History Characters / Athena

->'''Voiced by:''' [[note]]Kaori Shimizu (''Psycho Soldier''), Reiko Fukai (''[='94=]''), Moe Nagasaki (''[='95=]''), Tamao Satou (''[='96=]''), Yukina Kurisu (''[='97=]'', ''The King of Fighters: KYO''), Creator/HarunaIkezawa (''[='98=]'' onward, ''The King of Fighters: Destiny''), Robyn Gryphe (''Maximum Impact'', English), Lily Kong (''Maximum Impact 2'', English), Miwa Gardner (''XII'', English)[[/note]]
->'''Played by:''' Kei Ishibashi (''Athena'' TV series)

->'''Voiced by:''' [[note]]Reiko Fukai (''[='94=]''), Moe Nagasaki (''[='95=]''), Tamao Satou (''[='96=]''), Yukina Kurisu (''[='97=]'', ''The King of Fighters: KYO''), Creator/HarunaIkezawa (''[='98=]'' onward, ''The King of Fighters: Destiny''), Robyn Gryphe (''Maximum Impact'', English), Lily Kong (''Maximum Impact 2'', English), Miwa Gardner (''XII'', English)[[/note]]

* BreakoutCharacter: Had her own game back in the 80s, but only after debuting in the fight scene did Athena's popularity start to pick up again. A notable game is the 3-disc RPG game for the [=PlayStation=], ''[[VideoGame/AthenaAwakeningFromTheOrdinaryLife Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life]]'', with its gameplay sharing many similarities with ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve''. The less known one is ''Athena On Stage'', a mobile game centered around rising Athena's career as a successful pop idol, pretty much a simulation game.

* {{Mascot}}: An early one for SNK. Both of them were highly advertised protagonists from the UsefulNotes/NeoGeo lineup, and predate the likes of [[Characters/FatalFuryTerryBogard Terry Bogard]] and Kyo Kusanagi by several years. It was even believed that Athena A. had a grudge against Terry when he seemingly took the title from her. ''XIII'' demonstrates otherwise, as the dialogue between the two shows that they have nothing but respect for each other.

->TheHero of the arcade title ''VideoGame/{{Athena}}''. Athena is the rebellious princess of the Kingdom of Victory, residing in the heavens. Bored with her uneventful day-to-day life in the castle, she yearns to go on exciting adventures. One day, she opens the "Door Which Shouldn't Be Opened" in the basement of Castle Victory, and is trapped in another realm called the "Fantasy World".\\

->The star of ''VideoGame/PsychoSoldier'' and one of SNK’s {{mascot}}s (a spot shared with Goddess Athena); Athena Asamiya is a [[ThePollyanna bright and cheerful young girl]] who was born with psychic powers, dubbed in-verse as Psycho Powers, [[LamarckWasRight for she is a descendant of Goddess Athena]] and possibly her {{Reincarnation}} due no other member of the Asamiya Family ever possessing special powers before Athena.\\

--->'''Maxima:''' "You're wearing something new every time I see you. Do you know what a pain it is to keep my data updated?"

->"I am the original heroine of SNK. I'm sorry..."

-->'''Athena:''' "I'm usually teamed up with my teacher, so I always kind of envy you, King! It must be so much fun to put together a team with a different group of girls. Just like in school!"\\
'''King:''' "Well, if you'd like, I'd gladly exchange one of my teammates for you!"\\
'''Athena:''' "W-Why, Miss King? Did something happen?"\\
'''King:''' "Well, nothing serious, it's just... Mai and Yuri just can't hold their liquor very well... And you're still a minor so I couldn't possibly ask you to take care of two drunkards, could I?"\\
'''Athena:''' "Oh, I don't mind. I'm used to being around people when they get hammered! Whenever Master gets drunk, he goes out and fights pandas!"\\
'''King:''' "R-Really!? Is that what your teacher does when he gets drunk?"\\
'''Athena:''' "Oh yeah, it happens all the time! Grandma always gets angry with him though!\\
'''King:''' "Wow... Alcohol is the great equalizer, huh?"

-->'''Athena (XIII):''' ''You're like a friend, or an ally, or something.''

