History Characters / Athena

[[caption-width-right:350:Her design in(''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters98 KOF '98]]'')\\

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Both have purple hair in almost all games, except in ''KOF XII'' and ''XIII'' where their hair color is pink. In ''XIV'' it goes back to purple.

** In the ending of '98, Athena rushes to catch Kaoru (a wheelchair-bound {{Meganekko}}) from falling after trying to stand on her feet for the first time... and completely fails to notice that Kensou, who also rushed to catch Kaoru, was trampled underfoot in the process.

* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: She really admires King, and even wishes she could be on Team Women's Fighter someday.

* BreakingOldTrends: ''KOF XV'' has her joining Team Heroine instead of sticking with the classic Team Psycho Soldier composition.

* PsychicPowers: Which include teleportation, telepathy, energy projection, psychic barriers, and much more.

* TeleportersAndTransporters: Her "Psychic Teleport" which lets her quickly reposition around her opponent.

* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: To a degree, with Kaoru in the main games and with Rika Kashiwazaki from ''Awakening from the Ordinary Life''. [[spoiler:Naturally, she doesn't take it well when Rika gets scared of Athena's powers, and later when she's shot to almost death few after their reconciliation.]]

** ''[[UpToEleven Overkilled]]'' in ''XIII'' with her [[LimitBreak Neo MAX]] version of the above attack, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L74ieb2Q4VU Psycho Medley 13]] ([[FanNickname also known as]] Psychic 12), where she uses all ''twelve'' of her previous outfits and is then aided by what appears to be Princess Athena's royal guard.

* FingerlessGloves: A staple of her outfits. No matter how much it changes, she always wear fingerless gloves.

!!!'''Voiced By''': Creator/MieItou

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Reiko Fukai (''[='94=]''), Moe Nagasaki (''[='95=]''), Tamao Satou (''[='96=]''), Yukina Kurisu (''[='97=]'', ''The King of Fighters: KYO''), Creator/HarunaIkezawa (''[='98=]'' onward, ''The King of Fighters: Destiny''), Robyn Gryphe (''Maximum Impact'', English), Lily Kong (''Maximum Impact 2'', English), Miwa Gardner (''XII'', English)

[[WMG:[[center:[-''Characters/PsychoSoldier'' \\
'''Athena Asamiya''' | [[Characters/PsychoSoldierSieKensou Sie Kensou]]-]]]]]

''Characters/PsychoSoldier'' | ''Characters/TheKingOfFighters''-]]]]]

* {{Expy}}: Athena greatly resembles Saori Kido / Athena from ''Manga/SaintSeiya''.

* TheRival: To Sakura in ''VideoGameSNKVsCapcom'', being the resident fighting school girls of their respective series. Their interactions though are quite friendly.

* GirlyBruiser: Super girly looking but completely unafraid of fighting. Goddess Athea expresses this as a sword-wielding BadassPrincess, and Athena A. is a Kung Fu practitioner in a world full of martial artists.

[[caption-width-right:350:Her first design (''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters94 KOF '94]]'')\\

[[quoteright:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see her in ''KOF XIII'']]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/athena_kofxii_copy.png[[/labelnote]]]]

* AmbiguousSituation: The OverlyLongGag of Kensou being Athena's premiere DoggedNiceGuy has resulted in Athena perpetually refusing to answer Kensou's AnguishedDeclarationOfLove. Naturally, this means Athena has yet to actually turn him down. Early on the gag worked out to Kensou being a LoonyFan and embarrassing Athena, but since ''XIII'' Kensou's feelings have been treated more sincerely, which calls their relationship into question. Other girls like Mai and Yuri have begun to notice, too, and Luong even [[WhatTheHellHero calls her out on it]].

* AmbiguousSituation: Athena has successfully managed to avoid answering Kensou's AnguishedDeclarationOfLove since ''KOF 2000'', either [[INeedToGoIronMyDog clumsily]] or [[ObliviousToLove obliviously]]. That said, she has by definition yet to answer ''in the negative'', and her remaining particularly friendly to Kensou has gotten the notice of [[ShipperOnDeck at least a couple of other girls]]. Luong even [[WhatTheHellHero calls her out on it]] in ''SNK Heroines''.
-->'''Athena (XIII):''' ''You're like a friend, or an ally, or something.''

* HesNotMyBoyfriend: Whenever characters ask her about her relation to Kensou, she'll vehemently deny any romantic connotations to it.

* CommonalityConnection: Somehow she and King have both had to deal with drunk teammates (though it makes sense given the kind of teacher [[DrunkenMaster Chin]] is).

''Characters/TheKingOfFighters''-]]]]]

Athena is the namesake of two iconic Creator/{{SNK}} characters; Goddess Athena is the protagonist of the ''VideoGame/{{Athena}}'' arcade game, and a her descendant, Athena Asamiya, is the protagonist of ''VideoGame/PsychoSoldier'' and a mainstay of ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters''.

