| Chun-Li | |
|---|---|
| Street Fighter character | |
 Chun-Li inMarvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes | |
| First appearance | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991) |
| Created by | Akira Nishitani |
| Designed by |
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| Voiced by |
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| Portrayed by | Various
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| In-universe information | |
| Fighting style | Tai Chi |
| Origin | China |
| Nationality | Chinese |
Chun-Li (/tʃʌnˈliː/ ⓘ;Japanese:チュンリー,Hepburn:Chun-Rī) is a character inCapcom'sStreet Fighter video game series. She first appeared inStreet Fighter II: The World Warrior in 1991 and is the first female playable character to appear in afighting game to gain mainstream recognition. She is amartial artist andInterpol officer who seeks revenge for the death of her father by the series' antagonistM. Bison.
Since her debut, Chun-Li has become a pop culture icon, being widely notable beyond the games and among one of the series' most iconic characters. She has appeared in nearly all subsequent installments of the series and several other Capcom games, in addition to third-party games. She is also featured inStreet Fighter-related media, including two feature films, multiple anime and comic book productions, and other official series merchandise. She has earned much positive fan and critical reception for factors such as her backstory, athleticism and in-game playability, and she is considered a trailblazer for female characters in fighting titles and general video gaming.
Chun-Li's design was primarily inspired by Tong Pooh, a female villain fromStrider, an earlier Capcom game.[4]Capcom designerAkira Nishitani, recounting the creation of the character, said: "Previously there were no women in fighting games. In Chun-Li's case, I wanted a woman in the game. I determined what her fighting abilities would be. Then China just came up as a possible homeland."[5] Capcom artist and designerAkira "Akiman" Yasuda said the initial inspiration for Chun-Li came from the 1983anime filmHarmagedon: Genma Wars (featuring early character design work byAkira creatorKatsuhiro Otomo), which had a Chinese female character called Tao.[6] Chun-Li was originally known as just 'Chinese Girl' among the development team. She had abackflip attack that was popular among testers but deemed too strong, and unfortunately had to be cut from the game after they ran out of time.[3] Her name means 'beautiful spring' in Chinese[7] as Chūn (春) means 'the season of spring', and lì (麗) means 'beautiful' inMandarin dialects.[8]
Yasuda recalled they only had five weeks to make Chun-Li in the game and he was deeply worried about the quality of her design and how she would be received. Chun-Li "was wearing pants right up until the very end [of the development]. When we made thesprites I thought she didn't look right, so I had them changed to tights instead."[9] Akiman added that they "wantedStreet Fighter II to be more entertaining thanits predecessor. That also helps explain how Chun-Li came to be. Having a female character in the game completely changes the game's dynamic, she brightens up the entire palette. We needed a reason for her to fight, and so an evil empire [of M. Bison] came to mind."[9] He also said: "To be honest, I spent some time worrying about putting Chun-Li, the heroine, into such a plain setting. Ordinarily, you don't see women participating in global martial arts tournaments. Just by adding her we were starting to push things to the 'fun' side. I didn't think about it at the time, but thinking about it now, from the moment we put Chun-Li into the game we were already pushing things towards the full-on entertainment side."[10]
Chun-Li was designed with an exceptionally strong physique because she was the sole woman among a roster of powerful male characters inStreet Fighter II. To overcome this perceived imbalance, she was devised as a character who had mastered Chinesekenpo and really pushed her body to the limit so that she could compete with such a cast of large and imposing men.[11] She was nevertheless the fastest but physically weakest character in her first game.[12][13][14] Capcom producerYoshiki Okamoto said he wanted to also make the life bar for Chun-Li "shorter than for the other characters because women are not as strong. But Nishitani didn't want to do that. We both had legitimate reasons, but then we came to an agreement to not make it shorter."[15]
Chun-Li is particularly well known for her very muscular legs, while depictions of the rest of her body are more variable. According to Capcom composerYoko Shimomura, Chun-Li's big thighs originated from Akiman's personal fetish.[15] The size of Chun-Li's thighs massively increased inStreet Fighter III. Capcom producerYoshinori Ono commented on the issue. "I witnessed as her thighs made a sudden jump into gigantism inSFIII. When we first put her in the game, her sprite was just an outline and her thighs weren't that big...but as the artists starting coloring her in, her legs got thicker and thicker." However, they all felt the larger legs increased the expressiveness of her animations. Regarding then-upcomingStreet Fighter IV, Ono said the "character designer, [Daigo] Ikeno, is kind of into thick girls, so as an artist he feels that the most beautiful thighs he can give Chun-Li would be of the wide variety."[16]
Chun-Li sprite'spanty-flashing animation frames have been censored for the home console releases byNintendo.[17] In response to fans that were disappointed with Chun-Li's absence fromStreet Fighter III, Capcom added her to the3rd Strike version of the game. Since her main designer, Akiman, was busy with other assignments, she was redesigned by other members from the staff; Chun Li the most time and effort out of all characters.[18] Her inclusion intoStreet Fighter EX was deemed natural by the studioArika, with producer Ichiro Mihara describing her as one of the three essentialStreet Fighter characters along withRyu andKen.[19][20]
In theStreet Fighter Alpha games, where she was redesigned by Eri "Erichan" Nakamura,[10] Chun-Li wears a sleeveless tight outfit, her arms and upper body were visibly much stronger than those of any other female character in the franchise,[21] however many artists choose to depict her as petite and slim, in official and unofficial artworks alike, drawing only her legs strong due to her emphasis on kicking moves. An early version of Chun-Li inStreet Fighter IV was reworked following complaints from location tests that she was not "cute".[22] Ono later announced Chun-Li's controversial face inMarvel vs. Capcom: Infinite would be also corrected based on a negative feedback from the fans.[23]
In theStreet Fighter II sub-series and most of her later appearances, Chun-Li wears a usually blueqipao, an early-20th-century Chinese dress, with golden accents, puffy sleeves, and a white waistband.[24] The dress is modified to allow a far wider range of movement than a generic qipao. InStreet Fighter II: The World Warrior, Chun-Li was originally depicted wearing a red qipao instead of blue.[21] It can be also either red or white[25] within some games sinceStreet Fighter II: Champion Edition andStreet Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, respectively. InMarvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, the qipao has a very noticeable silky sheen. Her other ensemble includes a pair of white combat boots and brown tights. She usually wears her hair in "ox horns",[21] with silk brocades and ribbons in her hair. Another iconic part of her design are the large spiked bracelets she wears on her wrists.
In theStreet Fighter Alpha games (set during the time period beforeStreet Fighter II), Chun-Li wears a Chinese acrobatic outfit consisting of an embroidered vest, aunitard, andsneakers; she is wearing her ox horns unadorned, but kept in place with yellow ribbons. InStreet Fighter IV, Chun-Li's alternate outfit consists of blacktabard with gold accents at the bottom, while her ox horns are unadorned, just like in herAlpha appearance, only this time it is held by red ropes with golden balls at the tip. This outfit is completed with red shoes, gold earrings and black and gold bracelets. Her alternative wardrobe inSuper Street Fighter IV includes a costume inspired byMai Shiranui[26][27] and inStreet Fighter V she has a Halloweendownloadable content (DLC) appearing asMorrigan Aensland.[28]
Chun-Li's gameplay style changes notably from game to game, with for exampleChampion Edition restoring her flipping attacks that have been removed from the original version ofStreet Fighter II.[29]Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike marked a strong departure from previous incarnations as it featured a large number of revamped moves.[21] Chun-Li started as a weak and fast close-range fighter compared to the bigger male characters fromStreet Fighter II with the best aerial ability in the game, but she steadily gained an array of different moves through the games,[24] such as a projectile attack or an anti-air defensive move, which steered her towards a more balanced type with an emphasis on poking and control of neutral game thanks to a rich set of non-special moves of relatively long range. She has been noted to be one of the most powerful characters in the game, alongside Ken and Yun.[30][31]
Street Fighter Alpha 2 andAlpha 3 feature Chun-Li's original outfit fromStreet Fighter II as an alternate version of the character with alternate special abilities and Super Combos.CVG opined she was "the most-improved character inAlpha 2, and possibly the #1 character in the whole game."[32] She was considerably weakened inStreet Fighter EX, but has remained one of the fastest characters.[33] The development team forStreet Fighter EX attempted to bring Chun-Li back to her roots as an agility-oriented character by, among other things, restoring her Spinning Bird Kick and removing the fireball attack she acquired inStreet Fighter II Turbo as they felt the projectile attack had too radically altered her originally agile fighting style.[19][20][34] Her appearances in theMarvel vs. Capcom series are reminiscent of her early gameplay, featuring her as one of the fastest characters in the games.[35]
Chun-Li was introduced in 1991 in the original version ofStreet Fighter II (Street Fighter II: The World Warrior) as the franchise's first playable female character, an undercoverInterpol agent seeking to avenge the death of her father at the hands ofM. Bison and his criminal organization. Chun-Li is an expert Chinese martial arts practitioner. Her profile indicates her training in several styles of Chinese kempo ("Chinese martial arts") at the age of five, especiallytai chi, which she would later complement withsanda (combatwushu) and fighting styles from all around the world, such astaekwondo,full contact karate,judo andcapoeira.[36][24] She has been noted in-universe for her fluent English, investigating skills, penetrating eyes, beauty and acting talent for deception.[37] Chun-Li is presented as a woman with a strong sense of justice, and her motives for fighting crime range from avenging the death of her father to protecting innocents. She especially cares for kids, showing repulse for the use of brainwashed young girls inStreet Fighter Alpha 3 and the kidnapping of a girl inStreet Fighter III: 3rd Strike. In the latter game, she decides she will teach her fighting style and philosophy to children.[24][38][39] Chun-Li returns inStreet Fighter IV, where her in-game narrative shows her at crossroads in her life, eventually returning to both street fighting and law enforcement. She returns inStreet Fighter V, where she assists in stopping Shadaloo's Black Moons and first meets Li-Fen when she rescues her from the organization; in her prologue story, Chun-Li recalls how she learned of her father's death.
InStreet Fighter 6, Chun-Li continues to raise Li-Fen and train students in Metro City's Chinatown district, while also being promoted to become a director of Interpol. Li-Fen also acts as her eyes and ears during her Interpol work. Upon learning a terrorist group known as Amnesia attempts to assassinate Ken at Nayshall, Chun-Li tries to stop them from framing him for the crime he did not commit, but fails. Chun-Li then works hard on finding further evidences to clear her friend's name while hunting the terrorist group.[40]
Besides the coreStreet Fighter series, Chun-Li has also made appearances in many other Capcom-produced fighting games, including all titles of the long-running seriesMarvel vs. Capcom (ever sinceX-Men vs. Street Fighter, includingShadow Lady,[41] a dark version of Chun-Li that underwent harsh experiments on Bison's orders and was transformed into a brainwashed cyborg,[29]Capcom vs. SNK,Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, andStreet Fighter X Tekken. She andRyu are the onlyStreet Fighter characters to appear in every Capcom crossover title, including theSNK vs. Capcom fighting game series by SNK and the tactical role-playing gamesNamco × Capcom,Project X Zone andProject X Zone 2 byNamco (where Chun-Li is paired into a single unit withMorrigan Aensland fromDarkstalkers),[42] as well as appearing as a boss in the platform gameStreet Fighter X Mega Man. She was also planned to appear as a giant robot inCyberbots.[43] Often, Chun-Li either continues her existing story fromStreet Fighter II or seeks to arrest the other characters in the game that she sees as suspicious.
Chun-Li is additionally playable in other Capcom games such as versus puzzle gamesSuper Puzzle Fighter II Turbo,Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix (where she can turn intoJill Valentine[44]) andStreet Fighter: Puzzle Spirits,[45] and social gamesCapcom All-Stars[46] andStreet Fighter Battle Combination.[47] She has made guest appearances in a number of mobile games, including#Compass,[48]Destiny Child,[49]Granblue Fantasy,[50]Power Rangers: Legacy Wars,[51] andValkyrie Connect.[52] She makes cameo appearances in various Capcom games includingAsura's Wrath,[29]Breath of Fire,[53][54]Final Fight 2,[55]Mega Man 9,[56] andWe Love Golf!.[57] Furthermore, her costumes can be worn by player characters in Capcom'sBreath of Fire 6,[58]Dead Rising 3 (aDLC costume forFrank West),[59]Monster Hunter: World,[60]Monster Hunter Explore,[61] andOnimusha: Dawn of Dreams (as an alternate costume for Ohatsu), as well as inSquare Enix'sGunslinger Stratos 2 (a costume for Mika Katagiri)[62] andSony'sLittleBigPlanet (a DLC for Sackgirl).[63] A playable Chun-Li character skin has also been added toFortnite.[64][65] Chun-Li, under the name "Blue Phoenix Ranger", appears as a playable character inPower Rangers: Battle for the Grid via downloadable content.[66] Chun-Li is set to appear inFatal Fury: City of the Wolves as part of the first season of downloadable content.[67]
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Jackie Chan played a parody version of the character inWong Jing's live-action adaptation ofCity Hunter in 1993. BothChingmy Yau andKingdom Yuen played a mother-daughter team of Chun-Lis in the final action set piece of Wong'sparody filmFuture Cops.
Chun-Li was a central character in the 1994Street Fighter film, played byMing-Na Wen. Chun-Li was given a surname ("Zang Chun-Li") and posed as a television reporter working in Shadaloo in her personal quest to track down and kill Bison, who had murdered her father during a peasant uprising. Her relationship withGuile is acrimonious from the start, as he bluntly rejects her interview request and chides Chun-Li for his own inability to trace a signal broadcast by Bison. Chun-Li allies herself withE. Honda andBalrog, who work as her news crew and whose reputations were ruined by Bison's mafia connections, and later forms an initially uneasy alliance with Ryu andKen working with Guile in attempting to locate Bison's secret fortress.
As the titular character in the 2009 filmStreet Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, she was played byKristin Kreuk, her last name was changed to "Xiang" as well as being apianist turned fighter. Her father was named Huang Xiang and was a businessman Bison abducts and forces to work for him. While she was depicted as Chinese-American, her goal of avenging her father remained unchanged and she succeeds killing Bison with help from her mentorGen andCharlie Nash. The film was released in Japanese theaters as a double bill with aStudio 4°C-produced anime short that starred fellowStreet Fighter characterSakura Kasugano and played after the movie.[70]
Chun-Li was planned to appear in the second season ofStreet Fighter: Assassin's Fist titledStreet Fighter: World Warrior in a significant role.[71][72]
Gemma Nguyen portrays Chun-Li in the official crossover between the Power Rangers and Street Fighter titledPower Rangers: Legacy Wars—Street Fighter Showdown. In the short, Ryu morphs into the RyuRanger and Chun-Li teams withTommy Oliver, Ninjor and Gia Moran to battle M. Bison and evil Power Rangers.[73] Nguyen reprised her role in the fan filmStreet Fighter: Enter the Dragon, intervening in the fight betweenFei Long andBalrog near the end.[74]
Callina Liang will play Chun-Li inKitao Sakurai's upcoming live-action adaptation.
Chun-Li is a central character in the 1994 anime filmStreet Fighter II: The Animated Movie, voiced byMiki Fujitani in the original Japanese version and byLia Sargent (credited as Mary Briscoe) in the English dub. She is investigating M. Bison's Shadowlaw organization suspected of murdering several diplomats and requests to work with Guile; he initially balks at this as he wants to pursue Bison himself, but later they become inseparable. In a famous instance offan service, an explicit scene showed Chun-Li showering in her apartment as a Shadowlaw assassin,Vega, arrives to kill her. The shower scene has been censored to varying degrees in versions of the English dub.[75] After a brutal fight, Vega is kicked through a wall and sent plummeting several stories to the ground, but Chun-Li succumbs to her injuries and slips into a coma until her recovery in the ending.[76]
Chun-Li is a regular character in the 1996 American animated seriesStreet Fighter, voiced by Donna Yamamoto. The character reprises her film role as a reporter while she again seeks to avenge her father's death at the hands of Bison, which is shown in flashback in the second episode, "The Strongest Woman in the World".[77] In the 1997–1998 anime seriesStreet Fighter II V, Chun-Li is voiced byChisa Yokoyama in the original Japanese version, while Lia Sargent reprises her role in the English dub. Chun-Li is introduced as the 15-year-old daughter of Inspector Do-Rai, aHong Kong police chief who has schooled her in the martial arts. While attempting to bring down a drug smuggling operation in the country, she works with Interpol to investigate a mysterious organization known as Shadowlaw. Chun-Li serves as the tour guide for Ryu and Ken when they pay a visit to work on their training.[78]
Chun-Li appears in the 1999 anime OVAStreet Fighter Alpha: The Animation, voiced byYumi Tōma in the original Japanese version and again by Lia Sargent in the English dub. There, she is as an Interpol agent who investigates a mad scientist called Sadler who works for Shadaloo. She believes the trail can lead her to her father, who at the time, was missing and presumed alive. She assists Ryu and Ken in finding a kidnapped boy named Shun who claims to be Ryu's younger brother. While tracking Sadler, she accompanies multiple fighters to Sadler's hideout She and Ken rescue the other fighters and end up in a tussle with Sadler's android enforcer, Rosanov, who beats them severely. Ryu ultimately manages to destroy both Rosanov and Sadler.[79]
In the season 6 (2010) Halloween special of the cartoon seriesAmerican Dad!, Toshi's little sister Akiko goes trick-or-treating as Chun-Li.[80] Chun-Li made cameo appearances in the animated filmsWreck-It Ralph andRalph Breaks the Internet alongside several fellowStreet Fighter characters.[81][82]
In the 1990sStreet Fighter II manga byMasaomi Kanzaki, Chun-Li remains in her established role of an Interpol agent investigating Bison. As the story progresses, Chun-Li participates in a tournament arranged by Shadaloo, eventually coming up against Vega, portrayed here as her father's killer. She defeats him but is so exhausted that she pulls out from the tournament and her injuries prevent her from doing much when Ryu and Bison confront one another.[83]
Chun-Li also appears in Masahiko Nakahira's 1996–1997 mangaStreet Fighter: Sakura Ganbaru!, in which she participates in a police raid to an illegal underground fighting circle, saving Sakura from human traffickers who operated in the place. Later on, she follows the trails that lead her to an assassin which turns out to beGen, from whom she suffers an utter defeat. She is last seen in Russia, parting ways with Sakura and Dan, with Cammy under her care. In the manga adaptations ofStreet Fighter Alpha, Chun-Li is again an agent of the Interpol. She encounters Ryu, who has fallen from grace and had hired himself out as a bodyguard to drug smugglers, and winds up befriending him and Birdie as well as Ken, also rescuing Cammy from being captured by Sodom. Shadaloo is once again responsible for the death of her father, though the exact identity of the killer is not revealed.[84][85]
InMalibu Comics' short-livedStreet Fighter series, Chun-Li is depicted as having known Ryu and Ken since her late teens, as well as having a romantic interest in Ryu, though both make their first appearances therein fighting each other after he sneaks up on her from behind.[86][87] Chun-Li is also one of severalStreet Fighter characters featured inArchie Comics'Worlds Unite event, which saw several Capcom andSega franchises crossover in theSonic the Hedgehog,Sonic Universe,Mega Man, andSonic Boom comic lines.
InUDON'sStreet Fighter comics, Chun-Li is involved in the hunt for Bison and Shadaloo. However, in the comic, the killer of Chun-Li's father is Cammy, prior to her being freed from Bison's control. Chun-Li battles Cammy when they meet face to face for the first time and ultimately forgives Cammy and turns her sights on Bison himself. Eventually, she receives an invitation from Shadaloo to enter a tournament being held by Bison.[88] In 2008, UDON also released a four-issue special miniseriesStreet Fighter Legends: Chun-Li, which focuses on a younger Chun-Li and one of her first assignments for the Hong Kong police.[89] She is working with her partner Po-Lin, a young policewoman who has a very personal score to settle with Shadaloo. In theStreet Fighter vs. Darkstalkers crossover series, she is a rival turned and uneasy ally ofMorrigan.
There have been multiple Chun-Li lookalike contests in Japan, United States and elsewhere during the early 1990s, with valuable main prizes such as theNissan 300ZX or theHonda CR-X.[90] Later such contests have been performed on a much smaller scale.[91] Chun-Li's character was used to promote the filmReady Player One in Japan.[92] In 2018, Japanese company Onitsuka Tiger collaborated with Capcom for Chun-Li to wear their new Mexico 66 SD line of sports shoes,[93] and the 30th anniversary ofStreet Fighter collaboration between Capcom and Japan'sSaga Prefecture[94] featured singer and actressKayo Noro dressed as Chun-Li.[95] Previously, actressMiki Mizuno also dressed as Chun-Li in another promotional event[96] as did pop singerMaki Miyamae to perform Chun-Li's official song on the television.[97] In 1997, actress and pop starRie Tomosaka played Chun-Li on television as well.[98]
A wide variety of Chun-Li figures have been produced by various manufacturers,[99] including by Capcom itself,[100] Ace Novelty,[101] BigBoysToys,[102]Funko,[103] Kotobukiya,[104] Pop Culture Shock Collectibles,[105][106] S.H. Figuart,[107]SOTA Toys,[108] Storm Collectibles,[109]Takara Tomy,[110] and Tsume-Art,[111] among many others. Artworks of her were also featured on an officially licensedanimated NubyTech/UDON joypad for thePlayStation 2,[112] and aMad Catz wireless joypad for thePlayStation 3 andXbox 360.[113] Other assorted merchandise included Diesel sneakers,[114] women's lingerie,[115] a figure-style flash drive USB stick,[116] a postage stamp from Japanese Philatelic Association came with its own collectible figure,[117] and a figurine that came with a DyDo drink.[118] There are also Chun-Li themedpachinko slot games such asChun-Li Ni Makase China!, which also marked her first starring role in a game.[119]
Cited as the first playable female fighting game character,[120] Chun-Li was positively received since her debut, dubbed the "first lady of fighting games" and the "original videogame super-babe".[24][121] The staff ofGamePro called her the most iconic character ofStreet Fighter II and "everyone's favorite feminine fighter".[122][123] Her return inStreet Fighter III: Third Strike was also heavily praised and seen as the best addition to the series.[124][125][126] Meanwhile, the creation ofStreet Fighter II: Champion Edition was inspired by Capcom employee Jeff Walker witnessing an argument between two girls over which one of them would play as Chun-Li, with Walker suggesting to make a version that allowed both players to play the same character.[127]
Xbox 360 Official Magazine – Australia cited her andNintendo characterSamus Aran as examples of gaming's originalsex symbols prior to the advent ofLara Croft[128] According to theSmithsonian Museum's Chris Mellisinos, Chun-Li "was such an anomaly" due to the fact she was a strong female character in an arcade environment, adding that she was "drawn attractively, just like Ken and Ryu, but in no way was she a diminished character because she was female."[127] Video game scholar Jennifer deWinter felt it was furthermore very "interesting and surprising to have such a strong Chinese character in Chun-Li coming out of a Japanese game."[127] The character has also been cited as a popular subject of cosplay, with several idols and female bodybuilders dressing as the character.[129][130][131]
Her character arcs have also received significant discussion. Author Gladys L. Knight in the bookFemale Action Heroes appreciated the revenge aspect of her character, and noted that whileLegend of Chun-Li had been panned as a film it was the one media adaptation of her story that emphasized her in a primary role, with both the anime and first live-action film putting her in the role of a supporting character, especially the former.[120] Author Nicholas Ware meanwhile in his dissertation titledYou Must Defeat Sheng Long to Stand a Chance stated that while her story had remained consistent throughoutStreet Fighter II, he felt it had been usurped later in the series with the characterAkuma being established as the one to kill Bison.[132] Kevin Wong in an article forKotaku praised how her character had evolved by the time ofStreet Fighter 6, considering it the best version of her character as it now presented as a teacher and living a life of peace and fulfilling the ending presented for her in the originalStreet Fighter II.[133]
