Umihara Kawase (Series)

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Umihara KawaseUmihara Kawase ShunSayonara Umihara KawaseUmihara Kawase Fresh!Umihara Kawase BaZooKa!

Background

Umihara Kawase is a series of platform games starring Kawase Umihara, a sushi chef who becomes lost in a world populated by surreal salt-water and fresh-water creatures. The series is known for its interconnected level structure and physics-based traversal centered around the use of a fishing line. It began with Umihara Kawase for the Super Famicom in 1994 and has since received multiple sequels and releases across various platforms. It had a North American localization title of Yumi's Odd Odyssey for the 3DS, though the only thing changed with the translation was Kawase's name was changed to Yumi.

General Information

Official Date: December 23, 1994

Company: TNN (original), later titles published by various companies including Success and Nicalis

Creator/Developers: Kiyoshi Sakai, Toshinobu Kondo, Koji Nakajima, Studio Saizensen (later entries)

Genre: Platform

Cosmology: Multiverse (Apart of the Blade Strangers series, which holds infinite universes)

Number of Series: 1 (All of the games fall under the main Umihara Kawase moniker)

Number of Games: 5 main titles (Umihara Kawase, Umihara Kawase Shun, Sayonara Umihara Kawase/Yumi's Odd Odyssey, Umihara Kawase Fresh!, Umihara Kawase BaZooKa!)

Status: Ongoing (Latest game was released back in 2020, during the era of the Nintendo Switch)

Sales: Unknown

Reception: Mostly Positive for the Original Trilogy, Mixed Reception for Fresh! & BaZooKa

List of Misconceptions

The entirety of Umihara Kawase takes place in Umihara's mind

This comes from a statement from Kondo noting that "Its implied in this game that the world is that of Umihara’s psychological landscape, so its like the fish are trying to stop her on this journey.", however this is misreading the sentence. The sentence is in actuality noting as Umihara's goal is to be a traveling chef, "Umihara Kawase is a traveling chef, so she’s on a journey to find the ultimate ingredients." the world represents that psychological landscape, hence the fish symbolize it.

In Sayonara Umihara Kawase, Umihara is shown having different endings, in all endings, she is shown walking in a dark forest after leaving the door, while this is interpretative, it heavily implies is that the dream world is a literal alternative universe rahter then being a literal dream. It also shows no support for it all being a dream, as it wouldn't make much sense for her to be in a forest after the end.

This also doesn't explain the existence of Noko Yokoyama, a time traveling police woman that's Kawase's descendant from the future, she doesn't represent or reflect anything about Umihara wanting to be a chef. Even in Blade Strangers which alludes to the fan interpretation dream theory, she recognizes Umihara as her ancestor.

In Umihara Kawase Fresh!, the story never really implies or showcases this is all in Umihara's head. She notes about dreaming about a town repeatedly, and later actually ends up in the town she finds in her dreams. She's also directly showcased to get hungry and can die from starving, a weird attribute if it's all a dream in her head. The ending also reveals she was spirited away to another world, rather then it being a dream world, based off a video game she and her sister used to play.

Works like the manga showcase that nothing about her dreaming is really applied.

In media like Blade Strangers she is summoned from her world, acknowledging the characters from the games, even when they acknowledge the dream world and for her to "return to the real world" she still retains all of her abilities and techniques, making it likely that the pscyhological world is an alternate world rather then a true literal dream, even after she wins against Lina she notes it's time to find another door to open. This is also shown that when they were trying to summon Umihara Kawase, they instead summoned a manifestation of her pain with her Summer Kawase self, which in reality turned out to be an image of everyone's idea of her. Though obviously Blade Strangers is a crossover fighting game that sometime uses popular fan interpretations over canon.

Overall, the idea that the events are in her head don't seem to be supported by the game, and instead more supernatural elements exist.