* {{Mascot}}: An early one for SNK. Both of them were highly advertised protagonists from the UsefulNotes/NeoGeo lineup. They both predate the likes of [[Characters/FatalFuryTerryBogard Terry Bogard]] and Kyo Kusanagi by several years. It was even believed that Athena A. had a grudge against Terry when he seemingly took the title from her. ''XIII'' demonstrates otherwise, as dialogue between the two shows that they have nothing but respect for each other.

* ActionGirl: Both were some of the few playable female characters with theiown solo title in the Neo Geo era.

* LongHairIsFeminine: Bot have long, flowing hair. Athena A. subverts it with her ''[='99=]''-''2001'' [[ImportantHaircut run]], that is.
* {{Mascot}}: An early one for SNK. Both of them were highly advertised protagonists from the UsefulNotes/NeoGeo lineup. They both predate the likes of [[Characters/FatalFuryTerryBogard Terry Bogard]] and Kyo Kusanagi by several years. It was even believed that she had a grudge against Terry when he seemingly took the title from her. ''XIII'' demonstrates otherwise, as dialogue between the two shows that they have nothing but respect for each other.

* RedIsHeroic: Their outfits in both ''Athena'' and the ''KOF'' series have often used red as a primary color, marking her as a heroic character.

* {{Mascot}}: An early one for SNK. Both of them were highly advertised protagonists from the UsefulNotes/NeoGeo lineup. They both predate the likes of [[Charcters/FatalFuryTerryBogard Terry Bogard]] and Kyo Kusanagi by several years. It was even believed that she had a grudge against Terry when he seemingly took the title from her. ''XIII'' demonstrates otherwise, as dialogue between the two shows that they have nothing but respect for each other.

* {{Mascot}}: An early one for SNK. It was even believed that she had a grudge against Terry Bogard when he seemingly took the title from her. ''XIII'' demonstrates otherwise, as dialogue between the two shows that they have nothing but respect for each other.

-->'''Voiced by:''' Reiko Fukai (''[='94=]''), Moe Nagasaki (''[='95=]''), Tamao Satou (''[='96=]''), Yukina Kurisu (''[='97=]'', ''The King of Fighters: KYO''), Creator/HarunaIkezawa (''[='98=]'' onward, ''The King of Fighters: Destiny''), Robyn Gryphe (''Maximum Impact'', English), Lily Kong (''Maximum Impact 2'', English), Miwa Gardner (''XII'', English)

!Athena Asamiya

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/athenavalkyrieconnect_copy.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Her first design (''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters94 KOF '94]]'')\\
(Art from ''VideoGame/ValkyrieConnect'')]]

[[quoteright:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see her in ''Psycho Soldier'']]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/athenapsychosoldierart2.png[[/labelnote]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see her in ''KOF XIII'']]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/athena_kofxii_copy.png[[/labelnote]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see her in ''KOV XIV and SNK Heroines'']]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/athenaheroine.png[[/labelnote]]]]

->''"Sorry about that! Are you hurt? I guess I got a bit carried away!"''
-->'''Voiced by:''' Reiko Fukai (''[='94=]''), Moe Nagasaki (''[='95=]''), Tamao Satou (''[='96=]''), Yukina Kurisu (''[='97=]'', ''The King of Fighters: KYO''), Creator/HarunaIkezawa (''[='98=]'' onward, ''The King of Fighters: Destiny''), Robyn Gryphe (''Maximum Impact'', English), Lily Kong (''Maximum Impact 2'', English), Miwa Gardner (''XII'', English)

-> The star of ''VideoGame/PsychoSoldier'' and one of SNK’s [[{{Mascot}} mascots]] (a spot shared with Goddess Athena); Athena Asamiya is a bright and cheerful young girl who was born with PsychicPowers, dubbed in-verse as Psycho Powers, [[LamarckWasRight for she is a descendant of Goddess Athena]] and possibly her {{Reincarnation}} due no other member of the Asamiya Family ever possessing special powers before Athena.

-> For being a special girl Athena was taken in by Chin Gentsai as one of his disciples, initiating a team of fighters who are gifted with psychic powers, molding them to be prepared for any threat the world may face, to be defenders of justice; Athena has a strong sense of righteousness, so she fits right in.

-> Athena’s trademark characteristic, that is being a Japanese IdolSinger, has its origin in ''’97''; Athena and Kensou’s charisma and notable prowess in martial arts has been earning them fans since ''’94'', but this rise in popularity made Chin become worried about his disciples losing their humble spirit and lose focus on being heroes, with that he tried to talk them off participating in the ''’97'' tournament, meanwhile Athena has received a letter from a fan, an ill-girl who wrote a heartwarming letter to the Psycho Soliders, saying they are her source of inspiration to overcome her illness, she hoped to see them again in action for the ''’97'' tournament.

