Welcome to yet another corner (??) on this lil’ blog of mine: Woman Crush Wednesday!

In this weekly entry I will present my current Woman Crush: a prime specimen of the female species, real or not, who’s inspiring me to better myself in some way and therefore deserves her own entry on this blog which CLEARLY gets hundreds upon thousands of views. (ahem) Also there’s just too much girl-on-girl hate on the internet, so here’s me trying to balance it out with my measly contribution.

For the very first GCW, it’s Kasumi from Dead or Alive 5!

DAMN! I mean… DAMN! Do I have to say anything else? Well I guess I do, otherwise I’ll just seem like a pervert.

Kasumi, the heroine of the fighting game series Dead or Alive is a runaway shinobi (ninja). But why did she run away? In a nutshell, a ridiculously strong evil ninja attacked the clan and when Hayate went to the front lines to defend everyone he was thrown into a tree and fell into a coma. Thinking he died, Kasumi left the clan without permission to find Raidou and exact her revenge. … Why homegirl just didn’t ask permission since I’m sure the clan would’ve let her since Raidou effed up their next Master is beyond me, but hey, ninjas got their ways. I ain’t hatin’.

Kasumi is this week’s Woman Crush because of that fierce devotion to her family, and also, just flippin’ look at her!

Her shirt says she’s a fighter, but with those round eyes, full cheeks and curvy figure her features are undoubtedly very soft. And while looks aren’t everything, Kasumi’s features are vital because she’s the poster girl for the whole DoA series. Team Ninja, the team behind DoA, purposely went this direction with her since they wanted Dead or Alive to be more subtle and mellow graphics-wise in contrast to their other series, Ninja Gaiden.

But just because Kasumi is soft, doesn’t mean she can’t kick ass.

Yes, she is wearing a bunny costume there. Dead or Alive is infamous for sexing up their girls to the point that they have an entire game where you can watch the girls play volleyball and relaxing on the beach in their bikinis and that’s all you do. Which is NOT okay… ONLY because they haven’t released a version with the DoA guys. Forreal Team Ninja, where’s my Hayabusa posing by the sunset in his matching black ninja mask and speedo, huh? Where’s the freakin’ equality?! Get with the times already!!

… Moving on: homegirl can obviously work the slitted ninja dress, but what about regular clothes?

Check and mate. But let me make it clear, my girl crushes are not shallow! I also adore Kasumi’s character.

Like her appearance, Kasumi was a tad meek and hesitant to fight in earlier games, always apologizing and asking her opponent if they were okay even after she already whipped their ass. But with each installment Kasumi grew stronger both physically and mentally and eventually didn’t have a second thought to whip an ass if she knew it needed to happen. Even through troubled times with her half-sister Ayane, Kasumi never thought ill of her and only hoped things would get better between them with time, which fortunately in recent games it has. She’s emotional, she’s positive, and she’s helpful.

Yet even with all that, Kasumi can kill in cold blood. SPOILER ALERT: she totally got her revenge on Raidou. When the woman wants something, she makes sure it gets done.

Tough and ruthless, yet girly and soft, Kasumi is the embodiment of my goals as a woman, especially with her revamped design as we see in these pictures in Dead or Alive 5.

What even is her beauty. What. Even. Thank you, Team Ninja.

And there you have it, that’s the first Woman Crush Wednesday! Now time to hop on my treadmill and walk endlessly for the next couple hours in an attempt to get my thighs to look anything close to her’s. Damn.

♥ Nicole