History Characters / BlazBlueIzanami

!![[center: Playable Characters: [[Characters/BlazBlueCalamityTrigger Calamity Trigger]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueContinuumShift Continuum Shift]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueChronoPhantasma ChronoPhantasma]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueCentralFiction Central Fiction]]\\
[-Others: [[Characters/BlazBlueNonPlayerCharacters Non-Player Characters]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueRemixHeart Remix Heart]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueLightNovelCharacters Light Novel Characters]] | Characters/XBlaze ([[Characters/XBlazeCodeEmbryo Code: Embryo]] | [[Characters/XBlazeLostMemories Lost: Memories]]) | [[Characters/BlazBlueAlternativeDarkWar Alternative: Dark War]]\\
Spin-offs: [[Characters/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle Cross Tag Battle]] ([[Characters/BlazBlueCrossTagBattleBlazBlue BlazBlue]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueCrossTagBattlePersona4Arena Persona 4: Arena]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueCrossTagBattleUnderNightInBirth Under Night In-Birth]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueCrossTagBattleRWBY RWBY]])\\
Individual Characters: [[Characters/BlazBlueRagnaTheBloodedge Ragna the Bloodedge]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueJinKisaragi Jin Kisaragi]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueNoelVermillion Noel Vermillion]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueRachelAlucard Rachel Alucard]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueLitchiFayeLing Litchi Faye-Ling]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueBangShishigami Bang Shishigami]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueHakumen Hakumen]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueNu13 Nu-13]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueTsubakiYayoi Tsubaki Yayoi]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueHazama Hazama]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueMakotoNanaya Makoto Nanaya]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueYuukiTerumi Yuuki Terumi]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueNineThePhantom Nine the Phantom]] | '''Izanami'''-]]]

!Izanami

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blazblue_central_fiction_izanami_main.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The (former) Imperator. Just as flat as her lookalikes.]]
[floatboxright:
'''Profile'''
* Height: Unknown
* Weight: Unknown
* Blood type: Unknown
* Date of Birth: April 22
* Birthplace: Unknown
* Hobbies: Jigsaw puzzles
* Likes: The world
* Dislikes: Ragna the Bloodedge
]
--> ''I shall deliver death unto all of the living.''

-> '''Voiced by:'''\\
'''JP:''' Creator/{{Yukana}}\\
'''EN:''' Creator/KateHiggins (credited as Kate Davis in ''Alter Memory'')\\

-> Full name Hades Izanami[[note]]Meiou (Dark Lord) Izanami in the Japanese version[[/note]]. The Imperator Librarius[[note]]Mikado (Emperor) in the Japanese version[[/note]] -- the head of the Novus Orbis Librarium and de facto ruler of the world. [[ShadowDictator Only a few have actually seen the Imperator in person]], those few being the heads of the Duodecim and select high-ranking members of the Library. She's shown first in ''CS'' true ending and becomes more prominent in ''CP'' onward.

%%-> In ''Continuum Shift'', it is revealed that the Imperator is Saya -- the long-lost sister of Ragna and Jin who is the template for the Murakumo units. Her mindset, however, has been warped into that of a cold nihilist who believes the world should be a place of death. To that end, she has Terumi and Relius assist her in destroying Takamagahara and putting an end to the constant repetitions of time and space.

%%-> In ''Chronophantasma'', she wields the power of Takamagahara and initiates a battle of "timeline reset" against Master Unit Amaterasu, causing several time distortions throughout the game. However, it is implied that the Imperator will perish once she uses all her power to destroy the Master Unit. [[spoiler:''Chronophantasma'' also reveals that Saya has become a vessel for a godlike entity known as "Hades Izanami", whose goal is to create a world of death and decay. She serves as a TrueFinalBoss of the game, commanding the Nox Nyctores: Gigant Take-Mikazuchi for a humongous boss battle reminiscent of [[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom Apocalypse, Onslaught, Abyss, Galactus,]] [[VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom Yami]], and [[VideoGame/MeltyBlood Dust of Osiris]]. It is also revealed that she is NOT the rightful Imperator, as, with Terumi's machinations, she managed to usurp the title from the previous one, Tenjou Amanohokosaka. By the end of ''Chronophantasma'', she voluntarily abdicates and names Tenjou's son, Homura, as her successor to the throne, as well as ditching Terumi and Relius and kickstarts her plan of creating the "True Blazblue".]]

-> Confirmed as a playable character for Central Fiction in the January issue of Famitsu. She serves as the FinalBoss of Act II of the game's story, titled "Nightmare Memory". She does not battle in her usual, regally-stylized Shinto priestess kimono, but changes her costume to a less restricting, more revealing outfit, with a giant, floating ring resembling a thunder god drum behind her called the Yasakani no Magatama.

-> Her Drive is called '''Sharin (Exodus Arc)'''. By pressing the D button, Izanami activates the Yasakani no Magatama, acting as a [[StanceSystem stance switching mechanic]] in the same vein as Izayoi. While in this stance, the Imperator can fire projectiles at the opponent with directional inputs and the D button, and gains several new moves and abilities at the cost of not being able to block. Her Overdrive is called '''Zekkai (Arc Force)'''. When activated, she gains the ability to use the moves of both her normal stance and Yasakani no Magatama stance, including normal blocking.

