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Is R. Mika’s Butt Really That Controversial?

Is R. Mika’s Butt Really That Controversial?

If you’re one of the many following every Street Fighter V announcement as you eagerly anticipate the game, the latest news from Capcom may have left you rather upset. Rainbow Mika the wrestler, best known as R. Mika, experienced two major alterations that change the view of some moves.

R. Mika is the only character with moves that have been changed. Here’s what happened. Her Critical Art, Peach Assault, used to show her slapping her butt. The camera would focus in on it, then shift to show her pointing at her opponent and making a kissy face. You know, as though she were saying, “Kiss my butt.” Now, the camera doesn’t shift down, so you don’t see the slap. In addition, her and her wrestling partner, Nadeshiko, also used to force their (male or female) opponent into the splits during this attack, and now they don’t. Instead of each holding a leg, their arms go around the opponent’s waist.

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Such changes may sound minor, but it changes the entire tone of the attack. In the case of the butt slap, it was absolutely fanservice. Some people might have even been offended. However, it was also intended as a joke. R. Mika is a wrestler, which means she’s all about showmanship. Such a move is designed to taunt her opponent and show her own prowess. It was a saucy and cocky action that helped define her personality in a game where people don’t get many opportunities to see how the characters are set apart.

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Especially since Street Fighter has always been an over-the-top series. The men and women alike are idealized figures. Their physiques are far from ordinary. Rather, they’re all closer to cartoon characters than ordinary humans. Look at Birdie, who flings a booger during an idle animation that actually can deal damage. Dhalsim’s limbs jut across screens. Vega is unreasonably pretty.

Is R. Mika’s Butt Really That Controversial?

That R. Mika, a rainbow spawning wrestler, would need a simple action censored seems silly. Especially since the shifting focus of the camera keeps people from seeing part of the action. You hear a smack, but can’t see what she’s actually doing. The nuance is lost. Considering the actual animation only lasts a few moments, such censorship seems pointless.

It’s not a huge deal. A few frames of animation isn’t worth boycotting. However, it does seem like an odd decision on the part of Capcom, considering the overall tone of the Street Fighter series over the years. These characters are all designed to appear to men and women, with equal opportunity fanservice. To alter a character-defining action seems odd. We’ll have to wait and see what happens with R. Mika’s Critical Art in the final release in 2016.

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  • Library of over 500 titles
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
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