Explanations

Enemies

The following is an explanation of the enemies and items Kawase comes across in the Umihara Kawase series. Do note some enemies do not have official names, thus their names are an approximation of their species

Abbreviations

Umihara KawaseUmihara Kawase Shun Enemies Goldfish Patrols a limited area on foot. It can either be avoided entirely or subdued by hooking it with the lure. Many other fish enemies follow comparable movement patterns. Mudfish Shares a similar patrol pattern to the goldfish. Its body is stretched vertically, and it fires acorn-like projectiles resembling small eggs that bounce along the ground. Snapper A blue-colored snapper that behaves almost identically to a goldfish in terms of movement. Tuna Remains on the ground and repeatedly leaps upward. It is best handled by latching onto it with the lure and relocating it to another section of the terrain. Octopus Sprays ink toward Umihara’s direction of approach. When hooked, it is knocked backward. By facing away at the moment the ink connects, its recoil can be used to influence movement. Applying sufficient tension to a suspended fishing line will cause it to detach from walls, leaving it helpless and easy to capture, which is particularly useful on large maps. Sea Anemone Immobile enemy that instead releases spores. These spores crawl along surfaces and attach themselves to the fishing line upon contact. Avoiding them requires understanding their timing and direction. Like the octopus, applying enough force will uproot it from its position. Conch Moves by clinging to nearby surfaces, traveling along walls regardless of whether they are horizontal, vertical, or inverted. Shark Moves back and forth while launching sucker sharks. The sucker sharks themselves follow movement patterns similar to goldfish. Sucker Shark Can either be deployed by a shark or attach itself to the ceiling before dropping down. Giant Crab A boss-type enemy in the form of an enormous crab. It advances side-scrolling while releasing bubbles. Striking these bubbles pushes them away and may awaken smaller crabs inside. As it moves, it smashes Umihara’s scaffolding one segment at a time with its claws. Once the structure blocking the exit is destroyed, the player must evade the crab and climb through the doorway to complete the encounter. Mudskipper Moves back and forth in a goldfish-like pattern. Fires small red egg-like projectiles that must be avoided before capturing it. Seahorses Appear in three variants. The father seahorse floats in midair, spraying ink while producing baby seahorses that move freely. Standard seahorses only travel vertically. Sizes differ: the father is extremely large, standard seahorses are roughly twice Umihara’s size, and babies are about half her height. Normal seahorses can be repositioned by hooking them but take no damage on contact and cannot be stored in the backpack, functioning more as environmental objects. Excessive line tension will also cause them to release ink. Giant Tadpole A boss-class enemy several times larger than Umihara, in the midst of developing legs. As it traverses the stage, it lays eggs that hatch into small frogs. Its jump distance can be anticipated, and it flicks its tail before laying eggs. Frogs may fall into water and continue swimming instead of disappearing. To prevent accidental falls while clinging to the fishing line, frogs are typically captured and stored unless the player is confident in avoiding them. After four back-and-forth cycles, the tadpole dives into the water and opens a sealed door, allowing progression. The reasoning behind its unusual behavior remains unexplained. Doldom Enemies encountered on F25. They hover freely in the air, forming lines, clusters, or circular arrangements, making avoidance difficult. The stage can only be cleared by capturing every individual. They first appear in a straight line, then reappear arranged in a circle once the initial group is collected. Carp Functions similarly to Doldom, but the second formation appears in a cross shape, greatly increasing the difficulty due to the surrounding terrain. Scallop Moves exclusively in a vertical up-and-down motion. Traps Bucket Releases a swarm of small fish when approached—medaka in river stages and flying fish in ocean areas. Medaka dash quickly across the ground, while flying fish leap over water in arcing trajectories. They typically emerge in groups of three. The bucket can be removed with a lure, but it is heavy and unaffected by stunning, requiring direct interaction rather than pulling it in. Bamboo-Structure A bamboo-foot structure suspended from the ceiling that continuously regenerates fish inside. Like the bucket, it can be removed by catching it with the lure. Items Backpack A 1UP item that must be captured manually. It is often hidden in unexpected locations and may appear or disappear suddenly. In Field 42, it can even be used as an anchor point for attaching the fishing line. Compared to the previous installment, the overall count is noticeably reduced, with all obstacles removed except for the bucket. In contrast to earlier entries, this title balances its difficulty primarily through terrain design and situational challenges rather than direct obstruction by enemies. Goldfish Found in rivers. Similar to the goldfish from the previous game, but with significantly altered coloring. Horse Mackerel Appears in the sea and follows the same movement pattern as the goldfish. Mudfish Appears in rivers and behaves like the eel from the previous game. Shark Found in the sea, identical in behavior to the previous shark. Sucker Shark Cannot be killed, but becomes incapacitated when hit. This version is longer and slimmer than the earlier model. Conch Present in both rivers and seas. Unlike the previous game, where hitting it counted as a miss, in this version it simply becomes uncontrollable when struck. Note that river and sea variants differ in color and score by 1 point. Piranha Jumps out unexpectedly and charges at the player. Contact causes a stun but not death. Appears only in select stages and serves as a notable enemy in the DS version encyclopedia. Giant Tadpole Boss-class, two-legged tadpole carried over from the previous game. Its design is slightly bulkier. Movement patterns remain the same, but the number of back-and-forth trips is reduced to three, easing difficulty. The door-blocking board from the previous game is removed, allowing the battle to be skipped, except in stages where two tadpoles attack simultaneously, which are effectively unavoidable. Squid Summoned in groups of six, flying like guided missiles toward the player. They can be captured individually, but disrupting the formation complicates the encounter. They disappear upon contact, so sticking to walls is a viable defensive tactic. Pufferfish Floats leisurely in the air and becomes inoperative when touched. To remove it, attach the fishing line, pull to stretch it, and collide with it. When pulled, it inflates, flies in a straight line, and smashes into a wall before charging toward the player. Hitting it 15 times counts as success, and if its charge collides with a wall, that also counts as a hit. In some cases, it can be defeated in two or three attempts. Despite its position right before the ending stage, it is relatively easy, making it a deceptive “fake final boss.” Giant Bucket Resembles a massive drum barrel with legs. Acts as a normal horse mackerel rather than small fish. After its initial pattern, it walks or jumps upward, requiring the player to quickly hook and move with it to access hidden routes. Its size prioritizes interactions with the fishing line, which can inadvertently cause remaining horse mackerel to be missed. Traps Bucket Same as in the previous game. Killifish emerge from river buckets, while three flying fish appear from sea buckets. Items Backpack Has the same mechanics as before, grants Kawase an extra life.