-> Her Exceed Accel '''Nayuta (Arc Drive)/Melancholy Death''' involves her trapping the opponent within a seal as several skulls appear beneath their feet. Suddenly, a loud scream rings out as both Izanami transports herself and her opponent into the realm of the dead, with Izanami's face becoming skeletal as she thrusts her hand into the opponent. Her Astral Heat, '''Tokoyo no Yami/Eternal Darkness''', involves her grabbing the opponent and opening a portal to the underworld which unleashes dozens of spirits in a hurricane, which launches the opponent into the air. Still holding on to the opponent, seven skulls appear, crashing into the opponent alongside herself and dragging them into the underworld. She then reappears on the stage.
----
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:A-J]]
* AbdicateTheThrone: In the climax of ''CP'', amidst all the battles, she forfeits her position and name Homura the new Imperator. Not because of any danger to herself, but she has gone far with her plans that she doesn't need to be Imperator anymore.
* AlwaysAccurateAttack: Her Shizuku special tracks the opponent's location.
* AnthropomorphicPersonification: [[spoiler:In Rachel's Act 2 story and the preview for Act 3, she says that Izanami is a manifestation of The Origin's Drive.]]
* AntiGravityClothing: Her ring-crown thingy seemingly floats around her head without any visible attachments. Said crown is actually the Yasakani no Magatama, her weapon, which can float as well.
* ArtificialHuman: [[spoiler:As revealed in ''Central Fiction'', Saya is actually implied to have been created as a vessel for Izanami. She also has doll-like joints under her arms and her upper legs that seem to hint at this. When electrocuted she also seems to have no skeleton and a doll-like anatomy.]]
* AssistCharacter: [[spoiler:Although she is the one controlling Take-Mikazuchi, the Imperator herself can only fire three {{Energy Ball}}s at you or summon a trio of {{Attack Drone}}s, making Take-Mikazuchi do most of the work.]]
* AttackDrone: Aside from [[spoiler:the ones she uses in the boss fight with Take-Mikazuchi]], her Yasakani no Magatama is also this. She can either use them to attack directly or fire projectiles.
* AxCrazy: Being obsessed with death and causing it makes her this. She [[DissonantSerenity acts calmer than most examples]], but that makes it all the more terrifying.
* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:In every single appearance since her introduction, Izanami is usually the biggest victor, since she ends up with the most advantages. She takes control of Takamagahara in ''CS'' and sets it so that causality has a sequential flow, meaning no more time loops. ''CP'' is her biggest victory yet: creating the Embryo by turning the souls of all living beings on the planet into seithr and bringing forth the Amaterasu Unit, then teleporting Hakumen away effortlessly and triggering Ragna's inner Black Beast, making him go berserk and nearly killing everyone in sight. If ''CF'' is any indication, she may have actually accomplished her desire for a "world of death" - the secret Judgment Day stage is implied to take place outside of the Embryo, and it shows that the world has become a hellscape. In the end, however, she's finally defeated, and her soul is absorbed into Noel.]]
-->'''Rachel:''' Truth be told... you won the moment you [[spoiler:summoned the Master Unit]].
* BeatingADeadPlayer: One of her win poses has her [[DraggedOffToHell consigning her opponent to the Underworld.]]
* BecomeARealBoy: [[spoiler:Her Act 3 arcade play has her talk with Relius about the nature of souls. He mentioned that even though she's a Drive-existence of someone, since he sees that she has a "desire" of her own, it makes her a full individual with her own soul. She then says that "granting death to this world" is her desire. This makes it unclear how much of Izanami is, well, Izanami and not a mere amalgamation of outside sources acting out.]]
* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler:''CF'' story shows her true origins: she's actually a fragment of Saya's soul that came to be because of Relius' and Terumi's torture towards young Saya.]]
* BerserkButton: While she's normally calm and affable towards ally and enemy alike, there is one specific thing that will trigger her. [[spoiler:If you call her "Saya", she'll show you exactly why she calls herself the Goddess of Death. Only Ragna is allowed to call her by that name.]]
-->'''Izanami:''' (''winquote vs Naoto'') Is this too, a result of the Embryo? Dare not provoke me... and never utter that name again.
* BigBad: Takes the role at the end of ''Chronophantasma'', after spending the first half of it and the previous two games [[GreaterScopeVillain pulling the strings behind]] Terumi and Relius. This carries on to ''Central Fiction'', Izanami's desire to create a world of death through the Embryo make her the main enemy to overcome. [[spoiler:Upon until she's defeated and Terumi becomes the FinalBoss.]]
* TheCaligula: [[spoiler:A malevolent avatar of death at the topmost seat of the Librarium's hierarchy is never a promising sign. Makoto's story to Tsubaki suggests she may have been on board with Terumi and Relius in igniting the Ikaruga Civil War, and it's later confirmed in ''Spiral Shift''. The Ikaruga Civil War was nothing more than a [[HumanSacrifice bloody ritual]] to increase her power.]]
* CastingAShadow: She has shrouds of darkness envelop her limbs during most of her attacks, and she can also [[ShapingYourAttacks shape it]] in her Arms of Sympathy (Renge no Kai) special where she creates a nightmarish face made from shadow and fog and in her Ghost Peak Strike (Gaihou no Geki) special where she turns them into a skeletal T-Rex's head.
* CatchPhrase: Will always make some reference to death. Also has a tendency to say "...Is what I ''would'' say."
* ChargedAttack: Aside from her Flaming Dome special, her Orchid (Araragi) special (where she throws her drones like a boomerang) can be charged for longer range and changing its trajectory.
* TheCoatsAreOff: ''Central Fiction'' shows that the Imperator has a separate battle attire from her regal dress. Her intro with Ragna in her trailer has her discarding it for her current look.
* ColorCodedTimestop: Two of her Distortion Drives stops time completely; her DD Moment of Benevolence (Kyoumu no Koku) is a GrappleMove and uses 50% heat, and her DD Hour of Nihility (Jindou no Koku) is an instant timestop and uses 100% heat. The stage background becomes monochrome while the characters' mugshots have their color inverted.
* CombatStilettos: Her feet platforms act as these, adding extra damage to her kicks.
* CompleteImmortality: [[spoiler:As the avatar of death, she cannot truly die. The only way she's defeated, then, is to absorb her being (consisting of half of Saya and half of The Origin) into Noel/Mu (who possesses both other halves).]]
* CoolCrown: She wears a golden ring-thingy that accompanies her hairpins. This ring is actually her weapon, the Yasakani no Magatama, and when she dons her battle attire, the crown floats off her head and transforms. While Izanami loses her crown, she gains a new one in the shape of a unicorn's horn.
* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:Kagura's Act 2 arcade has her face to face with the Goddess of Death herself... who proceeds to utterly humiliate him, literally dancing away at his best attacks and literally knocking him on his back.]]
* DanceBattler: Surprisingly for her character, Izanami's attacks include fluidity and grace, and a distinct number of leg movements. Combined that with her Yasakani no Magatama, and Izanami's moveset seems evocative of [[Myth/HinduMythology Shiva's Tandava]].
