Imu (忌夢) is a playable character from the Senran Kagura video game series. She makes her debut in Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus.
A third-year student at Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy and Miyabi's best friend. She was hospitalized for one year following the same event that afflicted Miyabi, after which she retired from shinobi life to support her best friend's recovery.
Since everything she does is for Miyabi, she's working together with her to reconstruct the Hebijo facility. In combat, she can manipulate the length and thickness of the pole she uses as a weapon.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Imu is a somewhat short girl with dark green eyes and light brow hair, with two bun-things on the sides. She has the standard complexion of the series.
She wears a outfit with a somewhat military style: Medium green boots with a black cross pattern, stockings going to slightly above her knees, a plated white skirt with a red line on the down part of the body. On the upper part she wears a green coat with black lines and crosses, black collar and shoulder pads. She wears a green beret and glasses.
Personality[]
Imu is a somewhat naïve but nice girl, and a bit of an "otaku", as she is the first of the two to enounce typical anime "values". She only yearns to be with Miyabi and to do activities with Miyabi, to the point of joining her when she goes to hunt a Yōma, or to win the Shinobi Exam to enter the Hebijo Elites' group. She is to the point of sacrificing herself for Miyabi, as a meat shield.
She is a bit "annoying" to Murasaki, her younger sister, by trying to make her get out from her chamber. That doesn't mean she doesn't care for her.
But she is also as determined if not a bit more than Miyabi to destroy Yōmas: In EV, while Miyabi's bravery was perturbated, broken by the eventuality of seeing her mom again and her defeats, Imu took the Shinobi Bon Dance seriously when Sayuri announced that it will open the road to the title of Kagura. She was even frustrated by the lack of energy and motivation of the team.
Background[]
Imu was Miyabi's best friend: they passed most of their time together as children, and particularly liked playing Shinobi. One night, they decided to play Shinobi for real, so they stole their fathers' weapons and wandered in the forest. A Yōma found them, and decided to take them as a meal. It's when fleeing from the menace that Miyabi's mother decided to arrest the Yōma to protect them, but it killed her anyway. Miyabi found herself full of sorrow and was mourning her mother since that day, and it's also that day they both swore to take revenge on every Yōma. Miyabi's father, knowing about the event, prepared them until they were in age to become actual shinobi.
Unlike Murasaki, Imu never manifested any form relating to the Root of Calamity inherited by some members of the family.
Meanwhile, during High School years, she was particularly harassed by Hikage, who, among other things, changed her regular glasses into sunglasses with a permanent marker, swapped her wash cloth with deep fried tofu and put a real mouse in place of her computer mouse. She hates her and even wanted to take revenge. The revenge took place but it changed pretty much nothing.
One year, Miyabi and Imu finally entered Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy. Miyabi was directly focused to become part of the Elites. Imu proposed to party for finally becoming shinobi, but she got an fighting exam instead by Miyabi, plus her that told to Imu that if she isn't able to gain more strength, she doesn't want to see her again. In order to be with Miyabi, Imu passed the exam, but it still wasn't enough for her.
One day, both Imu and Miyabi are selected as Elites to be part of an expedition with a team and a Kagura. The target: a team of "good" shinobi, led by a Kagura, which included Ryōki, that was hunting a Yōma. The goal was to ambush and eliminate them.
The mission is a total disaster: During the ambush, the Yōma the "good" team was searching for cowardly made use of the mayhem of the fight between the two teams to kill easily both of them all while they were occupied. Miyabi and Imu were the only survivors. Imu could only assist powerless to the murder of her foes and allies by the monster, and Miyabi going berserk and killed that same monster, and losing her mind to fall into a coma afterwards. She rested with her at the hospital during the whole coma, which came with amnesia.
Like Murphy's laws say, a disaster never comes alone: The death of Ryōki and the confusion behind the event led to her sisters Ryōna and Ryōbi, quitting Gessen a while after they joined to join Hebijo. Their amazing skills as a Fodder (Ryōna) and a Support (Ryōbi) opened them easily the path to the Elites. They were accepted as the last team was nearly totally killed by the Yōma event. If Imu and Miyabi would see them as comrades at least, or friends, the two sisters didn't have the same ideas behind their heads: there is a revenge for them to take, and the reason they joined Hebijo was for that. It was personal. Knowing the protective role and behavior of Imu towards Miyabi, Imu was their prime target. When the D-Day and the H-Hour finally arrived, Murasaki took a bullet from Ryōbi's K98k, while trying to defend her, knocking her out, enough to seems like it killed her. Imu brutally exploded of sorrow and finally used the Root of Calamity with which she defeated both Ryōna and Ryōbi. Rin narrowly intervened to stop the hostilities, put the event involving Ryōki's death in sunlight, and calmed Imu. Murasaki has luckily survived the ~8mm Mauser bullet she took.