-> Athena felt she had to answer such a devoted fan, she shows the letter to Chin, convincing him to follow his disciples and see how they take being popular and also being defenders of justice; Athena, Kensou and Chin didn’t win that tournament but still did great nevertheless, at the end the team is surprised by the visit of a wheelchair bound girl, she is [[IllGirl Kaoru Watanabe the ill-girl]] who sent that letter prior the tournament, Kaoru introduces herself and congratulates Athena in doing well again at KOF, she says the team gave her strength to also fight hard, Kaoru gets up from the wheelchair trying to show her progress by walking, she stumbles but before falling Athena hurries to her side and supports Kaoru, with that Kaoru asks Athena if she could be their friend, Athena and the team gladly become friends with Kaoru.

-> Showing that at the end of ’97 made Chin reevaluate his students, thinking he was wrong about them, now feeling Athena and Kensou have their hearts in the right place; Athena tells her master that being popular and a good source of inspiration also is one way of helping others, with this Chin loses all his worries about his disciples losing their way. This eventually develops into Athena becoming an Idol, extremely popular and inspiring all, but still being a hero of course.

-> The other part of Athena’s character is being on the receiving end of Kensou’s long lasting romantic feelings, he tried to confess to Athena multiple times, sometimes succeeding in expressing himself (many) other times not, Athena’s reaction is mostly always the same, that is getting embarrassed and dodging an answer; [[IDontWantToRuinOurFriendship while what she really feels about Kensou may not be love]], she does think well of him as a great friend, always sticking with him.

-> In ''XIII'' during a conversation with the Women Fighters Team, upon seeing that Mai, Yuri and King all have a special someone in waiting, Athena hopes one day she will find her other half as well, Kensou immediately tries to say she already has him, Athena gets embarrassed and scolds Kensou, telling him not to say it in front of so many people.

-> In the CD Dramas from ’96 to ’99, it is shown that Athena [[AllLoveIsUnrequited has one-sided feelings for Kyo]] goes to great lengths to move to a place near the Kusanagi household. In other SNK media, Athena’s feelings for Kyo have never been shown, not even hinted in the games proper, raising a case towards its actual place in canon.
----