-->'''Terry:''' "I know how to please the crowd pretty good, but you've got me beat in that category!"\\
'''Athena:''' "D-Don't be silly! Your performance always gets the fans fired up!"\\
'''Terry:''' "I'm glad to hear that coming from you! Well then, let's have a fight that'll keep people buzzin' for years!"\\
'''Athena:''' "Absolutely! My fans around the globe are counting on it!"

* MagicIdolSinger: Probably one of the straightest examples.

* OneeSama: To Momoko.

-->'''Sakura:''' "Come on, goddess."\\
'''Athena:''' "Nice uniform!"

-->'''Athena:''' "What are K' and Maxima thinking!? Don't they care about anyone but themselves?"\\
'''Kula:''' "What are you so upset about, miss? Did K' do something mean to you?"\\
'''Athena:''' "Not to me, to you! Always putting you into these dangerous situations! I don't care how strong you are, you're still just a kid! Those men are so inconsiderate!"\\
'''Kula:''' "Huh? I'm not a kid anymore, you know? That boy with the big hat is much younger than me!"\\
'''Athena:''' "This isn't about Bao, it's about you! I'm going to tell those guys not to put you in jeopardy and I'll make sure they listen!"

* ConspicuousGloves: Fingerless gloves are a staple of her outfits. No matter how much it changes, she always wears a pair.

In the CD Dramas from ’96 to ’99, it is shown that Athena [[AllLoveIsUnrequited has one-sided feelings for Kyo]] goes to great lengths to move to a place near the Kusanagi household. In other SNK media, Athena’s feelings for Kyo have never been shown, not even hinted at in the games proper, raising a case towards its actual place in the canon.

%%* UsefulNotes/{{Kawaisa}}
* {{Keigo}}: Her ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1PJDhRVLsk "Athena, ikimasu!"]]'' The CatchPhrase is this. She's a rather polite speaker by Japanese standards but seldom goes to this extreme.

[[folder: Tropes for both of them]]

->'''Voiced by''': Mie Itou (''Neo Geo Battle Coliseum'',''SVC Chaos''), Haruna Ikezawa (''The King Of Fighters 2000'')

[[folder: Athena Asamiya]]

-> The star of ''VideoGame/PsychoSoldier'' and one of SNK’s [[{{Mascot}} mascots]] (a spot shared with Goddess Athena); Athena Asamiya is a [[ThePollyanna bright and cheerful young girl]] who was born with psychic powers, dubbed in-verse as Psycho Powers, [[LamarckWasRight for she is a descendant of Goddess Athena]] and possibly her {{Reincarnation}} due no other member of the Asamiya Family ever possessing special powers before Athena.

-> For being a special girl Athena was taken in by Chin Gentsai as one of his disciples, initiating a team of fighters who are gifted with psychic powers, molding them to be prepared for any threat the world may face, to be defenders of justice; Athena has a strong sense of righteousness, so she fits right in.

-> Athena’s trademark characteristic, that is being a Japanese IdolSinger, has its origin in ''’97''; Athena and Kensou’s charisma and notable prowess in martial arts have been earning them fans since ''’94'', but this rise in popularity made Chin worried about his disciples losing their humble spirit and lose focus on being heroes, with that he tried to talk them off participating in the ''’97'' tournament, meanwhile Athena has received a letter from a fan, an ill-girl who wrote a heartwarming letter to the Psycho Soldiers, saying they are her source of inspiration to overcome her illness, she hoped to see them again in action for the ''’97'' tournament.

-> Athena felt she had to answer such a devoted fan, she shows the letter to Chin, convincing him to follow his disciples and see how they take being popular and also being defenders of justice; Athena, Kensou, and Chin didn’t win that tournament but still did great nevertheless, at the end the team is surprised by the visit of a wheelchair-bound girl, she is Kaoru Watanabe the ill-girl who sent that letter prior the tournament, Kaoru introduces herself and congratulates Athena is doing well again at KOF, she says the team gave her strength to also fight hard, Kaoru gets up from the wheelchair trying to show her progress by walking, she stumbles but before falling, Athena hurries to her side and supports Kaoru, with that Kaoru asks Athena if she could be their friend, Athena and the team gladly become friends with Kaoru.

