Chun-Li

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Chun-Li
Chun-Li as she appears in Super Street Fighter II. Illustration by Bengus.
Game series	Street Fighter series
First game	Street Fighter II
Designed by	Akira "Akiman" Yasuda (Street Fighter II)
Voiced by (English)	Lia Sargent (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Street Fighter II V, Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie) Donna Yamamoto (Street Fighter TV series) Laura Bailey (Street Fighter IV)
Voiced by (Japanese)	Yūko Miyamura (Street Fighter Alpha series, Street Fighter EX series, Vs. series) Atsuko Tanaka (Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Namco x Capcom)[1] Michiko Neya (Capcom vs. SNK series) Mari Jitsukawa (SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom) Fumiko Orikasa (Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Street Fighter IV) Yumi Tōma (Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie) Chisa Yokoyama (Street Fighter II V, Street Fighter Alpha drama CD) Miki Fujitani (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie) Rika Fukami (Japanese dub of the Street Fighter film) Riisa Naka (Japanese dub of Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li)
Live action actor(s)	Ming-Na (Street Fighter) Kristin Kreuk (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li)
Information
Birthplace	China
Nationality	China
Fighting style	Tai Chi
Weapon	Guns
Occupation	Interpol officer

Chun-Li (チュンリー, Chun-Rī^?, based on Chinese [simplified: 春丽 traditional: 春麗] Chūn-Lì) is a video game character created by Capcom. First introduced in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, she has since appeared as a player character in each subsequent game. Her name in Mandarin is (chun 春 "Spring", lì 丽 "beautiful"), meaning "Spring beauty". ^[2]

An undercover Interpol agent, Chun-Li enters Street Fighter II 's fighting tournament as a way of getting to its founder, M. Bison. She seeks to avenge her father, who was murdered while investigating Bison's crime syndicate, Shadaloo. Her signature move is the Hyakuretsu kyaku (百裂脚, Hundred Rending Kicks^?), commonly known as the Lightning Kick), which involves repeatedly kicking her opponent from a tilted standing position. Chun-Li is notable for being the first female playable character in a fighting game,^[2][3] and has acquired the nickname "First Lady of Fighting Games" among enthusiasts.^[4]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Street Fighter series 1.2 Other games 2 Characteristics 3 Appearances in other media 3.1 Live-action 3.2 Animation 3.3 Manga 3.4 In comics 4 Media influences 4.1 Music 4.2 Films 4.3 Comic books 5 Actresses 6 Promotion and reception 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Street Fighter series

Chun-Li made her debut in the original version of Street Fighter II as one of the game's eight playable characters and the sole female character in the game (before the addition of later characters such as Cammy, Rose and Sakura). Chun-Li's backstory centers around her quest to avenge her father's death, an undercover police agent who disappeared while investigating M. Bison's organization. In her ending, she fulfills her revenge and decides to return to her life as an ordinary girl. In Super Street Fighter II, the player is given the option to make Chun-Li return to ordinary life or continue her work as a police officer.

Chun-Li is brought back in Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, which is set prior to the events of the Street Fighter II. Chun-Li is depicted as an undercover ICPO agent who is after M. Bison and his drug cartel. In the first Alpha game Chun-Li is dressed in a Chinese acrobatics outfit, although the two sequels: Alpha 2 and Alpha 3 feature Chun-Li's original outfit from SFII as an alternate version of the character with alternate special abilities and super combos.

She appears as a playable character in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, the third iteration of Street Fighter III, as one of five new playable characters that were added, making her one of the few Street Fighter characters to appear in all major sub-series. Set years after the Street Fighter II, Chun-Li has retired from street fighting to teach martial arts to young children,^[5] but is forced to return to law enforcement after one of her students is abducted by Urien.

Chun-Li appears in Street Fighter IV as one of the returning World Warriors from SFII (which was subtitled World Warriors) with her brand new Ultra Move, Hōsenka (鳳扇華, Phoenix's Fan Petals^?). Her in-game narrative shows she is at a current crossroads in her life and her eventual return to both street fighting and law enforcement.