[[folder:Athena Asamiya Tropes]]
* ActionFashionista: Every single game gives Athena a completely different outfit. The only exception is ''XIII'', which is justified because the game is reusing the sprites from ''XII''.
** ''XIII'' is something of an in-between. She's wearing her ''XII'' clothes but bears the default color scheme of her ''XI'' attire. Not a new outfit in any one aspect but together comes together to create something different.
** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''[='98=]'', where her intro involves her changing between her previous four outfits before settling down on her current attire.
** Lampshaded ''again'' with her Psychic 8 HSDM/LDM, where Athena changes her outfit (progressing from ''[='94=]'' to the current costume at the time (in 2002), [[{{Fanservice}} and sometimes adding her Princess Athena bikini]]) with each hit.
** ''[[UpToEleven Overkilled]]'' in ''XIII'' with her [[LimitBreak Neo MAX]] version of the above attack, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L74ieb2Q4VU Psycho Medley 13]] ([[FanNickname also known as]] Psychic 12), where she uses all ''twelve'' of her previous outfits and is then aided by what appears to be Princess Athena's royal guard.
** Almost averted in ''[[http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090825123461/snk/images/6/61/Athena_asamiya_95.jpg '95]]'', where she wears a slightly modified version of her ''[='94=]'' [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100511221319/snk/images/b/b1/Athena94.jpg outfit.]]
** Lampshaded in-game by Maxima in their single-player intro in ''XIII''.
-->'''Maxima''': "You're wearing something new every time I see you. Do you know what a pain it is to keep my data updated?"
* ActionGirl: One of the leading ladies of the ''KOF'' series, and TheHero of ''Psycho Soldier''.
* Ada
* AllAsiansKnowKungFu: She studies kung fu under Chin that resembles Wing Chun, while her stance is more similar to Liuhebafa.
* AllLovingHero: Especially in newer titles where her NiceGirl tendencies are played up more. The worst she ever really shows to anyone is pity, like towards Iori and Saiki, or justified anger, like towards Maxima who she thinks is storing photos of her. Her empathic abilities allow her to see the root of people's struggles, which lets her better sympathize with them and allow her to try and help them.
* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Downplayed. In the official art for the original ''Psycho Soldier'', Athena's skin was a very pale pink, which was more obvious next to Kensou's human skin tones. When she transferred over to ''KOF'', she lost any pink skin to be a normal-looking human girl.
* AmbiguousSituation: Athena has successfully managed to avoid answering Kensou's AnguishedDeclarationOfLove since ''KOF 2000'', either [[INeedToGoIronMyDog clumsily]] or [[ObliviousToLove obliviously]]. That said, she has by definition yet to answer ''in the negative'', and her remaining particularly friendly to Kensou has gotten the notice of [[ShipperOnDeck at least a couple of other girls]]. Luong even [[WhatTheHellHero calls her out on it]] in ''SNK Heroines''.
-->'''Athena (XIII):''' ''You're like a friend, or an ally, or something.''
* AnimalMotifs: ThePhoenix. Most likely a ShoutOut to [[VoluntaryShapeshifting her ability to become one]] in ''Psycho Soldier''. Her LDM in XI (Super Phoenix Infinity) also alludes to this.
* ApologeticAttacker: Some of her win quotes have her apologizing for roughing up an opponent too much.
-->"Sorry about that, are you hurt? I guess I got carried away, a bit."
* ArtShift: Her design in the Tales of Ash Saga is noticeably more chibi-like compared to past games, evoking her original game's art style.
* AscendedExtra: Ryo Takamisaki's ''The King of Fighters G'' has Athena as the main character, teaming up with Kyo and Iori and pretty much [[DemotedToExtra stealing Chizuru's place in the story]] -- despite starting as a borderline FauxActionGirl.
* AssKicksYou: One of her aerial command attacks.
* AttackReflector: Her Psycho Reflector, which has two variations.
* BadassAdorable: Super cute and sweet-looking, but plucky as Hell and more than able to back-up her fame as an ActionGirl.
* BareYourMidriff: Her ''[='99=]'', ''2002'', and ''2003'' outfits.
* BattleAura: Her attacks emit a sparkly purple aura, indicating her psychic prowess.
* BerserkButton:
** She's livid when she sees that a girl like Kula is participating in the tournament, given her young age, and is mad at K' and Maxima for thinking only of themselves. (...That said, she's expressed no objection to Bao, who is younger than Kula, participating and ignored the point when Kula brought it up, and later she personally recruited Momoko, a teenager with [[OlderThanTheyLook the physical appearance and emotional maturity of an elementary schooler]], and ''beat Kensou up'' for objecting).
** She may be a popular IdolSinger with many fans, but don't underestimate her fighting skill because of it. It only makes her more determined to wipe the floor with you.
* BoyishShortHair: For ''2001'' and ''XV''.
* BreakTheFourthWall: One of her win quote in the original Japanese release of '94 has her mention Creator/{{SNK}} by name.
->"I am the original heroine of SNK. I'm sorry..."
* BreakoutCharacter: Had her own game back in the 80s, but only after debuting in the fight scene did Athena's popularity start to pick up again. A notable game is the 3-disc RPG game for the [=PlayStation=], ''[[VideoGame/AthenaAwakeningFromTheOrdinaryLife Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life]]'', with its gameplay sharing many similarities with ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve''. The less known one is ''Athena On Stage'', a mobile game centered around rising Athena's career as a successful pop idol, pretty much a simulation game.
* BreakTheCutie:
** The ''[[VideoGame/AthenaAwakeningFromTheOrdinaryLife Awakening from the Ordinary Life]]'' plot is '''not''' easy on poor Athena. She must struggle with her newborn powers, face a GovernmentConspiracy, fight dinosaurs, try to keep her friendship with Rika Kashiwazaki ''and'' deal with the new one she strikes with CreepyChild Masato Kurihara, etc.
** The plot of ''KOF: G'' wasn't exactly kind to her either. Specially in the last volume, where poor Athena suffers a ''severe'' HeroicBSOD [[spoiler:when Chizuru is beaten to almost death by Goenitz and shortly afterwards Kensou [[TakingTheBullet takes one of Goenitz's attacks for her.]] When Kyo and Ralf save her [[PluckyGirl Athena]] [[HesBack brings herself back]], [[ThePromise promises Chizuru]] to fight in her stead, and does so.]]
* BreakingOldTrends: ''KOF XV'' has her joining Team Heroine instead of sticking with the classic Team Psycho Soldier composition.
* CallBack: Athena being a good cook and Kensou loving her meals is finally referenced in the games proper; in XIV Athena mistakes Kensou’s self-encouragement to confess his feelings to him being worked over her eating his meat bun earlier that day, she then promises to cook a full serving of meat buns just for Kensou to make up, this makes Kensou so happy he completely forgets about confessing.
* CheeryPink: Her design always incorporates a lot of pink/purple hues, reflecting her optimistic NiceGirl personality.
* CleavageWindow: Her ''2003'' attire sports a heart-shaped one.
* CommonalityConnection: Somehow she and King have both had to deal with drunk teammates (though it makes sense given the kind of teacher [[DrunkenMaster Chin]] is).
-->'''Athena''': "I'm usually teamed up with my teacher, so I always kind of envy you, King! It must be so much fun to put together a team with a different group of girls. Just like in school!"\\
'''King''': "Well, if you'd like, I'd gladly exchange one of my teammates for you!"\\
'''Athena''': "W-Why, Miss King? Did something happen?"\\
'''King''': "Well, nothing serious, it's just... Mai and Yuri just can't hold their liquor very well... And you're still a minor so I couldn't possibly ask you to take care of two drunkards, could I?"\\
'''Athena''': "Oh, I don't mind. I'm used to being around people when they get hammered! Whenever Master gets drunk, he goes out and fights pandas!"\\
'''King''': "R-Really!? Is that what your teacher does when he gets drunk?"\\
'''Athena''': "Oh yeah, it happens all the time! Grandma always gets really angry with him though!\\
'''King''': "Wow... Alcohol is the great equalizer, huh?"
* CrystalBall: During her Shining Crystal Bit attack, she's surrounded by [[OrbitingParticleShield 2 circling crystal balls]] that guard her from enemy attacks. She can also add a followup by firing said balls forward.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Her eyes and her hair are both purple.
* CuteButCacophonic:
** Her ''[='95=]'' incarnation; anytime she yells "[[GratuitousEnglish Saikou Baaru]]!"
** Also happened in ''KOF '98'' when Creator/HarunaIkezawa took over her voice for the rest of the series.
* DistractedByTheSexy: In-universe, she's the only character who does distract people. Ironically, she's one of the most clothed characters in the cast.