-> Showing that at the end of ’97 made Chin reevaluate his students, thinking he was wrong about them, now feeling Athena and Kensou have their hearts in the right place; Athena tells her master that being popular and a good source of inspiration also is one way of helping others, with this Chin loses all his worries about his disciples losing their way. This eventually develops into Athena becoming an Idol, extremely popular and inspiring all, but still being a hero of course.

-> The other part of Athena’s character is being on the receiving end of Kensou’s long-lasting romantic feelings, he tried to confess to Athena multiple times, sometimes succeeding in expressing himself (many) other times not, Athena’s reaction is mostly always the same, that is getting embarrassed and dodging an answer; [[IDontWantToRuinOurFriendship while what she really feels about Kensou may not be love]], she does think well of him as a great friend, always sticking with him.

-> In ''XIII'' during a conversation with the Women Fighters Team, upon seeing that Mai, Yuri, and King all have a special someone in waiting, Athena hopes one day she will find her other half as well, Kensou immediately tries to say she already has him, Athena gets embarrassed and scolds Kensou, telling him not to say it in front of so many people.

-> In the CD Dramas from ’96 to ’99, it is shown that Athena [[AllLoveIsUnrequited has one-sided feelings for Kyo]] goes to great lengths to move to a place near the Kusanagi household. In other SNK media, Athena’s feelings for Kyo have never been shown, not even hinted at in the games proper, raising a case towards its actual place in the canon.
----

-->'''Maxima''': "You're wearing something new every time I see you. Do you know what a pain it is to keep my data updated?"

* BattleIntro: In ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV The King of Fighters XV]]'':

'''Athena''': "Cheer me on, everyone!"

-->'''Athena''': "I'm usually teamed up with my teacher, so I always kind of envy you, King! It must be so much fun to put together a team with a different group of girls. Just like in school!"\\
'''King''': "Well, if you'd like, I'd gladly exchange one of my teammates for you!"\\
'''Athena''': "W-Why, Miss King? Did something happen?"\\
'''King''': "Well, nothing serious, it's just... Mai and Yuri just can't hold their liquor very well... And you're still a minor so I couldn't possibly ask you to take care of two drunkards, could I?"\\
'''Athena''': "Oh, I don't mind. I'm used to being around people when they get hammered! Whenever Master gets drunk, he goes out and fights pandas!"\\
'''King''': "R-Really!? Is that what your teacher does when he gets drunk?"\\
'''Athena''': "Oh yeah, it happens all the time! Grandma always gets angry with him though!\\
'''King''': "Wow... Alcohol is the great equalizer, huh?"

-->'''Terry''': "I know how to please the crowd pretty good, but you've got me beat in that category!"\\
'''Athena''': "D-Don't be silly! Your performance always gets the fans fired up!"\\
'''Terry''': "I'm glad to hear that coming from you! Well then, let's have a fight that'll keep people buzzin' for years!"\\
'''Athena''': "Absolutely! My fans around the globe are counting on it!"

-->'''Sakura''': "Come on, goddess."\\
'''Athena''': "Nice uniform!"

-->'''Athena''': "What are K' and Maxima thinking!? Don't they care about anyone but themselves?"\\
'''Kula''': "What are you so upset about, miss? Did K' do something mean to you?"\\
'''Athena''': "Not to me, to you! Always putting you into these dangerous situations! I don't care how strong you are, you're still just a kid! Those men are so inconsiderate!"\\
'''Kula''': "Huh? I'm not a kid anymore, you know? That boy with the big hat is much younger than me!"\\
'''Athena''': "This isn't about Bao, it's about you! I'm going to tell those guys not to put you in jeopardy and I'll make sure they listen!"

She's a BonusBoss in ''VideoGame/SNKVsCapcomSVCChaos'', and later reappears as a playable fighter in ''VideoGame/NeoGeoBattleColiseum''.

* BareYourMidriff: Athena A.'s ''[='99=]'', ''2002'', and ''2003'' outfits evoke this. And then you have Goddess Athena adventuring in a red ''bikini''.