[edit] Other games

Chun-Li has made appearances in several other Capcom-produced fighting games including all of the Marvel vs. Capcom, where she was made an honorary member of the X-Men, and Capcom vs. SNK crossovers. She also appears in the puzzle game Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and its sequel, Pocket Fighter. She is also a playable character in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars, representing her debut game Street Fighter II. She also makes a cameo in Mega Man 9 as a television news reporter during a scene where Mega Man and Dr.Light were watching a breaking-news report, and in Final Fight 2, where she can be found eating ramen in the first stage. She also has a cameo appearance in Breath of Fire where you can see her practicing her lightning kicks in the Magician's house in the town of Bleak. Chun-Li also appears in the Tactical RPG game Namco × Capcom, where she will team up with Cammy White as you progress. She is found in almost any Capcom fighting game, one exception was the first Street Fighter III and its first revision, 2nd Impact, until she was finally added to the third and last revision Street Fighter III 3rd Strike. Chun-Li also appears in the Pachislot game 'Chun-Li Ni Makase China!'; the first game CAPCOM has produced that features Chun-Li in the starring role.

She also appears as an unlockable costume swap in Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams for Ohatsu, though purely cosmetic. Incidentally a remix of her stage soundtrack can be heard if the player wears this Secret Costume and plays as Ohatsu in the aforementioned game's Dark Realm minigame.

[edit] Characteristics

In the Street Fighter II sub-series and most of her later appearances, Chun-Li wears a qipao, an early 20th century Chinese dress.^[4] In the beta version of Street Fighter II, Chun-Li was originally depicted wearing an orange qipao instead of blue.^[2] The dress is modified to allow a far wider range of movement than a generic qipao. Her ensemble also includes a pair of white combat boots and brown pantyhose. Chun-Li famously wears her hair in "ox horns";^[2] she wears silk brocades and ribbons in her hair, signifying the mourning of her father. Another familiar part of her ensemble are the large spiked bracelets she wears on her wrists. In Street Fighter 4, Chun Li has an alternate outfit. This attire consists of a blue night gown and red high heels. In the Street Fighter Alpha games (set during the time period before Street Fighter II), Chun-Li wears an embroidered vest, a unitard,^[2] and athletic shoes. She wears her ox horns unadorned. She also wears her original Street Fighter II outfit as an alternate version of her character.

Chun-Li is also known for her large, muscular thighs compared to her otherwise petite body. This is due to many of her moves involving kicking, and her active job and lifestyle.

[edit] Appearances in other media

[edit] Live-action

Chun-Li was portrayed in the 1994 action film Street Fighter by actress Ming Na. She poses as a television reporter in order to infiltrate the nation of Shadowlaw and kill M. Bison, a warlord who murdered her father during a peasant uprising. Chun-Li's surname in the film is Zang/Xiang, though Capcom has not officially recognized it.

In October 2006, Hyde Park Entertainment and Capcom announced its intention to produce another film adaptation with the storyline to focus on Chun-Li as the main protagonist called Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. This film is more character-centered and story-based rather than following a "nebulous plot."^[6] Screenwriter Justin Marks was attached to write a script for the adaptation. Street Fighter was released on February 2009 release for the 20th anniversary of the fighting game series.^[7] The film adaptation is part of Capcom's multi-platform launch for 2008 that will also launch video games and a potential TV series in 2008. Smallville actress Kristin Kreuk played Chun-Li in the 2009 adaptation.^[6] Singaporean actor Edmund Chen played her father. While Chun-Li is a pure Chinese in the games, she was portrayed as a Chinese-American in the film with a Chinese for a father and an American for a mother.

[edit] Animation

Chun-Li is a central character in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. An Interpol agent, she is investigating M. Bison's organization of Shadowlaw, which is suspected of murdering several diplomats. She requests to work with Guile to investigate Bison's organization. Guile is initially reluctant to work with her, more eager to pursue Bison himself. By the end of the movie, however, they have become inseparable. Chun-Li is voiced by Miki Fujitani in the Japanese release. In the English adaptation by Manga Entertainment, she is voiced by Lia Sargent.^[8]

In a famous instance of fan service, an explicit scene shows Chun-Li showering in her apartment as a Shadaloo assassin, Vega, arrives to kill her. The shower scene has been censored to varying degrees in versions of the English dub.^[9] Although she manages to drive Vega off — kicking him through a wall and sending him hurtling several stories to the ground — Chun-Li succumbs to her injuries and slips into a coma; she remains hospitalized for the rest of the movie. A distraught Guile promises her that he will make M. Bison pay. Following Bison's defeat at the hands of Ryu and Ken, Chun-Li pulls a prank on Guile by making it appear as if she has died while he was away. As Guile grieves beside her empty bed, she surprises him with a newspaper headline announcing the downfall of Bison's operations.

In the Japanese anime series Street Fighter II V, Chun-Li appears as the spirited tour guide to Ken and Ryu. Her character in this adaption is a far cry from The world's strongest woman, since she's mostly a Kung-Fu student under the guidance of her father, the highest-ranked police chief in Hong Kong. Chun-Li plays a sizeable role in the finale when she is brainwashed by Bison's psycho power.

