Kei Yuki

Kei Yuki is a combat commander aboard the Arcadia as well as the second youngest member of Captain Harlock's crew (being only a couple of years senior to Tadashi Daiba). She usually serves as the second mate to Captain Harlock, normally working the radar.

Appearance
Kei features the standard appearance of young female characters by Leiji Matsumoto, a young woman with a willowy body, long eyelashes, sparkling bright brown eyes, and long blonde hair (although Kei's hair is often shorter compared to other character's). She is usually dressed in a primarily pink jump suit with a black collar that features a skull and crossbones, black bloomers, black boots with white tops, and white gloves.

Personality
Kei is a strong, kind and courageous young woman who, from her many years seeing the deteriorating state of Earth and her time with Captain Harlock, has become determined to spend life the way that she wishes to. Disgusted with how Earth's political state has become, especially with how she had lost her parents because of them, she joined Harlock in hopes of finding her freedom.

Kei is noted to have a strong admiration for Harlock after giving her a second chance at life to the point where she even has some slight romantic inclination towards him. While having a rocky start when Tadashi Daiba had first joined, she eventually warms up to him as a crewmate and (depending on the series) borders on being more than friends, or even potential lovers. She maintains a good relationship with the rest of the crewmates, spending most of her time with her best friend Yattaran.

Abilities
Years of experience under Captain Harlock has made Kei a capable fighter and pilot. Her experience in using the radar has allowed Kei to predict how an opponent will attack and from where. As a pilot, Kei is more than capable of piloting a Wolf and even steer the Arcadia. She is also good at playing the shamisen.

History
Due to the loose canon of the Leijiverse, Kei's background is best described as complicated. Almost every series she appears in describes her as an orphan who for various circumstances had lost her parents in an event that was ignored by Earth's government. After which she was put under the care of a guardian until losing him as well. Around an unspecified point, she encountered the Space Pirate Harlock and joined his crew, eventually becoming a trusted crewmate.

Her first appearance was in the 1976 manga Miraizer Ban, as the mentor and guardian of the time-traveler Ban Idai.

Etymology
Kei's surname Yuki roughly translates to 'Existing Record', referencing Kei as living proof that she and her parents’ will survived, and that her parents did not die for nothing as was put up by the lazy politicians of Earth. Yuki itself is a common name for female Japanese characters by Leiji Matsumoto. Her given name translates to 'firefly', which in Japanese symbolism is seen as a symbol of passionate love, the altered forms of souls dying in war, and a guiding light, all of which describe Kei's desires, resolve, and stance as part of the Arcadia's crew.