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Lukio is the daughter of Leo (Kimba) and Laiya (Kitty), and is seen in 1966 show "Onward Leo!" (Leo the Lion) and the 1997 movie Jungle Emperor Leo.  She is also in the second half of Tezuka's manga.  

Appearance[]

Lukio has always been seen with her deep brown eyes, but has varying appearances througout the adaptions.  In "Leo the Lion" she looks nearly identical to how her mother, Laiya, looked as a cub, with brown head bangs, yet with a more brighter shade of yellow fur. In the movie, she has a lighter shade of brown, almost light tan fur, with a curly tuft of hair on her head. In the manga, she is white and looks nearly identical to her brother and father.

Personality[]

While Lukio is not as major of a character as her brother, Lune, is, she’s still a big plot point for both adaptions. In Leo the Lion, she’s seen being more brave and tomboyish, yet easily her parent's favorite, who will constantly take her side when she fights her brother. In the movie, she is more cautious and nervous, and has a very strong sense of right and wrong.

In Jungle Emperor (manga)[]

Rukio manga

In the manga, Rukio has black tips on her ears. This is the only original appearance of hers with white fur and black-tipped ears. In every other release, her brother, Rune, has black-tipped ears and her appearance completely changes. She has a minor role in the manga. Coco was the one who came up with Rukio's and her brother, Rune's names. Rukio has a minor role in the manga compared to her brother. She gets infected with the deadly spots disease but is cured by Higeoyagi by giving her medicine. At the very end of the manga, it's revealed that Rukio found a mate, but she lives in turmoil because of an African village's chief named Tonga, is after her fur. He leads hunts for her, night after night.

In Leo the Lion - Onward, Leo![]

Rune and Rukkio

Lukio and her brother in the original series

With the advantage of a 26-episode series, Lukio has more of a chance to become more developed than her manga and movie counterpart, and typically has lines in every episode. She and Lune are born in episode 4, "Leo becomes a Father", and declines to eat her dinner, and the first to impress her father when they first go out of the cave, being more brave than her brother was. With Leo shows up home with Lune after he ran off, she greets him happily though and bathes him like her mother would. In "The Mighty Gorilla" Lukio is able to befriend a group of gorilla's who depend on an enormous gorilla for protection, and strives to do the right thing. In "Rick the Lycon" Lukio finds the unconscious Lycon, Rick, who would have been a long time enemy of Leo and been exiled from his pack, in the desert and carries him back to the jungle, where she and Lune guard him. She ends up bringing him flowers, and she and her brother are devastated after the lycon sacrifices himself to protect them from a flood. Lukio and her brother also build a house for their family with the assistance of others, and in "The Silver Wolf" she’s captured by a pack of Russian wolves and has to be saved by her brother. When the plague comes to the jungle, she’s the first to seek Dr. Mustache to help them from it.

In "Jungle Emperor Leo" (1997)[]

Lune and Lukio5

Lukio checking on Lune

In the 1997 big-budget movie based off the second half of Tezuka's manga, Lukio is seen as a more cautious, careful cub, not as tomboyish as she was seen in Leo the Lion.  When her brother attempts to use leaf-wings to fly off a cliff, she tries to convince him it's too dangerous with Tommy the gazelle, and asks him if he is okay after he falls into a bush. She is against Lune going into the fallen plane, and tries to tell him to not touch the music box he found.  Later, when her mother asks her where Lune is, she immediately knows where he is, listening to the music box on the plane, seeming more cheerful of the box and more accepting of his ideas. She is the first to notice Lune missing after the storm, and cannot understand what happened to her brother after not finding him in the plane. She is emotionally distraught after Lyra's death, as is her father, though he will not show it to his daughter- most likely to avoid upsetting her more. After her death, Lyra has been buried on a hill, and while Leo was speaking to his dead wife, she has appeared to recovered, collecting her mother's favorite flowers and speaking to her mother in a very cheerful way. When she falls over from the effects of the Plague, Leo is deeply angered, and cannot understand why it was happening. However, when Doctor Mustache offers to help, bringing medicine to cure the epidemic, Leo, understanding him, decides to bring Lukio to the man. Lukio awakens the next morning to be nearly fully recovered, none of the infamous spots on her body, and she is shown to quite long Mustache, licking his face and purring.  After

Leo Walking

Lukio as her father leaves

Leo decides to help guide Mustache and Dr. Lemonade up the mountain, he tells Lukio she will need to remember how much he and Lyra love her, and she nuzzles him, asking how she can help, and Leo tells her when Lune comes back, she must help him be King.  Lukio seems quite certain he will come back, acting bright and cheerful despite the circumstances. This is the last we see of her, in the manga however, Dr. Mustache writes to Roger (Kenichii) and says that Lune's three cubs have been born, along with the fact Lukio's fur is desired by the villagers, and every full moon they hunt for her beautiful coat.

Trivia[]

  • Lukio’s appearance changes in every iteration of the series (manga/anime) that she appears in.
  • Her name was created by reversing syllables of the Japanese word, "Okiru" (起きる), which means "wake up".

Gallery[]

Lukio/Gallery

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