is a character in the ''

Fatal Fury ''Fatal Fury'', known as in Japan, is a fighting game series developed by SNK, first released on the Neo Geo system. Gameplay The original ''Fatal Fury'' is known for the two-plane system. Characters fight from two different planes. By step ...

'' and ''

The King of Fighters ''The King of Fighters'' (''KOF'') is a series of fighting games by SNK that began with the release of ''The King of Fighters '94'' in 1994. The series was initially developed for SNK's Neo Geo (system), Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware and received ...

'' series of

fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...

s by

SNK is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing arcade games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises ...

. Introduced in 1992's ''

Fatal Fury 2 ''Fatal Fury 2'', known as in Japan, is a 1992 fighting game developed and published by SNK for Arcade video game, arcades. It is the second installment in the ''Fatal Fury'' franchise and the sequel to ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' (1991). ...

'', the character was originally conceived as a male character named "Ninja Master", but when a request was put in to include a female character in the game they revised the concept entirely. For the game's sequel '' Fatal Fury 3'' they considered replacing her with another female character, but due to heavy fan request she returned instead and has appeared in nearly every entry in both the ''Fatal Fury'' and ''King of Fighters'' series since. Mai is a Japanese

kunoichi is a Japanese term for . In popular culture, it is often used for female ninja or practitioner of ninjutsu (''ninpo''). The term was largely popularized by novelist Futaro Yamada in his novel in 1964. Although kunoichi have appeared in numerou ...

and the inheritor of her family's ninjitsu fighting style. Deeply in love with the character

Andy Bogard The following is a list of video game characters featured in the ''Fatal Fury'' fighting game series developed by SNK. Creation and design Series' creator Takashi Nishiyama stated that giving the characters depth was of great importance when m ...

, she enters martial arts tournaments against him so he may see her as a warrior. In addition to the aforementioned series she has appeared in a multitude of other games including the '' SNK vs Capcom'' series and various collaboration events between SNK and other gaming companies. She has been voiced by various voice actresses including Akoya Sogi,

Kotono Mitsuishi is a Japanese actress and narrator. She was affiliated with Arts Vision and Lasley Arrow, but is now freelance. Mitsuishi lived in Nagareyama, Chiba. She graduated from high school and entered the Katsuta Voice Actor's Academy in 1986. She is ...

, Sarah Sawatsky,

Lisa Ann Beley Lisa Ann Beley is a Canadian voice actress who often voices over roles which have either regal, motherly, or older sisterly love and authority within them. Early life Beley grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, before moving to Vancouver, where she stu ...

, Rebecca Rose,

, and

Megumi Hayashibara is a Japanese voice actress, singer, lyricist and radio personality from Kita ward in Tokyo and is affiliated with self-founded Woodpark Office. One of the most prominent Japanese voice actresses since the 1990s, Hayashibara is best known for ...

. In live action media, she has been portrayed by American actress

Maggie Q Margaret Denise Quigley (born May 22, 1979), professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American actress. She began her professional career in Hong Kong, with starring roles in the action films '' Gen-Y Cops'' (2000) and '' Naked Weapon'' (2002), ...

, as well as Chinese actress Pan Chun Chun. Mai has been well received, seen as a mascot for SNK as a whole who has heavily promoted her in various video game crossovers and merchandise. Her portrayal which often emphasizes the swaying of her large breasts has been cited as one of the first examples of the concept of breast physics in gaming, and a significant element of her character's appeal. Other outlets have attributed some of her popularity to '' Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture''s portrayal of her, while others have praised her personality and ownership of her sexuality. She has additionally been seen as a rival character to ''

Street Fighter is a Media mix, Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. Street Fighter 1, The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by List of Street Fighter video games, six other ma ...

''s

Chun-Li Chun-Li (; Japanese: , Hepburn: ) is a character in Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' video game series. She first appeared in '' Street Fighter II: The World Warrior'' in 1991 and is the first female playable character to appear in a fighting game t ...

, and symbolic of the rivalry between SNK and ''Street Fighter'' developer

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

. She has also been cited as a frequent subject of cosplay, which her outfit in particular seeing frequent usage in China and Taiwan in promotions and media across both countries.