Continuity in the Umihara Kawase series

The Umihara Kawase series didn't have any real story until the events of Umihara Kawase Fresh where the main selling point was it being the first in the series to implement a story and quests.

There has been a blog listed that notes the back story of Umihara from the creator:

“	Umihara Kawase Character Background Setting Material (super secret) 1992-09-21 Kiyoshi Sakai Umihara Kawase, female, around 19 years old (under 20 years old) She travels all over the country in pursuit of the ultimate taste. Kawase's father (deceased), male, around 45 years old at death Since he was young, he has been active as a sink chef, and was feared among foodies because of his harsh taste. He raised Kawase with his own hands, but when Kawase was a junior high school student, he went into the mountains in search of the ultimate material and died. The life she lived for the sake of taste is still talked about in some quarters. Kawase's mother, female, around 48 years old (younger than Kawase's father) Pursuing the ultimate home-cooked taste, she runs a set meal restaurant all by herself. She married Kawase's father, whom she met during her training days, and they started a set-up restaurant together, but they divorced after three or four years due to differences in the tastes they pursued. Kawase's older sister (deceased), female, around 16 years old at death He was taken in by her mother when she divorced and grew up with her. They broke up before Kawase could remember, so Kawase herself doesn't know that she has an older sister. In the future, she devoted herself to the path of taste with the intention of taking over her mother's diner restaurant, but perhaps influenced by her father's blood, she eventually began to pursue the strict taste of a professional. When she was in high school, she cut blowfish without a license, ate the liver, and died from poisoning. ～A few years before Kawase was born～ Kawase's father (who later became known as a ``nagashi no itamae) wanders around the country in pursuit of the ultimate taste, and Kawase's mother (who later became known as Kawase), who works at a set meal restaurant in the outskirts of town in pursuit of the taste that will please people, meet. The two young people, who are also pursuing the path of taste, get married and start a small diner restaurant, but the father, who aims to be a professional with no particular taste, finds himself gradually losing her rigor as a professional as he immerses himself in the warmth of a warm family. Unable to give up on her taste buds, my father chose to become a chef again and divorced. The two daughters are taken in by their mother's side, and their younger sister (Kawase) by their father's side. Kawase had no memory of her mother and older sister since she was not yet conscious (around 1 year old), and since she has not heard anything about it, she does not know that she has an older sister. ~ When Kawase was a junior high school student ~ While traveling around the country with her father, Kawase gradually awakens to the taste of taste. One day, her father went into the mountains as usual in search of the ultimate material and disappeared. A police search failed to find him, and a death report was eventually filed. A simple funeral is held at the restaurant where he lived and worked. Afterwards, Kawase graduates from junior high school under the care of a couple who work at a restaurant, and is encouraged to go on to high school, but she decides to follow in her father's will and become a chef at the sink. Around that time, Kawase's older sister was also helping out at her mother's shop and devoting herself to the path of taste, but she gradually began to gravitate toward the strict tastes of professionals. The mother decides to let her older sister, who has begun to seek the same strict taste as her divorced father, choose the path of her choice. However, after hearing the story of a customer who boasted, ``You can't talk about the flavor of blowfish without eating its liver, while her mother was away, she chopped up the blowfish she had bought to serve at the store without a license, ate the liver, and died of poisoning. ~Kawase, about 19 years old~ Her skills as a chef have also been honed, and as usual, she casually enters a set restaurant after seeing a notice saying ``Currently hiring chefs. She casually eats the ordinary, simple food that is served as a meal, but is shocked by the ultimate home-cooked taste she has never tasted before. Realizing her own lack of strength, she attempts to leave the restaurant, but is stopped by the owner of the diner who recognizes her daughter at first sight, and ends up training from scratch at the restaurant. She spends her days full of fun and love without knowing that she is her biological mother. (During this time, I also heard about my sister who died without knowing that she was my sister) One day, Kawase goes out shopping alone at the market, and from what she casually hears, she learns that the wife of the diner is her mother. Thinking about her father, who died for the sake of taste, and her sister, who died handling blowfish without a license, she realized that she had lost track of the path she should take. As Kawase leaves a letter and is about to leave the store, her mother, who has realized everything, offers her a rice ball that she has made and says, ``This is my first and last taste of my mother. However, Kawase does not accept it and leaves, crying in her heart, saying, ``The path I must take is a difficult one. It was Kawase who learned the depth of the path of taste. ...The character that appears in the game above is Kawase, about half a year later, when her farewell to her mother has turned into a memory. By the way, the three other players have nothing to do with the game. Please note that this material was created to determine the character image at the development stage and will not be disclosed to outsiders. (Because the setting is too intense) Umihara Kawase character image setting Kawase considers cooking to be a natural part of her life, and treats it like breathing. Therefore, I don't like it or hate it, nor do I find it enjoyable or painful. (Sometimes it's hard to search for the ultimate taste) Kawase is always searching for new ways to taste, but this is not for any purpose; it is something that Kawase cannot help but do in order to survive. However, rather than pursuing it out of spite, they see it as a normal part of everyday life, so they don't seem to be too fixated on it. Kawase usually works as a chef (mainly as a live-in) at a set meal restaurant or small restaurant in the outskirts of the town. If you are a live-in employee, you may sleep in a cheap apartment (dormitory?), but if you don't have a place, you can stay in a sleeping bag inside the store after it closes. Sometimes, when I suddenly think of something (while exploring the path of taste), I go into the mountains in search of ingredients. At that time, I sometimes pitch a tent in the mountains and stay holed up for several days. They may also be taken out to sea on fishermen's boats. Kawase lost her parents when she was in junior high school, and was taken care of by a couple who worked at a restaurant. (See setting materials on the back) Since then, she has lived under the care of many people, so she has a strong sense of duty. However, I also believe that humans are meant to live alone. Kawase has always been raised among adults, so she has a rather cold mindset, but as a 19-year-old girl who works at a restaurant on the outskirts of town, she naturally gets a lot of attention from the customers, and although she's embarrassed and doesn't like it, she doesn't really feel that bad about it. Although she is quite talkative (partly because she grew up among adults), her smile is quite popular. (It's a pain, so I've learned how to laugh and cover it up.) The more seriously Kawase takes her cooking, the closer the finished product will be to raw food. This is because when pursuing professional skills, it becomes impossible to ignore the splendor of natural materials. However, this is only done when Kawase is serious about cooking, and she usually makes dishes that feel like casual clothes (← What the heck is that?). The ``Kawase-chan original menu (as the customer's father sometimes calls it) that Kawase usually serves to her customers is often a simple dish that she usually makes for hesrelf to eat, such as ``sliced ​​carp stewed in miso or ``steamed white fish in vegetable soup, but she sticks to the key points, such as flavoring with yuzu peel and using sea salt as a finishing touch. (←This casualness is a characteristic of regular Kawase cuisine.) The stage of the game is Kawase's deep psyche, and the visuals in the game are a visualization of her deep psyche, so to speak, like Kawase's dreams (at night). Kawase's heart is always filled with drafts, searching for the love she never got from her parents, so the mental landscape is quite bleak. The ``search for the path to taste that weighs heavily on Kawase's life as a matter of course is manifested in the form of her struggle with fish. However, it is essentially a battle with oneself, and ther is similar to the fact that the gameplay of ``Umihara Kawase is a battle with oneself. (← Is it true?) The cooking examples are completely random. Don't worry about it. This aspect of the setting was rather unpopular, but personally, I think it was the right decision to write down the secret setting and not make it public. The character image settings were written for outside staff as a reference material on the "real life of Kawase" when creating the "phantom opening animation" and "mysterious image song" during the development of "Shun".	„
	~ MTL of the Umihara Kawase Setting Materials Blog from １９９２－０９－２１

“	＜　　海腹川背キャラクター裏設定資料　（超極秘）　　＞ １９９２－０９－２１ 酒井　潔 ・海腹川背［うみはら　かわせ］　女　１９才くらい（２０歳未満） 　流しの板前、究極の味を追求して全国を流れ歩いている。 ・川背の父（故人）　男　享年４５才くらい 　若い頃から流しの板前として活躍、食通の間ではその味の厳しさゆえに怖れられていた。 　男手一つで川背を育てていたが、川背が中学生のときに究極の素材を求めて山に入り死亡。味のために貫いたその人生は今でも一部で語りつがれている。 ・川背の母　女　４８才くらい（川背の父よりも年下） 　究極のおふくろの味を追求して、女手一つで定食屋をきりもりしている。 　修行時代に知り合った（後の）川背の父と結婚し、二人で定食屋を始めるが、追求する味の道の違いから３～４年で離婚。 ・川背の姉（故人）　女　享年１６才くらい 　離婚の際母にひきとられ、母の元で育つ。 　川背が物心つく前に別れたので、川背自身は姉がいることを知らない。 　将来は母の定食屋を継ごうと味の道に精進していたが、父の血の影響か、いつしか厳しいプロの味を追求するようになる。 　高校生の時、無免許でふぐを捌き、肝を食べて中毒死。 ～　川背の生まれる数年前　～ 　すきのない究極の味を追求して全国を流れ歩く「流しの板前」（後の）川背の父と、人を喜ばせるための味を追求して場末の定食屋を手伝っている（後の）川背の母が出会う。 　同じように味の道を追求する若い二人は結婚し、小さな定食屋を始めるが、すきのない厳しいプロの味を目指す父は、あたたかい家庭のぬくもりにひたり、しだいにプロとしての厳しさを失っていく自分に気づく。 　味の道を捨てられない父は、再び流しの板前としての道を選び離婚。娘二人は、姉は母方、妹（川背）は父方にひきとられる。 　川背は、まだ物心つく前（１才前後）で母と姉の記憶はなく、その後も何も聞かされなかったため、姉がいることは知らない。 ～　川背が中学生の時　～ 　父と二人で全国を流れ歩きながら、しだいに味の道に目覚めていく川背。 　ある日、いつものように究極の素材を求めて山へ入った父はそのまま行方不明に。警察の捜索でも見つからず、結局死亡届が出される。住み込みで働いていた料理屋で質素な葬式が行われる。 　その後川背は、料理屋の夫婦の世話で中学を卒業、高校進学を勧められるが、父の意志を受け継いで流しの板前になる決意をする。 　その前後、川背の姉もまた母の店を手伝いながら味の道に精進していたが、しだいに厳しいプロの味に引かれはじめていた。 　母は、離婚した父と同じ厳しい味を求めはじめていた姉に、好きな道を選ばせる覚悟を決める。 　が、「ふぐの肝も食わずに味の道は語れん」と豪語する客の話を聞いた姉は、母の留守中、店で出すために仕入れてあったふぐを無免許で捌き肝を食べて中毒死する。 ～　川背１９才くらい　～ 　板前としての腕にも磨きがかかり、いつものように「板前募集」の張り紙を見てフラっと定食屋に入る。 　とりあえず賄い（まかない）として出された何のへんてつもない素朴な料理をなにげなく食べるが、今までに味わったことのない究極のおふくろの味にショックを受ける。 　自分の力の無さを思い知り店を出ようとするが、一目見て我が娘と気づいた定食屋のおかみに引き止められ、その店で一から修行し直すことになる。 　実の母とは知らずに、毎日楽しく愛に満あふれた日々を過ごす。（この間に姉とは知らずに、死んだ姉の話も聞く） 　ある日、川背一人で買い出しに出かけた市場で何気なく聞いた話から、定食屋のおかみが自分の母であることを知る。 　味のために死んだ父や、無免許でふぐを捌いて死んだ姉を思い、自分の進むべき道を見失っていたことに気付く。 　置き手紙をして店を出ようとする川背に、全てを悟った母が「最初で最後の母の味」と、自ら握ったおにぎりを差し出すが「自分の進むべき道は厳しさの道」と、受け取らずに心で泣きながら出ていく。 　味の道の奥深さを学んだ川背であった。 　・・・以上、ゲームに登場するのは、この後約半年ほどたって母との別れも思い出に変わった頃の川背です。 　ちなみに、川背以外の３人はゲームには何の関係もありません。 　尚、この資料は、開発段階でのキャラクターイメージを決定づけるために作成されたものであり、部外者には一切公開しません。（設定が強烈すぎるから） 海腹川背キャラクターイメージ設定 　川背が料理を作るのは、自分が生きていく上で当たり前のことと考えていて、息をするのと同じ感覚でとらえている。したがって、好きでも嫌いでもないし、楽しくもつらくもない。（究極の味を模索するのがつらいときはある） 　川背は、常に味の道を模索しているのだが、これも何か目的があるわけではなく、川背が生きていく上でやらずにはいられないことである。ただし、ムキになって追求するのではなく、日常生活の当たり前ととらえているので、そんなに固執しているようには見えない。 　川背は普段、場末の定食屋や小料理屋で（主に住み込みで）板前として働いている。住み込みなら安いアパート（寮？）に寝泊まりしたりするが、場所がなければ閉店後の店内に寝袋で止まったりも平気である。 　たまに、（味の道を模索する上で何か気になって）ふと思い立ったりすると、素材を求めて山へ入ったりもする。その際、山にテントを張って何日かこもったりすることもある。また、漁師の船に乗せてもらって沖へ出たりすることもある。 　川背は中学のときに親を亡くし、料理屋の夫婦の世話で中学を出、（←裏設定資料参照）その後もいろいろな人の世話になって生きてきたので、非常に義理を重んじる。しかし、人間は所詮一人で生きていくものとも考えている。 　川背は、ずっと大人の中で育ったので、わりと冷めた感覚で生きているが、場末の定食屋で働く１９才の女の子といえば、当然客なんかからもチヤホヤされることも多く、照れくさいので嫌なんだけど、そんなに悪い気もしてなかったりする。わりと口ベタなのだが（大人の中で育ったせいもあって）笑顔はなかなか評判である。（めんどくさいので笑ってごまかす技を身につけている） 　川背が真剣に作った料理であればあるほど、出来上がりは生に近い状態になる。プロの技を追求すると、自然の素材の持つ素晴らしさを無視できなくなるからである。しかしこれは、川背が本気で作る場合のみで、普段はそつない普段着感覚の料理（←なんだよそりゃ）を作ることが多い。 　川背が普段客に出す「川背ちゃんオリジナルメニュー」（←客のおやじがこう呼んだりする）は、普段自分が食べるために作っている簡単な料理であることが多く、「鯉のぶつ切り味噌煮込み」とか、「白身魚の野菜スープ蒸し」だったりとかするが、柚の皮で香りづけをしたり、仕上に天塩を使ったりなど、ポイントポイントは押さえている。（←このさりげなさが、普段の川背料理の特徴である） 　ゲームの舞台は川背の深層心理で、ゲーム中のビジュアルは深層心理を映像化したものであり、いわば川背の（夜見る）夢のようなものである。 　川背の心には、常に、満足に得られなかった親からの愛を求めて、すきま風が吹いているので、ずいぶんと殺風景な心象風景となっている。 　川背の生活に、当たり前のようにのしかかる「味の道の模索」は、そのまま、魚との格闘という形で現れている。しかし、本来は自分自身との戦いであって、これは「海腹川背」のゲーム性が、まさに自分との戦いであることに通じる。（←本当か？） ※料理の例に関しては完全にデタラメです。気にしないでください。 　このへんの設定は感触としてはわりと不評だったのですが、個人的には、特に裏設定は書いといたのも、公表しなかったのも正解だったかなあ、とか思います。 　キャラクターイメージ設定は、「旬」の開発中に「幻のオープニングアニメ」や、「謎のイメージソング」を作る時に、「現実の川背の日常生活」の資料として、社外のスタッフ向けに書いたものです。	„
	~ Original Text in the Umihara Kawase Setting Materials Blog from １９９２－０９－２１

Essentially this explains that Umihara became a traveling chef as it was a dream of her father's and she had a sister she lost along with her own father being dead. The validity of this backstory comes to question as this is a blog site that is allegedly run by a friend of Sakai's, which is a common false attribute. Another thing, is the blog claims to be written in 1992, however blog websites didn't come around until 1994. The blog also makes claims that this backstory was used to make the cutscenes in Umihara Kawase Shun, the issue with this is that nothing in the cutscenes really meet what this backstory is showing, the cutscenes just show that Kawase has a love for fishing, and traveling around. There are also even some minor contradictions to the backstory. The backstory claims that Kawase has a taste that makes it where she can only eat well-made food, or homemade food, yet she is shown eating common food like instant noodles, there's also no real implication of her dedication to being a chef like in the backstory in these cutscenes, thus the claim that this backstory was used to make the cutscenes has many issues. There are also arguments that the blog backstory is legitimate as it was the basis for Fresh's backstory, though this has some major problems. While visually they may look similar, they have no actual similarities other then Umihara being a traveling chef, which is a backstory already noted in Saoynara Umihara Kawase's Q&A. Umihara's sister is alive and she knew her and lived with her, which completely contradicts the backstory in the blog. While one could argue it borrowed elements from the backstory, the only notable element one could gather is her traveling the world, a backstory already in Sayonara, visually shown in the cutscenes of Shun and exists in the manga. Thus the argument of Fresh's story was made from the backstory has no real strong reasoning to it.

