| Mai Shiranui | Story | Move List | Gallery | Quotes | Trivia |
- "She can charm any man on the planet! The Shiranui-style Ninjutsu successor herself! MAI SHIRANUI."
- —The King of Fighters XV
- "Want a little taste of Shiranui fire?"
- —Mai Shiranui (Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves)
Mai Shiranui (
Her official nickname is "The Alluring Ninja Girl" (
Development
Fatal Fury 2: Concept art.
Mai was originally not planned to be included in Fatal Fury 2 at all, as her fighting style was created for a different male ninja. When developers shifted their focus to include an idol character in the series, they decided to scrap the Shiranui man for Mai. Her characteristic "bounce" was loosely modified from a kunoichi (female ninja) method of assassination: to be sensual to their unassuming prey before they strike. According to an issue of Neo Geo Freak, her breasts were modeled after Fumie Hosokawa and her bottom is modeled after the late Ai Iijima; both women were famous idols at the time.
Mai's concept art in KOF XIV, showing her personality: Happy, Angry, Serious. Illustrations by Eisuke Ogura
During the development of The King of Fighters '94, Mai's designer wanted to add more animation to her neutral pose. When the designer came back with the "swaying bosom", the developers were awestruck.[7][8] Due to this pose's potency, however, Mai's eye-popping motions were stilled in the KOF '94 international home version.[9][8]
In an interview with one of the series designers, Shinkiro, he replies that Mai was the most difficult character to illustrate. He comments "I thought she was going to burst out of her costume..." [10]
Appearance
Mai is a very beautiful woman, with fair skin, long brown hair tied into a tight, high topknot style, accompanied by a waist-length ponytail with parted bangs and amber eyes (with some games being brown). She is well-known both in verse and amongst fans for her well-endowed body.
Her main outfit is a red and white kunoichi dress (a traditional garb of her family's), with red tassels at the back that are fastened to an obi around her waist. She has circular white ropes secured around her shoulders, with red and black colored tabi for footwear. Mai is also usually seen wielding a traditional white Kachō Sen, or "butterfly fan", as her primary weapon.
in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, she has a completely alternate outfit. Instead of wearing the usual red and white kunoichi dress, she instead wears a partially zipped black leather biker jacket with a pinkish red color on the sides and some pink flower designs on the back. She now wears black pants with high heel boots, wears black gloves on her hands, and her topknot is now pinkish red instead of white. This new outfit is based on a promotional artwork of Fatal Fury Special, done by Shinkiro.
Personality
Mai is a very cheerful and temperamental girl. She tends to also be somewhat of an airhead and admires any kind of beauty or attractiveness, which sometimes comes across as being vain. She also at times compares attractive boys who flirt with her or acknowledge her beauty to Andy, acknowledging their attractiveness but ending with a comment saying they're 'not as cute as Andy'.
Like many girls, she has dreams of getting married to her Prince Charming — she found her own Prince in Andy Bogard, and self-proclaimed herself his fiancé, which at times has creeped out Andy himself. Within the Fatal Fury series, he mostly tries to ignore her advances as he views her like a younger sister but has a hard time adequately returning platonic affections due to her persistence.
Another notable example of this within the King Of Fighters series is her intro with Andy in KOF '97, proposing to Andy outright in a wedding dress, or scaring Andy with a mock child doll in KOF '99 and 2001. Despite this, Andy mutually acknowledges her love but prefers to keep quiet about it, mostly due to his own stoicism and focus on training.
Although her peppy fighting persona suggests otherwise, Mai is actually a traditional and ideal Japanese beauty. However, her pride as a Shiranui ninja and infatuation with Andy usually keeps her from fitting the mold 100% of the time.
Despite her complex relationship, Mai has shown her support for the women's team and their notorious reputation for years and enjoys working with her teammates. As for Andy's older brother Terry, Mai admires him, although she gets skeptical when she feels he's hiding something about Andy. Mai shows deference towards Joe but she feels his silly habits are a little annoying.
Fighting style
Mai utilizes the Shiranui-ryuu form of ninjutsu, blending traditional ninjutsu techniques with graceful and majestic movements reminiscent of traditional Japanese dance. This style is further complemented by her expert use of paper fans, which she integrates into her combat technique, performing a variety of combinations and moves with them.
Mai is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, using various throws and powerful elbow strikes that can break through an opponent’s defenses and incapacitate them. Her strength allows her to lift and throw opponents much heavier than herself, demonstrating her physical prowess. Fire is another central aspect of her combat style. She can create and control fire, infusing her attacks and fans with flames or completely cloaking herself in them.
Due to her ninja training, Mai is skilled in stealth and climbing. She also possesses aerial control, allowing her to stay airborne temporarily, float, glide, and change directions mid-air. Additionally, Mai can create shadow images of herself and her weapons, a technique called "Bunshin," which she uses to confuse and outmaneuver her opponents.
Mai's combat attire is not only functional but also strategic. Her revealing outfit often distracts male opponents, giving her an advantage in battle. She has the ability to change these clothes instantly with a single gesture. Moreover, her clothing can be used offensively; for example, the tassel on her ninja garb can be set ablaze to attack her opponent.
Music
Image Songs
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Voice Actresses
Japanese
| Megumi Hayashibara | |
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List of Roles:
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English
| Sarah Sawatsky | Lisa Ann Beley | Sheryl Stanley | |||
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List of Roles:
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List of Roles:
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| Miwa Gardner | Maddie Matsumoto | Rebecca Rose | |||
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List of Roles:
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List of Roles:
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List of Roles:
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Live Action Actresses
| Tomomi Miyauchi | Miki Hareyama | Maggie Q | |||
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List of Roles:
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List of Roles:
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List of Roles:
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Appearances
Games
Mobile
Cameos
Anime |
Gallery
Etymology
- The name Mai means "dance" (舞).
- Mai's surname Shiranui means "phosphorescent light" (不知火).
- Phosphorescence refers to a type of light that glows softly in the dark and that does not produce heat.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mai's profile page from the Fatal Fury 15th Anniversary website (Japanese)
- ↑ Official character profile from The King of Fighters 2001 website
- ↑ Official character profile from The King of Fighters 2003 website
- ↑ Mai's profile page from the Official website for Neo Geo Battle Coliseum
- ↑ Official character profile from KOF Maximum Impact Regulation "A"
- ↑ http://game.snk-corp.co.jp/official/kof-xiii/arcade/character/index.html
- ↑ - "The King of Fighters ’94 – Developer Interview" Archived from The original'
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Official character profile from KOF anniversary website.
- ↑ A previous editor recalled here a reference called "KOF94". But this reference and its content doesn't exist on this page. To those who know what he meant please fix the issue.
- ↑ KOF 10th anniversary website Shinkiro's interview.
- ↑ Post from Maddie Matsumoto's official X account
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