Irene Rapona

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For other usages of the name "Irene", see the disambiguation page
I'm quite cruel, you know. (わたし残酷ですわよ)
—Irene Rapona's catchphrase, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 1: Lauper's Palace

Irene Rapona (アイリン・ラポーナ, Airin Rapōna) is the main protagonist of Gorgeous Irene. She is a teenage girl with a pure personality. Despite her innocent nature, she is secretly a skilled assassin nicknamed Gorgeous Irene (ゴージャス アイリン, Gōjasu Airin), with various techniques using makeup.

Appearance

Irene is a fair, young White girl.[2] She normally has light, shoulder-length hair, but styles her hair differently, sometimes having pig-tails or a braided ponytail. With her battle makeup, she can disguise herself to drastically change her appearance, including her skin color, hair, and proportions of her body. While she is in New York, she makes her skin darker to disguise herself as a Puerto Rican; Michael thinks that she looks Puerto Rican like him and a dealer at a bar could not tell that she was wearing a disguise even after touching her face. According to Michael, she also has refined facial features, making her look as if she comes from a high-class family.[2]

When battling as an assassin, Irene reveals her true colors and her hair grows darker. While battling Lauper, she wears a frilly dress. Against the tattooed assassin, she has a tank top and short skirt.

Color Scheme

The series is known for alternating colors between media, the information presented below may or may not be canon.
Colored Manga
Skin(Pale)
Hair(Light Orange)
Eyes(Blue)
Upper Outfit
(Yellow blouse with pink polka-dots and magenta drawstrings, magenta armband, blue sash.)
Lower Outfit
(Olive skirt with red stripes, yellow pantyhose with white and green swirls.)
Gloves(Light orange with white polka-dots)
Shoes
(Black with green laces, orange and burnt orange socks with magenta heels and toes.)

Personality

Irene can either be a sweet girl or a bold assassin

Irene is depicted as pure-hearted but extremely gullible. She trusts almost anyone, including strangers with malicious intentions. For example, she unhesitatingly eats a flower when told it's edible[1] and, upon meeting the thug Michael, decides to hug him despite his threatening attitude—despite her ability to easily subdue him.[2]

When Irene finds herself in Harlem, her trusting nature borders on naivety. She accepts a bag of drugs from a dealer and eagerly agrees to his offer to make her a "movie star," completely unaware of the implications.[2] She deeply cares for those she considers her friends and even listens to their assassination requests.[1] However, Irene reveals that her gullible nature is a facade, as her makeup is what allows her to truly believe in everything from the bottom of her heart.[2] In reality, she is a cunning and ruthless assassin, eliminating henchmen without hesitation and frequently turning her targets' weapons against them. For instance, she forces Lauper to kill herself with her own chainsaw[1] and uses an assassin's killer ants against her.[2]

Normally, Irene is sensitive and emotional. She's upset enough to cry when her face is splashed with dirt.[1] She also feels grief from losing those close to her, relying on her makeup to conceal her emotions.[2] When she applies her battle makeup, her demeanor shifts dramatically. Her bloodlust awakens, making her bold, playful, and assertive. She confidently confronts physically imposing foes without fear and teases her opponents openly, often stating how cruel she is. She performs clever tricks to outsmart her opponent and explains her actions as she does so. She displays a lascivious side while in this state, habitually stripping to flaunt her body and engaging in provocative behavior—such as kissing Lauper's reflection[1] or openly kissing her friend Michael.[2] In a more unsettling moment, she licks blood from the tailor's son after collecting it with her finger.[1]

Like her father, Irene values loyalty deeply. She is heartbroken when the tailor's son breaks their trust and friendship promise by revealing her secrets to Lauper. Her secret identity weighs on her, as she feels lonely and sorrowful about the lies she must tell.[1]

After being asked by Michael what she'd like to drink, Irene requests champagne, indicating her preference for the beverage.[2]

Abilities

Irene inherits the deadly assassination abilities of her father, a man born in the underworld who became a killer.

Special Makeup

When Irene puts on makeup, her spirit can change her entire body to match her disguise. She uses it to disguise herself either as an old lady or a young girl.

Battle Makeup(戦いのメイク Tatakai no Meiku) Link to this section
Irene Battle Makeup.jpg

Wearing Battle Makeup promotes her killer instinct. She is capable of stopping a chainsaw that weighs 80 kg and has a 400cc engine with only her bare hands.[1] Her makeup is also capable of removing hazardous materials or objects that have entered her body by changing the muscles in her face. According to Irene, makeup in ancient times warded off diseases and the effects of poisonous insects.[2]

Execution Makeup(死苦へのメイクアップ Shiku e no Meikuappu, lit. Makeup for a Cruel Death) Link to this section
Irene Execution Makeup.jpg

Irene gives the opponent a kiss on the cheek and then shows them a mirror. She uses her lipstick to draw a line on the mirror and the opponent will copy what the mirror image looks like. When fighting Lauper, Irene draws a vertical line on Lauper's mirror image. Lauper copies what the mirror version of herself looks like and cuts herself in half with her chainsaw.

