| Ibuki | |
|---|---|
| Street Fighter character | |
.png) Ibuki inOnimusha: Soul | |
| First game | Street Fighter III (1997) |
| Created by | Akira "Akiman" Yasuda[1] |
| Designed by | Akira "Akiman" Yasuda[1] Kinu Nishimura (schoolgirl outfit)[2][3] Toshiyuki Kamei (SFV)[4] |
| Voiced by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Fighting style | Taijutsu[6] |
| Origin | Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
Ibuki (いぶき,Ibuki) is a character inCapcom'sStreet Fighter series, first appearing in the 1997fighting gameStreet Fighter III: New Generation.
During the development ofStreet Fighter III: New Generation forCapcom, the development team had implemented legacy characterRyu into the game, and wanted to include a female character, but found a viable concept difficult to come up with.Akira "Akiman" Yasuda, a longtime character designer at Capcom then suggested "Let the girl be a ninja. Ninjas are absolutely cool!"[7] Producer Tomoshi Sadamoto recalled that because they were located in Japan in contrast to other new characters Ibuki was much easier to find reference materials for.[8] As koppojutsu as a martial art was getting attention at the time, Yasuda incorporated elements of it alongsideninjitsu into her character design and movements.[4]
Her initial design was drastically different, consisting of a short haired muscular girl with glasses, wearing an outfit similar toGuy fromFinal Fight, another character he had developed. However they felt this design looked "more like a martial artist than a high-flying ninja".[9] Another pass was done with a focus on a more traditional ninja, the next drawing giving her a full bodysuit and armor over her hands, ankles and crotch.[10] Her appearance and outfit were refined further,[1] giving her a look he described as cute "even though she looks shabby". Series artist and fellow character designer Kinu Nishimura took that statement to heart and emphasized that cute aspect of her art of Ibuki, as well as designing a school outfit for the character.[2][3] She was given a long ponytail, which proved a problem for the animation team as it caused her to have "1.2 to 1.3x the character data" of other fighters, requiring several months to complete with Sadamoto himself helping at the end.[8]
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Ibuki is a young Japanese woman introduced in the 1997 fighting gameStreet Fighter III: New Generation. A ninja, she is sent by her clan to retrieve a document from an organization ran by the game's antagonist,Gill. She returns for the game's subsequent two sequels, where in3rd Strike she prepares to graduate from high school hoping to enjoy a normal campus life and find a boyfriend.[11] By the game's conclusion she enters a university which is revealed to be a secret elite ninja training camp.[12] She additionally appears inStreet Fighter IV, a precursor toStreet Fighter III, with a storyline similar to that of3rd Strike.[13]
Ibuki reappears as a playable character inStreet Fighter V as one of theDLC characters released after the game's launch.[14] She was supposed to arrive in May 2016 but was delayed to July.[15] In her prologue story, Ibuki finally finishes her ninja assignment and is informed by her friend Sakura about the party invitation sent from her rivalKarin Kanzuki. Arriving at the Kanzuki Estate, Ibuki fights and defeatBirdie and Karin. After the fight, Karin lets her stay at the party with handsome boys and gives her the contract which has been approved by the Shinobi village to work with her. Ibuki also appears in the end ofR. Mika's prologue story, rejecting her offer in muscle training which angers R. Mika who beats her in a fight. Ibuki and R. Mika continue to argue and bicker through the course of the game's main story, "A Shadow Falls", which begins when they and Karin travel to theNew York City to find out who is behind the activation of the seven Black Moons, eventually finding out it is a Shadaloo plot. During the first infiltration of the Shadaloo base, Ibuki fightsBalrog but fails to beat him. She then uses her smoke bomb to distract the enemies and the two successfully escape with it until they reunited with Karin. They witnessZangief beatAbel, Ibuki watching in disgust while R. Mika idolizes him. In the final assault against Shadaloo, Ibuki and R. Mika fight off Shadaloo soldiers. Ibuki is last seen watching Shadaloo's destruction with the other fighters.[16]
Asuper deformed version of Ibuki is a playable character in the fighting gameSuper Gem Fighter Mini Mix /Pocket Fighter (1997),[17] in which she sneaks off from her ninja training for an ice cream in Tokyo.[18] Ibuki is playable in the mobile puzzle gameStreet Fighter: Puzzle Spirits (2014),[19] and appears as a card in the browser-based social gameOnimusha Soul (2012)[20] and in person inStreet Fighter Battle Combination (2015).[21][22] Her cards also appear inSNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash (1999) andSNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS (2007). She has a cameo inCapcom Fighting Evolution (2004).
