Kō Risa

"I did hate myself. I was about to go through my whole life not knowing a damn thing... About Shao Jun's memories, or about her blood flowing through me. You actually taught me plenty. So thanks for that..."

―Kō Risa after defeating Kaori Kagami, 2019.

Kō Risa
Biographical information
Born	2001 Yokohama, Japan
Species	Human
Political information
Affiliations	Assassins Japanese Brotherhood

Kō Risa (born 2001), also known as Lisa Huang, is a young Japanese woman of Han Chinese descent living in Yokohama. She is a descendant of the Chinese Assassin Shao Jun.

In 2019, Risa began treatment at Abstergo Industries' clinic in Yokohama to help with her violent tendencies. Through multiple sessions reliving the memories of her ancestor, she became aware of the existence of the Assassins and Templars, and found herself dragged into their age-old struggle after an encounter with the Japanese Assassin Kiyoshi Takakura.

Kiyoshi revealed to Risa that her doctor, Kaori Kagami, was a Templar who did not care about her well-being and only sought to use Shao Jun's memories to find a Precursor box. However, the young woman refused to believe the accusations and continued her therapy, only to end up being taken hostage by Dr. Kagami. After escaping with the help of her cousin Mari and Kiyoshi, Risa met the Japanese Assassins' Mentor, Saeko Mochizuki, who recruited her and Mari into the Brotherhood.

Biography

Early life

Risa was born in Yokohama, Japan in 2001. Unable to rein in her violent impulses, she was repeatedly expelled from schools as a teenager due to fighting with her teachers. At some point, she got into an argument with a friend that ended their relationship.

Risa would also protect her younger cousin Mari from her abusive father and on one occasion stepped between them after Mari had been sent outside in the cold. Risa invited Mari to spend the night at her house, but Mari's father, outraged by Risa undermining his authority, grabbed and threw her over the railing. Fortunately, Risa survived with only minor injuries, and the incident caused Mari to leave her father's custody and move in with her grandfather.

Receiving treatment

In 2019, Risa was sent to receive therapy due to her violent impulses. As part of her treatment at an Abstergo clinic in Yokohama, Doctor Kaori Kagami had the teenager relive the memories of her ancestor, the Assassin Shao Jun, through an Animus. Unfortunately for Risa, Dr. Kagami was not actually interested in improving her mental health but was rather occupied with finding the location of Shao Jun's "treasure".

During her first Animus session, Risa desynchronized after Shao Jun performed a Leap of Faith, unsettled by how real the simulation was. Dr. Kagami explained that it was not real and nothing would harm her as they were only memories. Ending the therapy session for the day, Risa left the clinic and called her mother, informing her that the therapy had helped her and that she would continue with it.

Risa desynchronizing after witnessing Liu Jin's execution

During Risa's second Animus session with Dr. Kagami, she witnessed the public execution of the corrupt eunuch Liu Jin and desynchronized in horror. When asked by her doctor to stop for the day, Risa insisted on continuing her treatment. Through further simulated memories, she learned of the Assassins and Templars and their ongoing struggle. After being brought out of the Animus, Risa asked Dr. Kagami about the two factions. Dr. Kagami told her patient that the Assassins sought chaos while the Templars fought for peace and order.

Dr. Kagami also told Risa that she was a descendant of the Assassin Shao Jun and that her genes were the reason for her violent behavior. When Risa asked if the Animus treatment would help her, Dr. Kagami insisted that she was on her side as long as they worked together. Accepting this answer, Risa re-entered the Animus.

While reliving Shao Jun's memories of the 1526 fire of Macau, the Assassin's guilt from the incident affected Risa, who started getting a flashback to when she had felt guilty after falling out with a friend. Later, when she was out on the streets after her session had ended, she was suddenly grabbed by her cousin Mari who stated that she had been looking for her.

Introduction to the Assassins

Risa running into Mari

After the two cousins headed to a café to talk, Mari mentioned that she could not find Risa when she had stopped at her house and it was therefore lucky that they had crossed paths like that. Mari then asked Risa about her treatment and the latter described what using the Animus felt like. At that moment, their conversation was interrupted by a scary Yakuza-like man, who introduced himself as Kiyoshi Takakura.

Voicing his negative opinion of the Animus and its dangers, Kiyoshi gave Risa his business card and told her to meet him the following day. Before leaving, he also whispered to Risa that he was an Assassin like her and that the war against the Templars was still ongoing. Curious, Risa decided to accept Kiyoshi's invitation and a wary Mari insisted on accompanying her in case something went wrong.

Meeting with Kiyoshi, the Assassin told Risa the truth about the Assassins and Templars. Risa, thinking they were ancient organizations long dissolved, was surprised to find out they were very much still active. Kiyoshi also revealed that Risa's doctor Kagami was a Templar and did not care about her well-being. He further warned her about the dangers of prolonged Animus sessions, as they could result in the Bleeding Effect, and pleaded with her not to let the Templars get their hands on Shao Jun's treasure.

Risa and Mari meeting with Kiyoshi

However, Risa declined to help the Assassins, angered at the accusations against her doctor whom she trusted. Storming out of the shop without Mari, Risa wandered the streets of Yokohama. Seeing an illusion of a Ming soldier, her muscle memory of Shao Jun placed her in a combat stance ready to fight. After realizing it was not real, Risa collapsed to her knees, worried that she was already losing her mind.