Killer Makeup(殺しのメイクアップ Koroshi no Meikuappu) Link to this section
IreneLipstick.png

Similar in mechanics to Battle Makeup, Irene changes her muscles to expel fire ants from her face. She also mentions that it hides the sadness in her heart.


Techniques

Danse Macabre(死の舞踏(ダンスマカブル) Dansu Makaburu, lit. Dance of Death) Link to this section
Irene Dancing.png

Irene strips off her dress and performs a seductive dance. She is extremely flexible and can easily dodge attacks in this state as well as learn the opponent's movements. If the opponent either smells Irene's perfume or gets her makeup on them, she can make the opponent her slave by controlling their heart, body, mind, and soul. An enemy with a "hard" soul will also have a hard body, no longer being able to move. With this, Irene can stop their movements and they will listen to what she tells them to do.

Fake Nails(つけ爪 Tsuke Tsume) Link to this section
GorgeousSpin.jpg

Irene can fire sharp fake nails out of each finger. As projectiles, they are as strong as knives and can easily scar or kill someone.


Marksmanship

Irene is quite skilled in handling throwing weapons and firearms. When she throws her fake nails at a group of henchmen, she is able to hit them in the vitals (e.g. the neck or in the forehead). Likewise when she participates in a robbery, Irene is able to aim and shoot a man's baton and destroy it midswing.

Intelligence

Bullet trick

Irene is intelligent and cunning in terms of battling. She is analytical and prepares ahead of time, such as when she disguises as an old lady to work for Lauper's gang and then replaces all their bullets with blanks. She keeps the real bullets hidden in a glove to make it look like she caught their bullets later on when they fire at her.

She prepares for assassins who are targeting her by planting mines in the floors of Michael's home. By doing so, she would also be protected from any sneak attacks while she was sleeping.

History

Background

Irene is the daughter of a man from the underworld who had no wife. She lost both of her parents at a young age, but inherited her father's deadly assassination abilities and secretly becomes an assassin as a side business while still going to school.[2]

Lauper's Palace

Friendship promise

Irene lives in a 17th century Rococo style house in a place known as Swingtown. She plays with a spider outside at school when a group of boys begin talking behind her back, making bets about how gullible she could be. One of the boys gives her some flowers and tells her they're edible and taste good so she should try them. As she is about to eat one, the boys are shocked she would actually do it and trip over each other. They land in a puddle and one boy's elbow splashes mud onto Irene's face. Irene begins to cry just before her butler appears and chases the boys away. Her butler then introduces her to a young man he brought with him, who has an assassination request.

Old lady disguise

The man's father was a friend of Irene's father, and was killed by a gang leader named Lauper. The man pleads for Irene to avenge his father. Irene responds asking if he wants to make a friendship promise with her and the man agrees, kissing her palm.

Irene after transforming into "Gorgeous Irene"

Irene infiltrates Lauper's gang while disguised as an old woman with her special makeup. The gang had hired her to do work like cleaning and reloading their weapons. Ten days later, the man is caught by Lauper and tortured after she learns he hired an assassin. The man tells Lauper about Irene, forcing Irene to take off her disguise and reveal herself. She transforms with her battle makeup into "Gorgeous Irene". Lauper's guards shoot their guns at her but they were actually replaced with blanks when Irene was working for them. Irene put their real bullets in her glove to make it look like she caught the bullets instead. She fires fake nails out of her fingers and kills all of the guards, while also scarring Lauper's face.

Angered, Lauper attempts to attack Irene with a giant chainsaw, but Irene dodges the blade and takes control of Lauper's body and mind through the smell of her makeup and the subliminal signals in her movement—the Danse Macabre. She then manipulates Lauper into cutting herself in half with her chainsaw by using her Execution Makeup. Irene expresses sorrow that the young man broke their friendship promise by speaking about her to Lauper. She lets him live because she had promised to and then leaves.

The Girl in the Slums

Irene's squirrel informs her the news

Irene walks alone in the slums of Harlem in New York City. A young man named Michael sees her and is shocked as to what a young girl is doing there on her own. Just then, a squirrel finds Irene, informing her that her butler was killed and assassins are after her. Michael suddenly grabs Irene's purse and knocks her down, demanding her money. He realizes she only has makeup in there and nothing else. Angered at Irene lacking fear, Michael takes out a knife. Irene simply grabs the knife with two fingers and then hugs Michael. Some thugs appear asking Michael to share Irene with them but Michael beats them up.

They go to a bar and meet a man who offers to make Irene rich as a film star. Irene agrees but Michael elbows the man in the face, warning Irene not to trust everyone she meets. They leave and reach the subway, where a man sells Irene an old racing stub. At first Michael refuses to take care of Irene anymore but when he hears that she has no home and her father and butler are both dead, Michael takes her to his house.

Robbing a bar

The next day, Michael and Irene rob a store for money. The assassin who killed Irene's butler meets with the man who offered to make Irene a star. She shows him a picture and the man says he saw her recently, although she looked different like she was wearing a disguise. Suddenly, the female assassin arrives at Michael's house and breaks through their window. With her supernatural ability to manifest living things from the tattoo on her back, the woman stabs Irene with an extra arm. However, Irene had planted mines in the floors of Michael's home since she expected assassins to target her. One of the mines explode, causing the woman to lose a foot. The assassin then summons vicious fire ants from her tattoo, which latch onto Irene's face. She states that the species would eat through Irene's skin and burrow into her brain. The assassin herself is unharmed by her ants because she wears a special repellent.

Drawing on the enemy's face

Irene transforms using her Killer Makeup and reveals her killer instinct. The makeup uses the muscles in Irene's face to force the insects out of her skin. Irene then dances and draws on her opponent's lips using her Execution Lipstick, preventing the woman from being able to close her mouth. Since the woman doesn't have repellent in her mouth, the fire ants begin crawling into her mouth and eat her from within. Irene apologizes to Michael for lying to him and gives him a kiss before leaving.

Michael later discovers the old racing stub that Irene bought was actually a big winner and moves to Los Angeles to start his music career. He eventually releases a debut single which refers to Irene as a mysterious girl, selling over 600,000 copies. Irene had vanished and no one had ever seen her again. On the seventh day of the month, a mafia boss named Tony Bormont had strangely committed suicide in his Chicago estate by stabbing himself in the throat. In the past, he had given the order to have many of his rival gangs across the U.S. assassinated. It is inferred that Irene killed him, as revenge for ordering her father's death in the past.

Quotes

Quote.png Quotes
Show AllEnglishJapaneseRomaji
  • I just feel sad all of a sudden.
    —Irene Rapona, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 1: Lauper's Palace
  • All right, then. But only if you promise to be my friend in return, okay?
    —Irene Rapona, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 1: Lauper's Palace
  • Battle Makeup! Skin cleansing routine!
    —Irene Rapona, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 1: Lauper's Palace
  • Looks like there's more to you than just your size. My attacks were pretty quick back there, but it seems you saw right through them!
    —Irene Rapona to Lauper, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 1: Lauper's Palace
  • I've placed a spell on you... I turned your heart to stone, which in turn, caused your body to turn to stone as well.
    —Irene Rapona, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 1: Lauper's Palace
  • That's the Danse Macabre, a deathly dance that controls the opponent's psyche! Your very soul is now under my command!
    —Irene Rapona, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 1: Lauper's Palace
  • I'm quite cruel, you know. (わたし残酷ですわよ)
    —Irene Rapona's catchphrase, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 1: Lauper's Palace
  • By my wicked hand, justice shall be served!
    —Irene Rapona, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 1: Lauper's Palace
  • Why did you have to go and tell her about me? You shouldn't have done that... I came because you said we were everlasting friends. Yet, it seems you've forgotten that promise...
    —Irene Rapona, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 1: Lauper's Palace
  • I'll let you off the hook this time, but only for the sake of your father. Next time... you won't be as lucky!
    —Irene Rapona, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 1: Lauper's Palace
  • ...I don't have a home. My father... The butler who looked after me... They're all dead.
    —Irene Rapona, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 2: The Girl in the Slums
  • No, you lost a long time ago... Before you even stepped foot in this room...
    —Irene Rapona, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 2: The Girl in the Slums
  • Killer Makeup!! Let me show you my true colors...
    —Irene Rapona, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 2: The Girl in the Slums
  • Makeup allows me to conceal my true self... to cover up the grief of losing those dearest to me and to mask the assassin's blood that courses through my veins. It's also the only way I can make myself believe everything!
    —Irene Rapona, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 2: The Girl in the Slums
  • I never meant to deceive you, but I can't survive without putting on an act from the bottom of my heart.
    —Irene Rapona to Michael, Gorgeous Irene Chapter 2: The Girl in the Slums

Creation and Development

Hirohiko Araki named the protagonist "Irene" because he thought it sounded cute and started to draw her to see if he could actually draw girls. In the end, he admits that he thinks he couldn't draw girls.[3]

Despite the popularity of the Gorgeous Irene manga, Araki decided not to have it serialized as a weekly manga. In that time period, he felt something was off and thought a female protagonist wouldn't go well in his works. Years later, he revisits the idea with Jolyne Cujoh as the first female protagonist of JoJo.[4]

Video Games

EoHOperaPoster.png
NewYorkPPP.png

Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)

"Gorgeous Irene" is imprinted on an opera poster in the Naples Station stage of Eyes of Heaven. Other series by Hirohiko Araki are also listed, but Gorgeous Irene is written in large, bold text unlike the others.

JoJo's Pitter-Patter Pop! (Android/iOS)

The New York furniture has a cafe in the background belonging to Irene.

Gallery

MangaGamesMerchandiseOther
StoryCovers

Trivia

  • The name "Irene" would later be used again for the name of a Stone Ocean character. In an interview, Araki states that there isn't any deep meaning or relationship between the two Irenes, and he was merely having fun.[5]
  • In the spin-off manga Cool Shock Old B.T., it is hinted that Irene is B.T.'s wife; the furniture that B.T.'s wife sends him from London matches what Irene had in her childhood home, including Damascus rugs and Rococo-style drawers.[6]

References

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