| |
| Yuri Volte Hyuga | |
| Game | Shadow Hearts and Covenant |
| Kana | ウルムナフ・ボルテ・ヒューガ |
| Romaji | Urumunafu "Uru" Borute Hyūga |
Voice actor(s) 
|
Hiroki Takahashi(SH1)/(SH:C) |
Voice actor(s) 
|
Eric Stuart (SH1)/Joey Capps (SH:C) |
| Age | 24 (SH) 25 (SH:C) |
| Eye color | Red |
| Hair color | Brown |
| Home | Katsuragi,Japan |
| Weapon(s) | Gloves, Fists |
| Special Arts | Fusion |
| Element | Dark 
|
Yuri is the main character of Shadow Hearts and Shadow Hearts: Covenant. He was first introduced to the player as the "Rude Hero".
He is a Harmonixer, one who possesses the ability to fuse with the souls of monsters he has defeated. The first game finds him following the directions of a strange voice, which leads him to the train escorting Alice Elliot, whom he has been instructed to protect.
The second game yields a distraught Yuri after the death of Alice. He has taken up residence in Domremy, where some of his lover's family live. With World War I upon Europe, he has taken it upon himself to protect the town from the German military wanting to take it as a pawn. His adventure begins after an agent from the Vatican curses him using the Holy Mistletoe.
Info
First Entry:
"Called "Godslayer" by the secret society, this anti-hero has the power of soul fusion. Defeated in Domremy and cursed by the Mistletoe, he has sworn revenge."
Second Entry:
"Rededicated to fighting for his beliefs and no longer affected by the curse of the Holy Mistletoe, Yuri stands triumphant with all his old enemies defeated."
Bio
Shadow Hearts
Pre-Game
Born in 1889 to Japanese soldier Ben Hyuga and Anne, a mysterious Russian woman. Yuri was raised in Katsuragi, Japan until he was three years old, whereupon his family moved to China. When Yuri was ten, his father was ordered to go to Shanghai to fight the warlock Dehuai. Yuri promised his father that he'd protect his mother till he came back.
Not long after he'd left, monsters sent by Dehuai attacked the homestead intent on killing all inside.
Anne protects Yuri
Tragically, Anne was killed by the monsters while attempting to shield Yuri from them. Enraged and distraught at the brutal murder of his mother before his eyes, his Harmonixer powers awoke and transformed him into a beast.
When he regained consciousness, he found himself naked and covered in blood, surrounded by the bodies of the monsters he'd slain. He clung to his mother's corpse for a full night, sobbing and apologizing for breaking his promise. Horrified by what had happended as well as what he'd done, he eventually fled.
Some unspecified time after that, he began to start hearing a mysterious voice which ordered him to go to various places and to kill monsters. Unable to ignore the voice and wishing to learn what happened to his father, he went as the voice directed him.
While in central Asia, it eventually led him to a certain train, which would change his life forever...
Meeting Alice and fucking her deeply
After saving the demure Alice Elliot from the clutches of the sinister "Roger Bacon", her spiritual powers inadvertantly enhanced his ability to fuse with other creatures besides those of his elemental alignment. However, it also brought into being the embodiment of Yuri's greatest fear, the enigmatic Fox Face.
After fighting Fox Face, he awoke in the Graveyard only to be confronted by The Four Masks, who explained to him the nature of the Graveyard and malice. He awoke with a new fusion, and the continuous burden of the malice meter.
He and Alice made their way across the plains, eventually coming to a small village, which had a somewhat sinister aura. Trapped in the village, they eventually met the Quack Oracle, who helped them to exorcise the demons from the place, allowing them to leave.
Across Asia
After Yuri and Alice had parted ways from the Quack Oracle, they headed to the city of Fengtian, where, following an escapade with the renowned superspy, Margarete Gertrude Zelle, the three "borrowed" an airplane to elude the Japanese Army, who were determined to recapture Alice.
After crash-landing in the port town of Dalian, they met up once again with Li Zhuzhen, and helped the town put an end to it's terrible curse. Stranded in Dalian, they were offered a trip to Shanghai by a very suspicious smuggler and her first mate, aboard her boat. Realizing that they had no alternative, they agreed, and set sail for Shanghai.
Drifting at sea and lost in an endless fog, the party took a brief moment to relax, with the exception of Yuri, who was ill because of his severe sea-sickness. Yuri wandered the deck in a befuddled daze, until the boat was attacked by monsters sent by the Warlock, Dehuai, in his bid to capture Alice for his own nerfarious schemes.
Managing to defeat the monsters, the fog vanished, and the party was once again on their way to Shanghai.
Here, it didn't take long for the agents of Dehuai to catch up with them. During their stay at the local hotel, Zhuzhen revealed to Yuri that he was forced to kill his father after Ben went berserk in his battle with Dehuai fifteen years ago.
Yuri and Co face Dehuai
Altough angry at first, he forgave Zhuzhen when it became apparent that Dehuai was planning to break the final seal that was halting his plan. Followed by Lt. Col Kawashima and her aide, Kato, Yuri and the others completed the trials and managed to make their way to Master Xifa, Zhuzhen's teacher and keeper of the seal. Dehuai, however possessed Xifa's familiar and managed to capture Alice, and break the final seal.
The temple crumbling around them, Master Xifa used the last of his power to teleport Yuri and the others to safety, where they were accosted by more of Dehuai's henchmen.
Desperate to get Alice back, and with the threat of Dehuai's plan looming, Yuri and the party decided to storm Dehuai's fortress. With the aid of the Japanese military they managed to infiltrate the building and fight their way to the Warlock, who waited at the top of his fortress. Releasing Alice, the party did battle with the Warlock and managed to stop the ritual.
"Roger Bacon" appeared and revealed that he had other plans. Using some of his own power, he completed the ritual and summoned the Seraphic Radiance. Yuri ran towards the monster and attempted to fuse with it, to try to stop it. Unfortunatly, the beast was too strong, and Yuri vanished completely, leaving the Seraphic Radience to destroy Shanghai in a blaze of fire.
Six Months Later
Surviving the fusion attempt physically, but not mentally, Yuri managed to make his way to the Blue Castle possibly still fused with the Seraphic Radiance, in Translyvania where he hid in the tallest section of the tower. Now completely mindless and feral, he was a danger to everyone and everything that came near.
Yuri and Alice - together again
Alice Elliot and Zhuzhen, meanwhile, had been searching for him in the intervening months and, with the help of the castle's resident Vampire, came across him in the tower. Unable to recognise them, Yuri attacked them. Instead of defeating him or subduing him, both he and Alice simply black out.
Awakening in the graveyard, Alice finally meets The Four Masks within Yuri's soul, and, learning of his struggle, strikes a deal so that shewould take on the burden of his soul, and the malice in his heart. She soon finds Yuri digging his own grave and being taunted by Fox Face, mocking his failures and weakness Alice argues to Fox Face, that Yuri hasn't given up and that he isn't weak, only to be struck by him. This act snaps Yuri out of his reverie.
Brought back to his senses, Yuri finally defeated Fox Face, whose mask falls to reveal... Yuri's own face. It seems that Yuri was never plagued by this apparition, but merely used it to personify his fears. One particularly large fear being fusion, having believed the monsters would consume him. As it turns out, the opposite is the case, and he is able to accept his abilities and use them without fear.
His mind now restored, Yuri and the others set off together again to deal with the still lingering threat of Roger Bacon.
Across Europe
Following a lead from Margarete, Yuri and co. head off to Rouen, where they encounter the extremely paranoid Father Doyle, a friend and former associate of Alice's father; where he mentions the name "Cardinal Albert Simon" and that the man lives in London. Unfortunately, he is killed by Arcane Olga before he can reveal any more information. Yuri and the others head to London to track down this "Albert Simon".
Arriving in London, they were assisted by a group of young street thieves, and their head-strong leader, Halley, who take them to Albert Simon's mansion, which had now been converted into a suspicious Orphanage, run by a man named Jack.
The Mysterious Koudelka
The group is unable to gain entrance, and return to London. Upon arrival, however, the group learns that the orphans have been taken to the Orphanage, and have to go right back, where they are able to get in. After stopping Jack's attempt at resurrecting his dead mother, the voice in Yuri's head, which had been quiet for so long, spoke again and asked for aid. Halley, recognising the voice as his mother's, takes Yuri to Calios Mental Hospital, where, after another encounter with Arcane Olga, they manage to free Halley's mother, Koudelka Iasant.
Bacon once again appeared, and kidnapped Koudelka, though not before she told Yuri that the man called "Roger Bacon" was really Cardinal Albert Simon, and that he was to head to Nemeton Monastery in Wales.
Travelling to the ruined abbey, they encountered a strange-looking and wizened old man who claimed that he was the great magician, Roger Bacon, and that Albert Simon was one of his disciples, who had long ago turned to dark arts. Allowing Yuri access underneath the abbey, he found and fought Albert, who revealed to them his plan to summon a "God from beyond the stars", so that he may cleanse the world of all its hatred and wickedness, and create a new paradise; a "new Eden".
Confronting Albert
Using the energy from their fight, Albert raised the Neameto Float which would act as a beacon to the god and guide it to Earth. Powerless to stop him, Yuri and the others watched helplessly as the Float tore through the earth and ascended into space.
Fortunately for him, the real Roger Bacon had devised a teleportation device, which would take them all to the Float so they could stop Albert and try to prevent "God" from destroying the world.
Alice, bearing the full burden of the Four Mask's curse, began to weaken drastically upon entering the Float, as her soul was being devoured by Atman, the leader of the Four Masks. Though Yuri noticed, Alice didn't tell him, and confided in Margarete that she was slowly dying, begging her to not tell the others. Despite this, the party made their way through the "Mad God's Castle" until they came across Albert who awaited them in the "Generator room".
God descends
After a rather aimiable exchange between the two, Yuri and the others fought and finally defeated Albert. As he lay dying, Albert, confident that Yuri and the others might indeed be able to change their fates and save the world, used the last of his energy to send them into space, to do battle with "God" itself.
Hovering many, many miles above the Earth, with even the gigantic Float a mere blip in the distance, the Meta God arrived, having travelled over fifty thousand light years from a distant nebula. Using all their strength, Yuri and his friends managed to defeat the creature and save the world from complete destruction. As it died the Float began to crumble and sink back into the sea, though not before Yuri and the others were teleported back to Earth.
Post-Game
The Train Ride
Returning to Earth triumphant, Yuri and Roger hid the Three Ancient Tomes inside the Neam Ruins, which had been unearthed by the rise of the Neam Float, so that people would not be able to find them and abuse their power.
Having saved the planet, Alice and Yuri boarded a train to Zurich to visit Alice's mother and to start living the rest of their lives with one another. Tragically though, on the way to Zurich, the curse of the Four Masks became too much for Alice to bear and she died, resting against Yuri.
With tears in his eyes, Yuri cradled her in his arms until the train arrived at Zurich. Once there, he met up with Alice's uncle Gepetto, and then he dug her grave with his own hands and buried her in his overcoat. As a final gift, he left Anne's Cross, a memento from his mother, on her gravestone.
As if to match his turmoil and grief, World War One began...
Travelling to the sleepy village of Domremy with his new companion, he protected it from invading forces taking on the form of Amon, a soul that he had acquired in his battles with Albert.
And thus he began his new life, alone...
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
The Demon of Domremy
Continuing from the first Shadow Hearts, Yuri settled in the town of Domremy using his Fusion powers to scare away the invading German soldiers and protect the villagers from the ever-advancing German army.
A squad lead by lieutenant Karin Koenig, attempting to capture the village, encounter Yuri (in the guise of Amon) in the Church where a firefight breaks out. During the confusion, he manages to save her from an errant grenade, leaving her the only survivor of her squad.
Karin, intrigued by her experience with the "Demon of Domremy", returns to the village with Cardinal Nicolas Conrad - an emissary from the Vatican, having first procured the Holy Mistletoe, a holy artifact with the purpose of "combating evil".
After engaging in a fight with Nicolai, Yuri is stabbed with the mistletoe, which curses him and seals away his fusion powers before making him pass out.
Yuri stabbed with the Holy Mistletoe
Awaking in the Graveyard, he discovers a large "tree" with his form imbedded in the trunk, has mysteriously taken root. The shade of Jeanne- a village girl who was killed by Nicolai's henchmen, also appears, and promises that she'll attempt to find a way to halt the curse of the mistletoe. He now travels with the party, hoping to regain his abilities and fight off the new evils infecting the world.
All Across Europe
Seeking the help of Roger Bacon, he travels to Wales, and encouters both Joachim Valentine - the older brother of Keith - and Kawashima's former aide, Kato, who has since been promoted to being a ambassador, and is in England for diplomatic reasons.
However, arriving at Wales, he finds out that Roger has been kidnapped and is being held hostage by an organization called "Sapientes Gladio", in their Italian HQ.
Three Months Later
All Across Asia
The Emigre Manuscript
Faith or Fate
Yuri's Fate
At the end of the game the player is allowed to choose what Yuri values most; his love for Alice, or his desire to exist.
Depending on which is chosen, Yuri either allows himself to die in the Tamanhaka which preserves his memories and also has the unexpected consequence of sending him back to the time he remembers most fondly; his first adventure with Alice. It is revealed that he can recall what happened in Shadow Hearts: Covenant, and avert Alice's death (which leads to the good ending in the original Shadow Hearts).
Developers unveiled in an interview within the Japanese Shadow Hearts: Covenant guidebook that this is the 'canon' conclusion to the game.
In the other ending, Yuri decides that he wishes to live without his memories and becomes a blank slate. He time travels to Nemeton Monastery, where his last adventure ended. There he is found by Roger, who looks after him.
Personality
When first seen in Shadow Hearts, he seems rather stand-offish, facetious, cold and perverted. However, despite his gruff demeanor, he proves to be very loyal to those that do put up with him. Eventually during the course of the adventure and finally dealing with the problems that being a Harmonixer has brought on him instead of running away, Yuri falls in love with Alice. In the original Shadow Hearts, Yuri wears a long brown trenchcoat with a red shirt and brown leather pants. He wears a waist satchel tied around his waist with a series of intricately tied buckles.
In Shadow Hearts: Covenant, his personality changes a bit, probably because of his beloved Alice's death at the conclusion of the first game. Yuri retains his wittiness, but his willingness to show it isn't as persistent.
Fighting Style
Yuri fights with his hands, utilizing various gauntlets made from a variety of metals. He has martial arts training probably taught to him by his father Ben Hyuga, as both of their stances and attacks are the same. Although he is unable to use magic normally, his fusion forms allow him to use elemental magic based on what he fuses with.
In Shadow Hearts: Covenant, Yuri is one of the characters able to have up to five Hit Areas, alongside with Joachim and Kurando. He is capable of becoming the second strongest damage dealer in the whole game, after Joachim.
Yuri also has the highest Sanity Points in the party in both games, so as to allow him to stay in a fusion form for a reasonable amount of time.
Fusion
Main Article - List of Yuri's Fusions.
| Harmonixer Fusion | |||
| Name and Level | MP Cost | Description | Image |
| Fusion
* |
- 15 | Allows Yuri to become one of many fusion beasts. | 
|
Appearances outside of Shadow Hearts
Outside of the Shadow Hearts continuity, Yuri (called by his Japanese name Uru) has also appeared in Chaos Wars, alongside his fellow shadow hearts characters, Alice, Karen, Anastasia, Joachim, Kurando, Gepetto (with Cornelia) and Nicolai, who serves as the antagonist. His special is his ability to fuse into the Dark Seraphim and use his "For the Child..." attack.
Yuri has two voice actors in this game, one English, one Japanese.
Quotes
Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!! (Beginning when fusing)
"Bite Me!"(Throughout SH:C)
"That was a pretty good warm-up." (Victory: SH:C)
"Where's my apology?" (Victory: SH:C)
"That wasn't even a work out." (Victory: SH:C)
"If that's all they've got, no problem." (Victory: SH:C)
"Stay out of my way." (Victory: SH:C)
"I wish you'd shove it. You know where." (In SH:C)
Gallery
(Click to enlarge the images)
Trivia
- Despite being so gruff and rude, Yuri has shown that he is not only afraid of ghosts in the second game, but proves to be easily susceptible to sea-sickness in the first after leaving Dalian.
- Out of all the characters in the series with Fusion abilities it is notable that Yuri has the most forms.