* DarkIsEvil: Aside from being named after the Japanese goddess of death, she has dark purple hair, uses a lot of dark-based attacks, and has a lot of demonic and death-related imagery and motifs.
* DeadlyLunge: Her Thunderbolt Lance (Tourai no Hoko) special is her doing a very fast lunging attack, either with her palm or her feet.
* DeadpanSnarker: In ''Chronophantasma''. Particularly if she's near Hazama.
--> '''Hazama:''' And... How are things on your end, Imperator?
--> '''Imperator:''' I have no problems. If I was forced to give one, it is that your voice hurts my ears.
--> '''Hazama:''' Ahh, sharp-tongued as always. Even I have feelings, too, you know.
* DealWithTheDevil: [[spoiler:Azrael makes one with her in his ''CF'' Act 2 ending. In exchange with Azrael defeating the other Entitled and "releasing the Embryo", she promises that he can have a battle really worth his time: with the "Gods outside of the Logic."]]
* DeathByIrony: She talks about the inevitably of death and how nobody can escape it. [[spoiler:Well that includes herself as her own demise at the hands of Ragna and Noel shows she's just as fearful for her own life as anyone else.]]
* DeflectorShields: Her Shield of Dreams (Mujuu no Tate) special creates a barrier that absorbs attacks for her while she freely moves around. This works like the Barrier Block everyone else has, including how the Barrier Gauge drains while she uses this.
* DeliberatelyMonochrome: During her Distortion Drives and her Exceed Accel, the entire screen turns black and white.
* DemonicPossession:
** Relius refers to her body as a "vessel" in which Izanami inhabits. [[spoiler:Specifically, Izanami is the manifestation of the Master Unit's drive that possessed Saya's body after part of her soul was driven out.]]
** [[spoiler:She also can manipulate Tsubaki's thoughts from afar, and this gets increasingly intense that in the Japanese version, Izayoi (in cutscenes) starts talking in tandem with Imperator's voice.]]
* DifficultButAwesome: Izanami has a ''very'' steep learning curve due to having different properties than the other characters. [[MechanicallyUnusualFighter She lacks a double jump, instead having a float in its place]], which allows her to perform her ground normal attacks in the air, but is quite tricky to get used to. One of her special moves puts up a shield which protects her from ''all'' attacks except for throws and unblockables, but costs most of her Barrier gauge in the process, which puts her at a high risk of entering Danger state. Along with her below average health and her changed stance making her unable to block, Izanami is a challenging character to play, but once she is mastered, she has one of the highest damage potentials in her combos besides Carl and Naoto, and her attacks also have fast priority, allowing her to keep up her offensive.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: More like Disc Two Final Boss, but still, she's one for Act 2 of ''Central Fiction''. [[spoiler:This applies to the main story as well. After she's defeated by Ragna and Mu, Terumi shows up and merges with the Susanoo unit to once again take back his position as BigBad.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards: She hates Terumi just as much as the rest of the cast do, though it's less because she has standards and more because [[spoiler:she has part of Saya's soul and Terumi was partially responsible ruining Saya's life completely, even torturing her body before Izanami manifested in her]].
-->'''Imperator:''' Do not take that tone with me. We are not peers.
* EverybodyHatesHades: [[spoiler:In Shinto tradition, Izanami is just the Goddess of the Underworld, who while vengeful towards her husband Izanagi, wasn't really that bad. In ''[=BlazBlue=]'' however, Izanami is the cruel GreaterScopeVillain who wants to create a "world of death" by corroding all life into seithr using the [=BlazBlue=] Embryo. Doubly so in the English version, beforehand, she was just 'Meiou' Izanami, that got localized into 'Hades', who is Greek's Underworld God who's actually one of the more sensible Gods compared to [[JerkassGods the more volatile dwellers of Mt. Olympus.]]]]
* EvilBrit: Even moreso than Jin, and with an English accent in the English-language track to boot.
* EvilCounterpart:
** ''Chronophantasma'' sets her up to be Rachel's counterpart. Both are extremely powerful females [[spoiler:outside the normal conventions of life and death]], both lead boys with Azure Grimoires (Rachel to Ragna, Imperator to Terumi), and both are surprisingly snarky.
** ''Central Fiction'' reveals that she's one to Noel as well since [[spoiler:they both possess part of Saya's and the Master Unit's souls, and are the structure maintaining the Embryo itself.]]
* EvilPlan: [[spoiler:She plans to create a "world of death", and she created the Embryo for that purpose. She also planned to use the Embryo to create the "True Blazblue" (aka "Book of the Blue Blaze"), but what it is or what it entails is as-of-yet unknown.]]
* FauxAffablyEvil: She's a very sophisticated, intelligent, formal speaker that will speak politely while ordering the deaths of millions. She seldom drops the tone but the sick interest she has in creating a "world of death" marks her as far too sinister for this to be genuine.
* {{Fireballs}}: Her Flaming Dome (Tengai no Hi) special creates a fireball on top of her, then throws it down; the fireball hits multiple times as it comes down, then releases an explosion as it touches the ground that knocks the enemy upward. It can be {{charged|Attack}} for increasing its size and damage.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** [[spoiler:There were hints of Izanami's existence early in the series, like how Saya changed. Likewise, in the ending of ''Continuum Shift'', Takamagahara spoke with dread about the Imperator's awakening; an omniscient collective consciousness would not freak out unless it was completely game-changing. And around the start of ''CP'', Rachel says that she is "death" and not even Hakumen at full power can stand against her.]]
** [[spoiler:In ''CP'''s final battle, one of her attacks is her deploying 3 {{Attack Drone}}s to fly towards your position, surrounding you in a triangle shape, and then each shoot a laser beam. Come ''CF'', she can do a similar thing as one of her special moves, named Shizuku.]]
* FusionDance: [[spoiler:Izanami herself is a combination of a fragment of Saya's soul and the Master Unit's drive. This is actually how she's defeated since Noel/Mu also is a combination of the souls of Saya and the Master Unit, she tries to assimilate Izanami into herself and succeeds with the help of Ragna.]]
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Inevitable. She may be [[spoiler:the "Goddess of Death"]] and outstrips the fair share of the cast in terms of power, yet other playable characters like [[NaiveEverygirl Celica]] and [[CloudCuckooLander Taokaka]] can beat her in a round no sweat. Even when she's NighInvulnerable, she's a GlassCannon in gameplay.
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Zig-Zagged. [[spoiler:While her presence was revealed in ''Continuum Shift'', the fact that she is the Goddess of Death, and the true extent of her power, is not revealed until ''Chronophantasma's'' True Ending. However, her power is foreshadowed early in the game by Rachel, who says that even [[WorldsStrongestMan Hakumen at his full power]] might not be able to beat her and that, since she is "death", the only way to defeat her is to [[ShootTheDog kill her host]]]].
