Capcom did something special for Mai Shiranui on her birthday – January 1st. The Fatal Fury character will be coming to Street Fighter 6 this winter. Because of this, Mai and Terry are official members of the World Warrior mythos. What is surprising about the update is Mai’s illustration.
Right on time to blow out the candles and eat osechi for good luck.
An early Happy New Year to all our World Warriors!
In 2025, Mai and Elena will bring the fans and dancing to #StreetFighter6. 🔥🤸🏾♀️
Hope you tune in for Capcom Cup 11, Street Fighter League, and other hot events. pic.twitter.com/ttr7BzUwYt
— Street Fighter (@StreetFighter) December 31, 2024
Which Mai Is Which?
The look feels more accurate to Mai Shiranui’s usual appearance in The King of Fighters, yet other details seem more rooted in Fatal Fury. As some eagle-eyed FGC commentators have pointed out, Mai Shiranui’s design has never been entirely consistent across games. I would argue that each rendition has its subtle differences, much like how Street Fighter characters evolve in Capcom’s games.
Artwork-wise, Shinkiro’s illustrations generally preserved her kanzashi, tassels, and hair length, particularly before 2001, when artists like Falcoon and Nona took over for box art duties. However, in-game portraits have often differed from the box art designs.
There’s also the argument that Mai Shiranui is a character caught between two distinct continuities—the Fatal Fury series (including Real Bout Fatal Fury and Mark of the Wolves entries) and The King of Fighters, which typically doesn’t age its fighters. Things can change, and appearances can evolve. Mai’s major sprite redesigns occurred after Fatal Fury 2 and The King of Fighters ’96. Notably, KOF XIII drastically altered her visuals, as it did with many other characters.
Perhaps the look we see now reflects an early design for Mai when she was first introduced as a World Tour master. While we have yet to see her gameplay in actual matches, speculation may eventually put to rest some of the questions circulating online about the reasons behind these changes.
Capcom’s tweet also mentioned Capcom Cup 11 and the Street Fighter League, which suggests that we might see actual gameplay for Mai sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, Elena is expected to join the roster in the next season later this year. However, no renders of Elena have been revealed in the game so far.
