Street Fighter 6 Art Director Breaks Down Each Revealed Character Design

We are introduced to new Street Fighter characters each time they appear and some old favorites get reintroduced. Street Fighter 6 does not disappoint in this respect. While there are new players like Kimberly and Jamie, as well as Luke and Luke, old-timers can take comfort in knowing that Ken, Chun Li and Guile will also be appearing. For this sixth entry, the appearances, costumes, and personalities of returning fighters are changing.

Our trip to Osaka Japan saw Capcom’s Headquarters. We talked to Street Fighter 6 artist Kaname Fujioka about the experience at Capcom. He says that Street Fighter II was the biggest reason he wanted to work for Capcom. “I did some character design work for non-Street Fighter games like Red Earth or Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. But I didn’t get the chance to make a Street Fighter title.

He continues, “I became the Monster Hunter director and that was my main project for a while but I really wanted the Street Fighter series to be my main project.” For almost twenty years, I never had that opportunity. Finally, I made friends with [Street Fighter 6 director Takayuki]Nakayama, the man who explained to me that Street Fighter was my dream came true. Street Fighter 6 is Nakayama-san’s fulfillment of this dream. While it was a long process, the dream is finally becoming a reality with Street Fighter 6.

Fujioka now has his dream franchise in hand and has worked together with the rest to develop a shared vision for these iconic characters. To learn about each character’s appearance in Street Fighter 6, we went character-by-character. Below, Fujioka shares his thoughts on each of the designs we have seen.

Ryu

Ryu

Fujioka states that Ryu is the iconic Street Fighter character and has been since the beginning. We wanted Ryu to look like an “aged master” so that it would reflect all his training. Ryu has some elements that are obvious that indicate his age. These include the beard and the sash, which is kind of like Gouken.

Ken/Luke

Ken

“My impression of Ken is he’s always been a fiery and explosive – literally fiery, explosive – character,” Fujioka says. Fujioka also said that Ken has a better sense of fashion than Ryu. While I was trying to stress that point, Ken has been seen in the past as playful, however, Ken’s setting is on the run and he must hide.

Our dedicated article contains more details about Ken’s Street Fighter 6 design.

Luke

“Luke, being the main character, we felt that we really wanted him to be a straightforward and easy-to-relate-with type character without a lot of curveballs in comparison to Ryu, who’s always been the main character or iconic character of the Street Fighter series,” Fujioka says. We wanted Luke to be a bit more unique and offer some contrast. [Ryu’s disciplined, aged]Look at Luke. While we want Luke to be the main character, Ryu will have to distinguish him in terms of his story and appearance. His character should reflect a more vibrant, fresh type of character. We wanted him to be bright and colorful with lots of orange and blue accents.

Guile/Chun-Li

Guile

“[Similar to other classic characters]Fujioka says that they wanted to also show the elements of aging in Guile. He is an honorable soldier. Guile is still Guile no matter his age. There are certain things that have changed, whether it’s his muscle mass or the fact that he now has a goatee that show his age, but beyond that, we wanted to add some more personal touches to him. Because he is very precise and meticulous, we gave him a watch. He is very attentive to the amount of time it takes him to finish a fight.This is a reflection of his personality and his fight style..”

Chun-Li

Fujioka said that “She was possibly one the hardest characters I designed with this title,” especially because Chun-Li’s creator is one my mentors.” “I want to be respectful of that and design a Chun-Li version that’s appropriate for Street Fighter 6. Many different generations of players love Chun Li. It’s almost like everyone has their own interpretation or version of Chun Li. “How can I make a Chun-Li to satisfy everyone’s expectations and create something for Street Fighter 6?” It was quite a challenge. The themes for Chun-Li were to stress that Shadaloo was defeated by her, as well as the fact that Chun Li is a bit more mature than Ryu. Her graceful age has made her a better teacher, and she is now a mentor to those younger than her.

Dhalsim/Blanka

Dhalsim

Fujioka says that Dhalsim is an extremely difficult character to communicate because he’s superhuman, has movements and does things in a way that’s different from a lot other characters. That’s definitely a challenge. We put much thought and effort into expressions such as his wrinkles or beard. He has always seemed almost like a lonely, old character. “We spent much time trying to imagine what Dhalsim might look like as an elderly character with more years.”

Blanka

Fujioka says, “For the title, we wanted the more realistic textures to the characters while still maintaining the uniqueness and these characters that were kind of different than humanistic figures such as Honda or Blanka.”

Kimberly/E. Honda

Kimberly

Fujioka expresses that Kimberly is like Luke, Jamie and Kimberly’s last piece. This relationship almost resembles how Ryu and Ken were in Street Fighter’s older generations. We wanted to rekindle that love with other characters so Kimberly is the final piece. Not only that, but we wanted to make that trio a diverse group, with Kimberly being an African American woman who is enamored by ninja culture. Guy wants her to become like him so she does bushin-ryu, while simultaneously being a strong athlete. A lot of fun. A person who excels at cheerleading or gymnastics. She’s also not very strict. You will find her cheerful, happy and bright. It’s not unusual to find people in America who really love Japanese culture, just like in America. Bushin-ryu doesn’t actually refer to a Japanese ninja style. But her interpretation of it is quite wrong. “She assumes it’s, even though technically it’s not, because she loves it so much.”

E. Honda

Fujioka states that “Honda’s age is beginning to show.” If you pay attention, there are white hairs at the sides of his head. We wanted to preserve his sumo spirit, but show him a different style.

Jamie/Juri

Jamie

Fujioka stated that Jamie is someone Nakayamasan had always wanted. He wanted him to be an opponent to Luke. Unlike Luke, who uses more of a modern MMA style of fighting, Jamie utilizes more of an ancient drunken boxing kind of kung-fu style. Because we felt having all that was not sufficient, we added more contemporary elements to the fight, such as breakdancing, and other stuff that would be more applicable to younger generations. “We wanted to highlight the hybrid fighting style that combines old drunken boxing with modern breakdancing moves.

Juri

“Juri was a new character who was introduced in the Street Fighter IV series, and she has always been kind of a psychopath character with a very dark side – someone who maybe has a low sense of morality or would take on any job that is offered to her, even like assassination-type stuff,” Fujioka says. “This time I was struck by the question, “What does she do when she’s not doing odd jobs?” What does she do with her spare time? This led to a person with a poor lifestyle. She takes photos of her enemies and posts them on social media. She eats a lot junk food and sugary candy and is probably not very social. She might have developed bad habits, where her sole purpose is to pick up junk and use her foot in whatever way she likes. Although she’s not the most charming type of character it appears that many people notice the behavior and observe her actions. It was a great surprise that so many people noticed it.

Street Fighter 6 will arrive on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 4 in 2023. Click the banner to see more coverage on this highly anticipated fighting game.