| “ | It doesn't matter if anyone comes, because love is invincible. | ” |
—Yukako Yamagishi | ||
Yukako Yamagishi (山岸 由花子 Yamagashi Yukako) is a side character and ally featured in Diamond Is Unbreakable. She is featured centrally in the Yukako Yamagishi Falls in Love and the Yukako Yamagishi Dreams of Cinderella story arcs.
Besotted with Koichi Hirose, Yukako first tries to kidnap Koichi before she is neutralized and appears later as an ally among the group agreeing to watch for the killer terrorizing Morioh. She eventually begins a relationship with Koichi.
Appearance
The mole above Yukako's breast
Yukako is a teenage girl of fine build, 167 cm (5'5¾") tall. She is characterized as especially beautiful (noted by Aya Tsuji[2]), with fine facial features and bodily proportions. She has full, dark, wavy waist-length hair; a mole above her right breast and dark eyes. She also has prominent, arched eyebrows.
Like most characters in Part IV, she is only seen wearing a dark sailor fuku, a pair of leather shoes and socks, while displaying mature taste in casual clothing.
Personality
Yukako is introduced in the midst of a date with Koichi Hirose,[3] initially acting demure and sweet around him. This visage quickly dissipates when she reveals her bad temper and obsession with him, which occupies the majority of her initial role in Diamond Is Unbreakable.
Yukako's most recognizable character trait is her obsessive love for Koichi, which she explains as appreciation for men with potential rather than perfect people, whom she considers boring, and admits outright to becoming obsessive about anything she likes. Her love takes an overtly psychopathic turn when she decides to kidnap him and attempt to brainwash him into reciprocating her feelings, as well as forcefully training him into fitting an idealized picture of himself. Upon Koichi's revolt, she goes completely berserk and is willing to hurt, or even kill him in order to keep him for herself. Once she is defeated, and then immediately saved by Koichi in spite of what she put him through, Yukako sees the error of her ways, becoming genuinely infatuated by his heroism, and as such begins to fully respect his privacy and feelings. After beginning a true relationship with Koichi, she appears much more mellow and relaxed.
Aloof and "insanely tough" (as described by Koichi), Yukako is often cold toward people and maintains a steely, unwelcoming expression, except for in the presence of Koichi, with whom she acts sweetly and warmly in an excessive fashion. She is irritable, blunt and prone to lashing out, particularly when something gets in her way. When angered, her left eye also twitches. Yukako frequently and violently uses her Stand, Love Deluxe, against anyone she feels would hurt her chances of captivating Koichi, resorting to lethal force in the worst case. She has also been described as the type of person who lives in her own world and tends not to listen to others, expecting things to go her way and for people to follow what she says. Even when something goes wrong, she tends to blame it on others and refuses to find fault with herself. Despite the insecure comments in her introduction, she has immense pride in her appearance and hair, even threatening to murder Koichi once he damaged her hair during their fight, and again threatening Aya after her Cinderella caused her face to fall apart.
In the anime, she has a habit of referring to herself in the third person. She also seems to have talent in cooking and sewing, and to some extent engineering as she built an electric chair from household appliances.
Yukako may be described as yandere, and arguably may have predated or became the progenitor of the archetype. Araki comments that her personality was designed in reaction to the prevalency of moe perfectionism applied to many female characters, as a statement that someone of any gender should be capable of being frightening or losing their temper.[4]
Abilities
- Main article: Love Deluxe
Yukako's Stand is Love Deluxe, lending versatile, prehensile life to her long hair; enabling her to spontaneously extend it, grasp heavy objects securely, and strike, smother or infect human targets.
Synopsis
Diamond Is Unbreakable
Yukako Yamagishi Falls in Love
Yukako saved by Koichi
Yukako is a classmate of Okuyasu first introduced in the midst of a date with Koichi Hirose. During the date, she confesses her admiration for him, but becomes severely aggressive when Koichi dithers in his response. Later, she jealously attacks a girl she believes to be a potential rival.
In response to false rumors muttered by Josuke and Okuyasu in order to put her off Koichi, she kidnaps him; attempting to indoctrinate him and "change him into a better person".
When Koichi resists, she soon threatens his life, forcing him to fight against her. During a tumultuous battle, Koichi heroically saves her life as she accidentally falls off a cliff.
People of Morioh Town
Later in the story, Yukako is warned about Yoshikage Kira after Shigekiyo Yangu's death and advises everyone to be careful.
Yukako Yamagishi Dreams of Cinderella
Yukako, still lovestruck, seemed to have learned from her mistake in trying to force Koichi. Unhappy about her unrequited love she made use of the services offered by Aya Tsuji's beauty-enhancing Cinderella Stand, which rendered her into a bewitchingly attractive woman in the eyes of Koichi - for a price and a certain time limit, during which she was to use a special lipstick in order to uphold the "magic", i.e. the Stand's power. The Stand allowed her to grow closer to Koichi, who, after some trials and tribulations, warmed up to her and willingly became her boyfriend.
However, when she forgets to apply the magic lipstick, her face becomes deformed and she flies into a rage at Aya, who grants her a chance for her to return to her original appearance should she be able to pick her original eyes. Yukako has trouble picking the right one until Koichi arrives to her aid and decides that he will pick for her, but requesting that Aya take away his eyes should he make a mistake. Aya, unwilling to take the role of an antagonist, decides to give Yukako her original appearance back. Following this, Koichi and Yukako share a tender moment and the two presumably become a couple afterwards.
Janken Boy Is Coming!
Yukako also makes an appearance in Janken Boy Is Coming while sitting at Cafe Deux Magots with Josuke and Okuyasu.
Goodbye, Morioh Town
Yukako last appears to bid goodbye to Reimi Sugimoto.
The Book: 4th Another Day
(The information below derives from a Light Novel not written by Araki. As such, it may or may not be considered canon.)
Yukako was Chiho Futaba's neighbor when they were kids. She helps Koichi find Hanae Orikasa's killer, a student with red marks on his arms. Suspecting the killer might be in the same class as them, Yukako traps their class in the classroom so Koichi could rise the temperature with a word made by Echoes, making the students take of their jackets. Unfortunately, the killer wasn't in there. Several days later, Yukako witnesses the fire of Chiho's home and immediately informs Koichi.
Video Games
Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
Yukako makes her first video-game appearance in Eyes of Heaven as a playable character. She was confirmed alongside Koichi, who appears as her main tag-partner.
Her moveset primarily consists of melee attacks with her hair.
Her GHA Looks like I'm going to have to play rough! has her wrap the opponent in her hair before flinging them around, slamming them into the ground three times before raising them extremely high up into the air before launching them into the ground one more time hard enough for them to bounce.
Tournament
She is paired with Hol Horse in the Eyes of Heaven Tournament, but was eliminated in the preliminaries by Jotaro Kujo and Vanilla Ice.
Gallery
Trivia
- Araki based Yukako's initial personality and horrific obsession with Koichi off the horror film, Misery.[5]
- An image of Yukako from Chapter 350 is featured on the limited edition cover of Base Ball Bear's 2009 single "Breeeeze Girl"[2], as well as on billboards for its promotion.[3].
- Some illustrations of Midler in Heritage for the Future are based on depictions of Yukako.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 303: Let's Go Out for Italian (1)
- ↑ Chapter 348: Yukako Yamagishi Dreams of Cinderella (1)
- ↑ Chapter 294: Yukako Yamagishi Is in Love (1)
- ↑ 2007 Eureka issue
- ↑ JOJOVELLER: STANDS - Comments by Hirohiko Araki[1]