Conception and creation

Introduced in the 1992

developed

'', the character was originally conceived as a male ninja simply named Ninja Master. However, after the character's concept was about sixty percent realized, a request was put in to include a female character, and they scrapped their original idea, retaining the ninja identity while developing several character concepts. In terms of personality, they wanted her to be strong-willed woman who made most of her own equipment, and to have a taste in

heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a Music genre, genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal band ...

, particularly the band

Pantera Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...

. Standing 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) tall, Mai is a Japanese woman with

measurements Measurement is the quantification of attributes of an object or event, which can be used to compare with other objects or events. In other words, measurement is a process of determining how large or small a physical quantity is as compared to ...

of 87-55-91 cm (34-22-36 in). Her long brown hair is worn in a ponytail style, with bangs that frame her face and an ornate hairpin holding it in place. Her outfit consists of a red uwagi with extended loincloth, while a decorative sash tied to form a butterfly musubi dangles from behind her. While matching fingerless gloves and red

tabi are traditional Japanese socks worn with thonged footwear such as zori, dating back to the 15th century. History Japanese are usually understood today to be a kind of split-toed sock that is not meant to be worn alone outdoors, much like re ...

cover her hands and feet, the lower portion of the uwagi ends similarly to a leotard with the back pulled tightly between her buttocks. The outfit exposes a significant part of her body, particularly her hips, cleavage and the sides of her breasts. While the development team originally gave her a more stern appearance in ''Fatal Fury 2'', they softened it in her subsequent appearances. She was originally intended to be excluded from the game's sequel, '' Fatal Fury 3'' and replaced with another female character, Alice Chrystler. However, due to heavy fan request, Mai returned instead. Several redesigns were considered for her appearance in the game, including a full armored appearance in heavy ninja gear, before changing her attire to incorporate a bustier. When asked if this was done to reduce the amount of exposure from her outfit, the development team responded there was "no reason in particular". Subsequent games however reverted to her previous design, which has remained mostly consistent since with minimal changes.

''The King of Fighters'' and onward

As her design was refined for ''The King of Fighters'', they aimed to emphasize her sex appeal, modelling her breasts after model Fumie Hosokawa, while her hips were based on those of media personality

Ai Iijima was a Japanese media personality, writer, activist and actress who was an AV idol early in her career, starring in more than 100 films. She later became the hostess on the nighttime television program, ''Gilgamesh Night,'' and transitioned away ...

. During work on ''The King of Fighters '94'', the person working on Mai's sprites, C.A.C Yamaski, asked the development head if he could increase the number of sprites for her standing idle animation. The latter agreed due to having extra space on the game's

ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

, but was surprised upon seeing the results: while in earlier games her breasts were given a slight amount of jiggle in her animations, the sprite artist had emphasized the movement of her breasts dramatically. While the animation was censored in Western releases of the game, this aspect endured into subsequent titles and the team felt this was a significant factor in her enduring popularity. For her portrayal in ''

The King of Fighters XIII is a 2010 fighting game developed and published by SNK Playmore. It is the thirteenth installment in the ''The King of Fighters'' series. Released on Japanese arcades, it was ported to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 globally in 2011, and an update ...

'', character artist Ritsu Yamaguchi wanted to recreate the atmosphere of her ''Fatal Fury'' series appearances. He noted that while ''The King of Fighters'' often placed emphasis on her breasts, hips and buttocks to depict her as a character that exudes sex appeal, he saw her character in ''Fatal Fury'' as portrayed "stoic" motions and as a serious fighter even though her clothing was still revealing. He felt her outfit alone would illustrate her sex appeal, so he focused on the stoic aspect to give her a "more sensual atmosphere", downplaying many of her more sexual animations by comparison. Later games meanwhile added secondary outfit options. For her appearance in the '' King of Fighters: Maximum Impact'' series, her "Another" outfit shortens her hair into a

bob cut A bob cut, also known as a bob, is a short to medium length haircut, in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at approximately jaw level, and no longer than shoulder-length, often with a fringe at the front. The standard bob ...

with the ends flared out, with both her hair and outfit changed to black. Her gloves and boots are larger in this version, with a fur lining around them and parts of her uwagi, while a red scarf extends from her neck and juts out from behind her. In his blog during the game's development, game script writer Akihiko Ureshino joked that this version of her design "feels like her fabric area has decreased despite her increasing beauty", though he was worried some variations may be removed from the final game for being too overt. Meanwhile, in ''SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy'', she is most prominently given a cow print

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering ...

