Yasuo/Trivia

General

• Yasuo is voiced by Liam O'Brien, who also voiced Illidan Stormrage in World of Warcraft, Gollum in Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, and War in Darksiders 1.
• The flute Yasuo plays in his dance emote is most likely a Shakuhachi (harmonica for High Noon, wind controller for PROJECT).
• The type of Japanese blade Yasuo uses length-wise is akin to a tachi or nodachi.
• Yasuo comes from the eponymous Japanese masculine given name and is respectively rendered 康夫 and 亚索 in Japanese and Chinese localizations.
  • 'Yasuo' is not his birth name (was given to him when he joined the sword school in an effort to steady his wild nature).
• Way of the Wanderer's doubled critical strike chance references Samurai gameplay portrayals in video games.
• Yasuo's design is a possible reference to Haoumaru of Samurai Shodown, whom in turn is based on famous samurai Miyamoto Musashi via the iconic ponytail used in his portrayals.
  • Another note of his is how his Steel Tempest in the Chinese servers is written/dubbed as 斬鋼閃 (Zhǎngāngshǎn, lit. Slashing Steel Flash), which when read in Japanese with the same characters (Zankousen) is the exact same name as one of Haoumaru's attacks.
  • Yasuo's taunt involves him drinking from his bamboo flask, then spitting on his blade to "bless it", a habit that's also shared by Haoumaru in his home series' fighting intros.

Quotes

• Yasuo and Karma each speak a different Ancient Ionian dialect (Yasuo's sounds like broken Japanese and references Kiai)
• "No cure for fools" might be referencing Yojimbo by Akira Kurosawa.
• " Wuju? No, I wouldn't" references "Wuju... pass me that potion?.
  • "Nice... sword... boots?" might be referencing 'Pro as heck guide to Master Yi'.
• "Ninjas... I hate those guys" resembles "Noxians... I hate those guys".
• "A wanderer isn't always lost" resembles "No one who wanders is ever truly lost" and "Not all who wander are lost" (all reference All that is gold does not glitter by J. R. R. Tolkien)

Skins

Original Yasuo

• He references and resembles Miyamoto Musashi and/or Haohmaru from Samurai Shodown.

High Noon Yasuo

• He references a Spaghetti Western.
• He wields a pistol sword.
• He shares this theme with High Noon Jhin and High Noon Twisted Fate.

PROJECT: Yasuo

• He is from an alternate future in which he was cibernetically augmented as part of the PROJECT Initiative.
• describes him as:
  • "Tempest, a blossom caught in drift, fluid form. He speaks. 'Death is like the wind'... he is a storm, blade howling... 'always by my side'... the eternal wanderer."
• If one tells PROJECT: Ashe they fight for 'truth' she'll say the following:
  • "We're on the right path."
• His gear includes:
  • Plasma Forge Drop Blade
  • Leather Gauntlet
  • XX-250 Environmental Barrier Unit
  • MC-2 Firing Piston
  • Unknown
• He used to be called 'Cyber Ops Yasuo'.
• He references Gray Fox and/Samuel Rodrigues or Raiden (All from Metal Gear). The last was further referenced in Yasuo's recall animation pose that is similar to Raiden's when he battled Vamp's robots in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
• He has one less basic attack animation compared to his other skins, and all three basic attack animations are different from all other skins despite the same animations on all non-recall animations.
• His voice loses the sound effects and his face can be seen when he jokes, taunts, or dances.
• His sword blade turns olive-yellow while Last Breath's bonus armor penetration is active, as opposed to a subtle aura covering his sword.
• He shares this theme with PROJECT: Ashe, PROJECT: Ekko, PROJECT: Fiora, PROJECT: Katarina, PROJECT: Leona, PROJECT: Lucian, , and PROJECT: Zed.

Blood Moon Yasuo

• He was conceived by 'daemonstar'.
• The mask he is wearing references the ones used in Japanese Noh theater.
• He shares this theme with Blood Moon Akali, Blood Moon Diana, Blood Moon Elise, Blood Moon Jhin, Blood Moon Kalista, Blood Moon Kennen, Blood Moon Shen, Blood Moon Thresh, Blood Moon Twisted Fate, and Blood Moon Zilean.

Relations

• Yasuo is an Ionian swordsman accused of treason for allegedly murdering an Elder. He is being hunted down across the island continent the killer employed a wind technique, one that only Yasuo has mastered in the present day.
  • He crossed paths with Taliyah while on the run, teaching the Shuriman stone mage how to control her powers. When they parted ways, she gifted him a long thread from her handspun wool tunic (the same one he uses to tie his hair up)
  • Yasuo suspects Riven of being the Elder's killer ("Wait, that technique... huh", "Huh, three swift strikes... ", "Another wind blade?", "Who taught you that?")