Nakoruru

Nakoruru (Japanese: ナコルル) is a character in the Samurai Shodown series of fighting games. She is a young girl dressed in clothing that looks like Ainu traditional clothes. The basic colors of her clothes are white and red. She fights with a kodachi named Chichiushi and a hawk named Mamahaha assists her in her Slash version. She also has a wolf named Shikuru who also assists her when in Bust and Rera versions. The original idea of her came from the indigenous Ainu people of Hokkaidō, Japan, who are analogous in Japan to the Native Americans in the United States. As the Japanese perceive the Ainu as living closer to nature, Nakoruru's role in the game is of a defender of Mother Nature; in some material Nakoruru has been referred to as a priestess of the Ainu religion.

History
Nakoruru was born in October 11, 1771, in a place called Ainu Moshiri Kamui Kotan (Meaning "Ainu Territory Kamui Village" in Ainu), located somewhere in Hokkaidō. She lived in there alongside her grandparent Sanoku, her grandmother Monashiri and her little sister Rimururu.

Samurai Shodown
In Summer of 1788, Plagues of unknown origin, strange phenomena and repeated outbreaks of war disturbed the flow of Nature. Trying to find the cause of all this, Nakoruru, as a Kamui warrior, set out with Mamahaha. After finding out the culprit, she fought alongside Haohmaru and helped him defeat Shiro Tokisada Amakusa.

Samurai Shodown II
During the late winter of 1789, she could not hear the voices of nature and this worried her. She found out then that the spirits of nature were sucked in the Makai (demon world) and she set out to bring nature to balance. She then fought on alongside Haohmaru again and defeated Mizuki but, even after his defeat, nature's balance was still not achieved. She died in the end of 1789 at the age of 18, while giving away her life to bring balance to nature. She then became a Spirit of Nature and the new Kamui of Kamui Kotan.

Samurai Shodown III & IV
During Fall of 1788, Nakoruru felt the twisted energy of a man and thought of going to find him so she could save him. She could not do it as Shizumaru killed him before she had found him.

Samurai Shodown V
Some day in 1786, when she was 15, she and Rimururu were playing in the forest when Mamahaha flew in, holding her father's sword. Sensing her father was in trouble, she apologized to Rimururu and ran off (though, Rimururu did not hear her, as she was busy playing with Konrill). Upon reaching Hinowa, Nakoruru tells Gaoh that his war is hurting the planet but Gaoh tells her that he will build a new country and that he has to kill her. Upon defeating Gaoh, Kamui, the Spirit of Nature, appeared to her, asking Nakoruru to be her successor. Kamui also told her that her father was the last Ainu fighter and that he gave his life to her. Nakoruru, devastated by the news of her father, asked what would happen if she declined and Kamui told her she would ask another maiden to be her successor. Nakoruru then accepted and became the new Kamui warrior of Kamui Kotan.

Samurai Shodown 64
During 1790, Nakoruru, as the new Kamui of Kamui Kotan, was resting peacefully. She was awakened when she felt a new evil in the world and had to take human form to fight the demons sent by Yuga. Then, alongside with Rimururu and Haohmaru, they destroyed Yuga's physical body, although, Nakoruru could not save Kamui Kotan. She went then into a long sleep again in order to restore Kamui Kotan.

Samurai Shodown Warriors Rage
Wanting to be even closer to nature, Nakoruru transcends even further and becomes one with the sprits of nature, melding her own soul with Gaia to become a Divine Spirit in nature's service. Now as The holy spirit who transcends time, she travels across space and time to prevent the disasters of the world from occurring. However, she is stopped in her quest by a magical spell cast by Jigen Taishi in Ritenkyo. This leaves Nakoruru unable to assume her original form, and she can only battle evil through the strength of her fellow forest sprits.

Now weakened, she knows she must stop Oboro's evil plan, but cannot without the Maiden of Light Rimururu, who has been sealed by Oboro. She sets out on a quest to free her sister and together combine their powers to defeat evil.

Rera
Rera is Nakoruru's alter-ego. She was basically the darker side of Nakoruru. It is said that Nakoruru had pushed away this side, trying to live separately from the part of her life that involved the death of others and related issues.

Rera isn't actually a separate person, but exists within Nakoruru. She can physically take over Nakoruru, but has only done so once. Nakoruru does not like to fight, and she usually tries to get away to not hurt anything or anybody. Rera is actually the opposite from her, and thinks that fighting is something necessary to protect nature and herself; because of this, is that she takes over Nakoruru, as she sometimes is unable to kill. She merged with Nakoruru after finding out that it wasn't good to only fight and that, although is sometimes necessary to fight, sometimes is better not to.

