Bookmark This Page; Capcom fumbles the designs in Street Fighter V.

I’m probably best known for my deep dives on fighting character designs. There was something about the work that went into Street Fighter IV, and V that seemed out of place. If you want to see how Capcom missed the mark with some character designs then Bookmark This Page.

Representation Matters! Or, what happened to Birdie, part 1...

Representation Matters! Or, what happened to Birdie, part 2…

Representation Matters! Or, what happened to Birdie, part 3…

Representation Matters! Or, what happened to Birdie, part 4…

Representation Matters! Or, what happened to Birdie, part 5…

Representation Matters! Or, what happened to Birdie, part 6…

Representation Matters! Or, what happened to Birdie, part 7…

Representation Matters! Or, what happened to Birdie, part 8…

Representation Matters! Or, what happened to Birdie, final part…

What is going on with the Street Fighter V character designs? Part 1, who is F.A.N.G?

What is going on with the Street Fighter V character designs? Part 2, where did F.A.N.G come from?

The Ken reaction, part 1...

The Ken reaction, part 2… 

Did you like or loathe the character designs in Street Fighter V. Let me know about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and 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!

What is going on with the Street Fighter V character designs? Part 1, who is F.A.N.G?

I've been pretty quiet these past few months on the characters unveiled for Street Fighter V. However seeing as the majority have been announced I think we can start talking about them. Let's start with the newest character F.A.N.G. Let's put down the initial impressions of him. The character is dumb, he is ugly, he is insincere and has no redeeming factors.

 

I think it would be safe for me to say that F.A.N.G. is the new Rufus. He is a character that is so over-the-top, that is so beyond the conventions of the other Street Fighter characters that he simply doesn't belong in the game. This is really saying something considering that a rubber-limbed Indian and a green-skinned Brazilian wild man are considered some of the great all-time characters. So what is it about F.A.N.G. that doesn't work? Well his design is a sort of polar opposite of Rufus. Instead of a big, fat and dumb US character we have a tall, skinny and sneaky Chinese character. In either case we have extremes in stereotype, extremes in caricature that say a lot more about the producer and director of the game than of what Street Fighter has become.

Yoshinori Ono should be taken to task for every character, every design that makes in into the game. He was the one that pulled the Black Cobra and made a strong black character into a fat white character. The excuse was that he thought it would be funny to put a fatty into the game. He was the one that made sure that the Turkish character was beet red and obsessed with oil, he was the one that made sure that the masked Mexican wrestler named every move after a Mexican dish. He made sure that the returning black character in Street Fighter V was turned into a fat slob. And now the joke is that a tall skinny Chinese character is flying around the screen like a pelican. Stop and think about how he has presented the British, Japanese, white and female characters that are returning to the series. Is there any bias, whether intended or not, in his decisions?

 

As the producer Mr. Ono has the final say as to how the game is going to present itself. He has a reputation for being a funny guy, always kind to his fans, but very silly at the same time. This silly humor has found its way into the game in how the characters act, how their special moves appear and even with the constant use of breaking the fourth wall. The Street Fighter games that came before Mr. Ono were considered templates for great design. The ones that came after certainly looked nice and were well balanced but they did not contribute as much to the genre as the earlier titles. This is especially true with the appearance of F.A.N.G. I know some people read my blogs because I try and understand the roots of a character's design. The long sleeves given to his costume are more akin to Chinese opera than a traditional kung-fu uniform or even classic Mandarin robe.

The combination of sunglasses and robes has been seen many times before in film and television. Sometimes detectives set in pre-cultural revolution China wear fedoras and sunglasses while tracking down criminals. However in film the majority of those wearing the sunglasses and robes are villains. They are often mob bosses if not mob enforcers. A good example of these dangerous characters can be seen in the film Kung-Fu Hustle. The harpist assassins as played by Gar Hong-hay and Fung Hak were mysterious agents sent to kill some kung-fu masters. Their traditional costumes were nondescript. They seemed harmless until they unveiled their secret techniques. Of course there was nothing subdued about F.A.N.G.'s costume. The colors and cut on his robe were as flamboyant as his personality. Instead of a modest hat he wore the widest brim possible.

There was a reason why F.A.N.G.'s design had to be super exaggerated. Every character in the Street Fighter universe had been presented in a costume that looked traditional on a superficial level. Karate masters after all did not walk around with torn sleeves, and female masters of wushu did not really wear wrestling boots and spiked bracelets. F.A.N.G. had a costume that at first glance looked like a traditional robe and hat. But the more you looked at his costume the more you realized that they were as exaggerated as his proportions. F.A.N.G. wasn't just skinny, his head appeared as if it had been squeezed by a vice grip. His costume shared the same qualities, he didn't just have long sleeves, they could double as wings if he flapped his arms fast enough. It was absurd of course but also par the course for Street Fighter character designs.

 

Traditional Chinese costumes had been used for generations in pop culture. Whether they were in a movie, comic book or cartoon, the classic Chinese tunic had been seen many times by audiences and not solely on Chinese people either! These costumes were even finding their way into game designs. The Jiangshi for example were zombie-like Chinese ghosts. They could be summoned to life with a special talisman placed on their head. Since they were dead and rigor mortis had set in they had limited use of their limbs. Rather than shuffle around like a zombie these monsters had to hop around like rabbits. Read about it on the Chinese Ghost Primer. The jiangshi turned up in a number of modern games, for example you could fight them in Sleeping Dogs, specifically the DLC called Nightmare in North Point. The costumes and designs of the undead were stylized in the fighting game Vampire / Darkstalkers by Capcom. The sisters Lei-Lei & Lin-Lin aka Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling wore very bright (and revealing) versions of the classic robes. The costume given to F.A.N.G. was no more different than what Capcom had done previously. At first glance it had the appearance of a traditional costume however upon further inspection it was something else entirely. Yet the costume, weird moves and silly personality were only part of the reason why F.A.N.G. didn't really inspire me.

 

In the reveal trailer we could see several things about the character. He was goofy and lanky of course but he was also quite tall. In fact he appeared to be as tall as Sagat, the once world champion. And like Sagat this new character was marking a place for himself in the pantheon of Shadowlaw / Shadaloo villains. In the reveal trailer there was a level that was set inside of a secret base. In the background there was a statue celebrating the leader and "generals" of Shadowlaw. Sagat was previously the second-in-command to Vega "the Dictator." Yet during Street Fighter V there is no sign of Sagat, not only that but his visage would not be in the background details either. Instead the bust of F.A.N.G. had been carved out of a mini Mt. Rushmore.

This flew in the face of everything that had been established about Shadowlaw from many years earlier. Whether it was mentioned in the game, in the comics or supplemental material The other generals were dangerous fighters in their own right. In propaganda posters, in Shadowlaw art the four figures were placed side-by-side in a show of solidarity. The generals looked intimidating but there was something about F.A.N.G. that did not match the gravitas of the earlier bosses. A one-eyed, seven-foot, muay thai fighter was a sight to behold. A seven-foot, flamboyant Chinese kung-fu master was also a sight to behold, but not for the same reasons. Why the designers working on Street Fighter V would replace the legacy character Sagat with F.A.N.G. didn't make much sense. Why they would go out of their way to erase any hint of Sagat was frankly insulting.

What were the roots of F.A.N.G. and why was he so bad? Was there anything about the character that might work? These are things that we can explore in the next blog. Right now I'd like to read your thoughts on the character. As always if you enjoyed this blog and 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!