Believing that the only way to cure herself was to continue her treatment, Risa returned to the Abstergo clinic and resumed her Animus sessions with Dr. Kagami. When she told the doctor about her hallucination and how much it affected her, Dr. Kagami immediately brushed it off as a temporary side-effect of using the Animus and told her that it would disappear with time. Following this, Risa entered the Animus, curious to learn more details about Shao Jun's life.

After reliving a childhood memory of Shao Jun and her best friend Zhang Qijie, Risa was overcome with emotion as she saw similarities between the two's relationship and her own friendship with Mari. As she left the Animus, Risa told Dr. Kagami that she was surprised and relieved to know that her ancestor also had a good friend that she was willing to fight for. Unbeknownst to Risa, this unnerved Dr. Kagami, as the latter feared her patient was becoming more and more like Shao Jun.

Joining the Brotherhood

Risa exiting the Animus

After another Animus session, Risa's quick reflexes gained through the Bleeding Effect allowed her to catch Dr. Kagami's pen moments after she dropped it. Spooked by the effect the Animus had on her, Risa decided to end her therapy for the day and left the Abstergo clinic. As she walked through Yokohama's streets, she bumped into Mari, who declared that she had something very important to tell her.

Heading to a café to talk, Mari revealed that, after Risa had stormed off from their meeting with Kiyoshi, she stayed to talk with the Assassin and learned some troubling information about Abstergo. Mari went on to explain how the company was a front for the Templars, who used information technology to track and understand every human being, to the point that they could locate and capture individuals with Assassin ancestry purely by analyzing their blood. Mari also told Risa about the destruction of the Abstergo facility where Dr. Kagami had previously worked, which made her question the doctor's true intentions.

Risa being forced back into the Animus

Determined to learn the truth for herself, Risa returned to the Abstergo clinic and continued her Animus sessions with Dr. Kagami. When she began to feel unwell due to the Bleeding Effect, she asked that they end the therapy for the day and confronted Dr. Kagami, revealing her knowledge of the Animus' side effects. Briefly taken aback, Dr. Kagami pulled a gun on Risa to prevent her from leaving, and the teenager was soon forced back into the Animus by several guards.

After Shao Jun's memories revealed that her Precursor box had been shipped by the Templars out of China, Risa woke up from the Animus and confronted Dr. Kagami, who was frustrated over her failure to learn the box's whereabouts. After Dr. Kagami admitted to using Risa for her own ends, she patronized Risa over her self-doubt and claimed that she should be grateful for her help. At that moment, both women heard a commotion, as the facility was being stormed by Kiyoshi and Mari to rescue Risa.

Taking advantage of this distraction, Risa disarmed Dr. Kagami and also took down the guards who barged into the room. As Risa held Dr. Kagami at gunpoint, she was joined by Kiyoshi and Mari, who were surprised and relieved to see that she was safe. After thanking Dr. Kagami for helping her embrace her Assassin ancestry and discover a new outlook on life, Risa shot and destroyed her Animus, then left the building alongside Kiyoshi and Mari.

Risa and Mari meeting Saeko Mochizuki

Outside, the trio were greeted by an elderly woman, Saeko Mochizuki, the Mentor of the Japanese Assassins. Impressed with everything Risa had accomplished, Saeko invited her to join the Brotherhood and she accepted, not just because of her Assassin ancestry, but because of her own free will. After Mari also asked to join the Assassins and was accepted, the two cousins were tasked to find Shao Jun's Precursor box.

Personality and traits

Kō Risa is a protective individual, standing up for her cousin and holding her ground against her uncle. Although she was a relatively happy child, during her teenage years she became more withdrawn and colder towards others. Risa also had a tendency to lash out psychically, something she wished to change.

After experiencing Shao Jun's life and finding many similarities between herself and her ancestor, Risa gained a new outlook on life, understanding that she did not need to change as all her loved ones already accepted her for who she was. She also developed an appreciation for the Assassins' fight for freedom and decided to continue Shao Jun's work by joining the Brotherhood.

Skills and equipment

Risa has some minor combat abilities, being kicked out of school for fighting. After reliving the memories of the Assassin Shao Jun, Risa experienced the Bleeding Effect and instinctively got into a combat stance when the Bleeding Effect conjured an illusion of a Ming soldier. As she spent more time in the Animus, Risa gained all of her ancestor's fighting skills and was able to easily disarm Kaori Kagami when she held her at gunpoint and defeat her guards.

Behind the scenes

Kō Risa is the main protagonist of the manga Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun, which debuted in 2019 in Japanese. Her name given in Japanese is 黄里沙 (Kō Risa), which would be Huáng Lǐshā in both the Hanyu Pinyin and the Wade–Giles systems of romanization for Mandarin. Prior to the publication of the English edition, the fan website Access the Animus reported that her name would be anglicized as Lisa Yang; Yang is an entirely different surname from Huang. The error has not appeared with the release of the French and English editions, where the Mandarin reading of her surname is properly romanized as Huang.

The conversion of her name into a Western form that is common among Overseas Chinese communities in Anglophone and Francophone nations may not be reflective of the character's actual practice. Since the original language of the manga is Japanese, the setting is Japan, and the characters converse in Japanese, it can be deduced that Lisa Huang canonically uses the name Kō Risa in day-to-day life. Because of its official usage, however, the name Lisa Huang remains a valid alternative when used to discuss the character.

Gallery

Risa awakening from the Animus, with Dr. Kagami by her side

Risa leaving the Abstergo clinic

Risa held at gunpoint by Dr. Kagami

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun