Yuuri Asuka

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Please refrain from reading if you haven't read the latest chapter yet.

Yuuri Asuka
Japanese Name	飛鳥 ユウリ (Asuka Yuuri)

"If you want to live...then I promise to do absolutely anything to save you." - Yuuri Asuka, Chapter 5.

Yuuri Asuka (飛鳥 ユウリ, Asuka Yuuri) is a character appearing in Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice. Yuuri appears only in flashbacks, having died before the beginning of the series. Her first appearance is in a single panel in Chapter 4 before appearing in an extended sequence in Chapter 5. The Yuuri seen in other chapters of Kazumi Magica is in fact her friend Airi, who has taken her appearance and identity.

Despite being deceased at the beginning of the series, she is important to Kazumi Magica's story since she was still a magical girl, her wish was to cure the life-threatening illness of her friend Airi.

General info

Physical features

• Eye colour: Yellow
• Hair colour: Yellow

Other

• Soul gem: Olive-colored circle located on her left upper arm
• Weapon: Giant multi-needled hypodermic syringe (according to Kyubey)
• Wish: To cure her best friend Airi of her disease (exact wording unknown)
• Witch form: "Arzt Kochen"

Personality

Yuuri was kindhearted and caring, trying to help other people. She seemed to enjoy both cooking and eating, and was devoted to her friend Airi. In fact, she became a magical girl with the sole purpose of saving her life. This devotion was reciprocated by Airi, as seen by her later actions, Yuuri may have been a bit to naive and lighthearted as she ends up later fighting Kyoko Sakura which may have gotten irritated over her compassionate and heroic attitude.

History

Another two happy lives, driven apart by the unforgiving world.

Yuuri has so far only appeared in Kazumi Magica. She first appears in a single panel flashback in Chapter 4, although the reader is made to think she was the other Yuuri.

The truth is ultimately revealed via a flashback in Chapter 5 (that was really a vision created by the other Yuuri's witch form) and a short story called, "Puella Magi Kazumi Magica Special Edition ~ A Dream-Filled Spoon."

Yuuri and Airi, classmates, met when Yuuri tried cooking for their entire class. A student claimed to have gotten food poisoning from Yuuri's cooking, which sent her into such a state of shock that she did not return to school until Airi visited her and helped prove that the student was trying to frame Yuuri.

Two years later, Yuuri is attacked by a witch and saved by a magical girl with a black hat and cape. She asks the girl to cure Airi, but she advises Yuuri to make a contract herself.

Yuuri visits her sick friend soon after, who has been told she only has three months to live. When she asks Airi if she wants to continue living, Airi says that wants to live longer and eat delicious things with Yuuri. Yuuri then gives her a spoon, which she calls a good luck charm. She then leaves to secretly contract with Kyubey so she can wish for Yuuri to be cured - it's implied Kyubey had been in contact with her prior to this, probably due to her having been saved by another magical girl. She next see Airi when she learns that her illness has miraculously healed. Airi claims that the spoon cured her, and Yuuri doesn't try to correct her.

Once she became a magical girl, Yuuri fought witches (she is also seen fighting against Kyoko Sakura in a flashback) and also cured the illnesses of other sick people. However, this put a strain on her Soul Gem.

Sometime later, Yuuri participates in a cooking contest for a restaurant. Airi gives her back the spoon, asking it to help Yuuri. Airi promises to take Yuuri to Bistro Tachibana if Yuuri wins. Though Yuuri makes it to the final round, she doesn't appear at the stage, prompting Airi to go look for her. Unfortunately Yuuri had transformed into a witch, right in front of The Pledaies and herself. As a witch, she nearly attacked Airi, but was killed by the Pleiades with a barrage of large arrows (similar to the ones Airi uses later, as Yuuri). When she dies, she drops the spoon that Airi gave back to her, leading Airi to go into a fit of shock

Later, Kyubey informs Airi about what happened to Yuuri, causing her to become a magical girl with Yuuri's appearance. Her sole purpose was to avenge Yuuri.

Powers, Weapons & Abilities

Yuuri's magical girl form was only seen briefly. However, her weapon was a giant multi-needled hypodermic syringe, likely used as a firearm. She also had healing powers, derived from her wish, which she used to heal other children with incurable diseases. However, using this power puts stress on her Soul Gem.
Her outfit is also considerably different from the one Airi later dons, though they have the same color scheme and general aesthetic.

Observations

• Yuuri might not actually heal the children, but merely transfer the disease to herself or to her Soul Gem, as it was said healing "was too much for her to handle", which would have caused many impurities on her soul gem in the first place.
• In chapter 16, there is a page where Yuuri is shown fighting Kyoko Sakura, while Michiru tried to stop them. The reason they were fighting could possibly be that Yuuri used her magic for the sake of other people, wishing for Airi to be cured from her disease, and curing other people with diseases as a Puella Magi. That probably prompted Kyoko to put up a fight with her for being a "naive idealist" and not using her magic only for herself. This parallels the anime, where Kyoko got into a very similar situation with Sayaka when she was first introduced.
  • Also, the page shows Yuuri and Michiru parting ways, paralelling Sayaka's quarrel with Madoka in the anime.

Etymology

• Her first name is written in hiragana which has no particular meaning. However, when written in kanji, it can mean "advantageous" (有利).
• Her last name means "flying bird".
  • Her last name can also be used as a first name.

Trivia

• Kazumi has a brief trauma induced vision of Yuuri and Airi happily eating parfait in Chapter 6.
• Yuuri has a number of similarities to Madoka and Sayaka. Like Sayaka, she wished to heal another person, gaining healing powers as a consequence, picked up a fight with Kyoko for using her magic for others, and suffered the same tragic fate. Like Madoka, she selflessly tried to help others and drove someone that cared about her to set the events of the main story in motion.
• Yuuri's spoon, which was later given to Airi, is a souvenir from her appearance on a cooking show hosted by Slice Akiyama, the chef she was supposed to face in the final round of the cooking competition.
• Yuuri was not a member of the Pleiades Saints, although in chapter 12 it is revealed that Yuuri did know of them, as she was a friend of Michiru. She became a witch before she got the chance to meet them in person, however.
  • In the bonus story Puella Magi Kazumi Magica Special Edition ~ A Dream-Filled Spoon, it was revealed that Michiru was the one who advised Yuuri to make a contract with Kyuubey.

Gallery

Manga Page

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  Yuuri makes a contract with Kyubey for her wish: to heal Airi and save her from a fatal illness.

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  Yuuri used her magic to heal the sick, and fought witches with a giant hypodermic needle.

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  Yuuri's barrier. Notice the forks.

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  Yuuri after her transformation into a witch.

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  Airi and Yuuri in extra artwork from Kazumi Magica volume 2. Note the similarity between their costumes.

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  Yuuri turns into a witch

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  Yuuri turns into a witch

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  Kazumi imagining Yuuri and Airi eating a delicious parfait...

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  But in reality, this will never come true for them.

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  You may cry now