E. Honda, the return of a sumo legend in Street Fighter 6

Today we are going to look at E. Honda, and his appearance in Street Fighter 6. If you are relatively new to the series, or fighting games in general. Let me give you a short primer. Honda represents sumo wrestling in the fighting tournament. I ranked him #28 on my 30 most important SF characters. You may know that sumo is a highly revered sport in Japan. I did a history on the combat arts, and how they influenced the development of fighting games. Of every form covered grappling was considered the oldest of the forms. The roots of sumo go back centuries. The training regiment of the fighters was rigorous, producing warriors that were massive when compared to the average citizen. Many people mistake sumos to being nothing but fat guys. It’s actually nothing like that. Sumo wrestlers are insanely strong, underneath the fat they have the swollen muscles of bodybuilders. They are also much more flexible, and agile than people realize. Some have the hand-speed of a professional boxer, but without the gloves to protect their opponents from open-hand slaps. Developing a stable of fighters like this was not cheap. For centuries wresters were sponsored by nobility. They also hold a special place in Shinto spiritual belief. Their garb, especially their belts are decorated with Shinto religious symbols, and perform Shinto rituals when starting a tournament.

E. Honda looks like a very powerful wrestler, his muscles are clearly defined, even on his upper abdomen. Like the rest of the SF characters his uniform looks traditional, until you dig a little deeper. His hairstyle is distinct, perhaps not as distinct as Guile’s, but it’s still not one you see every day. The chonmage, or Japanese top knot was worn by samurai, and the upper-class. This tradition started in the Edo-period, which lasted until 1867. In modern times the only two professions that still wear their hair like that are sumo wrestlers, and kabuki actors. The painted face is the second thing that stands out for the character. Sumo wrestlers don’t wear face paint. E. Honda longed to be remembered for his persona was originally created as a sort of joke character. For western audiences imagine a professional boxer showing up wearing Native war paint, it’s a bit over-the-top but helps make a game character memorable. The tradition of a painted face sumo wrester first appeared in Nintendo’s Arm Wrestling game from 1985. It showed up again in 1993 with the character Kishin-Nada in the manga, and game Aah! Harimanada.

Normally sumo wrestlers wear a mawashi, the wrap, and belt when competing. Since E. Honda is fighting outside of the ring he is wearing a kimono, pulled over his mawashi. The detail in his latest update is very subtle as well. He has one arm through the sleeve of his robe. I’m certain that Capcom had always wanted to do this with him, you can see it with character art from the studio. Sprite mirroring prevented them from doing this in game. That was until they moved to 3D. Once in 3D Capcom, Topjoy, and other studios could do all sorts of things with the model, including many memorable  sumo outfits. Like many of the returning characters E. Honda’s changes to SF6 are subtle, but well done. I look forward to seeing an official character reveal, and how his move set has evolved. What do you think about the character? Do you ever use Honda in competition, or not at all? What do you think of his updated look? As always let me know in the comments section. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!