Ashi

"Hope lives! It is everywhere! I've seen it. Everyone you have touched. The people you have helped. You saved them! (...) Jack, don't listen! You're being misguided! I've seen it! You've saved COUNTLESS innocents-but most of all. (...) You showed me the truth! You made me see that there's so much more to me than I know existed! You made me way more than what I was! (...) The hope you gave me SAVED MY LIFE!"

- Ashi to Jack, giving him back his hope and fighting spirit. Ashi was the tertiary antagonist turned deuteragonist of the fifth season of Samurai Jack on Adult Swim. She started out as one of the Daughters of Aku who were trained to slay Samurai Jack. But later, after being rescued by Jack and seeing the truth about Aku, she decides to tag along on Jack's quest. She later becomes Jack's love interest and later wife. She is voiced by Tara Strong, who has voiced several other animated female characters.

Biography
Ashi and her six younger sisters were birthed from the High Priestess, leader of an all-female cult of Aku, and raised as assassins by them to do what no other fighter could do: Kill Samurai Jack. The High Priestess named them the Daughters of Aku and raised them with the most brutal of training throughout all of their childhood and youth, attempting to sculpt them into the ultimate warriors. During her training as a child, Ashi found a hole in the wall to gaze upon the outside world. The High Priestess told her that the world was a creation of their master, Aku, and that it was under threat so long as Jack lived to oppose Aku's rule. She was then thrown back into training and received punishment. When their training was complete years later, they donned the masks and head coverings, and set out to fulfill their mission. Later on, Ashi and her sisters set up traps for Jack in a forest, and successfully destroyed his motorbike and started an intense battle with the samurai, forcing him to hide and later escape to an abandoned temple. Ashi and her sisters looked for their hiding enemy, tracking him to the temple's underground crypt. Here they had another intense battle with the samurai, but he succeeds in killing one of Ashi's sisters and blew up the temple with the others still inside.

Ashi fought Jack again in the next episode. Unlike their first battle, she found herself and her sisters overwhelmed as one by one Jack killed the other Daughters until only Ashi was left. Seeing her sisters perish and having been bested, Ashi had a momentary breakdown as she ranted and swore that she would kill Jack, even as he dropped her to her presumed death.

Ashi survived the fall and tried to kill Jack again numerous times, despite being chained up, eaten whole by a monster and Jack's numerous attempts to save her life, undeterred from her purpose. Eventually, after escaping the monster, Ashi attempts to kill Jack with her sickle by sneaking up on him, before noticing a ladybug fly by. This triggers a flashback to when she was a small child and training with her sisters, when a ladybug flew into her hand and she observed the beauty of it, before it was unceremoniously squished and killed by her mother, calling it a distraction and "not part of Aku's order." Ashi continued to hear these words until she sees Jack hold the ladybug in his hand and releasing it unharmed. After being saved by Jack from the belly of a colossal beast (despite her constant animosity towards him and continued attempts to kill him) and watching his humble and honorable nature to the most simple of life, she starts to question her ways. Finally realizing that Jack is not the enemy, she drops her weapon and reconsiders her purpose, eventually meditating along with Jack on an island from a distance, which implies that she has made peace with the Samurai. After Jack revealed the true nature of Aku, she sees the error of her ways and became his ally, going against her mother and her cult. At the same time, she no longer sees Aku as a god but a demon needed to be destroyed. She was then finally convinced after being shown proof by Jack that Aku is truly evil. She helps him save some kids who were being mind-controlled by implanted chips, but is worried when he dissappears, and sets off to find him. At this time, Ashi is finally able to see the true nature of Aku and how wrong her mothers, her cult and her sisters have become. In "XCVI", Ashi is angered when the Dominator gloats about turning the children into weapons due to being naive and vulnerable, to the point that she is able to break free of her restraints since it reminds her too much about how she was turned into a living weapon for no good reason. She is later shown to be relieved when the children wake up free of mind control. However, she notices that Jack has mysteriously disappeared and decides to go look for him.

