A Street Fighter 6 detail that was bugging me until now...

Believe it or not I finally have closure on a Street Fighter 6 detail that's been bugging me for years. It goes back to 2022 when I did a writeup on Manon (then called Mimi). Her design had been leaked for the Street Fighter 6 roster, and I talked about it as a chance to redo the character of Abel. I mentioned that her hair was very stylish, as she was presented as a fashion model, and fighter. One of my blog visitors named sparrowhawk made a comment about her hair being based on a Skinbird. The type of hair that girl skinheads sometimes wear. They shave all of their hair except for their bangs.  

Sparrowhawk also made another great observation. He said that Manon was similar to the character Sawada Keizaburo from the manga, and anime series Kengan Ashura. The series written by Yabako Sandrovich, and illustrated by Daromeon was published from 2012-2018. The story was in the vein of Baki the Grappler in that the characters represented the pinnacle of their particular fighting styles. Also that they were hyper muscular, and violent combatants. Aside from the muscular frame, and long bangs there was little that I could see of Manon in the look of Sawada. 

That did not mean that the design didn't rub off on Yusuke Hashimoto the designer for Street Fighter 6. The hair alone would be ported over to A.K.I.  Mr. Hashimoto was known for his fashion-forward designs. He produced Bayonetta, and directed Bayonetta 2. As I stated previously; his sense of color, and costuming worked well for the SF cast, and could appeal to international audiences. There was one thing that I simply could not figure out with the design of Manon. That would be her bangs. When I looked at Marisa it was obvious that her haircut was designed to look like a Roman helmet. I could tell that the cropped hair of Manon was feathered to look like a bird. But the bangs were too thin, and too long to be wings.

If Manon were a principal artist then she would always be ready to perform. I would argue that she carried the character of Odette, the Swan Princess off of the stage, and into the arena. The part that bugged me was why would her bangs would be like this, then I realized that they weren't bird wings, but styled after her arms. The length, and cut of her bangs represented the bras bas in ballet, this was how the dancers held their arms before the first position. I think this was the best reason why Mr. Hashimoto went with that haircut. I know it was a dumb theory but it made sense to me. I wish I could ask him if I guessed correctly. Were there any details in Street Fighter or any fighting game that bugged you, but you couldn't guess why? I'd like to read about it in the comments section. As always 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!

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 16

Capcom had set the gold standard of lineups when they released Street Fighter II in 1991. I could argue that the greatest character they ever made was Chun-Li. It stood to reason that when they wanted to introduce a new female that they would use her as the template. Cammy was designed as the young upstart, and British special forces counterpart. In Street Fighter EX the characters Pullum Purna, and Blair Dame were inspired by Chun-Li as well. The most popular character post Street Fighter IV was Juri. She borrowed heavily from the design from Chun-Li as well. Street Fighter 6 Designer Yusuke Hashimoto was tasked to create another Asian female villain. Black was a color traditionally given to bad guys in pop culture. Red was an excellent accent color. Black hadn't really been assigned as one of the primary colors for any of the classic characters. The combination would be obvious go-to colors from the beginning. Mr. Hashimoto had to be aware of what the studio's contemporaries were working on. Whether the game came from Japan, China, or the US, he had to be conscious of how the genre had evolved over the past 30 years. Would it be possible to create A.K.I. in a vacuum? I think it was impossible. There would always be elements of some other character that could be pinned on any new one. Many in the fighting game community noticed that there were parallels with A.K.I. and those that came before. 

For example the Chinese kung-fu master with a unique hairstyle, that was wearing black, purple, and red, who also fought with a quick snake fist had been seen almost 20 years ago! Duo Lon made his debut in the King of Fighters 2003 in sprite form, and been revealed to be a 3D DLC character in KOF XV fall 2023. Just in time for A.K.I. to appear now that I think about it. Then there was an even earlier character who also eerily predated the look of A.K.I. The silver-haired, form-fitting costume, poison-claw-wearing Kurow Kirishima was created by Capcom in 2000. The ninja was the main villain from the game Project Justice. It was the sequel to the cult favorite Rival Schools. He was poisoning, and brainwashing students from different schools, and turning them against each other. If you've never heard of the series I want you to imagine Street Fighter featuring high school kids. It was one of the early 3D fighters the studio made, and has long been cited in fan polls for a reboot. I could imagine Kurow, and Kimberly having a heated rivalry. But I digress!

Fans were definitely onto something. The look, choice to be a villain, and move selection from Capcom seemed to mirror earlier antagonists. A.K.I.'s design could actually be traced back even earlier than Luo, or Kurow. In the previous blog I talked about the concept art from Street Fighter III. One of the designs proposed was a Mysterious Assassin. This was supposed to be an Indian character that had his own unique fighting style. The designs were from 1995-96. Many of the ideas were tossed, but there were a few solid ideas that would be revisited in the future. The Assassin was one such character that seemed to stick in the memories of the Capcom staff. In some cases these early concept figures included possible moves, and special attacks. For the Assassin the studio wanted him to have "mysterious movements". His hands would be obscured by long sleeves. His legs would be hidden under a long cloak, making it look like he could float.

  

While this character didn’t really go anywhere for SFIII I believe that many of these details were revisited in SFV. Specifically for the creation of F.A.N.G. The assassin with strange movements, that appeared to be able to float certainly fit the bill! By Street Fighter 6 the design elements were revised, and refined once more, and the character A.K.I. appeared. In 2022 I wrote that the design was giving off a dragon lady vibe. When the teaser for the character dropped during EVO 2023 my suspicions were confirmed. The longer move reveal trailer from just a couple of days ago showed that she had strange movements as well. She slashed with outstretched fingers, just like the Assassin concept art from many years prior. 

Eagle-eyed viewers noticed that several of A.K.I. moves were based on poisonous animals, she could slither along the ground like a snake, and even employ some kicks from the fantastic scorpion style of kung-fu. Hats off to the animation team, it must have been tremendous fun creating her attack library. The trailer gave us the best example of how to present hidden strikes. I want you to think about your favorite characters, and how they stand with their hands forward, or exposed to the game camera. If you threw a punch for a kick, then it would be easy to track on the screen. A.K.I was turned away from the opponent. This meant that several of her attacks were actually obscured from the game camera. A.K.I. could backhand, or hook kick opponents. Her torso hid which hand she used, and her dress covered which kick was being delivered as well. This mirrored how the Assassin concept fighter hid his attacks under a long cloak. The more difficult part for either F.A.N.G. or A.K.I. were creating lethal strikes that could be described as poisonous.

The turned stance was seen in several forms of actual Chinese wushu, and Shaolin kung-fu. The use of stealth, and sneaky moves was not a new thing in fighting games. One of the best, and rarest fighting games to use classic kung-fu forms was Martial Masters by IGS from 1999. The game featured a sexy fighter named Red Snake, she used the snake form, and a flirtatious ladies man known as the Scorpion.  I had written about the game from a Taiwan studio a few years ago, and how much they were influenced by the Capcom games from the mid-'90s. The characters in the game were inspired by a few classic kung-fu movies, not the least of which were the Once Upon a Time in China films featuring a young Jet Li playing the folk hero Wong Fei Hung. Martial arts cinema from Hong Kong, and Taiwan had a major hand in influencing the development of Street Fighter, and the entire fighting game genre. With regards to F.A.N.G., and A.K.I. there was actually a lot of precedence for having a "poison fist" fighting style. 

In cinema there was an all-star film from 1978 called The Five Deadly Venoms. In it the assassins were all trained in a particular deadly art; Centipede, Snake, Scorpion, Lizard, and Toad. One or several of these poison fists were referenced in many classic manhua, or comic books. The villains often mimicked the attacks of these dangerous creatures. Some of these techniques were so dangerous that even a single touch could kill. This was the case for Elder Guan from the Four Constables. His hands would turn dark when he summoned the Black Death Palms technique. A live action version of this power was seen with the character of Yuan in the 2010 film True Legend. There was no doubt that the people at Capcom were heavily influenced by these stories. The most powerful characters in myth could perform a dim mak, or death touch. The Shun Goku Satsu from Gouki / Akuma was probably the most popular death touch in modern culture. A.K.I. was a sort of nod to these mysterious, and often deadly techniques, but there was much more to her design.

A.K.I. had to be an over-the-top villain in order to stand out from the rest of the Street Fighter lineup. She couldn't just be a kung-fu practitioner that happened to be mean. It wasn't enough that she had some sneaky moves either. Every part of her presentation had to be more outrageous than the traditional kung-fu characters like Chun-Li, or even Jamie. This meant that she had to have stances, and grapples that twisted, and contorted her body. She would fold herself in half before slashing, or drop flat to the ground before kicking. Not knowing where the next strike would come from would throw off opponents. The fighting game community had first seen these types of awkward angles, and strikes through the character of Voldo from Namco's 1995 hit Soul Edge. Voldo was an assassin, and could strike with his razor sharp katars from any position, including while laying on the ground.

In the gameplay reveal trailer we could see A.K.I. slither on her back. It was unnerving seeing the character move like that. This snake crawl allowed her to get under ranged attacks, and close the gap on opponents. Previously the franchise did feature snake-like movement with at least one other character. In the Street Fighter EX series by ARIKA Dhalsim could perform a Yoga Throw. The setup for it was very unique. The Indian yogi would wind around his opponent like a serpent before grabbing their torso and flipping them on their head. It remained one of my favorite fighting game animations to this day. I'm certain that Street Fighter 6 animators were able to pick, and choose the best elements they could find from pop culture, from actual kung-fu, and even earlier games while fleshing out the moves of the new assassin.  

For the developers it also wasn't enough to have a character that fought, or moved like a snake. She had to look dangerous,and untrustworthy. From a visual perspective A.K.I. was figuratively, and literally a toxic person. The pale white skin was unnatural, as if she was drained of her blood. The cut of her hair was reminiscent of the amanita phalloides aka the death cap mushroom. As far as her costume went it could be argued that Street Fighter 6 Designer Yusuke Hashimoto was making a bold fashion statement. The use of modern tulle sleeves, and pants under a traditional cheongsam was only the beginning. His choice of costume, skin color, jewelry, and haircut were very avant-garde. Every detail added reflected the same fashion sense that he tapped into when creating the designs in the first two Bayonetta games. Had Juri, F.A.N.G., or Kurow never existed then I'm certain that A.K.I.'s introduction would have had a greater impact on the franchise. 

Capcom must have known that between Juri, and A.K.I. the toxic female Asian trope was becoming redundant. I'm not sure why they felt like they had to double-down on this route. The question remained. Was Capcom doing right with character representation? Could this simply be chalked up to an artistic choice, and not a jab at the Chinese villain trope? The studio had done much better with Dhalsim, Blanka, and Rashid in this title. However A.K.I seemed to be a step backwards, at least to me. Street Fighter 6 was doing a lot to address the mistakes in the past. To make up for ugly characters, and ugly design choices. To become more inclusive when it came to ideas of sex, and gender roles. There would be a lot of positive new changes, faces, and game design elements introduced into the franchise. One of the major shifts to the cast came with the addition of NPCs to help carry the story. We will look at how in the next blog. I hope to see you back for the next entry. If you are a long time fan of Final Fight, or Street Fighter then I would like to hear your impressions of SF6. If you have never played any game previously then tell me your experiences in the comments section please. As always 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!

Let's talk about A.K.I., the Dragon Lady of Street Fighter 6

Today we are going to look at a new character slated for Street Fighter 6. A.K.I. is listed from China, and I mentioned previously on the Symmetry blog that she seems to be a new rival to Chun-Li. Maybe she is a leader of a Triad organization, maybe she's an assassin, or maybe she's just a fashion model mixed up in a fighting tournament. In my previous post I summed up their look this way. Both A.K.I, and Chun-Li hail from China, but they seem to be set as polar opposites. Chun-Li represents a classical fighting tradition. Her kicks are legendary in the series, as is her sense of duty to the police. A.K.I. by contrast looks like a villain right out of a comic book, or possibly action movie. She might be being set up as the ultimate rival. Her porcelain-white skin is eerie, making her appear almost supernatural. She wears flats like Chun-Li, but the similarities end there. Her costume is black, a sinister shade, and form fitting. She has pant leggings, and tulle-sleeves over her pale arms. She lacks the muscle definition of Chun-Li, but has claw-like jewelry. She's signaling that she is not a kicker, but a slasher. Just like Han, the villain from Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon. I almost wonder if her claws have poison, similar to the nails of another Street Fighter villain.

When I look at A.K.I. I get the same feeling that I have from other Street Fighter 6 characters. Namely that she is an attempt to improve on an idea that was used in Street Fighter V. I think the moves of Jamie, and rivalry to Luke were originally going to apply to King Cobra. I also think that JP, was an attempt to redo the character of G. A.K.I. appears to be designed to replace the Shadowlaw general F.A.N.G. I know that I am not the only person in the fighting game community that has these same thoughts. Other people think that Manon is an attempt to redo the character of Abel. I’ve said that no good idea really dies, but perhaps some tropes need to be retired. I’m not sure what the abbreviation A.K.I. stands for, but in Japanese the name Aki can mean bright, brilliant, radiance. Aki itself is not a Chinese name. There were a lot of design elements behind F.A.N.G., but the character seemed like a giant troll. He was silly, goofy, and just plain stupid in the lineup. I think he reflected Yoshinori Ono’s sense of humor perfectly. Along with Rufus, and Hakan, these were gag characters that really didn’t belong in the series. The other reason the character didn’t work was because part of his design was based on the evil Chinese mastermind trope. When I look at A.K.I. there are hints of stereotypical elements to her look as well.

In a nutshell A.K.I. seems to be cut out of the Dragon Lady trope. There were several heavy-handed ethnic stereotypes created in the earliest days of Hollywood. One of the oldest was the dangerous “exotic” femme fatale, better known as the Dragon Lady. Wong Liu Tsong aka Anna May Wong was a gorgeous silent film star that fought for better roles all her life. She was a villain in the 1924 film the Thief of Baghdad, but went on to push for less stereotypical portrayals. The trend continued for decades. When they weren’t presented as dangerous assassins, like Rush Hour 3’s Jasmine played by Youki Kudoh, they were literally written as snakes. This was the case in Fantastic Beasts 2 Nagini played by Claudia Kim. Her character name was based on the Naga, which was a divine race of snake-human hybrids from South Asian mythology. Claudia was a Korean actress, but representing creatures from a completely different culture. The lack of ethnic understanding was something that the Harry Potter author JK Rowling had been criticized for in the past. Remember that she named the only Asian character in the Harry Potter series “Cho Chang”? The other characters Parvati Patil, and Padma Patil were South Asian.

The Dragon Lady trope had multiple angles. These women could use their charm to spy, or seduce the heroes. They didn’t always have to be expert martial artists. In almost every regard an Asian female in a Hollywood movie was a fetish object. Anna May pushed for better roles, and many years later Nancy Kwan did the same for actresses in the ‘60s. Nancy’s break-out role was in the film The World of Suzie Wong, based on a novel of the same name. Instantly she became a sex object. Her dress in the film, a traditional cheongsam started being called the “Suzie Wong dress.” I’m almost certain that a bit of Chun-Li’s design, and international appeal comes from the seeds planted by Nancy Kwan. But as all things entertainment go, there was always a cycle. Decades after Nancy there was Lucy Liu, who was often cast as a cold-hearted Dragon Lady in film, and television. Lucy also pushed for better roles, and representation, but Hollywood was slow to change.

With A.K.I. I am reminded that the video game industry can also be slow to change. When she makes her debut in Street Fighter 6 it will be almost 100 years since Anna May Wong first appeared on screen. Maybe A.K.I. can rise above the Dragon Lady trope. She might actually be the surprise star of the game. Or she might be and ugly over-the-top character like F.A.N.G. Only time will tell. What do you think of this character? Are you eager to see a new rival to Chun-Li in the game? Someone that represents the Chinese underground? Or perhaps is a double agent in disguise? I want to find out more, that’s for certain. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section. As always 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!