Chun-Li was a regular character and a reporter as she was in the 1994 movie in the USA Network's animated television series Street Fighter. She was voiced by Donna Yamamoto.

Chun-Li also appears in Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation OVA, as an Interpol agent who investigates a mad scientist called Sadler that works for Shadaloo. She believes the trail can lead her to her father, who at the time, was missing and pressumed alive. She assists Ryu and Ken in finding a boy named Shun, kidnapped by Sadler to force him to succumb to the Satsui no Hadō.

In episode 6 of the anime Midori Days, an arcade game that resembles Virtua Fighter is played by the main character against a little girl. She picks a character named Nyan Nyan that is very similar to Chun Li down to her victory salute. He picks Tota Arashi, who could be either Ryu himself or Akira Yuki from Virtua Fighter.

[edit] Manga

In a Street Fighter II manga published in the 1990s (by Masaomi Kanzaki), Chun-Li remains in her established role of an interpol agent investigating Bison, yet frequently expresses her desire to earn Ryu's praise as a genuine fighter. As the Manga progresses, she eventually participates in a tournament arranged by Shadaloo, and outlasts many of the other warriors, eventually coming up against Vega, portrayed here as her father's killer. Chun-Li defeats Vega, but as in the SF II movie, she is exhausted from the fight, and she is pulled from the tournament. Her injuries prevent her from doing much when Ryu and Bison confront one another, except call off an air strike by Interpol. Chun-Li appears one final time in the closing pages of the final issue of the Manga in a panel illustration depicting her arrest of a drug peddler, she remains eager to prove herself to Ryu, and sends him a letter conveying that wish.

Chun-Li also appears in Masahiko Nakahira's Sakura Ganbaru! manga, in which she participates in a police raid to an illegal underground fighting circle. Later on, she follows the trails that lead her to an assassin which turns out to be Gen, from whom she suffers an utter defeat.

In the manga and anime adaptations of Street Fighter Alpha, Chun-Li is again an agent of interpol as she is in almost all iterations save for the live action film. In the anime, she begins tracking down Ryu because of his battle with Sagat and Shadaloo's apparent interest in Ryu. Believing this information will in some way lead to further dismantling of Shadaloo, she seeks out Ryu and becomes involved in his struggle to defeat the temptation of the Dark Hadou.

In the manga, she encounters Ryu, who has fallen from grace when he began to give in to the Dark Hadou, and had hired himself out as a bodyguard to some drug smugglers. She winds up befriending Ryu and Birdie as well as Ken (which also happens in the anime), and Chun-Li, Ken, and Ryu begin trying to deal with the Dark Hadou, though Chun Li plays mostly a minor role in that regard. However, the three friends encounter members of Shadaloo, and Chun-Li, at the end of the first volume of the manga, rescues Cammy from being captured (or possibly killed, the manga doesn't say which, only that losers are 'stored' somewhere) after having her hand apparently crushed or at the least injured in some way by Sodom. Shadaloo in the manga is once again responsible for the death of her father, though the exact identity of the killer has yet to be revealed.

[edit] In comics

In the 1990s, Malibu Comics produced a short-lived series of Street Fighter comics, which featured Chun-Li as a starring character. She is depicted as having known Ryu and Ken since her late teens, as well as having a romantic interest in Ryu. The story primarily focuses not on Chun-Li or Ryu in particular, but rather on the events which follow the murder of Ken Masters. Due to the comic's abrupt end (it was cancelled after three issues), the storyline was never resolved.

When Udon comics picked up the comic book license for the Street Fighter franchise for American distribution, Chun-Li again became a central character, involved in the hunt for Bison and Shadaloo. However, in the new comic, it is not Bison (a.k.a. Vega in Japan) who is the killer of Chun-Li's father, but rather Cammy, prior to her being freed from Bison's control. Chun-Li battles Cammy when they meet face to face for the first time. Chun-Li ultimately forgives Cammy for her actions, due to the fact that she was brainwashed to serve Bison at that time. As a result, Chun-Li turns her sights on Bison himself.

Chun-Li's mode of dress changes several times throughout the Udon comics, from the outfits worn in Street Fighter Alpha, to her more traditional qipao from the Street Fighter II games. She has received an invitation from Shadaloo to enter a tournament being held by Bison. The comic appears to be mixing elements of the various games together. The story is currently ongoing, though Udon has yet to release the next volume of the series.