* DubPersonalityChange: Her English win quotes in early ''KOF'' are much more hostile and rude compared to the Japanese ones. This has largely been {{Subverted}} overtime as SNK's localization quality has improved
* DullSurprise: In the team story for ''XI'', Athena responds quite blandly to Kensou's return from a year of training, being more interested in finding Momoko with him.
* TheEmpath: Canon isn't very clear ''how'' skilled she is at it, though. In ''XIII'' Athena can sense people's emotions (like in [[spoiler:Ash Crimson]]'s case) but there's no evidence about her being able to unlock their biggest secrets, whereas in ''KOF: KYO'' she could clearly see [[spoiler:Iori's memories of his DarkAndTroubledPast]] once her and [[spoiler:Iori]]'s clashed by accident.
* EnergyBall: Her "Psycho Ball" attack, born from her purple BattleAura.
* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: Her stance in ''XIII'' has her start out ''surrounded by'' sparkles. Her win pose also produces some as she winks. Not to mention most of her attacks.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Athena's hair was cut for ''KOF '99'', [[ImportantHaircut apparently as a reaction to Kensou's loss of powers]]. It lasted until (and including) ''2001''. It's short again in ''XV,'' though the reason why isn't known, yet.
* FamedInStory: Athena is extremely popular in the world of ''KOF'', not just for being a tournament fighter, but also an incredibly successful IdolSinger.
* FeminineWomenCanCook: Shown in ''KOF: Kyo'' related media and then in ''XIV'', Athena is a good cook and Kensou loves eating anything she makes, meat buns in particular.
* FingerlessGloves: A staple of her outfits. No matter how much it changes, she always wear fingerless gloves.
* FlungClothing: She changed/disposed of ''almost complete attires''. Was often used to dispose of her school uniform and reveal her fighting outfit.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Her win quote against the Women Fighters' Team in ''XIV'' has her saying she'd be interested in joining. In ''XV'', she is teamed with Yuri and Mai as "Team Super Heroine".
* GenkiGirl: Always cheerful and optimistic.
* GirlyBruiser: Super girly looking but completely unafraid of fighting her way in KOF and anything else.
* GirlyGirlWithATomboyStreak:
* GrappleMove: Her Super Psychic Throw special.
* HesNotMyBoyfriend: Whenever characters ask her about her relation to Kensou, she'll vehemently deny any romantic connotations to it.
* HealingHands: Rarely used, though. It's seen in ''[[VideoGame/AthenaAwakeningFromTheOrdinaryLife Athena: Awakening From the Ordinary Life]]'' [[spoiler:(heals her {{muggle|s}} friend Rika)]], in ''KOF:G'' (attempts to heal [[spoiler:Chizuru]] but is interrupted by [[spoiler:Goenitz]]), in the ''XII'' manhua (heals Kyo), as a Striker in '''99'' and ''2000'' (heals the playing character when called upon), or as an optional part of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vw0S3MaKk0 her Psychic 10 Desperation Move]] (heals herself).
* HeroOfAnotherStory: She and Kensou made their debuts in ''VideoGame/PsychoSoldier'' before becoming regulars in ''KOF''.
* HiddenDepths: According to her bio, she enjoys designing web pages, astrology, and fortune telling.
* {{Hypocrite}}: As point out above, she get's angered at the sight of 14-year old Kula participating in the KOF tournament, but Kula is quick to point out that she allowed Bao, who's even younger, to participate.
* IconicItem: No matter how much she changes her clothes, one piece is constant in Athena: the star tiara. ''XIV'' adds a bow to it.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: In ''Sky Stage'', the Kula and Athena common ending says that [[spoiler:Athena lied to Kula and told her that her friends (K', Maxima, Whip, etc.) had been caught in the space-time rift to recruit her into their cause. When Kula is contacted by said friends (who have actually been searching ''for'' her all over), Athena explains everything and apologizes; Kula doesn't mind, however, as the adventure was fun and she's happy to have been able to fly, even if just temporarily.]]
* IDontWantToRuinOurFriendship:
** She is ''definitely'' aware of Kensou’s feelings towards her, evidenced by her embarrassment when Kensou blows a kiss in ''97'', when Kensou declares he is her knight in ''2000'', when Kensou flat out screams his love in ''2001''; Athena’s reaction is always to get fidgety and try to dodge the matter as quickly as possible.
** This is also the reason why she doesn't openly admit her feelings to Kyo; not only she's friends with him, but with his ''girlfriend''.
* ImageSong:
** "Psycho Soldier." [[AwesomeMusic/{{SNK}} So popular]], it's had multiple renditions (with and without vocals) over the years.
** She also has "Present Holiday," [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUhebGd5AD4 "Kizudarake no Blue Moon"]] ("Wounded Blue Moon"/"Banged-Up Blue Moon"; also carried over from ''Psycho Soldier''), and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmuwMKBrHt0 "My Love ~Yuuki wo Dashite~" ("My Love ~Gives Me Courage~").]]
* ImportantHaircut: According to the character stories for '''99'', Athena cut her hair short as her own way of acknowledging Kensou's unexplained DePower.
* InnocentlyInsensitive:
** A side-effect of the RunningGag about Kensou's unrequited love is the fact that not every instance of Athena ignoring him is intentional.
** In the ending of '98, Athena rushes to catch Kaoru (a wheelchair-bound {{Meganekko}}) from falling after trying to stand on her feet for the first time... and completely fails to notice that Kensou, who also rushed to catch Kaoru, was trampled underfoot in the process.
** In ''XI'', Athena is so taken with Momoko that she barely notices Kensou's return from a year of training.
** Several times in ''XIII'':
*** While she ''did'' more or less deliberately cut Kensou's declaration off in the Story Mode, she's shown to be genuinely unaware of how... sensitive the "school" theme is for Kyo[[note]]All the madness the series has thrown at him has more or less kept him from being able to finish school, making him an unintentional high-school dropout.[[/note]].
*** In another Story Mode scene, and she also refuses to let Kula explain how come K' and Maxima allow her to fight in their pre-match talk.
* InstantCostumeChange: It would be unwise to turn her costume changes into a drinking game, because nearly every game she's ever been in feature it. Hell, Athena has found a way to ''weaponize'' it -- she uses it as an instant segue between attacks, creating her Psycho Medley super. As a matter of fact, she may have given this trait to her Goddess Athena incarnation, who started doing it after the Psycho Soldier started.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: She's on good terms with with [[Characters/FatalFuryTerryBogard Terry Bogard]]. She likes to casually chat with him before a match and exchange words of encouragement.
-->'''Terry''': "I know how to please the crowd pretty good, but you've got me totally beat in that category!"\\
'''Athena''': "D-Don't be silly! Your performance always gets the fans fired up!"\\
'''Terry''': "I'm glad to hear that coming from you! Well then, let's have a fight that'll keep people buzzin' for years!"\\
'''Athena''': "Absolutely! My fans around the globe are counting on it!"
* IntergenerationalRivalry: She's on the younger side of the ''KOF'' cast being a high schooler, so she often faces off against much older opponents like Terry, Ryo, the Ikari Warriors, and the various BigBad{{s}}. She has a sporting rivalry with characters like Terry, Andy, Kim, Mai, as well as her own master Chin.
* IWillOnlySlowYouDown: On the Special Ending for 99 Athena’s leg gets stuck on fallen debris, when the Team was escaping a crumbling NESTS base; Athena and Kensou were lagging behind so only he noticed, Athena tells him to go on without her, to save himself, Kensou gets desperate and awakens his Dragon Spirit, saving Athena and himself.
* {{Joshikousei}}: Athena fights bad guys in a SailorFuku in her debut title. Many of her ''KOF'' designs evoke this as well.
%%* UsefulNotes/{{Kawaisa}}
* {{Keigo}}: Her "Athena, ikimasu!" CatchPhrase is actually this. She's a rather polite speaker by Japanese standards, but almost never goes to this extreme.
* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: She really admires King, and even wishes she could be on Team Women's Fighter someday.
-->"You’re so strong and pretty, Ms. King! All of us female fighters admire you!"
* LongHairIsFeminine: Barring her ''[='99=]''-''2001'' [[ImportantHaircut run]], that is.
* MagicalGirl: She heavily evokes this; she's a high-schooler with powerful supernatural abilities, battles dark forces, emits a sparkly BattleAura with all of her attacks, and even transforms from wearing a school uniform into her battle outfit in her intro. It's really not that big of a stretch to say that Athena could have her own anime.
%%* MagicalGirlWarrior
* MagicIdolSinger: Probably one of the straightest examples.
* MagicSkirt:
** Averted up until ''XII'' (except for ''2003''). Athena typically wore loose fitting clothes but it wasn't hiding anything indecent (even in her school uniform during ''XI'', Athena still wore bike shorts under her skirt and SNK had no problem with it fluttering about as she fought). However, following her redesign in ''XII'' (and by extension, ''XIII'' for using the same sprite pool), it's played straight (and Athena definitely has some ''high'' kicks that would normally cause some looky-loos to occur).
** Thanks to ''XIV'' using 3D graphics, where clothing behavior can't 100% be controlled through animation, this had to be averted. Athena now wears [[http://miauneko.tumblr.com/post/150847594380/athena-asamiya-kof-xiv-artbook gym shorts under her miniskirt]] instead.
* MaleBandFemaleSinger: In the special credits sequence for Team Psycho Soldier, Athena sings with Kensou rocking away on guitar and Master Chin beating on some kind of large hand drums, perhaps congas.
* MartialPacifist: Downplayed. While she enjoys fighting and meeting strong opponents, she'd never actively seek to hurt others, and will usually only look for fights out of tournaments if she feels there's a greater threat at large.
* {{Mascot}}: An early one for SNK. It was even believed that she had a grudge against Terry Bogard when he seemingly took the title from her. ''XIII'' demonstrates otherwise, as dialogue between the two shows that they have nothing but respect for each other.
* MiniDressOfPower: As part of her MagicalGirl figure, she wore those in some of her appearances.
* MistakenForRomance: In the Special Intro Athena has with Love Heart, she seems to think Athena and Kensou are quite close to each other thus asking if they are a couple, Athena says that it isn't like that, they are just good friends, while being slightly embarrassed; Love Heart finds Kensou similar to Earth, reversing the blushing and embarrassment to herself when Athena asks if Love Heart has someone she likes.
* ModestyShorts: Her solution to wearing a school uniform skirt in ''XI''. Likewise in ''XIV'' she wears gym shorts, similar to [[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Sakura Kasugano]].
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: She is a [[{{Joshikousei}} high school girl]][=/=]IdolSinger, who happens to be an incarnation of a goddess, has psychic powers, [[IKnowKarate and knows Kung-Fu!]]
* NonStandardCharacterDesign: Her more chibi design in ''XII'' and ''XIII'' can be somewhat jarring next to the other characters who have a more unified art style.
* ObliviousToLove: When Athena doesn't find Kensou's out-loud affections embarrassing, it's usually because she failed to notice them. On a few occasions, he's been frustrated with her about where they stand and she's even misinterpreted that; at least twice she thought he was mad because she stole his meat dumplings.
* OlderThanTheyLook: At age 18, she looks ''younger'' than the 14-year-old Kula in ''XII'' and ''XIII''. Hilariously, Athena gets '''pissed''' when she sees Kula fighting out there... [[ComicallyMissingThePoint and Kula doesn't even seem to get why]].
