Yumi Ishiyama (Ishiyama Yumi-san in Japanese) is a character from the French animated television series Code: LYOKO.

Description

Yumi is one year older than the rest of Team Lyoko; her age gives her the title of the "mature" one of the group, who looks after the younger members of the team, especially Jeremie. She is 14 years old, 5.41' tall, and weighs 110.2 pounds.

On Earth, she wears a black turtleneck sweater that has long sleeves and exposes her navel. Her hair is usually left hanging down. When she's in her virtual form on Lyoko or when she goes to sleep, part of her hair is bunched up into a small bun. However, it is not odango, as it is only tied into a single bun. She also wears black pants, and a pair of boots. She has one other outfit, but it only makes an appearance when she and Odd switch bodies in A Fine Mess. That outfit consisted of black pants, a green sweater-vest with an orange shirt underneath, fingerless mesh gloves, and a fur cap with cat ears on top. In fact, most of Yumi's outfits are black, as quoted by Ulrich in Missing Link. That outfit seems to be the one exception, much to her embarrassment. She has also worn a winter outfit, as seen in Cold War.

In Lyoko, she has a outfit somewhat modeled after the outfit worn by a geisha; more specifically, an oiran. Like the other Lyokons, her outfit is symbolic of her personality. Additionally, it symbolizes her culture and natural beauty. It comes with a short-sleeved/hemmed kimono over red tights, black thigh-length boots, pink eye shadow, red blush on her cheeks, a white-painted face and neck, and some red on her lips to complete the look. However, the kimono is folded left-over-right when it should be folded right-over-left. The colors of the kimono are periodically switched around to make up for this mistake. Her hair is not in the shimada hairstyle. Instead, part of her hair is bunched up into a small bun and the rest is left hanging down. Three bangs are also a part of her hairstyle. In the early character models for her virtual form in Garage Kids, the sleeves of her kimono were longer, which would have been well-suited for the Ice Barrier sector. Coincedentally enough, Ulrich's outfit is somewhat modeled after a Japanese samurai, despite the fact that he is from Germany.

She wields two tessen fans that unfold into sharp, frisbee-like discs. Their purpose can be likened to that of shuriken in some instances, though they are meant as offensive weapons. She can throw them at enemies much like boomerangs, and like boomerangs they recoil back to her hand, at which point she can fold them back up. The tessen fans will cut through any enemy in their path until returning to Yumi's hand. The tessen fans also double as shields and are capable of deflecting attacks regardless of

Like Ulrich, Yumi knows Pencak Silat and practices with him on occasion. She is also a capable gymnast. On Lyoko, she uses these skills to perform multiple handsprings and other feats of agility. When she and Odd accidentally switched bodies in A Fine Mess, she attempted to use Odd's body the same way she used her own, and also learned how to use his powers. Unfortunately, due to differences between their bodies, she hurt her back performing her normal gymnastic feats (possibly pointing to an inflexible back on Odd's part) and had a stomach ache upon entering Carthage. Her handling of Odd's Overboard in the same episode points to Yumi lacking the same sense of balance Odd has. Instead, she sits on it. She also learns how to use Odd's weapons more effectively than he learns to use hers.

Although sometimes a bit short-tempered, she is very clever. Just remember to stay on her good side, though, because she doesn't take rudeness from anyone. She deals with a few personal conflicts, most notably the fact that her parents have been known to have a somewhat unstable relationship, which makes her very sad (as seen in the episode Laughing Fit).

Yumi makes important decisions in the heat of things. Younger members often turn to her for advice. She is the first female in Team Lyoko; Aelita being the second (Sissi being a possible third). In Lyoko, she is usually the commander during the missions, though Odd also does this from time to time (because of small clues in the series, like salutes and occasional commands to the other warriors). She also uses this authority in the real world, on occasion. The best example of this would be in the second season episode Cold War, when she commands Thomas Vincent to take Herve and Sissi out of the snowstorm and back inside Kadic, where they'd be safe and warm.

