Description

Chun-Li (春麗 or チュンリー, Shunrei or Chunrī?, Simplified Chinese: 春丽), also known as the Martial Arts Master (格闘技マスター, Kakutōgi masutā?, Simplified Chinese: 武术大师)[12] is the tritagonist and main female protagonist of the Street Fighter series, originally debuting in Street Fighter II. The first female fighter in the series, she is an expert martial artist and Interpol officer who relentlessly seeks revenge for the death of her father at the hands of M. Bison. Chun-Li was designed by Akira "Akiman" Yasuda. According to Akiman, Chun-Li was modeled after Tao from Shotaro Ishinomori's Genma Wars: Harmagedon movie, which was the #1 box office anime movie of 1983.[13] Chun-Li originally had big, wide legged pants and had a front and back apron. Akiman changed it because she didn't look "very sexy" and the design lacked visual impact and personality. Around the 11th hour, he experimented with her outfit choices. Finally, he decided to give her bare legs and a bodycon dress, making her look more like a professional wrestler. This became the finalized design for Chun-Li. She shares similarities to Tong Pooh, from Capcom's Strider franchise.[14] The Street Fighter III: New Generation Secret File appears to make a nod to this fact, showing a picture of Tong Pooh in a TV while wondering if it'd be the "next Chun-Li" Chun-Li's name is Mandarin for "spring beauty" (春 chūn, "spring"; 麗 lì, "beautiful"). It is properly romanized as Chunli in pinyin and pronounced "Chuen-lee", despite westerners commonly pronouncing it as "Chuhn-lee". The Japanese on'yomi rendering of the name is Shunrei. Older official sources from the early 90's indicate Chung was Chun-Li's surname, although it is worth noting this could very well not be the case anymore. In the live-action Street Fighter movie, Chun-Li was given the surname Zang/Xiang, but Capcom has not officially recognized it. Several Japanese drama CDs and novels created based on the series have given her surname as both "Feng" (楓, "Feng"?) and "Wang" (王, "Wang"?), though these are also not officially recognized by Capcom. Chun-Li's appearance has differed several times in the Street Fighter series, as well as in official art and cameos she has made in other works. She is known for her very muscular thighs. ChunLi2 Chun-Li in her outfit worn in the Street Fighter II Chun-Li wears a qipao, a Chinese dress imported over from Manchuria that became popular among girls during the early 20th century. Her outfit is modified to allow a far wider range of movement than a normal qipao. She also wears white combat/boxing boots of varying height (around calf-length in games such as the Street Fighter II series and older vs. Capcom titles, or around knee-high in games based around her 3rd Strike sprite) and a blue leotard with dark brown sheer pantyhose and a blue thong underneath with her qipao. Her qipao is blue with golden accents with a white waistband embroidered with a dragon pattern, a detail only seen in her Street Fighter II art before being officially added in Street Fighter V. She was originally supposed to wear a peach-colored qipao, as seen in her in-game profile and ending in the original Street Fighter II. Large spiked bracelets, whose ring is black steel and spikes are white/chrome polished steel are worn on both arms. According to supplementary materials, she wears the qipao in honor of her late mother, who passed away in her early childhood and whose only photo showed her in a qipao similar to her daughter's. The spiked metal bracelets she is known to wear are made of iron, and weigh approximately 7-10 kg (15-22 lbs) each. Chun-Li also wears them to help tone and exercise her body; the qipao is fitted with weights to help build body strength and finesse, while her bracelets are for the purpose of balancing her body when performing her kicking moves, including helping stabilize her center of gravity during a Hyakuretsukyaku and limit her during supers such as the Senretsukyaku to avoid overexerting her muscles. The spikes are also used for the purpose of intimidation. [15] ## Personality Kind, caring, loving, smart, submissive