When searching for Jack on a blimp, Ashi finds herself being targeted by two mysterious figures. When they reveal themselves to be friends of Jack they ask her if she is a friend to Jack as well, leaving her lost in her thought. Ashi then assures them she also wants to help Jack. After hearing the story about how Jack saved the Woolies, the airship captain informs her that Jack got off at their current exit, to which she quickly hops off the blimp. After landing in a forest, she ends up meeting the Three Blind Archers, who tell of Jack's nobleness, then later the Children of Aku, who dance and sing upon being reminded of Jack, causing Ashi to join in as well. Upon arriving at a cave with a waterfall, Ashi remembers how her mother forced her and her sisters to jump into a pile of burning darkness, creating a bodysuit that also allows her to store her weapons. Ashi at first walks away from the cave, but then jumps in and starts scraping the scabs off her body with rocks. While climbing out of the cave, she realizes that she is naked, and creates a new outfit out of leaves. Later on, when she arrives at a tavern in the forest, she meets Da Samurai, who explains that he gave up his samurai life after Jack enlightened him. Back outside, Ashi meets a shadowy person and is asked if Jack is her friend, to which Ashi assuredly says yes. The shadowy person then tells Ashi to follow the path north, after which she finds Jack in a cemetery about to commit seppuku. Ashi tries to snap Jack into his senses, yet The Omen fights to keep her from interfering. Eventually, Ashi is able to get to Jack when she tells him the children from the factory are still alive, allowing Jack to save her from the Horseman and defeat him. After the ghosts of the other samurai return to their graves and Jack compliments Ashi's new dress, she asks what their next move is, and Jack responds it is time to find his sword.

After Jack tells her the story of how he lost his sword, they arrive at the site on the back of a large bird. Exploring the pit, but failing to find the sword, Ashi wonders if someone could have stolen it, to which Jack responds the sword abandoned him and not vice versa. Back outside, Ashi thanks the bird, and it nuzzles her in return. While Jack meditates to find his sword, Ashi remains behind to protect his body. Sure enough, an entire army arrives to kill Jack. Ashi confronts them, much to their amusement, but she actually manages to fight and defeat them all. Afterwards, Ashi spots another hostile near the top of the mountain and calls for the bird to take her back to high ground. The assassin fires multiple arrows at Jack, but Ashi quickly catches one mid-air, blocking the rest with a large stone slab. Ashi is surprised that the attacker is none other than her own mother. The High Priestess criticizes Ashi's lack of focus, but offers her another chance to kill Jack. Ashi refuses, explaining that Jack showed her the truth about Aku. Furious, the High Priestess attacks them both, but Ashi manages to defend Jack and herself using only a ram's horn. The High Priestess scolds Ashi for sparing Jack and betraying their family, despite the fact the Samurai killed her sisters. Ashi retorts their fates were already sealed, being raised as nothing more than living weapons. Before the High Priestess can finish Jack, Ashi recovers from the rubble she had been buried under and manages to throw one of her mother's arrows back at her, hitting her in the back and sending her falling to her presumed death. Ashi herself falls to the ground shortly after, exhausted from the fight. Jack wakes her up upon returning from the spirit world. She compliments his new look and getting his sword back, and Jack himself remarks that Ashi has also been busy. When Ashi asks what their plan is now, Jack tells her Aku is next.

After the events of finding Jack's sword, Ashi and Jack then journey through a desert. They take a break at a city resembling an alternate version of India where Jack eats a food that temporarily turns his head into a fish and offers to Ashi but she politely refuses. While on the barge the hidden affection for Jack starts to show when he kept grabbing her hand while trying to hold on to the pole, and she and him exchange quick glances at each other with Jack laughing nervously. They are then attacked while on the barge but Ashi and Jack can't stop holding each other; furthering the hints of love. Jack gives Ashi a piggyback after getting off the barge and they show smiles toward each other. When traveling on foot, the two decide to take a drink at an Oasis with Jack making Ashi and his homemade straw hats with her showing open passion for him in her eyes. Eventually the two are caught in a sand storm and have to take shelter in a space prison. Jack and Ashi inspect the facility and Ashi is suddenly bitten by a leech creature. The poison of the leech spreads on her leg before Jack sucks it out in time. They are then chased by multiple leeches and barely make it out alive while fighting it off. Fortunately the pair come across a weapons depot with Jack learning how to kill the creature. However Ashi accidentally pulls the trigger on a laser rifle and shoots a wall causing Jack to miss the part of activating a weapon in order to kill Lazuras-92. Ashi then dons a riot shield and a double ended sword and says she is ready, Jack reluctantly agreeing. Once hunting down the creature Jack attempts to turn on the weapon but fails when it suddenly finds them. Ashi then learns that Jack doesn't know how to turn it on and attempts to try it. However she is attacked by Lazuras-92 and her leaf dress is eaten off, leaving her completely naked. Ashi says she can't get it to work with Jack blushing seeing her naked, he then explained private parts are personal but Ashi doesn't know what he is talking about due to her sheltered life and being naked before. He then gives his Gi to her while fighting and she says he's acting weird with Jack playfully and nervously brushing it off. The two are then surrounded by the leeches when Jack gets the weapon and are nearly killed while saying each other's names, the device activates killing the creature. The two are exhausted with both of them looking at each other and catching their breaths. They then exchange a serious but lovable glare at each other. Ashi, realizes that she and Jack love each other. She then kisses Jack passionately in a make out session, revealing that she has loved Samurai Jack and the two have found true love together.