Now that the Yōma event is made clear, and that the Sisters gave up their plan of revenge on Miyabi, Imu has forgiven them, and they are officially part of the New Hebijo team.
Story[]
Shinovi Versus[]
Estival Versus[]
Shinobi Girl's Heart[]
Imu was staring at the framed boxers in her room which she did every morning, so she never forgot the humiliation she suffered from long ago. She had once commuted to school with the selfsame boxers not for fun it was washday that day and she had nothing else to wear. She was also wearing a skirt and had thought nobody would see them. In her words she was naïve. Hikage had crashed into her, sending her to the ground with her skirt flipped up showing her boxers to everyone who saw them. Everyone at school had since then nicknamed her Imu the Pro Boxer. She had been wavering from getting revenge on Hikage but now she was going to go through with it. Her plan was to knock Hikage out and put the boxers on her. As eager as she was, she knew better than to underestimate Hikage she planned on taking extra precautions and decided to warm up by having a few sparring partners.
"Hikage... This time, I will settle my grudge... in the Battle of the Boxer Shorts!" -Imu
"I hate sunglasses! Let the Skirmish of Sunglasses commence!" -Imu
"This is for the deep-fried tofu incident! Face me in the Deep-Fried Dust Up!" -Imu
"Ugh, I HATE that transparent uniform... Time for the Travails of Transparency!" -Imu
While out in the forest she is approached by Hibari, Shiki and Minori. Shiki talks to her asking her to forget about revenge. Hibari agrees with her saying they should all get along, even Minori says she should just play nice with her it would fix it. Imu asks all three of them if they could ever wear boxers. Imu repeats what she said to Murasaki earlier about the shame of wearing boxers and asks them if they could wear boxers in the same increasingly angry tone. All three girls give the exact same answer. "No way." Something Imu responds by saying that's what she thought.
Minori then tells her that revenge was boring. Imu then asks her if she could say the same if her uniform suddenly became transparent. Or if they could laugh it off and forgive and forget if the computer mouse was suddenly swapped out with a real mouse. Minori tells her that Hikage couldn't have done that to be mean to her. Imu sarcastically responds with "Oh, of course not. She NEVER has any bad intentions!" And that was the problem. Imu proceeds to beat all three of them. And decides that was enough training and was ready for Hikage.
"Hikage! It ends here! Face the... Grudge of... Grudgement!" -Imu
Peach Beach Splash[]
Prologue[]
She is shown with the rest of her team outdoors with Murasaki napping on her lap. It is here they suddenly get their invitation to the PBS tournament.
Paradise Episodes[]
Gameplay[]
Main Articles: Imu/Shinovi Versus · Imu/Estival Versus · Imu/Peach Beach Splash
Imu wields a Bo staff, which can dilate greatly to her advantage, and can apply shock effect to her opponents to paralyze and leave them helpless for a while. Not only that, but she is quick and nimble, and can easily close the distance between herself and her opponents at long range via her multi-dashes. Her Ninja Arts all have a large area-of-effect, which is very useful for clearing out large groups of grunts.
"Imu practices kenpo and wields her Ruyi Bang staff. Her attacks are very fast but have limited range. On top of that, her range is focused in the front. Try to focus on quick combos and Aerial Raves. Imu's strong suit is one-on-one fighting. Outside of characters with charge moves, she will hardly ever lose when an enemy is in front of her, especially when she's in Frantic Mode. All of her Secret Ninja Arts have wide range, but her Ultimate Secret Ninja Art is especially useful, as in addition to its wide range and high damage, it can draw other enemies in." Estival Versus: Imu's Battle Card
Ninja Arts[]
Secret Ninja Arts[]
Ultimate Secret Ninja Art[]
Other Appearances[]
Bon Appétit![]
Prologue First Round Her first opponent was Minori who greets her. Imu makes a comment about her being her first opponent. Minori as usual asks her to play. Imu apologizes before saying she didn't feel like it. Minori repeats the word "boo" to her and asks her why she didn't want to. Imu tells her she was there to brush up on her cooking skills. Minori points out she could do that whenever as it was playtime. Imu responds by telling her it was "brush up on my cooking skills" time. Minori brushes it off as boring and says "What about me?" Imu replies with "What about you? What about ME? I'm just not in the mood, all right?" Imu then ends of by saying to stop slacking off and it was time for battle. And thus the first round began with Imu winning. After losing Minori laments over her loss. Imu having thought about what she said earlier talks about how Murasaki said the same thing about "Not feeling like it right now". She was trying to drag her sister out by force, but perhaps she had her reasons for staying inside, Imu was going to ask her next time. She then apologizes to Minori about how she was a little too harsh to her, and says that when the contest was over maybe they could play together. Minori shoots up in excitement suggesting they play tag, hide n' seek, sandbox. Imu interrupts her by telling her she got two games at most. Fourth Round Her next opponent was Rin. Imu comments about this and how she wasn't sure if her skills were up to par. Rin points out how Imu seemed to be keeping up with her training, as she left no openings and compliments her on her good job. Imu thanks her teacher. Rin then asks about her