Ibuki is one of the characters representing theStreet Fighter series in the crossover fighting game,Street Fighter X Tekken (2012), withRolento as her tag team partner.[23] In it, she is persuaded by her village leaders to accept Rolento's request for a joint mission to theSouth Pole, serving as his advisor on infiltration.[24]
Ibuki appears inStreet Fighter comic books, including inStreet Fighter: Unlimited.[25] Notably she received her own four-issue miniseries Street Fighter Legends: Ibuki, written by Jim Zubkavich and drawn by Omar Dogan. It was published byUDON Entertainment in 2010 to coincide with the release ofSuper Street Fighter IV.[26]
To promote the release ofNew Generation, several items of merchandise were created featuring Ibuki, including t-shirts, phone cards, and a wall clock.[27] In 2010, anXbox Live Avatar costume of Ibuki was released for the debut ofSuper Street Fighter IV,[28] while aPlayStation Network avatar was released to support3rd Strike's Online Edition.[29] In 2015, a figure of her was released by Kotobukiya.[30]
Ibuki was positively received since her debut, withComputer and Video Games magazine describing her as the most popular and powerful character ofNew Generation's cast.[31] Martin Robinson ofAskMen stated that while ninjas were a frequent trope in video games, "none are as effortlessly cool as Ibuki" and added that she was one of a handful of characters worth salvaging fromStreet Fighter III.[32] Game developer Giovanni Simotti, designer ofAkane the Kunoichi, based the character's appearance on both Ibuki andSNK'sMai Shiranui as a "small tribute to two of the most famous kunoichi from the history of the videogames".[33] However, gaming publications saw Ibuki as a replacement for series characterChun-Li "albeit a little more punked out" according toNext Generation,[34] and withOfficial UK PlayStation Magazine stating that this had caused the character to become despised in the first twoStreet Fighter III titles.[35]
Jesse Schedeen ofIGN argued that Ibuki strayed significantly from ninja tropes in gaming in that she was portrayed as "not a musclebound brute, but a young, quirky girl still finding her way in the world", and felt similar to fellowStreet Fighter characterDan Hibiki in that manner. He described her "eclectic nature" as making her a fun character, enjoying that the game portrayed her as both a serious ninja in training but also someone able to relax and partake in social activities.[36] Meanwhile, Gavin Jasper ofDen of Geek praised her as "too fun not to like", noting her complex life specifically and giving additional praise to her role as thestraight man to Rolento's eccentric behavior inStreet Fighter X Tekken.[37]
The staff ofPaste also voiced praise for Ibuki, and added that her design in terms of aesthetics and as a fighter was strong and helped make her the best ninja of the series by far, despite their voiced disdain for her gameplay inStreet Fighter IV.[38]Retronauts on their podcast discussingStreet Fighter III voiced similar sentiments, considering her one of the best designed characters inStreet Fighter III overall for her gameplay, mobility and aesthetics, and felt she was a character they routinely gravitated to when playing the title. While they felt she was slightly over-engineered in terms of gamplay, they also felt a lot of love went into her character, and observed that very early on inNew Generation's life she had developed a large fanbase.[39]
In a retrospective of theStreet Fighter series, Amanda LaPergola and Becky Chambers ofThe Mary Sue praised her status as a ninja, but criticized the emphasis of her story on her meeting boys. Their disdain came from seeing it as a perpetuation of the "normal girl" trope, something they felt was too common among younger female characters of theStreet Fighter cast.[40]
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