chaka, he grabbed her by her uniform coat and tried to demoralize her by claiming that he could sell her to a violent, perverted man who would force her to be his sexual slave. Soon, Revy and Ginji showed up at the bowling alley, prompting Yukio to cry out Ginji's name. Infuriated at seeing the bruised Yukio, Ginji started killing Chaka's gangsters with Revy's help. Amazed but annoyed by their skills, Chaka took Yukio and ran away to another part of the building, but he slipped on some cleaning fluid that Rock placed. The ex-salaryman showed up in front of him and knocked Chaka out with a bowling pin, taking Yukio to safety into a locker room. While Revy and Ginji continued their killings, Rock gave Yukio his jacket to cover her chest, and she asked him why he was there. Rock answered that he wanted her to have a normal life, but she told him that she chose her own path, sternly clarifying that he was her enemy.[8]
Yukio telling Rock that he is her enemy
Rock responded that she did not have to be bound by an archaic yakuza code about succession by blood, but Yukio contested his claim, specifying that the code was forced upon her group. Summarizing recent years and events, Yukio relayed to him the background and rivalry between the Washimine Group and the Kōsa Council as well as Bandō's "mistake" of allying with the vicious and "dishonorable" Hotel Moscow. Knowing about the hundreds of men who fought for her father for so long, she added that she could not just abandon them all. Upon learning from Rock's expression that he was present with Balalaika when the latter killed Bandō, she retorted at Rock that he had no decision in his life whereas she had a choice and needed to follow her honor. In tears, Yukio yelled at Rock that he was in the twilight between the normal and criminal worlds and had no right to judge her since she was in one world. Continuing to cry, she asked Rock how he could save someone if he had no choice. When he tried to console her, she told him to back away, beginning to calm down and remarking that she envied Rock's freedom. After Chaka was killed, Yukio left with Ginji and thanked Rock for his help, but she warned him that she would kill him if they crossed paths again.[9]
While Hotel Moscow commenced their bloody campaign against the Washimine Group, somewhere else in town, Inoue claimed to Yukio that he could not get in touch with the office and his men could not get in contact with the other hideouts. To Ginji's surprise, Yukio informed them that the police told her that Mr. Taguchi's men were dead, adding that she would have to visit the police station the next day for questioning. Realizing that Balalaika's men were likely ex-military due to their swift attacks and addressing the Russian leader as "Kapitan," Yukio remarked that she made a mistake in underestimating them, and Ginji replied that they could still fight back. Agreeing, Yukio smiled and proclaimed that they still had their lives and could not back out then. To counter Hotel Moscow, Yukio met with Masami Kōsa to discuss an action of alliance. Masami demanded to know how Yukio intended to pay the Kōsa Council back for the men that Hotel Moscow previously killed on behalf of the Washimine Group, and Yukio responded that she was coming up with a plan. After Masami continued to doubt her, she responded that she had enough credibility to bring forth her request to the Kanto Peace Council, angering Morozumi enough to slam the table. Quickly, Ginji blocked the food from hitting the unfazed Yukio, and the two left.[10]
Another day, Yukio saw the lively Japanese festival and wondered if she could check it out. Although Ginji warned her that they might not be able to show their faces, Yukio exited the car anyway, so he followed her hesitatingly. Walking past the street stalls, Yukio apologized to Ginji for suddenly changing course, and she asked him if he would reopen a stall after their fight was over. Speaking seriously about their situation, Ginji informed her that four of their offices were raided in the past three days with eight dead and twenty in the hospital, stating that the Washimine Group was dwindled down to a third of what it used to be. Thinking silently, Yukio then proclaimed that she wished the festival could go on forever, apologizing for dreaming instead of focusing on their group.[11] In the anime only, planning to take on Hotel Moscow by themselves, Yukio and Ginji even committed a bank robbery and successfully framed it on Hotel Moscow. Afterward, fulfilling Yukio's request to use a firearm for personal protection, Ginji showed her a Stechkin pistol, which she began to carry in the anime.[12]
When she refused to cease the fight against Hotel Moscow despite knowing that her group's membership had declined greatly, Yukio still wanted to kill Balalaika with Ginji's help to avenge Bandō. In the anime only, she also wanted to run away to Roanapur and rebuild the Washimine Group there if she succeeded in assassinating Balalaika. Additionally, in the anime, Ginji and Yukio used a semi-truck to kidnap Rock and use him as a hostage, but Rock replied that he would be no good as a hostage. He was then saved by Revy, who crashed into their car and confronted them at the seaport.[13]
Yukio and Ginji arriving at the shrine
In the manga, Revy and Rock themselves went to a shrine per Yukio's request over the phone and waited for her there. Arriving up the stairs, Yukio and Ginji were clad in kimonos and silently stared at the two pirates. Relaying the message from Balalaika, Rock got up and calmly told her that Hotel Moscow would cease all their attacks on the Washimine Group if they left the city by sundown. Not trusting the threat, Yukio rejected his words and the ultimatum, saying that a promise from Balalaika was an empty one. She proclaimed that Bandō's killer was still alive and that she only desired closure for his murder, so she quietly signaled Ginji to begin his duel with Revy.[14]
During the gun-sword duel between Revy and Ginji, Rock stated to Yukio that he thought that she would take the advice, but she replied that she was fighting to survive. This sentiment made Ginji remember her comment about regretting her turn into the yakuza world, shocking him and giving Revy the opportunity to shoot him dead. Right after Ginji's death, Yukio became silent, additionally apologizing to Rock and Revy for all the deaths that she claimed to have caused as head of the Washimine Group. Taking Ginji's katana and putting it toward her throat, she asked Rock to tell Balalaika that she would see her soon in the underworld. Immediately, the despairing Yukio stabbed herself in the throat and died next to Ginji, discomforting Rock and later haunting his mind.[15]
Trivia[]
- The name Yukio means "snow" (雪) (yuki) and "thread" (緒) (o). Yukio's surname Washimine means "eagle" (鷲) (washi) and "mountain peak" (峰) (mine).
- In the first popularity contest released during the May/June 2008 issue of Monthly Sunday Gene-X, Yukio Washimine ranked 16th with an unspecified amount of votes. In a top 10 worst characters contest in the same issue, Yukio ranked 5th with 47 votes.[16]
- In a popularity contested during the 10th manga collection release, Yukio ranked 22nd with 55 votes.[17]
- In a popularity contested during the 12th manga collection release, Yukio ranked 17th with 138 votes.[18]
- In the omake, Yukio is portrayed as a fervent student leader and a person who, unlike her normal self, is extremely happy to listen to stories and plays involving horror and violence.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Episode 21: Two Father's Little Soldier Girls
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Episode 20: The Succession
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Episode 19: Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise
- ↑ Chapter 24: Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise Part 3
- ↑ Chapter 25: Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise Part 4
- ↑ Chapter 26: Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise Part 5
- ↑ Chapter 28: Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise Part 7
- ↑ Episode 22: The Dark Tower
- ↑ Chapter 32: Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise Part 11
- ↑ Chapter 33: Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise Part 12
- ↑ Chapter 34: Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise Part 13
- ↑ Episode 23: Snow White's Payback
- ↑ Episode 24: The Gunslingers
- ↑ Chapter 36: Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise Part 15
- ↑ Chapter 37: Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise Part 16
- ↑ https://sundaygx.com/blacklagoon/contest/
- ↑ http://sundaygx.info/blacklagoon_contest/
- ↑ http://sundaygx.info/blacklagoon_contest_12/