* GlassCannon: For someone who's supposed to be the goddess of death... she isn't that durable, having 10500 HP.
* GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath: Sports these in her Astral, to '''terrifying''' effect.
* GodIsEvil: [[spoiler:She is the malicious [[GodEmperor God Empress]]]]
* GodGuise: [[spoiler:Her power in the game is god-like and her dedication to death is very real, but she ultimately is unrelated to the Shinto deity that she takes her name from.]]
* GrandTheftMe: [[spoiler:Saya's body turns out to be a vessel for Izanami. This happens after Saya's soul got split into two and the consciousness of Izanami (as The Origin's Drive) manifested in her body.]]
* GrappleMove: Her Distant Affection (Jiai no Yuu) special is a grab that can [[ManaDrain suck the foe's Barrier Gauge to replenish hers]]. Her DD Moment of Benevolence and Astral are also grabs.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Of ''Calamity Trigger'', ''Continuum Shift'', and ''Chronophantasma''. She is the true antagonist of the series and the boss of [[BigBadDuumvirate Terumi and Relius]], who abducted Saya to serve as Izanami's vessel. At first it seems to be [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when Saya appears to be merely a puppet queen for Terumi and Relius, [[DoubleSubverted but then]] it is revealed Izanami is possessing Saya and she had in fact been manipulating them the whole time, and then abandons the two when she no longer needs them. She then takes center stage as the BigBad in ''Central Fiction''[[spoiler:...until she dies and Terumi reveals himself as Susanoo, who quickly upstages and triple subverts her status with the further revelation that her entire existence is nothing more than a product of Susanoo's machinations to cause his "sister" Amaterasu, who Izanami is a fragment of, complete and utter despair before killing her and usurping her position as the "true god"]].
* HartmanHips: Izanami's build is defined by a slim waist and [[https://imgur.com/a/o3vzP5j comparatively large hips.]]
* TheHeartless: [[spoiler:She's the personification of the Master Unit's drive, specifically the function that desires to bring death upon the world as a result of the torture she endured. She's also the part of Saya's soul that remained after being tortured by Hazama, Terumi, and Relius.]]
* HellIsThatNoise: During her Exceed Accel, the sound of a woman screaming will play when the colors suddenly become monochrome and Izanami has her face covered with [[NightmareFace a skull with a psychotic grin]]. That same sound plays during her Astral, which has an ''even more terrifying'' JumpScare to go along with it.
* HiddenDepths: Her hobby, "jigsaw puzzles", is both a hint and a joke regarding her nature as TheChessmaster. That is, she views her plans and any impediments to them as a puzzle to be solved. It can also be a reference to her goal, i.e destroying the world and recreating it anew, akin to how jigsaw puzzles are broken and then put together again.
* HijackingCthulhu: [[spoiler:Is powerful enough to pull Take-Mikazuchi out of the atmosphere and use it at full power. Justified in that she's a ''literal'' goddess]].
* HumanSacrifice: [[spoiler:It's revealed in ''Spiral Shift'' that the whole Ikaruga Civil War was for providing a lot of this to power up Izanami. During the war, Jin stumbles into a facility that contains a cauldron, a coffin hanging above it, and dead bodies being moved on conveyor belt into said cauldron, which fills a "meter" in the coffin. Jin realized what it meant and what the wars are about, and so resolved to not kill anyone from that point and focused only on the head of Ikaruga, Lord Tenjo. Also at the end of the novel, it's revealed Relius monitored the whole thing and Hazama namedropped Izanami when he's talking to the coffin.]]
* IdenticalStranger: Naoto thinks that her looks makes her resemble his own sister, which is incidentally also named Saya. This causes a lot of confusion from both. [[spoiler:This is because Izanami's body was modeled after the 5th Prime Field Device, who's implied to be based on Naoto's sister.]]
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice:
** Her Exceed Accel has her doing this to her opponent... ''with her hand''. [[spoiler:It's also what she does to herself at the end of his arcade story in Act 2 using Ragna's sword, to prove how futile defeating her would be.]]
** [[spoiler:Mu-12 does this to her once more with more permanent results.]]
* InsistentTerminology:
** She is to be referred to as Hades Izanami. Only Ragna is allowed to call her Saya.
** On the receiving end, both Ragna and Jin insist on calling her Saya.
* InvincibleVillain: Not even [[spoiler:Hakumen's Time Killer]] does any harm to her. ''CF'' has the good guys trying to find a way to defeat her for good. [[spoiler:Only after learning her and Noel's nature that they come up with a plan: have Noel merge with her. With the power of the Godslayer and Ragna's assistance, she manages to do it, ending Izanami.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:K-Y]]
* KnightOfCerebus: Her appearance at the end of ''CS'' makes the plot thicken, but it's not until the end of ''CP'' that she starts making big impact, and it's continued throughout ''CF''.
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8oL86YxwfYs Has one]] in ''CF'' titled YOMOTSUHIRASAKA. [[note]]The name of the slope at the border between the worlds of the living and the dead, fitting Izanami's motifs and a reference to the Izanami in original myths.[[/note]] She also has an Unlimited theme titled THE WORLD END.
* LethalChef: Revealed in one of the gag endings, she shares this with Noel, who also adopted it from Saya. She exploits this however by using it as ''poison''.
* LetsGetDangerous: After spending most of the games as a GreaterScopeVillain who let others do the work for her, in ''Central Fiction'' [[spoiler:she [[OrcusOnHisThrone gets off her throne]] and decides to personally deal with the heroes intending to stop her Armageddon]].
* LightIsNotGood: She has a golden halo and some of her attacks emit a white glow, but is so not telling of her evil personality.
* LockedIntoStrangeness: Much like Ragna, Saya no longer sports the golden locks from her childhood, leaving Jin as the only one in the family who is still a natural blond. In fact, thanks to Saya's purple hair and red eyes, it is ''Noel'' who more closely resembles the younger Saya, not Saya herself. [[spoiler:It's a side-effect of Relius modifying her body to resemble Prime Field Device no.5, who's implied to be based on Saya Terumi, who has purple hair and resembled Izanami a lot.]]
* LostInTranslation: Her name in Japanese is "Meiou Izanami" (冥王イザナミ); that is, "Dark Lord Izanami", Meiou being her title. Meiou is also what the Japanese call "Pluto" (both the Roman god and the planet) and, subsequently, "Hades" (his Greek counterpart), which is what ends up being used in the overseas release.
* {{Miko}}: Official art reveals she has a stylized version of the red-and-white ensemble under her cape. Her battle outfit shares similar elements.
* MisanthropeSupreme: While she may talk politely, her desire for a "world of death" implies this.