for an outfit which features a matching fake tail, while her hair clip is changed to a set of horns with fake cow ears extending from it. For her appearance in '' Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves'', her recurring outfit was relegated to a secondary outfit. Her primary meanwhile was changed to black leather pants, a matching unzipped jacket with loose sleeves that exposed her midriff and cleavage, and black leather gloves on her hands. The look was inspired by her love of heavy metal and to give her a more casual outfit, as Ureshino felt her regular outfit would be out of place as street attire and would more likely get her arrested. This outfit was also included for her guest character appearance in ''

Street Fighter 6 ''Street Fighter 6'' is a 2023 fighting game developed and published by Capcom. It is the seventh main entry in the ''Street Fighter'' franchise, following ''Street Fighter V'' (2016), and was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows ...

'' as an alternative to her regular attire.

Appearances

Fighting games

Mai Shiranui is a Japanese

first introduced in the 1992 video game ''Fatal Fury 2'' by SNK. The inheritor of her family's ninjitsu style, she met

at a young age and fell in love with the boy, though Andy himself is dedicated to his own martial arts training. During the three man team ''King of Fighters'' series of tournaments, she initially attempts to partner with him, though he rebukes her offer, and she instead joins with other female fighters such as

Yuri Sakazaki is a character from SNK's ''Art of Fighting'' fighting game series. She first appears in the original ''Art of Fighting'' being kidnapped by Mr. Big, a criminal from the city of South Town. The players, Yuri's brother Ryo and his friend Robe ...

and

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

so Andy will recognize her as a fighter. Since her introduction she has appeared in almost every ''Fatal Fury'' title since with the exception of '' Garou: Mark of the Wolves''. She has also been in almost every '' King of Fighters'' series game with the exception of ''King of Fighter XI'', only appearing in the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

version, and ''XII'', where she was excluded entirely. She additionally appears in spinoff game '' King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2'' and its related title, ''King of Fighters Maximum Impact Regulation A''. In other SNK-related fighting games, Mai has appeared playable in every game in the ''

SNK vs. Capcom ''SNK vs. Capcom'', or alternately ''Capcom vs. SNK'', is a series of crossover video games by either Capcom or SNK featuring characters that appear in games created by either company. Most of these are fighting games, and take on a similar fo ...

'' series, She is also a playable character in '' SNK Gals' Fighters'', ''

NeoGeo Battle Coliseum (usually abbreviated as ''NGBC'' or ''NGB'') is a fighting game designed for the Atomiswave arcade board developed and released by SNK in 2005. The game features characters from several SNK and ADK titles. Subsequently, a PlayStation 2 version ...

'', and ''SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy''. She has also appeared in mobile fighting game titles such as ''The King of Fighters'', ''Fatal Fury Mobile'', ''The King of Fighters-i'', and ''The King of Fighters D: DyDO Smile STAND''. Outside of SNK-related works, Mai appears as

downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...

for

Koei Tecmo is a Japanese video game, amusement and anime holding company created in 2009 by the merger of Koei and Tecmo. Koei Tecmo Holdings owns several companies, the biggest one of those being its flagship video game developer and publisher Koei Tecmo ...

's '' Dead or Alive 5 Last Round'', its sequel '' Dead or Alive 6'', and in

's ''

''. In video games, the character was originally voiced by Akoya Sogi, with

Ami Koshimizu is a Japanese actress and singer. She has voiced many different types of characters, from young girls to adult women, as well as boys and animals. Her roles include leads such as Ryuko Matoi in '' Kill la Kill'', Charlotte E. Yeager in '' Str ...

taking over the role with the release of '' King of Fighters: Sky Stage'' in 2010. Koshimizu stated she initially had an image of Mai as a "mature older sister", but when they directed her to portray the character as a "cheerful older sister in the neighborhood" instead, she tried to balance the portrayal with a hint of sexiness. To this end, she spoke in a lower tone than normal, and used a lot of expression to create a sense of familiarity to give the impression someone could easily be friends with her. In 2025, Rebecca Rose serves as Mai's English voice actress for her appearances in '' Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves'' and ''Street Fighter 6''. In terms of gameplay, Mai is a very mobile and fast character, but also frequently physically weaker in the games. As a result, playing her effectively requires players to connect with more consistent attacks. However this has also led her to be considered one of the easier characters for beginners in titles, and to master using against other players in older titles. She furthermore has a variety of hand-to-hand combat maneuvers, such as her "Flying Squirrel Dance" diving attack and a rushing

cartwheel kick ''Aú batido'' (cartwheel kick) is a traditional capoeira cartwheel kick, known under various names in breakdancing, MMA and other disciplines. The cartwheel kick originated as a combat kick, but has become very popular as an acrobatic decorati ...

followed by an elbow strike called "Deadly Ninja Bees". She can additionally produced flames with some of her attacks, and throw her large folding fans as projectiles.

