Yuri

Yuri (百合) is a character that appears in the 19th episode Unholy Union of Samurai Champloo/Anime.

Appearance
Yuri is a slender female with short hair and wears a yellow-white kimono.

Personality
Yuri was originally a scared woman who didn't want to marry Xavier III (a fanatic individual), however thanks to Fuu, she gained confidence in order to defend herself.

History
Yuri first meets Fuu when she's running by Thugs who work for Xavier III. She introduces herself to Fuu and notices the miniature skull that Fuu carries around with her. Yuri explains its a cross of Golgotha hidden within its eye, supposedly coming from the Ikitsuki Island (historically known as a safe haven for persecuted Japanese Christians) in Nagasaki. When Fuu asks her about the Sunflower Samurai, Yuri says the name of the Sunflower Samurai is Seizo Kasumi.

Before she can learn any more information, the two thugs from earlier break in, knocking Fuu unconscious and taking Yuri with them. While being held hostage in the cave where Xavier III is talking to his followers, Yuri questions the motivations of Xavier III, who as it turns out is just exploiting the faith of the local Christian population for massive profit, using the profits from gun sales to purchase valuable artworks, historical artifacts, and even the love of others as he attempts to force Yuri to marry him. Yuri refuses, which gets her thrown in a cell next to Fuu (who tries to rescue her).

While held hostage, Yuri speaks more about her situation: she and her father sought refuge from religious persecution within the Ikitsuki Islands, and one of their fellow refugees was indeed Seizo Kasumi, the samurai who smells of sunflowers. Unfortunately, the refugees eventually fell victim to a massive attack on their safe haven, ending with their refuge being torched and burned down, and Seizo’s whereabouts are still unknown. Later on in her life, she witnessed her father being murdered by Xavier III’s underlings after he learned the truth of his exploitative practices. The two are interrupted by his arrival as he forces Yuri to go through with the wedding ceremony.

As the ceremony is about to get underway, Fuu begs Yuri to not go through with it, giving her the courage she needs to stand up to the priest. This conflict is interrupted by the arrival of Mugen and Jin, who managed to uncover the full scale of Xavier’s exploitative scheme. He starts firing at the two samurai but fails to successfully strike them, accidentally causing the cross behind him to collapse on top of him.

The next day, the trio wave goodbye to Yuri before going to Ikitsuki Island to find Seizo Kasumi, who is revealed to be Fuu's father.

Voice Actresses

 * Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese)
 * Kate Higgins (English)

Etymology

 * The name Yuri means "lily" (百合).