* MythicalMotifs: She shares her name with Izanami of the Japanese myth, one of the creator gods of Japan who was cursed to be forever trapped in the underworld and swore to kill a thousand men each day (while her husband Izanagi swore that he'll make 1500 men born each day). She and Rachel has a similar conversation near the end of ''CP''. She also desires for a "world of death" and, as her playable version, she has many death/underworld motif to her. The twist, though, is that what she really is is complicated: [[spoiler:She was Saya, who was tortured by Relius and Terumi and had her soul broke into 2 pieces, one half remaining on her; at around the same time, the living "Drive" of the Master Unit's user, Izanami, possesses her, warping her mind further, and Relius then modified her body to become similar to that of the 5th Prime Field Device. Izanami is specifically The Origin's desire to end the world as the latter has actually had enough with repeating the world over and over.]]
* {{Necromancy}}: [[spoiler:Being the Goddess of Death, this is kind of expected.]] Her playstyle evokes a lot of death themes, primarily skulls, and will-o-wisps.
* NighInvulnerable: [[spoiler:She's called the Goddess of Death for a reason. ''Absolutely '''nothing''' can come close to dealing permanent damage to her.'' Even Hakumen's ultimate technique, Time Killer, which does exactly that and erases the recipient from existence upon doing so, has no effect on her because she is ''literally'' "death" incarnate - when "time" reaches its end, meaning she doesn't have any "time" to be erased in the first place. The only way to stop her is to destroy her vessel, Saya, which denies her a body to affect the physical world...until ''Central Fiction'' when Ragna deicdes to TakeAThirdOption: fuse her with Noel, as both of them are the manifestations of Saya's old personality, to reincarnate Saya fully with Noel as the dominant personality, which succeeds and kills the Izanami personality for good.]]
* NightmareFace: Her face changes into that of a skull during her Exceed Accel. One that sports a ''very'' unnerving SlasherSmile. She gets another one that's MUCH worse in her Astral Finish, and yet another, ''even worse'' one in the Act 3 trailer.
* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: Her actions and true nature immediately [[KnightOfCerebus turn the plot darker]], and her moveset is full of brutal, terrifying attacks that are a sight to behold. Her stronger attacks and expressions during story cutscenes completely seal the deal.
* NoSell: [[spoiler:An attack from Hakumen does nothing to her; Hakumen's sword kills time and since she's the avatar of death, and time would be inconsequential to her domain, she's invulnerable to it.]]
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Izanami can get uncomfortably close to people at times. This trait [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration even extends into gameplay]] as many of her attacks involve her literally lunging at the opponent.
* NothingButSkulls: Her Exceed Accel, Melancholy Death, has her foe getting shrouded in darkness that forms a pile of skulls. In the Active Flow version, chains are added on top of the skulls.
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:Her reaction once she realized that Ragna and Noel knew a way to defeat her; merging her with Noel.]]
* OmnicidalManiac: She wants to create a "world of death."
-->'''Izanami:''' I seek a complete death... to erase every fragment, every trace of this wretched world... repeating itself over and over! That's why I needed [[spoiler:the Embryo]].
* OptionalBoss: In Act 3, if you defeat every arcade opponent with Perfects, Overdrive, Distortion Drive, and Astral finishes, [[spoiler:you'll be transported to the Sight of Gods stage for a 9th fight with Izanami in her Unlimited form.]]
* OrcusOnHerThrone: Despite being the cause of essentially every horrible thing that's happened in the [=BlazBlue=] world through her own actions or that of her allies[=/=][[spoiler:[[UnwittingPawn pawns]]]] in Terumi and Relius [[spoiler:as well as literally being the ''[[PhysicalGod Goddess of Death]]'']], the Imperator spends most of her time in the background manipulating events, having others do the fighting for her, or just taunting the heroes with her presence. [[LetsGetDangerous That goes out the window by]] ''Central Fiction'', however, [[spoiler:as she has no intentions of letting anyone, aided by Nine or not, stop her plans]].
* PhysicalGoddess: [[spoiler:She is Izanami, the Goddess of Death. And she has all the power to go with it. Downplayed in that she only gets to be "physical" by possessing Saya's body.]]
* PimpedOutDress: [[http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/blazblue/images/e/e4/Hades_Izanami_%28Story_Mode_Artwork%2C_Normal%29.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/318?cb=20140724164103 Normally wears a highly-stylized Shinto priestess outfit]] under a big BlackCloak. In ''Central Fiction'', however...
* PowerFloats: She can be seen floating freely during some cutscenes. [[spoiler:She also floats all the time during the boss fight with Take-Mikazuchi.]] In ''Central Fiction'', this is her double jump. While hovering she can perform ground attacks, special moves, and even run.
* PromotedToPlayable: After spending 2 games as a Story Mode NPC, the Imperator has finally decided to show her true power in ''Central Fiction'', [[spoiler:after Nine sends the majority of the playable cast after her.]]
* PuppetQueen: She was installed by Relius and Hazama to lead the NOL while they lurk in the shadows.
* PurpleIsPowerful: Has purple hair and clothing and is far more powerful than she appears.
* RazorSharpHand: Her Exceed Accel has her impaling the opponent with her bare hand.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Has red eyes and is the GreaterScopeVillain of the game. [[spoiler:Her [[SNKBoss Unlimited]] portrait exaggerates this: ''her eyes are completely red''.]]
* TheReveal: Every time she appears, the WhamLine or WhamEpisode is right around the corner.
** ''Continuum Shift'': The Imperator is Saya, Ragna and Jin's sister and the template of the Murakumo units Lambda, Mu and Nu.
** ''Chronophantasma'': [[spoiler:Saya is actually being possessed by Hades Izanami, named after the Shinto goddess of death.]]
** ''Central Fiction'': [[spoiler:Saya is a living doll designed as a vessel, in much the same way Kazuma and Hazama were designed as host bodies for Terumi. Izanami is the physical manifestation of the The Origin's Drive.]]
* SelfMutilationDemonstration: Often lets her opponent attack her just to show how futile it is to actually hurt her.
* SexyBacklessOutfit: Her battle outfit bares her back, showing some small blue symbol over it.
* SheIsTheKing: Holds the title of "Imperator", which implies a male ruler. The Japanese version, "Mikado", is more gender-neutral.
* ShockAndAwe: Her Droplet (Shizuku) special can shock the opponent.
* SideBoob: Despite being not really endowed, her battle outfit still manages to show this.
* SlasherSmile: Her Exceed Accel has her face turning skeletal with a wide smile, her Astral has her flashing an even bigger SlasherSmile, complete with GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath, WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises, and the Act 3 preview has her briefly appear with BlackEyesOfEvil and an even more unnerving smile. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paeoc6b_0.gif Sweet dreams.]]
* SlideAttack: Her B version of Thunderbolt Lance is this. Also her 3C move, done [[HornAttack with her horned crown]].
* SmartPeopleSpeakTheQueensEnglish: In the English dub, where she's given an RP accent.
* TheSociopath: Classically so. Izanami is charismatic, manipulative, and wickedly intelligent, even through her batshit insanity, but is simultaneously utterly bloodthirsty and utterly devoid of anything remotely resembling empathy.
* SplitPersonalityMerge: [[spoiler:How she is ultimately defeated. This in turn saves Saya, whose personality and memories are transferred back to Noel.]]
* StanceSystem: Her Drive fulfills this function, much in the same manner as Izayoi.
* TheStoic:
** Despite having facial expressions of anger, surprise, and fear present within the game data, only [[BerserkButton the Amaterasu Unit]] is able to invoke a reaction from her, and even then her tone remains the same. She does become rather enthusiastic when she tells others of her plans for the world.
** Averted in ''Central Fiction'', where she displays a much wider range of emotions. This includes an EvilLaugh in the intro, taunting and boasting at her opponent during her pre-match fights, and [[spoiler:absolutely losing it when she realizes that Ragna and Noel plan to defeat her by merging her with Noel]].
* StrawNihilist: She calls the way the world is supposed to be "a world of death." [[spoiler:Of course, being the "Goddess of Death", that's her goal.]]
* SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum: Is essentially the AnthropomorphicPersonification of The Origin's growing suicidal urges set on killing her the only way a capital-G god ''can'' be killed: by killing everything, all the way down to the metaphysical concepts that makes it possible for anything at all to exist.
* TeleportSpam: Her DD Stake of Supremacy (Hazen no Kui) has her teleporting multiple times as she beats her foe to multiple directions, like Bang's Fatal Eruption DD. She ends it with [[WipeTheFloorWithYou dragging the foe along the ground]] and then knocking them away with an energy blast.
* TemporaryPlatform: She lacks a DoubleJump, instead she creates a platform in the air to stand on when the jump button is pressed in midair. She can do regular standing attacks while doing so, including Exceed Accel.
* ThatManIsDead: [[spoiler:After summoning Take-Mikazuchi and being confronted by Ragna, Jin, and Noel, she [[DoNotCallMePaul insists not to be referred to as "Saya"]], but rather "Hades Izanami".]]
* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:Rachel's Act 2 arcade ending in ''CF'' reveals that Izanami is not actually a goddess of death as she so claims. She was merely programmed with the personality and powers of one. She is, in reality, a "Drive-existence" - a physical manifestation of someone's will. In her case, she is the the physical manifestation of The Origin's (the girl in the Amaterasu Unit's) negative emotions. All of her anger, sorrow, and despair over the world not changing to give her the outcome she wants, in addition to the torture that Terumi and Relius inflicted upon her creations and the various incarnations of her soul eventually drove her mad to the point where she wanted everyone and everything around her to just die, herself included. That's Izanami. ]]
* TornadoMove: Done in her Astral.
* VillainousBreakdown: Her cool facade comes crumbling down in her final fight with Ragna and Noel. [[spoiler:Especially after they figure out the way to defeat her by having Noel merge with her, since they both contain part of Saya's and The Origin's souls. She initially regains her composure when she starts absorbing Noel into herself but once Ragna intervenes, she's reduced to screaming and fearing for her life as her consciousness is absorbed by Noel and calling out to her brother.]]
* [[HeroicRROD Villainous RROD]]: Terumi anticipated that overuse of the Takamagahara on her will is not doing good for her health and it's implied that she won't make it alive to see the result of her victory, if she is victorious at all. [[spoiler:Her being the avatar of death, this wasn't going to work out for him.]] Although, going in a different way, [[spoiler:Act 3 arcade of ''Central Fiction'' reveals that her vessel is already starting to deteriorate at a rapid pace as diagnosed by Relius, who customized Saya specifically to house Izanami.]]
* VillainessesWantHeroes: She's very..."adamant" about wanting Ragna on her side. [[spoiler:This is because she's one half of Saya's soul, whom had a major case of BigBrotherWorship toward Ragna.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: It is impossible to discuss anything about her without spoiling critical plot details of ''all four games in the series''. [[spoiler: ''CS'' reveals that she's both the Imperator AND Ragna's sister Saya, thus retroactively connecting her to the events before and during ''CT''. ''CP'' reveals that her true identity is Izanami, that she is possessing Saya's body, and that both her powers and motivations are themed around death, retroactively explaining why the Ikaruga Civil War happened in the first place (to satiate her twisted whims and empower her). ''CF'' reveals that she's linked to the Amaterasu Unit, by means of being the embodiment of its negative emotions: anger, despair, and hatred that the world refuses to change for her the way she wants it. Also, that Noel is her good half and that the two must merge in order to fully resurrect Saya.]]
* WeaponizedHeadgear: Her Yasakani no Magatama rests on her head as her CoolCrown when it's not active, as seen in her sprite.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Half of what she does in ''Chronophantasma'' is asking Ragna to join her, trying to taunt him into doing so by using Saya's voice whenever he declines so as to entice him [[spoiler:due to Izanami making use of Saya's devotion toward him. Eventually she reanimates Nu to fuse with him, gradually remaking the Black Beast from his flesh, all the while he tries to prolong outright killing Jin, Noel and Celica (he succeeds, but [[CurbStompBattle Jin is beaten to an inch of his life in the process]]).]]
* WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises: Mixed in with GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath on her Astral, used to ''terrifying'' effect.
* TheWomanBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:Relius and Terumi/Hazama were working for her all throughout Continuum Shift.]]
* XanatosSpeedChess: She's quick to counteract should she encountered some losses.
** [[spoiler:When Ragna moves to activate his Azure Grimoire after stalemating to Nu, she intervenes to jam it. Losing Nu would have thrown her plot to summon the Master Unit off the rails, since Noel was far less likely to comply by this point.]]
** [[spoiler:When Makoto defeats a brainwashed Tsubaki in ''Bonds'', she intervenes to forcibly reinstate Mind Eater and push the fight to a deathmatch. Losing the Izayoi would leave her without a way to kill Rachel Alucard. Likewise, when Makoto tries again to sway Tsubaki away from the Main Branch, she intervened immediately and threw Tsubaki out of character as a result. That near rescue must have really hit home.]]
** [[spoiler:When Rachel sends Ragna to Phase 0 through the Ibukido Cauldron and successfully recalls him after the fact, Izanami ordered Takamagahara's destruction. Between this and Makoto, Noel and Jin's successful rescue of Tsubaki, she must have been real sour.]]
** [[spoiler:After Ragna and Celica emerge with an unconscious Nu in the former's hands, Izanami ejects Hakumen by force, sics Nine on Jubei, and reanimates Nu to hug.exe Ragna, invoking his transformation and near-murder of Jin.]]
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: She later commands Phantom to destroy Takamagahara as well after Ragna's plan in CP made intervening with Takamagahara useless.
* YourSoulIsMine: Her DD Moment of Benevolence visually indicates this. First, she pulls something white and wispy from her target, presumably his or her soul or spirit, and then time stops. [[spoiler:In the story mode, she attempts to absorb Noel's soul as Noel attempts to merge with her, but Ragna stops her using his Idea Engine.]]
[[/folder]]

* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler:Her betrayal of Relius and Terumi utterly demolished their previously-unbreakable InvincibleVillain credentials, leaving them high and dry in their moment of distress.]]

-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/{{Yukana}} (Japanese) / Creator/KateHiggins (English, credited as Kate Davis in ''Alter Memory'')

!![[center: Playable Characters: [[Characters/BlazBlueCalamityTrigger Calamity Trigger]] ([[Characters/BlazBlueCalamityTrigger1 Part 1]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueCalamityTrigger2 Part 2]]) | [[Characters/BlazBlueContinuumShift Continuum Shift]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueChronoPhantasma ChronoPhantasma]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueCentralFiction Central Fiction]]\\

Individual Characters: [[Characters/BlazBlueRagnaTheBloodedge Ragna the Bloodedge]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueJinKisaragi Jin Kisaragi]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueNoelVermillion Noel Vermillion]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueRachelAlucard Rachel Alucard]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueLitchiFayeLing Litchi Faye-Ling]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueBangShishigami Bang Shishigami]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueHakumen Hakumen]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueTsubakiYayoi Tsubaki Yayoi]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueHazama Hazama]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueMakotoNanaya Makoto Nanaya]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueYuukiTerumi Yuuki Terumi]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueNineThePhantom Nine the Phantom]] | '''Izanami'''-]]]

* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:Rachel's Act 2 arcade ending in ''CF'' reveals that Izanami is not actually a goddess of death as she so claims. She was merely programmed with the personality and powers of one. She is, in reality, a "Drive-existence" - a physical manifestation of someone's will. In her case, she is the the physical manifestation of The Origin's (the girl in the Amaterasu Unit's) negative emotions. All of her anger, sorrow, and despair over the world not changing to give her the outcome she wants, in addition to the torture that Terumi and Relius inflicted upon her creations and the various incarnations of her soul eventually drove her amd to the point where she wanted everyone and everything around her to just die, herself included. That's Izanami. ]]

* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:Rachel's Act 2 arcade ending in ''CF'' reveals that Izanami is not actually a goddess of death as she so claims. She was merely programmed with the personality and powers of one. She is, in reality, the "Drive existence" of an as-of-yet unknown girl, implied to be the one within the Amaterasu unit.]]

* BigBad: Of ''Central Fiction''. Izanami's desire to create a world of death through the Embryo make her the main enemy to overcome. [[spoiler:She is, however, not the FinalBoss. That would be Terumi]]

* DiscOneFinalBoss: More like Disc Two Final Boss, but still, she's one for Act 2. [[spoiler:This applies to the main story as well. After she's defeated by Ragna and Mu, Terumi shows up and merges with the Susanoo unit to once again take back his position as BigBad.]]

* GreaterScopeVillain: Of ''Calamity Trigger'', ''Continuum Shift'', and ''Chronophantasma''. She is the true antagonist of the series, but is not in the main narrative, as well as being [[BigBadDuumvirate Terumi and Relius']] boss. At first it seems to be [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when she appears to be merely a puppet queen for Terumi and Relius, [[DoubleSubverted but then]] it is revealed she had in fact been manipulating them the whole time, and then abandons the two when she no longer needs them. She then takes center stage as the BigBad in ''Central Fiction''[[spoiler:...until she dies and Terumi reveals himself as Susanoo, who quickly upstages and triple subverts her status with the further revelation that her entire existence is nothing more than a product of Susanoo's machinations to cause his "sister" Amaterasu, who Izanami is a fragment of, complete and utter despair before killing her and usurping her position as the "true god"]].

* LetsGetDangerous: After spending most of the games as a GreaterScopeVillain who let others do the work for her, in ''Central Fiction'' [[spoiler:she [[OrcusOnHisThrone gets off her throne]] and decides to personally deal with the heroes intending to stop her Doomsday]].

* TrueFinalBoss: In Act 3, if you defeat every arcade opponent with Perfects, Overdrive, Distortion Drive, and Astral finishes, [[spoiler:you'll be transported to the Sight of Gods stage for a 9th fight with Izanami in her Unlimited form.]]

* BonusBoss: In Act 3, if you defeat every arcade opponent with Perfects, Overdrive, Distortion Drive, and Astral finishes, [[spoiler:you'll be transported to the Sight of Gods stage for a 9th fight with Izanami in her Unlimited form.]]

* RedEyesTakeWarning: Has red eyes and is the GreaterScopeVillain of the game. [[spoiler:Her [[SNKBoss Unlimited]] portrait takes this UpToEleven: ''her eyes are completely red''.]]

[[folder:K-Z]]

[-Others: [[Characters/BlazBlueNonPlayerCharacters Non-Player Characters]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueRemixHeart Remix Heart]] | [[Characters/BlazBlueLightNovelCharacters Light Novel Characters]] | Characters/XBlaze ([[Characters/XBlazeCodeEmbryo Code: Embryo]] | [[Characters/XBlazeLostMemories Lost: Memories]])\\

* RapunzelHair: Is nearly as long as the Murakumo Units despite being in a ponytail, may be a side effect of [[spoiler:Izanami's possession.]]

* PantyShot: Her panties are frequently exposed in her attacks. Shown in one variant of her Thunderbolt Lance special; she's specifically wearing fundoshi.

* DangerouslyShortSkirt: Part of her new outfit in ''CF''. Naturally, her [[PantyShot panties]] are exposed in many of her attacks.