Rera is based on the palette swap of Bust Nakoruru (noted for her evil grin during her victory scene in Samurai Shodown IV), but she's been turned into a different character since then. She is revealed more extentively in the PC and Dreamcast video game Nakoruru: Ano Hito kara no Okurimono, and from there she was adapted to the Samurai Spirits games.

Clothing
Nakoruru has been portrayed officially by different artists, and her design sometimes vary from game to game. Her clothing is what change the most every time. The things that are almost always in her looks are her long black hair and a ribbon in her hair.


 * Samurai Shodown look: This clothing is the one that appears in the original Samurai Shodown, but is also used in some of the other games. It consists of a Keikogi and pants colored white with the parts close to the edges red. The ribbon in her hair is red and tied with a bun. Her belt is yellow. In her Bust version, the ribbon in her hair has no bun, her hair is also shorten and the color red in her clothing is changed to purple respectively. Her shoes are Red in the Slash version and purple in the Bust version. The Bust version only appears in Samurai Shodown 64: Warrior's Rage.


 * Samurai Shodown III look: This clothing consists of a large coat-like gi, that covers most of her body, except her shoes; under it she still wears the pants she has in the original outfit. The colors change from white with red lines to White with Red and Blue patterns close to the edges that are more decorative that the ones in her original outfit. Her belt is also Blue. The Bust version of this clothing has the red lines turned purple and the blue ones brown. The ribbon in her hair color and style and the shoes color are the same than in the original version of her looks.


 * Nakoruru: Ano Hito kara no Okurimono look: This clothing is the most complex and detailed of them all. Although people thinks it's the clothing of the Alter version of Nakoruru because of the colors, it is not the same. It consists of a two-part white dress, and is the first of her looks that has no belt. The Long Skirt has navy blue complex patterns in the lower part of it and the blouse has also complex Blue and Yellow patterns in the lower part and in the sleeves. The ribbon in her hair is Yellow and White with a complex pattern, and she wears blue ribons with a white simple decorative line in her wrists and two necklaces with yellow, white and blue colored perls around her neck. Her shoes in this outfit are yellow-brown.


 * Samurai Shodown: Warriors Rage look: This outfit consist of a one piece dress. It has complex red and carmine pattern lines in the lower part of the dress and the sleeves. The ribbon in her hair is red and has a simple white line pattern. She also wears a necklace with red colored perls around her neck and her shoes, unlike every other looks of her, are small white ones with red strings.

Games

 * Capcom vs SNK (Arcade, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)
 * Capcom vs SNK 2 (Arcade, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)
 * SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millenium (Neo Geo Pocket Color)
 * Nakoruru: Ano Hito kara no Okurimono (Dreamcast/PC, Japan Only)
 * Neo Geo Battle Coliseum (Arcade, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)
 * Samurai Shodown / Samurai Spirits (Neo-Geo, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)
 * Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits: Bushidou Retsuden (Neo Geo CD, Japan Only, also known unofficially as Samurai Shodown RPG in the U.S., voiced by Harumi Ikoma)
 * Samurai Shodown II / Shin Samurai Spirits: Haohmaru Jigokuhen (Neo-Geo, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)
 * Samurai Shodown III / Samurai Spirits: Zankuro Musouken (Neo-Geo, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)
 * Samurai Shodown IV / Samurai Spirits: Amakusa Kourin (Neo-Geo, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)
 * Samurai Shodown V / Samurai Spirits Zero (Arcade, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)
 * Samurai Shodown V Special / Samurai Spirits Zero Special (Arcade, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)
 * Samurai Shodown VI / Samurai Spirits Tenkaichi Kenkyakuden (Arcade)
 * Samurai Shodown 64 / Samurai Spirits (Arcade, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)
 * Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage / Samurai Spirits 2: Azura Zanmaden (Arcade, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)
 * Samurai Shodown: Warriors Rage / Kenkyaku Ibunroku-Yomigaerishi Soukou no Yaiba-Samurai Spirits Shinshou (Playstation, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)
 * Samurai Shodown! / Samurai Spirits! (Neo Geo Pocket)
 * Samurai Shodown! 2 / Samurai Spirits! 2 (Neo Geo Pocket Color)
 * The King of Fighters '95 / Nettou King of Fighters '95 (Gameboy, hidden character)
 * The King of Fighters 2000 (Arcade, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)As a Striker for Yuri

Anime

 * Nakoruru: Ano Hito kara no Okurimono (OVA, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)
 * Samurai Spirits (OVA, voiced by Chiba Reiko)
 * Samurai Spirits 2: Asura Zanmaden (OVA, voiced by Harumi Ikoma)

Manga

 * Samurai Spirits (Only 1 volume, distribution available in the US by Viz)