In other games

Mai is featured as a playable character in the console

shooter game Shooter video games, or shooters, are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is on the defeat of the character's enemies using ranged weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range weapons, a ...

s ''KOF Sky Stage'' and '' Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting'', the quiz game ''Quiz King of Fighters'', and the ''SNK vs. Capcom'' spin-off crossover card battle series '' SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters''. In a 2017

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

''The King of Fighters: World'' by Ledo Interactive, Mai is featured in person as a non-player and tutorial character, but the players will be able to use her Shiranui style for their own characters. Mai also appears in the 1998

visual novel A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustratio ...

game ''The King of Fighters: Kyo'', and later in several titles of SNK's '' Days of Memories'' dating sim series. She's featured, usually as a playable character, in various non-fighting ''King of Fighters''-related mobile games either developed or licensed by SNK, including ''KOF Gals Mahjong'', ''KOF: Battle de Paradise'', ''Mini King of Fighters'', ''The Rhythm of Fighters'', and ''The King of Fighters M'', ''The King of Fighters '97 OL'', ''The King of Fighters: Destiny'', ''The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match Online''

action RPG An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games emphasize real-time combat whe ...

The King of Fighters All Star ''The King of Fighters All Star (KOFAS)'' was a beat 'em up action role-playing game developed by Netmarble Neo and published by Netmarble. It was first released in Japan on July 26, 2018, for the iOS and Android. The game is a retelling of SNK' ...

'', and

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR), also known as mixed reality (MR), is a technology that overlays real-time 3D computer graphics, 3D-rendered computer graphics onto a portion of the real world through a display, such as a handheld device or head-mounted ...

game ''The King of Fighters Orochi Go''. Not-strictly ''Fatal Fury'' or ''King of Fighters'' mobile games that also feature Mai include ''SNK Dream Battle'', ''SNK Beach Volley Gal's Attack'', ''SNK Gal's Open: Cutey Shot'', ''SNK Gals Island Dokidoki Puzzle Shock!'' and its sequel, ''Neo Geo Tennis Coliseum'', ''You Are the Hero!'', ''Dai Shingeki RPG! Sister Quest'', '' Samurai Shodown Slash'', '' Metal Slug Defense'', and '' Beast Busters featuring KOF''. Mai has also been featured as a character in collaboration events with other games, including ''300 Heroes'', ''Ultimate Heroes'', ''Dazzle Dance'', ''

Dungeon Fighter Online ''Dungeon Fighter Online'', known in South Korea as ''Dungeon & Fighter'', is a multiplayer beat 'em up action role-playing game, developed and published for personal computers by Neople, a South Korean subsidiary of Nexon, and originally publi ...

'', '' Fantasy Fighter'', ''

Honor of Kings ''Honor of Kings'' (, unofficially translated as "King's Glory", or alternatively transliterated as Wangzhe Rongyao) is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by Tencent Games for iOS, ...

'', '' Brave Frontier'', ''Game of Dice'', ''Samurai Kingdom'', ''Clash of Kings'', ''Crash Fever'', ''Crusaders Quest'', ''GangRoad JOKER'', ''Grand Summoners'', ''Everybody's Marble'', ''Rival Arena VS'', ''Saishu Senkan: With Lovely Girls'', '' Tower of Saviors'', ''Valkyrie Connect'', ''Venus Eleven Vivid!'', ''World Cross Saga'', ''Yamato Chronicle'', ''The Fellowship of The Dragon'', '' Puzzle & Dragons'', ''Dungeon Hunter Champions'', ''Tokyo Prison'', ''Ninja Must Die'', and ''Doomsday: Last Survivors''. She additionally appears in

Bandai Namco (commonly known as and formerly Namco Bandai until 2015, also known as Bandai Namco Group,) is a Japanese mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 2005 by the merger of Namco and Bandai. The company specia ...