Though even assuming the backstory is true, it has long since been retconned by later material. One of the major points in the backstory notes how Kawase's parents were separated and she never knew her mother as she was 1 years old when they separated, so her and her father traveled around the country. However in Sayonara Umihara Kawase, it is just noted that young Kawase moved many times as a child where she has no memories of playing with friends her age. While one could argue that this is merely just basing itself off the backstory, wandering the country wouldn't imply moving, it would imply there's a set place one lives as they're traveling around. Another thing to note is that they note that Kawase's older sister died to poisoning, however in Umihara Kawase Fresh Kawase's big sister isn't dead, instead being spirited away to a different world, Kawase's backstory also notes that she and her big sister used to play video games together, which directly contradicts the backstory given in the blog where she never knew her big sister and didn't even know she had one.

The Umihara Kawase manga borrows nothing from this backstory and instead creates it's own story of Umihara Kawase somehow having the ability to breathe underwater and is trying to find her missing father who was kidnapped by an organization. Some argue it has absolutely no connection to the games, though the issue is that the games had next to no story other then Kawase being a traveling chef, thus there's really nothing to connect it to. The manga is of course a secondary canon as later games like Fresh don't directly follow it, only following Umihara being someone that travels the world. Though interestingly, no matter the Umihara Kawase game with water, Kawase can stay underwater for an indefinite amount of time without any repercussions as long as she has her hook connected to an object, which is likely where the idea of her being able to breathe underwater comes from.

Overall Umihara Kawase's continuity mainly circles around Kawase being a traveling chef in search of the ultimate ingredient, and due to the dubious nature of the backstory from a blog (and even if it is real it has long since been heavily retconned), it will not be used on the profile for any of the indexing. Some aspects of the manga can be used as it's an official piece of material that serves as a secondary canon.

Power of the Verse

The series overall holds superhuman characters with supernatural powers. The abilities include things such as Electricity Manipulation, Time Manipulation, Time Travel, Size Manipulation, Fall Rebound, etcetera.

Knowledgeable Members

• GiverOfThePeace

Characters

Umihara Kawase