Miðgarðsorm

Early sketch of Mika by AKIMAN, where she still had no mask, wore a cape "with Toshiba-level bright decorative lighting", and had "Orange Road hair". That's a reference to the manga Kimagure Orange Road by Izumi Matsumoto (RIP), whose deuteragonist Madoka Ayukawa sported those hair. The "bouncy and voluptuous body" definitely remained, though. I hope they bring back the light up cape for SF6, when Mika should already be a superstar. Madoka Ayukawa, courtesy of Ryoredcyclone:

I asked Quasimodox for another commission, and this is the result. Love it.

I followed in @ShockDingo's steps and commissioned to Quasimodox a drawing of Zangief lifting Gill, based upon a famous scene of Aleksandr Karelin lifting his opponent. I LOVE it.

@Lord_Vega@Chun-Li_Forever Capcom Artwork Team's official account is sharing details and sketches about Chun Li's preliminary idea back in 1988, when she still was named Zhìlì, used MANTIS-Style kung fu and was to be GEN'S DAUGHTER, because Bison would've murdered Gen and Dorai still didn't exist. Many of her movements were blatantly reused by Capcom later for Gen in the Alpha series. Interesting that they already thought about the HIGH JUMP mechanic (down, up). Also, down/forward and down/back would've produced a slow low crawl, as it was possible in Fatal Fury 2.

I don't remember, honestly. 🤔 It's more likely it was@bakfromon, because he's the resident Ryu fan who knows Japanese. The old SRK forum has become a mess when it comes to searching old posts, so I just gave up trying to find something.

Two absurdly specific trivialities I've found on Twitter. User PLUS is playing with a camera to navigate SFV stages, and he found out that in Sakura's house her brother Tsukushi is INDEED playing SF's parody 龍拳剛記外伝 轟の章 Ryūken gōki gaiden - Kō no shō, "Dragon fist strong chronicle side story - the rumble chapter", as is written on his bio. Obviously the title plays with Ryu, Ken, Gouken and Gouki's names. I also asked him to enlarge the Egyptian obelisks in Ring of Prosperity stage, because I wasn't sure whether the writings had a meaning or not. It turns out Capcom just copied real hieroglyphics from somewhere, but the text is assembled randomly. The cartouches are both versions of Ramesses III's name, and immediately reveal the text is a forgery: in an Ancient Egyptian text, all hieroglyphics must face the same direction, but the figures inside the cartouches are oriented towards left when all other figures are facing right.

スト Ⅱ = SF2 (ストリートファイターII Sutorīto Faitā II = Street Fighter 2) スト II ダッシュ= SF2CE (ストリートファイターIIダッシュ Sutorīto Faitā II Dasshu = Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition) スト Ⅱ ターボ = SF2T (ストリートファイターIIターボ Sutorīto Faitā II Tābo = Street Fighter 2 Turbo) スパ Ⅱ = SSF2 (スーパーストリートファイターII Sūpā Sutorīto Faitā II = Super Street Fighter 2) スパ ⅡX = SSF2T (スーパーストリートファイターIIターボ Sūpā Sutorīto Faitā II Tābo = Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo)

I surmise you stumbled upon RyoRedCyclone's blog, where he collected the long Japanese speech F.A.N.G did in the official SFV site if you pushed a special button (which appears gone as of now). I remember translating it back in the old SRK forum, and in fact it was maybe my very first translation there... Although there are a few new details about the Dolls which weren't there in the original one I see in SRK, while some other were omitted. @bakfromon@Lord_VegaThis is interesting, because it appears Capcom changed the message somewhere between 2016 and 2019. It's not the first time they changed their texts under our nose... My 2016 updated translation follows, with corrections; the new phrases underlined and the former, scrapped phrases with a strikethrough: Enero: she’s the provisional leader, and guides other members and refines all the plans for special operations. It seems she also takes part in battles quite often, as she knows how to fight. She is specialized in vocal mimicry, and uses it to confound the enemy. She's very proud, and often hard to handle. Then there is Février: she uses two submachine gun, and specializes in firearms. She’s terribly sarcastic, so beware! Her charming points are her hair and glasses! You can't win against her in an argument; it'd be only a waste of time. März: she is specialized in info gathering and cyber attacks. She's powerless, but she seems to be able to fight nonetheless. Not the type you’d want to upset! Actually, she seems to have been doing boxing (as an exercise?) behind the secret base.1 Aprile: she carries a medkit, and takes care of her colleagues. I, Lord F.A.N.G, have bestowed upon her a finely developed neurotoxin, so that in case of danger she can use the poison and attack. She's of Italian origin, and she was doing rhythmic gymnastics when she was abducted! That's dreadful! It's wrong to abduct people! 2 Satsuki: a Japanese samurai-style fighter. The number one fighting member in terms of offensive capability. Her beloved samurai sword cuts anything! Well, if she ever turns her blade on me, I can simply melt even her sword with my poison. Actually, she's also specialised in hand-to-hand martial arts, and has a move where she jumps in the air and slams her opponent to the ground. It's a followup to her Hooligan Combination, very cool to see. She also has a sliding kick. 3 Juli: a fighting member using Sniping Arrow. It seems a lot has happened in previous operations, but she’s safely back to Shadaloo to support our World conquest. Tháng Tám: a member specialized in spear fighting! As she has good eyesight, she can spot the enemy from high grounds. She can execute her duties with accuracy. Her beloved partner is Kiki, a Golden Lion Tamarin. She likes animals, and she worries about exploiting Kiki too much, but it's necessary for the World and for Lord Vega. Jiǔ Yuè and Yáng Yuè are twins. It appears to me that the one fighting with nunchakus and sporting a classical Chinese Opera face paint is Jiǔ Yuè, while Yáng Yuè is the one that fights with acrobatics wielding a stick; I tend to confuse them often. They seem specialised in combination techniques. That's a bit unfair, isn't it? November is the powerhouse of the Dolls. She wields two hatchets, one for each arm. Her spinning attack is devastating. She rarely speaks and is very reserved. Her hobby is to grow vegetables, and she has transformed a corner on the base roof into a vegetable garden. Also, she makes dolls. Lastly there is Dekabr’: the most powerful of all members, due to her being infused with Lord Bison’s Psycho Power. Could it be that she hates our former member Killer Bee? I can’t say it for sure, as I don’t know a lot of past things… 1 This is a clear attempt by Capcom to sell März as more of a threat, because a computer nerd is not a sufficiently believable menace. They sold hard November, Jiǔ Yuè and Yáng Yuè as strong opponents, and yet you never fight them... 2 LOL, F.A.N.G at his most hypocritical here. 3 I recall seeing Satsuki doing something akin to an Izuna Otoshi from the Hooligan Combination, but I don't remember where. Oh, and Merry Christmas to you all!