's crossover tactical RPG '' Queen's Gate: Spiral Chaos'', as well as a

gamebook A gamebook is a work of printed fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making choices. The narrative branches along various paths, typically through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages. Each narrative typically does not ...

for the ''

Queen's Blade is a Japanese series of visual combat books published by Hobby Japan inspired by the licensed works from Firelight Game Company's '' Lost Worlds''. The overall plot of the game revolves around a tournament called the Queen's B ...

ecchi is a slang term in the Japanese language for playfully sexual actions. As an adjective, it is used with the meaning of "sexy", "dirty" or "naughty"; as a verb, means "to have sex", and as a noun, it is used to describe someone of lasciviou ...

series. Mai's image was additionally licensed as a roulette character for pachislot machines. In 2003, SNK sued machine manufacturer Aruze for copyright infringement after Mai's likeness was used without permission for their pachinko game ''Iregui''. Mai is prominently featured in the '' Universal Fighting System'' collectible card game.

In other media

Mai has appeared in various other media related to the ''Fatal Fury'' and ''King of Fighters'' series. In film, she was one of the protagonists of the 2009 American live-action movie ''

''. The movie is loosely based on the games, and portrays her as a

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

agent and girlfriend to fellow series character Iori Yagami. She works alongside the other heroes to try and stop the villain Rugal, who seeks to use an alternate reality to gain the power of the god

Orochi Yamata no Orochi (ヤマタノオロチ, also written as 八岐大蛇, 八俣遠呂智 or 八俣遠呂知) is a legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed serpent that appears in Japanese mythology. Both the ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihon Shoki'' record the ...

. She was played by

, who performed her own stunts, while in Japan she was dubbed by Ami Koshimizu. In anime, Mai first appears in '' Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle'' where she is voiced by Sarah Sawatsky in English, and

in Japanese. Appearing in a small role, she is kidnapped by the villain

Laurence Blood The following is a list of player character, video game characters featured in the ''Fatal Fury'' fighting game series developed by SNK. Creation and design Series' creator Takashi Nishiyama stated that giving the characters depth was of great ...

, with Andy rescuing her. In the follow up anime '' Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture'', Mai helps the others on their quest to stop the antagonist Laocorn Gaudeamus and his henchmen, and is voiced by

in English while Mitsuishi reprises her role in Japanese. She additionally appears in '' The King of Fighters: Another Day'', a tie in to ''Maximum Impact'' where she is voiced by Akoya Sogi. In other video media, Mai also appears in the

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

animated series '' The King of Fighters: Destiny'' as part of the "Queens Team" alongside King and Yuri. Produced in China, she is voiced by Ami Koshimizu in Japanese, and Selene Zhan in Chinese, who was also the dubbing director for the work. Motion capture for Mai's body and face meanwhile was provided by Duan Yixuan of the idol group

BEJ48 BEJ48 (pronounced B.E.J. Sìshíbā, more often called B.E.J forty-eight) is a Chinese Teen idol, idol girl group based in Beijing. It is one of SNH48's sister groups formed in 2016, together with GNZ48. Overview BEJ48 is one of the first two s ...

. For her crossover appearance in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

n mobile game ''Mad Blade'', the developers produced a live-action short film featuring Mai. Played by actress Pan Chun Chun, the short plays on a joke about her originating from 2D fighting games, showing her initially unable to move from side to side against an opponent. In audio media, Mai appears in ''

Dengeki G's Magazine was a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and seri ...

'' drama CD series for ''Fatal Fury'', where she is voiced by

. In 1994, Japanese idol Reiko Chiba performed a vocal track called "Dear Mai Boi" in character as Mai for her music single ''Non Stop! One Way Love'', later cosplaying as the character to promote it. Akoya Sogi meanwhile performed as Mai as part of the ''King of Fighter '97 Radio Drama Clash Edition'' broadcast in Japan in 1997. Later, she appeared alongside the rest of SNK's voice cast as part of their "NEO・GEO DJ Station Live" audio performances in

Shinjuku , officially called Shinjuku City, is a special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) as well as the Tokyo Metropol ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, singing "Dear Mai Boi" herself in 1998. Recordings of the events were later released on laserdisc and CD as two-disc sets.