* OneeSama: To Momoko.
* OutOfFocus: Athena’s crush on Kyo stopped being mentioned after SNK’s first death circa 2001... which was the time where they made CD Dramas and related material, aka the works where Athena’s crush was born and given focus. Being reborn at the hands of other companies made SNK stop releasing those expanded universe materials, so this part of Athena’s character wouldn’t move on to be mentioned in the games proper. Their interactions in more modern titles replace this with a more platonic dynamic, often playing on Athena's friendship with both Kyo and Yuki.
* PluckyGirl: She's always feisty, determined and cheerful.
* ProperTightsWithASkirt: Her ''KOF '97'' outfit, as well as some of her alternate palettes from ''XIII''.
* PsychicPowers: Which include teleportation, telepathy, energy projection, psychic barriers, and much more.
* RedIsHeroic: Her outfits in the ''KOF'' series have often used red as a primary color, marking her as a heroic character.
* {{Reincarnation}}: Of the [[PhysicalGod Goddess Athena]]. It's the reason that Athena is the only person in her family to have PsychicPowers.
* RelationshipUpgrade: She starts dating Kensou in the ''Maximum Impact 2'' continuity. For a variety of reasons, she's forced to keep it a secret from the public. Of course this isn't canon to the main timeline, so nothing really comes of it.
* TheRival: To Sakura in ''VideoGameSNKVsCapcom'', being the resident fighting school girls of their respective series. Their interactions though are quite friendly.
-->'''Sakura''': "Come on, goddess."\\
'''Athena''': "Nice uniform!"
* RollingAttack: Her Phoenix Arrow special and Phoenix Fang Arrow DM.
* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: To a degree, with Kaoru in the main games and with Rika Kashiwazaki from ''Awakening from the Ordinary Life''. [[spoiler:Naturally, she doesn't take it well when Rika gets scared of Athena's powers, and later when she's shot to almost death few after their reconciliation.]]
* SailorFuku:
** At first only in her intro animations, for fear of making her too risqué; fully embraced by ''XI''.
** Cynically lampshaded by Kyo ([[HypocriticalHumor of all people]]) in ''XIII'': "No one wears sailor uniforms at your actual age anymore." Athena [[OhCrap isn't happy]] when he points it out.
* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack: Athena has already graduated High School but keeps a Schoolgirl Uniform Theme for promotional purposes, both in-universe: for her image as an Idol, and out-of-universe: Athena in a school uniform rethreads the classic look from her Psycho Soldier days.
* ShesGotLegs: Her redesign in ''XII'' and ''XIII'' gave her a very prominent pair that her SailorFuku costume helps show off.
* {{Shoryuken}}: Her "Psycho Sword", creating a long stretch of sparkly energy as she leaps up.
* {{Shotoclone}}: Sort of. She has a fireball and {{Shoryuken}}, but lacks any kind of HurricaneKick equivalent.
* SignatureMove: Her "Psycho Ball", "Psycho Sword" and "Shining Crystal Bit" have been part of her moveset in most appearances.
* SphereOfDestruction: Her new DM in ''KOFXIV'' has her throw a big EnergyBall from above that creates a large spherical explosion.
* SpiderSense: As seen in ''Another Day'' and [[http://mangafox.me/manga/king_of_fighters/v01/c002/75.html in]] ''[[http://mangafox.me/manga/king_of_fighters/v01/c002/76.html KOF: KYO,]]'' where she senses [[spoiler:Orochi]]'s aura in the air and this allows her, Benimaru and Kensou to find [[spoiler:Iori and a Kyo who is about to go BrainwashedAndCrazy.]]
* SpiritedCompetitor: This girls ''loves'' a good fight. She's always encouraging herself and her opponents to give it their all, and hates it when people underestimate or try to dissuade her from fighting.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Athena is a ''KOF'' regular by popular demand, but SNK has acknowledged that she's had the inadvertent effect of stealing the show from her own teammates. Kensou's redesign in ''XII'' and ''XIII'' was meant to help him stand out more, in fact.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: She looks very similar to her ancestor, almost looking one-to-one DependingOnTheArtist.
* SupremeChef: Implied to be one in the ''KOF:KYO'' manga. She's first seen making fried rice for Kensou, who really likes it; the last manga volume she makes dinner for him, Yuki and Kyo, and the three find the dish she made for them [[note]]a Chinese traditional one involving autumn mushrooms, probably [[http://cookingsimplechinesefoodathome.com/2011/10/80chinese-mushroom-recipe-stir-fry.html this one]] [[/note]] to be ''very'' good.
* TeleportersAndTransporters: Her "Psychic Teleport" which lets her quickly reposition around her opponent.
* WouldntHurtAChild: She's very uncomfortable fighting Kula, a 14-year old girl, even wondering [[WhatTheHellHero just why K' and Maxima]] would let her [[HarmfulToMinors fight in tournaments]] in the first place.
-->'''Athena''': "What are K' and Maxima thinking!? Don't they care about anyone but themselves?"\\
'''Kula''': "What are you so upset about, miss? Did K' do something mean to you?"\\
'''Athena''': "Not to me, to you! Always putting you into these dangerous situations! I don't care how strong you are, you're still just a kid! Those men are so inconsiderate!"\\
'''Kula''': "Huh? I'm not a kid anymore, you know? That boy with the big hat is much younger than me!"\\
'''Athena''': "This isn't about Bao, it's about you! I'm going to tell those guys not to put you in jeopardy and I'll make sure they listen!"
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: She has purple hair in almost all games, except in XII and XIII where her hair color is pink. In ''XIV'' it goes back to purple.
* YouShallNotPass: In ''Sky Stage'', she's the first mid-boss. She only fights your party because [[ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself she wants to face the dangers out there alone]]; once defeated, she apologizes and lets you pass.

