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Takamura Yui (篁 唯依) is one of the main characters appearing in all versions of Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse. In all her appearances, she is introduced as a strict and no-nonsense eishi of the Empire of Japan's Imperial Royal Guard. However, her fixation on all military-related things, and her own strict code of honor, works against her when it comes to getting acquainted with new faces, as well as matters of emotion.

Total Eclipse

Born as the daughter of Takamura Masatada, the man most famous for the design and production of the Type-82 Zuikaku, Yui's status as a member of a fudai household (hereditary vassals to the Shogun) ensured her future as one of importance. Enrolling into an academic institute that specialized in training eishi in the 1990s, Yui was one of the first young females to be trained as such, alongside Iwami Aki, Noto Izumi, Kai Shimako, and her rival-turned-friend Yamashiro Kazusa, all of whom were from samurai families. Yui received a promotion to squad leader thanks in no small part to her status as a fudai through her family's relationship to Kyoko Takatsukasa, a member of the higher regent house nobility.

Despite acknowledging the fame surrounding her father, Yui held considerable resentment toward him in her younger days due to his constant absence. She was pressured day in and out to represent the Takamura family proudly, while Masatada left his duties as clan head behind with his work outside of Kyoto. To a lesser extent, Yui held some ill feelings of her mother, who was too cold and strict for Yui to easily get along with. Kyoko helped her through these troubled times as she reminded Yui that her parents loved her and they loved each other, and that the Takamura family had gone through many hardships to reach the point it was at.

During her early years, Yui excelled in her studies, and later in the art of TSF piloting as well. Polite to everyone she met with, she shared a close relationship with her uncle, Imperial Army Lt. Colonel Iwaya Eiji. As befitting her status, she was later assigned a yellow Type-82F sometime before the 1998 BETA invasion of Japan.

The invasion of Japan in 1998 would see Yui become the sole survivor of her unit during the opening days of the Defense of Kyoto, hardening her resolve to follow her family's legacy of TSF development and improve Japan's chances of survival. She would continue to participate in Royal Guard operations thereafter; as the leader of the White Fang test squadron, she was present at the Miho Bay Skirmish on 26th May, 2000, and was also responsible for the testing of the EML-99X with the Type-94-1C.

During her assignment to the Ministry of Defense for the EML weapon testing, Yui was officially on loan to the Imperial Army, along with the rest of her unit, and wore the green dress uniform of the Army prior to her reassignment to the UN, for the XFJ program in Alaska.

She was later assigned her own Type-00F prior to being transferred to Yukon Base as the Japanese attaché and liasion to the XFJ Program, and was quickly integrated into Argos Test Flight as the in-charge for all matters XFJ-related.

Initially cold to all around her and dismissive of US Army 2nd Lieutenant Yuuya Bridges and his piloting abilities, she later warms up to him after he manages to master the basic piloting skills required to operate the Shiranui Second Phase I. Yui later became more outgoing to the team, and to Yuuya in particular whom she developed feelings for, after being trapped on a deserted island in the Caribbean region during Project PROMINENCE's assignment to the UN's Guadeloupe Base, as part of a morale-boosting publicity drive. Her attention to Yuuya showed itself during Argos Test Flight's tenure at the Kamchatka Peninsula, when she was extremely concerned about Yuuya's exposure to any danger, to the point where she was willing to test-pilot the Shiranui Second Phase I herself, and her panic and distress when Yuuya, in trying to retrieve the EML-99X, was stranded in the ц-04 Frontline Supply Base and surrounded by BETA, during the Ц-04 Frontline Supply Base Incident. During that incident, she was forced to mercy-kill one of the technicians, Corporal Yamamoto; her choice was partially affected by her previous experience with Yamashiro Kazusa.

Cool hair sis

Yui in her youth. (TE-VN)

Following Project PROMINENCE's return to Yukon Base and the beginning of Blue Flag, Yui began to try for Yuuya's attention, although her efforts were impeded by the appearances of UFC Lieutenant Cui Yifei, and to a lesser extent, Cryska Barchenowa and Inia Sestina. The Yukon Base Incident stopped any such events from continuing, but was also Yui's finest hour when it came to directing Argos Test Flight in combat against the RLF. Showing her skill in numerous encounters, she was later matched in combat by the out-of-control Scarlet Twins in the Su-37UB Terminator, and her Type-00F rendered unfit for continued combat when it ran out of fuel.

Hearing of the XFJ Program's possible cancellation after the Yukon Base Incident, she resolved to return to Japan to talk things through with the responsible parties.

Etymology

  • Takamura means "bamboo grove" (篁).
  • Yui means "solely, only, merely, simply" (唯) (yu) and "rely on" (依) (i).

Trivia

  • Yui's violet eyes match neither of her parents; Senna has brown irises whereas Masatada has amber-yellow ones.
  • Given that Yui's relationship to Yuuya Bridges was not fully expanded upon until the visual novel release, many fan stories and doujins have paired her with Yuuya, her half-brother.
  • During the anime version of the Yukon Base Incident, Yui's last opponents were the Scarlet Twins piloting the Su-47E, and not the Su-37UB.
  • As seen in the manga of Total Eclipse, Yui was actually on temporary loan to the Imperial Army and wore their formal dress uniform instead of her Guard outfit. Prior to this, only members of the non-nobility had been shown to be transferrable between the Royal Guard and the other branches.

References

    1. https://twitter.com/maf2koinu/status/222038977178374144
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