Promotion and merchandise

Mai has been used extensively by SNK to promote their games and company as a whole, using her image on a variety of products such as clothing and condoms. She was featured in live-action commercials for ''Fatal Fury Special'' and ''Fatal Fury 2'' in 1993. Multiple " booth babe" models dressed as the character have been fixtures at

Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game trade fair and convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publication ...

and other venues, noted in particular for their popularity at such events. Various Asian celebrities have also been hired to promote the character, such as Korean idol Kyungri of the band Nine Muses, Chinese actress Li Bingbing, and Japanese adult actress

Kirara Asuka is a Japanese model and former adult video (AV) actress. Career Before her debut, Kirara Asuka was a female waitress working at a Kyabakura (Hostess club) in Roppongi. One day, a scout from an adult video company visited the store as a guest, ...

. Meanwhile, a 2005 fan-voted "Ultimate Mai Shiranui Cosplay Tournament" promotional event in Taiwan exhibited nearly a hundred women who dressed up as Mai. She has also been the focus of other SNK promotions, such as artist Falcoon signing limited edition posters of Mai at E3 2005. Mai was featured heavily in promotional materials for ''The King of Fighters XIII'', and an exclusive t-shirt depicting her was given to all registered participants in the ''King of Fighters'' championship at EVO 2012. ''The King of Fighters XIV'' Premium Edition included a soundtrack with an illustrated case featuring the character, and the game's pre-order bonuses included a Mai

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

theme. Mai was also announced to join the roster of the mobile action RPG ''SNK All-Star'' if the number of pre-registered users exceeds half million. A variety of merchandise was also produced to promote her appearance in ''SNK Heroines'', including a t-shirt, standees and stickers bundled with special editions of the game. Mai's outfit and appearance have also been made available as promotional cosmetic skins for players in a variety of games, including titles such as '' GungHo Games'', ''The King of Soldier II'', '' Dragon Throne: Battle of Red Cliffs'', ''

Black Desert Online ''Black Desert Online'' () is a sandbox-oriented fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Korean video game developer Pearl Abyss and originally published for Microsoft Windows in 2015. A mobile version titled ...

'', '' Wizardry Online'', '' Mabinogi Heroes'', ''HIT'', ''Knives Out-Tokyo Royale'', ''

Phantasy Star Online 2 is a free-to-play online action role-playing game in the ''Phantasy Star'' series, developed and published by Sega. It was created as a successor to '' Phantasy Star Online'' and '' Phantasy Star Universe'', ''Phantasy Star Online 2'' featu ...

'', '' Lost Saga'', '' Mobile Legends: Bang Bang'', and ''

Fall Guys ''Fall Guys'' (formerly known as ''Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout'' is a free-to-play Platform game, platform battle royale game developed by Mediatonic and originally published by Devolver Digital for the PlayStation 4 and Windows. It was acqu ...

''. A variety of figures have also been produced by a wide range of manufacturers such as A-Label, Aizu Project, Alphamax, Daiki,

Hobby Japan is a Japanese publishing company known for publishing and releasing books, magazines, light novels, games, and collectibles. Founded in 1969, the company owns and distributes such publications as the eponymous ''Hobby Japan EX'' magazine, as w ...

, Max Factory, Volks, SNK themselves, and a "mecha" figure by YCY. In 2009, an exclusive Volks figure was sold in an auction for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Several major figure product lines have also featured the character, such as the Cy Girls series, Pinky:St, and by Good Smile as part of their

Nendoroid The series is a brand of plastic figures created by the Japanese Good Smile Company since 2006. They typically depict characters from anime, manga or video games and are designed with a large head and smaller body to give them a cute appearan ...

and Pop Up Parade figure lines. Meanwhile, several diorama figures have also been released including a 1/6th scale figure by Gantaku, a 1/4th scale figure by Kinetiquettes, and antoher by PJ Studio. A large bust sculpture of Mai was also produced by Queen Studios, featuring glass eyes. In other merchandise, Exar produced a joystick controller modeled after the

Neo Geo The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video gam ...

's for

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

consoles, decorated with Mai-related imagery. In both 2019 and 2020, an entirely Mai-themed Neo-Geo shop opened in Tokyo's

Akihabara is a neighborhood in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, Japan, generally considered to be the area surrounding Akihabara Station (nicknamed ''Akihabara Electric Town''). This area is part of the and Kanda-Sakumachō districts of Chiyoda. There is an ...

district for a limited time to celebrate the character's in-universe birthday. In November 2024, Japanese fitness company Tanita as part of their collaboration with SNK studied the bodies of several ''King of Fighters'' characters to promote their new body composition monitor, among which included Mai.

Critical reception

Mai has been well received since her introduction. The staff of ''

UGO.com UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States. History The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online ...

'' described her as a mascot not only for ''The King of Fighters'' but SNK as a whole, and felt the character's role as an "unapologetic sex symbol" was a driving force for sales of the ''King of Fighters'' franchise. ''The Mary Sue''s Princess Weekees meanwhile cited her as one of the most iconic women in fighting games, noting that while SNK's games themselves were often overlooked in the mainstream, people, including herself, knew about Mai thanks to her sex appeal. ''Joystiq''s Richard Mitchell meanwhile emphasized the character's presence in SNK's work over their competitor

's stating "there's one thing ''Street Fighter'' will never have, and that's Mai". Her omission from ''The King of Fighters XII'' drew particular backlash, with players boycotting the game and coining the phrase "no Mai, no buy". James Stephanie Sterling in an article for ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...

'' in particular criticized her absence from the game, comparing it to Capcom "releasing ''Street Fighter'' without Ryu". Other outlets meanwhile compared Mai to ''Street Fighter'' character Chun-Li, as both have been cited as the first two prominent female characters of fighting games. Frederick Badlissi of ''Diehard GameFan'' jokingly called it the "question of 'anatomic supremacy' between Mai Shiranui’s breasts (the 'North') and Chun-Li’s thighs (the 'South')". ''Games Tribune Magazine'' writer Javier Bello felt the comparison was in part due to the visual appeal of both characters introducing "a sexy and pleasing touch to the eye" in contrast to a cast of "squads of fighters with plenty of testosterone and muscles", with Mai's emphasis on exposure pushing her popularity further in his opinion. French magazine ''Hardcore Gamers'' devoted a two-page spread to the characters to compare them, with the article emphasizing while Chun-Li was often the more interesting character, Mai was more consistently alluring, though no less influential on other characters in the fighting game industry. In regards to her appearance in ''Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture'', Jean-Karlo Lemus and Heidi Kemps of ''

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...

'' noted the emphasis on fanservice, particularly with how she was introduced "boobs first" in the production. She compared it to her portrayal in the ''Fatal Fury 2'' video game, and observed while her appearance in the game was attractive, she was not "as over-the-top as she eventually became" in her later ''King of Fighters '94'' appearance. Kemps felt the anime's portrayal of Mai affected public perception and led to her later more sexualized appearance and Lemus agreed, feeling elements anime character designer Masami Ōbari had inserted into the film focusing on sexuality supported this theory. The observation was shared by the staff of ''Game On! USA'', who praised Obari's anatomical detail in the film and stated he "made Mai Shinarui the crazy underdressed heroine she is today". Seiichiro Hayakawa of ''Magmix'' praised how Obari showed her as a "sensual" character, moreso than he expected, while also displaying her with considerable strength. He further stated that alongside the fanservice, her portrayal left a considerable impression on him of her as a "representative fighting game character". Gavin Jasper stated while focus was often placed on her breasts, he felt her "optimistic spirit helps balance her into a fun character who is always a blast to play as". He further praised how she owned her sexuality, integrating her sex appeal as an intentional part of her character's battle strategy. Jasper also added that while she is often portrayed as chasing after Andy, he liked that she was not content with simply being a side character and someone that deserved to be his partner over other characters, her role in ''The King of Fighters'' Women's Team "ultimately her way of showing him up and teaching him a lesson". Meanwhile, the staff of Chinese website '' 163.com'' noted that while the ''King of Fighters'' series later introduced sexier characters, they were often ignored in part thanks to Mai's "exaggerated style" and personality, the latter of which they felt was vital for a character's enduring appeal. However, some have complained about her design, feeling it represents a trend of oversexualization of female characters in fighting games. A thesis for the

Federal University of Bahia The Federal University of Bahia (, UFBA) is a public university located mainly in the city of Salvador. It is the largest university in the state of Bahia. Students can study there without paying tuition fees, as it is a public university. To j ...

cited Mai as an example of how female fighting game characters hypersexualize the breasts and hips, drawing comparisons to portrayal of the mythological

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

. It additionally cited her as an example of how such games tend to portray Asian women as inherently sexual through their use of traditional clothing and how much of her body it exposes.

Cultural impact

The animation of Mai's breasts in ''Fatal Fury 2'' has been cited as one of the earliest examples of breast physics in video games, a conception that later games have steadily tried to refine, though Mai has remained the most prominent example in 2D animation of the concept. Brett Elston of ''

GamesRadar+ ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and '' Compute ...

'' emphasized that while female fighting game characters were prominent in the 1990s, with each new game often trying to out-sexualize the others, gaming periodicals were "abuzz with commentary on what Mai's bobbing bosom meant for the industry", with Elston comparing it to "witnessing (half-naked) women entering the workplace for the first time". The staff of ''Inside Games'' praised it as "80% of Mai Shiranui's charm" and an enduring aspect of her character, citing how it fit as a distractionary element of her role as a ninja that was refined to be more realistic as the series progressed. Mai has been cited as especially popular among the young people in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

during the late 1990s, impacting local youth and Mong Kok culture in the country. Mai has also been cited as one of the most popular subjects of cosplay worldwide, appearing on televised material such China's '' Cybernet'' television broadcast where the host cosplayed as the character several times, and also on Taiwanese television show ''Video Game Fighter'', where both hosts cosplayed as her. In an interview with ''Dead or Alive'' developer

Team Ninja is a Japanese video game developer and a division of Koei Tecmo. It was founded in 1995 as Tecmo Creative #3, a division of Tecmo headed by Tomonobu Itagaki. It is best known for franchises such as '' Ninja Gaiden'', ''Dead or Alive'' and '' ...

, they stated their character Momiji's red clothing and ability to shoot fire was a direct homage to Mai. Mai has also been the frequent subject of explicit third party works, including

hentai Hentai () is a style of Pornography in Japan, Japanese pornographic anime and manga. In addition to anime and manga, hentai works exist in a variety of media, including artwork and video games (commonly known as ''eroge''). The developme ...

doujinshi , also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of ''doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created b ...

, erotic cosplay, and pornographic films. Mai's outfit has been observed as particularly popular among models in China and Taiwan, with models wearing the attire appearing at non-gaming events such as book signings or car shows. The outfit has also appeared in film, such as 2018's ''Smiling Proudly in the Gambling World: The Gamble World of Fun'' ( Chinese: 笑傲赌界) where it is worn by one of the movie's antagonists. ''Kotaku''s Brian Ashcraft attributed its popularity to the outfit's simplicity rather than any correlation to the ''King of Fighters'', with the attire acting as a "uniform of sorts" as an "easy go-to choice" for cosplay. In contrast, Singaporean pop-culture site ''Lollipop'' felt the outfit demanded "a special kind of physique", and felt this to why it was popular with models. In 2019, when discussing Terry Bogard's appearance in ''

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the '' Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeeding ' ...

'', producer

Masahiro Sakurai is a Japanese video game director and game designer best known as the creator of the ''Kirby (series), Kirby'' and ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. Apart from his work on those series, he also led the design of ''Meteos'' in 2005 and directed '' ...

explained while Mai was widely popular, she would not be able to appear in the game in any context as the game was made for "good boys and girls of many different ages". The statement rapidly became a meme on social media platforms, with Team Ninja taking the opportunity to advertise her inclusion in ''Dead or Alive 5'' and to welcome players to "the world of adults". The development team later clarified it was out of concern that her presence would increase the game's age rating. The decision still led some to question the exclusion in light of explicit characters such as

Bayonetta is a science fantasy action-adventure video game franchise created by Hideki Kamiya. It is developed by PlatinumGames, owned by Sega, and, since the release of Bayonetta 2 in 2014, published by Nintendo. The franchise was introduced in 2009 w ...

appearing in the title, with ''Inside Games'' joking perhaps Mai was "too big" for the title and suggesting it only added to her appeal.

References

External links

*
Mai at ''The King of Fighters'' 15th Anniversary official websiteMai at the ''Fatal Fury'' 15th Anniversary official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiranui, Mai Fatal Fury characters Female characters in video games Fictional female ninja Fictional Japanese people in video games Fictional judoka Fictional ninja Fictional tessenjutsuka Ninja characters in video games The King of Fighters characters Video game characters introduced in 1992 Video game characters with fire or heat abilities Video game mascots Vigilante characters in video games