Knight in her book described her as combining "brutal power, girliness, and sex appeal", and emphasized that while the character was known for her protruding thighs she also featured large breasts and a small waist, things she considered trademarks of female characters geared to appeal to male fantasies. However, at the same time she felt Chun-Li was also emphasized as youthful as well as an unconventional, powerful fighter through elements of her character design. Knight further stated Chun-Li transgressed "the pattern of the typical 1980s action woman" and reflected elements ofthird wave feminism by combining femininity and masculine toughness, using an emphasis of being sexually appealing as a source of strength. Knight also pointed out while muscular women were not a new concept in media, "her unusually large musculature unequivocally established her equality in terms of power" and served as a deviation from how one expected female characters to look. In combining these aspects, Knight felt Chun-Li not only helped change the view of female characters in video games, but also helped pave the way for other strong female leading women such as Lara Croft.[120]
University of Wisconsin professor Bryan J. Carr for the book100 Greatest Video Game Characters stated that Chun-Li acted as "a fundamental touchpoint in the aesthetic and ludic representation" of women in video games. While Carr pointed out she was designed around many of the same manner of cultural stereotype emphasis as other characters, unlike her male counterparts she was also intended to be shorter, faster and inStreet Fighter II weaker than her male counterparts. He felt this helped define the representation of female characters going forward in video games, as many often shared these same traits afterward. Carr also observed that while her musculature and exposed legs were emphasized for the male gaze, they also made her unique in that they served to give her agency through her strength as well, a dichotomy further illustrated by Yasuda and Nishimura's stated efforts to retain cuteness and femininity in their art of her.[134]
British academic and authorEsther MacCallum-Stewart in a paper titledReal Boys Carry Girly Epics citing the character as having a lasting impact on fighting games and thebeat 'em-up genre, particularly in how such games often featured at least one female character afterward. She further felt that characters such asDead or Alive'sLeifang,Tekken'sLing Xiaoyu, andVirtua Fighter'sPai Chan were all directly descended from Chun-Li conceptually due to similarities in their designs.[135] Media outlets have compared other characters to Chun-Li in this manner includingReal Bout Fatal Fury 2's Li Xiang Fei,[136]Fighter's History's Liu Feilin,[137]Double Dragon V's Sekka,[138]Golden Axe: The Duel's Jamm,[139] andRaging Fighter's Miyabi.[140]
Other outlets meanwhile compared Chun-Li toSNK characterMai Shiranui, as both have been cited as the first two prominent female characters of fighting games.[141][142][143] Frederick Badlissi ofDiehard GameFan jokingly called it the "question of 'anatomic supremacy' between Mai Shiranui’s breasts (the 'North') and Chun-Li’s thighs (the 'South')".[144]Games Tribune Magazine writer Javier Bello felt the comparison was in part due to the visual appeal of both characters introducing "a sexy and pleasing touch to the eye" in contrast to a cast of "squads of fighters with plenty of testosterone and muscles", with Mai's emphasis on exposure pushing her popularity further in his opinion.[145] French magazineHardcore Gamers devoted a two-page spread to the characters to compare them, with the article emphasizing while Chun-Li was often the more interesting character, Mai was more consistently alluring, though no less influential on other characters in the fighting game industry.[146]
The character has also been homaged in film, such as byJackie Chan in the 1993 filmCity Hunter where Chan's character is briefly changed into Chun-Li, mirroring herStreet Fighter II design.[132] The 1992 filmHong Kong filmSuper Cop starringCynthia Khan meanwhile referenced her directly by having the lead character be named Chun Li, while also utilizing several of her attacks such as the Spinning Bird Kick.[147][148] In addition, she also makes cameo appearances in the 2008 Korean filmMy Mighty Princess and in the 2018 filmReady Player One.[149][150]
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