Yumi also seems to have a few mutual "feelings" for Ulrich, though neither of them seem to have the guts to admit anything to the other (at least not in the present, anyway). Their reluctance in regards to their relationship has led to strife and jealousy between them in several episodes. In the episode Routine, however, Yumi and Ulrich almost kiss in the Desert sector (complete with unexplained wind and romantic music in the background), shortly before a time reversion. The time reversion takes place just before they are able to kiss. The romantic music occurs shortly after Ulrich saves her from falling into the digital void. Despite the near-kiss, they still have reluctance when it comes to admitting their feelings for each other, though they do seem to have a better understanding of them.

When William shows up in the second season, their feelings for each other are again thrown into doubt. Several episodes have both Ulrich and William competing for her affection. Yumi is

For some reason, Yumi receives the brunt of XANA's abuse, having been trapped by him twice, replaced with a fake version of herself by XANA another time, and even been robbed of her digital genetic code by the Scyphozoa (in the same manner as Aelita's memories are stolen), preventing her rematerialization on Earth until Aelita extracted the information from XANA's data store in Carthage. She is also the only one of the group that has fallen into the digital void, and has nearly done so again on two other occasions. In the first season, one week of episodes had Yumi attacked almost exclusively. The week has since been dubbed "Pick on Yumi Week."

She comes from Japan, but speaks perfect English (French in the French version). Her father is said to have come from Tokyo. It was never stated explicitly where her mother came from, but it is hinted that they came from Kyoto in the episode The Chips Are Down.

Because she is from Japan, Yumi is very proud of her homeland and its culture, as seen in the episode The Girl of the Dreams. This is especially true in her dialogue, when she gets very touchy about her being confused for a Chinese girl. Despite this, she is a little rebellious where some of her family's traditions are concerned.

Yumi's name might originate from Yumi (?, ??) which is the Japanese term for bows used in the practice of Kyudo (??, Japanese archery). The yumi is exceptionally tall (standing over two meters), surpassing the height of the archer. Coincidentally, Yumi happens to be the tallest character in Team Lyoko, which consists of all boys save Aelita. Yumi's name translates from Japanese as "beauty of the stone mountain."

Ishiyama might originate from the Ishiyama Honganji, which was the primary Buddhist cathedral-fortress of the Ikko-ikki, mobs of warrior monks and peasants who opposed samurai rule in feudal Japan.

Yumi's weapons and capacities inside Lyoko

Trivia

• Yumi occasionally peppers her dialogue with bits and pieces of Japanese speech, even in the French version of the show.
  • In the episode Killer Music, her Japanese accent can be heard in many of her lines throughout the episode. She even pronounces "Lyoko" the same way a person from Japan would.

• According to the writers, Yumi's father's name is Takeyo Ishiyama. Her mother's name has never been given.

• When travelling to the factory through the sewers, Yumi uses a skateboard.

• Not only did a XANA-created clone of Yumi attempt to seduce Jeremie in Image Problem, she herself almost did before Ulrich stopped her, though in the second instance it was meant as a joke.

• In Satellite Yumi was nearly suspended for a month by the principal, for trying to lead Sissi's "Bring Back Mobiles!" protest, which was referred to as a "strike," to other schools and for having a dog on campus. The laser attack from the XANA-possessed satellite plus the time reversion prevented the suspension.

• In A Fine Mess, the computer readout shows a picture of Yumi's virtual hairstyle in 2-D. The picture transitions from a 3-D image to a 2-D image with the same hairstyle, but not the same outfits. It is seen again slightly later in the episode when Odd wakes up in her body. Yumi typically has this hairstyle when she goes to bed each night.

• In the Nickelodeon show Danny Phantom, there is a character called Principal Ishiyama, who is voiced by June Angela. This is a coincedence, as both characters are simply Japanese females with the same last name.

• Yumi's hairstyle and wearing of black clothes strongly resembles that of Hotaru Tomoe from the anime metaseries Sailor Moon.

Voice actor information

Mirabelle Kirkland provides Yumi's voice in the American dub of Code: LYOKO. She also provides the voice of Milly. Interestingly, as heard in The Girl of the Dreams, both Yumi's and Milly's voices sound exactly alike.

In the Spanish dub of Code: LYOKO, she is voiced by Liliana Barba.