A Tribute to Chun-Li: The Bombshell Killer Character and Her Mark in the History of Video Games
Chun-Li is among the most popular video game characters of all time.
Considered an indispensable fighter of the Street Fighter game franchise, she ignited big changes not only in the world of video games but in media all over.
Street Fighter is a Japanese video game franchise, available in many forms, from arcade to PS4, that was first developed by Capcom in 1987. It quickly became the standard for fighting games, maxing out competitiveness, skill, and thrill. It was in 1991, in Street Fighter II, that Chun-Li was introduced.
Fighting games are often reserved for audiences dominated by men, and Chun-Li was the first playable female character in this genre of entertainment. On a mission to avenge her late father, she’s loyal and intelligent, and the creators were generous with her strength in martial arts and sex appeal.
Born from the ideas of Akira Nishitani and Akira Yasuda, the duo had to finalize her in just five weeks and switched up between last-minute changes aplenty. In order to not represent her as a meek side character, she was significantly buffed up - particularly in the thighs because of Yasuda’s personal preferences when it comes to women. It’s true that sometimes Chun-Li gets the wrong rep because of her appearance, but not only did she make place for more women in fighting games, but also introduced many lesser-known martial arts and their killer moves. She is a controversial character due to her being heavily touched by the male gaze and a reminder of the fetishization of Asian women, but is fictional after all, and paved the way for more gender-neutrality and feminism in video games.
If the first thing that came to your mind when thinking of Chun-Li was the firecracker opener “look like I’m going for a swim” in Nicki Minaj’s song, now you know why an influential female rapper would associate herself with the digital icon.
About the Author:
Mizuki Khoury
Born in Montreal, based in Tokyo. Sabukaru’s senior writer and works as an artist under Exit Number Five.