[edit] Media influences

[edit] Music

Chun-Li has inspired some influence on the music industry. The British rock band Arctic Monkeys have an instrumental song titled "Chun Li's Spinning Bird Kick" and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Wyclef Jean sings in his version of the song Guantanamera: "If your name was Chun-Li, we'd be playin' Street Fighter." The Japanese rap/rock band Orange Range mentions Chun-Li in the Japanese side of Viva Rock. Nerdcore hip-hop artist Beefy dedicated a song to Chun-Li. In Fall 2008, Hip Hop Artist MeccaGodZilla (aka Ryu Black) teamed up with Mega Ran (PA & AZ), Masia One (Canada) & DJ Sarasa (Japan) to dedicate a love song to Chun Li. Also, on his mixtape Mixtape Messiah 5 the hip-hop artist Chamillionaire states: "Kickers in the trunk tryin to do the Chun Li. Yep, Yep! Bet the wallet do the Gumby."

[edit] Films

In the Jackie Chan live-action movie City Hunter, Chan's character magically transformed to Chun-Li and fought against his adversaries (he was first transformed into E. Honda).

There is a fight scene in the Shrek 2 movie, where Princess Fiona performs Chun-Li's Spinning Kick against her opponents.

The movie Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li was released on the 27th February 2009. Kristin Kreuk plays Chun Li, a young girl whose father was kidnapped by M. Bison. Later on when she's older she is taught how to control her anger and channel it into power by Gen (Robin Shou) she later on takes on Bison (Neal McDonough) with the help of Detective Charlie Nash (Chris Klein). In the film, Huang was revealed as her family name.

[edit] Comic books

Issue #5 of the widely acclaimed comic book series Demo deals with a young woman whose physical appearance changes to match the desires and perceptions of those around her. In one scene, her body and clothing briefly change to match those of Chun-Li from the Street Fighter Alpha series.

[edit] Actresses

• Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition winner Kim Chiu wore a cheongsam dress with her hair set similar to Chun-Li's on ASAP '06.
• In a number of games since Street Fighter Alpha, her voice is performed by actress/singer Yūko Miyamura.
• In the animated movie, her voice actress is Miki Fujitani.
• In Street Fighter III, Capcom Fighting Evolution, and the RPG Namco x Capcom she is performed by Atsuko Tanaka.
• In Capcom vs. SNK and Capcom vs. SNK 2, Chun-Li is voiced by Michiko Neya.
• In SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom, Chun-Li is voiced by Mari Jitsukawa.
• Chun-Li is portrayed by Ming-Na alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme in the live action movie (1994). After being captured by M. Bison, she is dressed in a red qipao in contrast of the signature blue portrayed in the video games. Ming Na played a news reporter in this movie, instead of an Interpol agent. The character is dubbed over by Sailor Moon actress Rika Fukami (Sailor Venus) in the Japanese dub of the film.
• In the English dubs of Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Street Fighter II V and Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie, Chun-Li is voiced by Lia Sargent.
• Jackie Chan humorously parodies several characters from the game in the film City Hunter. He briefly dons Chun-li's attire in the movie to defeat a thug who modeled himself after Ken Masters.
• In the 2009 film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, she is portrayed by actress Kristin Kreuk.
• In Street Fighter IV and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom she is voiced by Fumiko Orikasa, while she is voiced by Laura Bailey in the English version of SF IV. Both actresses were retained for the anime film Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind that was distributed with the collector's edition of the game.

[edit] Promotion and reception

A Chun-Li-inspired costume for players to use in Sony's LittleBigPlanet was released on December 12 of 2008 as downloadable content for the title.^[10]

IGN ranked Chun-Li at number three in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, noting that while sexism is factored into her initial design, "[she's] come a long way over the years. She's by far the most popular female fighting game character out there, and if you try to start naming off better-known women in videogaming period, you're going to wind up with a pretty short list."^[11] GameDaily listed her at number one on their "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time" article, praising her character evolution and for balanced gameplay.^[12] Spike featured her in their "Top 10 Video Game Vixens" article at number four, citing a preference for her muscular thighs.^[13] UGO.com ranked her ninth in their "Top 50 Videogame Hotties" article, stating "Chun Li's female presence and early dominance of the fighting game genre propelled her into the minds of many early fanboys."^[14] She was awarded Hottest Babe of 1992 by Electronic Gaming Monthly, tying with Blaze from Streets of Rage.^[15]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Evolution of Chun-Li and Blanka
• Kikouken.Com
• Chun-Li at the Internet Movie Database

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