sense of love and peace, as her face didn't show that. Imu tried to say something but Rin immediately identifies the cause as her not getting along with Murasaki. And goes on how they both always lacked the skill to properly display their emotions. Imu admits she was right, she was always hard on her for some reason. Rin tells her that was another way of showing her love for her and was sure Murasaki knew that. Imu asks if she thought so. Rin points out they were sisters, such a bond was not easily cut. Imu says she was right. Rin then says it was time to stop talking about cutting bonds, and asks about cutting daikon's and carrots. Imu was confused at this. Rin goes on asking about cutting meats and fish and asks if she could cut those. Imu finally figures out what she was talking about. The Cook-Off. Rin confirms and points out that was why they were there. Rin then says it was time to begin their match and how she was about to put Imu's skills to the test. Imu says she was ready and to begin their battle. The next round of the tournament began with Imu winning. Imu congratulates herself on her win. She is then told by Rin that Murasaki would be proud of her. Imu was at a loss for words about she heard. Rin goes on about how it was difficult to carry out love and peace in the shinobi world. But she will continue to preach it, peace to the world, love and peace. Imu tells her she was right. Rin tells her to preach, which confuses Imu. Rin tells her she asked her to preach "Peace to the world, Love and peace." Imu tried to say something but Rin tells her to do as she asked. Imu does so but without much enthusiasm. Rin tells her to say it louder and Imu does so. Rin once again tells her to say it louder and Imu does so. Rin then tells Imu to head onto her next match. Imu says to her "Yes, ma'am!" Final Round Her final opponent much to her surprise was her sister Murasaki and questions why she was there. Murasaki didn't say anything, Imu deciding that she left her room. Her job was already done she didn't need to brush up on her cooking skills anymore and opts to withdraw from the contest. Murasaki says to her "...Don't." confusing Imu. Murasaki says to her she wanted to have a Super Dish battle with her. Murasaki asks if she remembered when they were young, they used to make Super Dishes in the sandbox. Imu thinking about it recalled doing such a thing. Murasaki then says to her she wanted to do what they did back then. Imu agrees but tells her sister this wasn't a game, this was a battle. Murasaki was okay with that and says she won't lose. Only to lose to her sister in the end. Epilogue Imu pats herself on the back for winning. Murasaki looking at what Imu made comments about how good it looked. Imu asks if she thought so, and she only made what she liked. Murasaki asks if she could have some. Imu lets her as it would be a waste to just leave it and tells her sister to help herself to as much as she wanted. Murasaki happily does so. Later she was eating her sister's dish with delight. Although this wasn't apart of Imu's plan but she at least got her sister out of her room and she was able to make a nice dish, so everything worked out in the end. Murasaki as thanks for the food gives her sister a towel. On it was a cute embroidery knitted on it, a picture of the two smiling and holding hands. She goes on about how Imu's always taken care of her so she had to repay her somehow so she made the towel in her room, in secret. This made Imu realize why she wasn't let into Murasaki's room. Imu was glad she worked up a sweat cooking and used the towel to wipe her "sweat", in reality she was wiping her tears. Murasaki noticed the tears and asked if she was crying. Imu asks her why would she be crying. Murasaki points out her eyes were red. Imu knew that no amount of wiping could hide that, but crying over a present, if Murasaki finds that out she'd lose her dignity as the older sibling. Imu in an act of desperation shouts out "P-Peace to the world, love and peace!" confusing Murasaki. Imu tells her to just say it and repeats what she just said. Murasaki says it, but quietly. Imu tells her to say it louder, she then thanks master Suzune and thanks to love and peace she was able to hide her tears. Murasaki is able to say "Peace to the world! Love and peace!" loudly enough for Imu to decide she passed. |
Musical Themes[]
Audio samples do not work on iPad, or any medium that does not support the .ogg audio format.
| Name | Game | Description | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Everything | Shinovi Versus | Imu's theme. It plays after she transforms and also when fighting her. | |
| Dearest Person to Me | Bon Appétit! | Imu's theme. | |
| I Want My Desire to be Known | Estival Versus | Imu's theme. It plays when she transforms and when fighting against her. |
Creation & Development[]
In the Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus Shinobi Syllabus the producer states that when Miyabi was being created, Imu was created as a steady support character for her. She was designed with a fox motif in mind, her face maintaining a masculine appearance that only knows its feminine side when addressing Miyabi. She's cute and lovable, like a puppy. And her name means "loathsome dream" which is very important to the narrative of Shinovi Versus.
Trivia[]
- Imu's name translates to "Loathsome Dream".
- Imu shares the same birthday as Sakyou and Ukyou.
- Imu speaks in combat with a funny and not very serious way.
- She is the only member of her team in Bon Appétit! to not have her story involve her going after the wishing scroll.
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