[[folder:Goddess Athena Tropes]]
* ActionGirl: Was one of the few playable female characters with her own solo title in the Neo Geo era.
* BadassAdorable: A teenaged goddess with a very hyper-stylized, cutesy art-style. Don't forget though that she is still a goddess, and has saved the world in her home series.

* DivergentCharacterEvolution: It happened when SNK started to use the Goddess Athena again in their merchandise in modern times; prior to that many people assumed Idol Singer Athena and Goddess Athena had the same personality, or even were the same person, which isn't entirely unfounded since the original Athena had little to no canon characterization all. Now both Athenas are polar opposites to each other:
** Goddess Athena: a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy proud warrior amazon]] who isn't quite a nice person to boot; she's not evil, yeah, but openly belittles some of her foes for [[WhoDares daring]] to fight against a goddess. (Unless she's in merchanside that panders to a bigger demographic, like the mobile games; there, she's shown as more of a NiceGirl [[CompositeCharacter with traces of the Idol Singer Athena]] in her.)
** IdolSinger Athena: a nice MagicIdolSinger and ActionGirl with PsychicPowers, very charismatic, friendly, and is respectful to her opponents and never underestimates them.

* RedIsHeroic: Her outfit always has red as the primary color, marking her has TheHero of her games.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: She looks very similar to her descendant, almost looking one-to-one DependingOnTheArtist.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: She has purple hair like her descendant.

* HeroOfAnotherStory: She and Kensou made their debuts in VideoGame/PsychoSoldier.

* UsefulNotes/{{Kawaisa}}