, commonly called , is a fictional character in the Soulcalibur series of video games. Created by Namco's Project Soul division, she first appeared in the original Soulcalibur and its subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise related to the series. She was voiced in Japanese by Yumi Tōma between Soulcalibur and Soulcalibur III, Kanako Tōjō between Soulcalibur Legends and Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny, and Miyuki Sawashiro in Soulcalibur V, and Soulcalibur VI; in English, she was voiced by Renee Hewitt in Soulcalibur II and Lani Minella for the remainder of the series. In the game, she is the illegitimate daughter of undead pirate Cervantes de Leon who was raised by a noble family until her father became obsessed with the cursed sword, Soul Edge, leading to his death and later her mother's. Desiring to destroy the sword, she creates a segmented, animated blade-whip, only to become Soul Edge's pawn and learn that it intends to use her as its next host. After an attack by Cervantes results in the loss of her soul, Ivy uses a temporary artificial one to keep herself alive, and continues after the blade. Ivy is considered one of the most prominent characters in the series as well as one of its mainstays, having appeared in every installment since Soulcalibur. She is often referred to as the series' poster girl. Since her introduction, Ivy has been regarded as an attractive and strong character by critics, and has been noted for her sex appeal. Critical reception varies, with some saying the character's oversexualization is unnecessary, while others have argued that her sexuality is an essential aspect of her character design and has allowed for her to be more recognizable. Conception and creation As a character introduced in Soulcalibur, Ivy's signature weapon, a "snake sword" designed to be unique amongst the other weapons in the game, was selected before other elements of the character. Her design and concept were then built to revolve around it, starting with gender, then physical measurements, and lastly background details. After her appearance and movement were fleshed out by a concept artist, her character was rendered as a 3D model by a design team that worked solely on her, and then animated mostly by Naotake Hirata using motion capture to create her in-game movements, with Yasushi Shibue designing the animations for her throws, and several animations created without the use of motion capture