Apparently, Robert was Catholic, but Luke follows a Church of Christ.

Argh, I really can't as of now. I've yet to reply to two @Lord_Veganotifications from a month ago... I hope to do so in about a week, but don't get your hopes up. Anyway, the first question Yoshiyuki Hirai (noted Japanese actor and comedian) asks before the actual interview is how much time is spent for creating a single character, to which Nakayama replies "Over a year and a half".

Yes, she does. The meaning is the same: it leaves to your imagination whether Bison is already dead or she implies he's not a threat anymore.

It could be interpreted both ways, honestly. 🤔

I'd say "Ryu! Show me your fists! It's time to settle the matter once and for all!" Literally, Gouki says "to give (to the matter) the true settlement", but as you all see it would sound horrendous in English. Ryu retorts "I'll show you I'll go beyond SNH"; the implication is HOW, aka the power which surpasses SNH. Anyway, the meaning is exactly the same. LOL SFA2. Its translations were the abyss of wtfingness.

It seems sufficiently legit to me, but there's also something fishy I can't define well. Then again, I never saw a debug screen, so... 🤔

So what? He's still not Kyo, thank goodness. Anyway, SFV ends opening a whole array of new mysteries and LEAVING open ALL of them; classic Capcom. Who or what is G? They had to use ROSE, who wasn't even scheduled until the last season, just to reveal he's indeed SFV's last boss; too bad he... hasn't done ANYTHING actually bad apart from... I don't know, ominously hinting we're all gonna die? Come on! What is Neo Shadaloo up to? They seemed willing to kidnap Ryu for who knows what purpose, judging by the CapcomCup 2017 trailer. Is Mad Gear really plotting something? All forgotten and swept under the rug like the big role NECALLI seemed being destined to play in the very first SFV trailer. Tons of big ideas and still nothing actually moves forward, that's the impression SFV leaves on me.

Luke is neither Rook nor Gunloc, come on. There was no need of an official confirmation from Nakayama, but it's nice to have it. LOL at their crappy excuse "we already had enough X" when they discard characters. They had two boxers already and could've used DUDLEY but no, let's make a Steve Fox clone with Popeye's forearms. Bleh... At least he's not Kyo Kusanagi nor another crap guest character; and both Oro and Akira were cool.

Obvious pun between SUZUKI and KANZUKI aside, the Kanzuki zaibatsu is like the ACME of SF world. That they also make motorbikes is nothing surprising.

Yup, Gomez is a blatant Zangief ripoff. That was the time when Dai's authors were really obsessed with SF2, and introduced out of the blue a martial arts tournament, changing Maam into a Chun-Li clone. Even going as far as copying one of Akiman's poses in one of their illustrations.

I'm honestly surprised no one noticed Red Guardian's fighting stance modeled after Zangief's.

Hang on, are you saying that THAT was Vasili's reaction when they revealed Nash's tag? 😂

Nice to see someone reprise my older posts from SRK. Karate baka ichidai didn't inspire only Ryu and Sagat, but also Makoto (who was a "back to the source" compared to Ryu and Ken, who had become too "supernatural" by SFIII time) and, partly, Zangief, Balrog and Vega.

He's right for the most part. About the "canon", about the line of suspension of disbelief variable from person to person... Regarding his last question, I can't answer because I am not the kind of person who cannot accept these characters to exist in a fighting game, so he's not asking me.

It wouldn't surprise me if that were one of the many facts made up by Western fans which ended up in the Old Guide, then in the various wikis. I mean, the street fighter wiki still says that Honda's shikona was Fujinoyama, and I already demonstrated that it was actually his opponent's name in Sodom's SFZ2 ending. No Japanese bio of Gill I read ever mentions his parents.

Sagat by Tetsuo Hara.