Immediately after, Ashi and Jack quickly realize they are kissing and stop, nervous and mildly disgusted by the venom. Ashi offers Jack his gi, but he insists she keep it until she finds new clothes, claiming the ship is drafty. Soon, they spot a hole in the ceiling leading outside. Ashi searches for something to wear while Jack heads back outside. After finding a sweater and boots in a locker room, Ashi comes across Jack showering outside and kindly leaves him his gi. That evening, after hunting some worms for dinner, the two awkwardly try to make small talk. Ashi asks Jack if he ever thinks about his home, and Jack answers that he does so all the time, opening up to her with the memories of his home throughout the seasons. When Ashi asks if there was a girl in his life, Jack explains there wasn't time, since he was only 8 when Aku returned. While Jack admits the time before Aku was nice, the memories of his home are the only way he will see it again. The next morning, a distraught Ashi wakes up to find that Jack has left her again. She later finds him in a robot graveyard, demanding to know why he left. Jack explains that, in addition to witnessing the suffering of many innocent people, Aku has taken everything from him, leaving him with nothing but memories, and doesn't want the same to happen to Ashi. Instead, Ashi assures him they will defeat Aku together. Sure enough, the demon in question reveals himself, followed by Scaramouche. Aku claims he is aware that Jack lost his sword, having learned the information from Scaramouche. When Jack reveals the opposite, Aku telekinetically destroys Scaramouche's head in frustration. He casually prepares to leave as Jack attacks him, but smells something familiar nearby: himself. Jack is confused by this until Aku approaches Ashi. Smelling part of himself inside her, Aku remembers the time when he personally paid a visit to the members of the Cult of Aku, providing them with some of his essence. He then deduces that the High Priestess drank his essence shortly after and gave birth to the Daughters of Aku, revealing to a shocked Ashi that she is Aku's biological daughter. When Jack attacks him once again, Aku simply uses his essence inside Ashi to control her body like a puppet, forcing her to fight against Jack. Jack pleads with her to resist, assuring her she is better than her parents, but she is unable to do so. Unhappy with this, Aku tells Ashi she needs to "bring out her best" (i.e., himself) and corrupts her with an upgraded version of her old outfit. Despite this, Jack manages to break Ashi's sword and cut her arm, briefly getting through to her. Ashi begs Jack to kill her and destroy Aku, but he can't bring himself to do so and stands down. Before Ashi can finish Jack, Aku orders his daughter to stop, joyfully claiming the Samurai's sword as Jack accepts defeat.

When Aku has captured Jack and stolen his sword, broadcasting his victory to everyone in the world, if not the universe, once again relishing in his victory. Aku prepared to kill Jack in front of the whole universe, but is confused as to how he should kill his arch-enemy. After a period of in decision, Aku decides it's best for Ashi to kill Jack. As Ashi prepares to kill Jack, all of Jack's allies soon arrive and fight Aku and his forces in a grand-scale battle while Jack fights the corrupted Ashi. Aku finds amusement in the armies attempts to save Jack, as while they may be able to fight off Aku's forces, Aku himself is nearly untouchable. Eventually, Ashi frees herself of Aku's corruption and gains his powers, she warps Jack and herself back to the past, where Jack meets Aku in the same spot where he was cast in the future, and after a brief battle, uses his sword to destroy Aku once and for all, thus preventing the rise of Aku and spared both the universe and the future from his tyranny.

Unfortunately, since Ashi was Aku's daughter and Aku no longer exists, she fades away before she and Jack could be married some time later, and falls before reaching the altar. Because Jack had altered history, her path was altered as well, and she disappeared from his arms.

Similar Heroes

 * Kovu (The Lion King)
 * Zuko (Avatar The Last Airbender)
 * Minerva Orland (Fairy Tail)
 * Peridot and Lapis Lazuli (Steven Universe)
 * Finn (Star Wars)
 * Thorax (My Little Pony)
 * Ryan Mitchell (Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue)
 * Catwoman (DC comics)
 * X-23 (Marvel Comics)
 * Katherine Hillard (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)
 * Nia Teppelin (Gurren Lagann)
 * Karai (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
 * Casca (Berserk)
 * Terra (Teen Titans 2003)
 * Yamato Tribe Knight Burai (Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger)
 * Raven (Teen Titans)

Trivia

 * Ashi has a similar hairstyle to Princess Ilana from the cancelled, unfinished animated series, Sym-Bionic Titan, another show created by Genndy Tartakovsky. The notable exception is that she has one bang instead of three. Genndy Tartakovsky himself said that this similarity was unintentional.