No hate, but I think it's a tad of an overreaction. Wasn't too long ago I was seeing "Oh no, he's hot" memes about Luigi Mangione. And he's an actual person. Plenty of other examples from both genders over the years. That's just common banter people make about the subject of the moment. Sure, that may be immature. But assuming it's intentional malicious objectification and not just dumb fun feels like assuming the worst of people for no reason. And honestly, if Capcom though nothing of Mai but a fantasy object, they wouldn't give her one of the most badass SA3 animations. Juri's SA3 is what you get when a character is entirely reduced to a fetish.

While I can agree it's weird and immature, Mai is an inherently sexual character by design. To contrast, for instance with Chun who is often sexualized and is not a character who is particularly sexual in any way. I find that much more egregious.

@Raxyz_0 I appreciate the reasoned response. I know I came off a little hot-headed, but I really do think that the character design and official language from Capcom is pretty degrading for Mai. The whole “2 big reasons” line and “heating you up.” It just seems really over the top and feels like public masturbation if I’m being honest. Like I said, I do hear your perspective and appreciate that you took the time to explain your viewpoint, but the promotion around Mai still makes me feel uncomfortable. Let me put it this way, I would feel uncomfortable showing the Mai trailer to a female friend and telling her that this is a game that I enjoy and support. What I love about street fighter is the journey of mastery, skill expression, and niche social community. Parading around half-naked women makes me feel like I’m engaging in a weird fetish. I agree that characters can be sexy or attractive and that many male and female characters in street fighter are. This one just gives me the ick and honestly makes it difficult for me to proudly support the game that I enjoy.

@@evilded2 Thanks for the comment and civil discussion. I think you make a valid point and I agree that it bothers me when fans tend to sexualize any woman in a video game or anime. I guess what I will say about Mai is that despite the explanation of her sexy ethos as a character, it starts to feel a bit like the “she breaths through her skin so she has to be naked” defense. Like I do understand that her “thing” is to be hyper sexual, but we all understand that the character was likely created by a man in a game whose target audience is mostly men. It is clear that objectification is being used intentionally. That’s the core of what bothers me.

@ Yeah, I can understand that. Hell, Juri is that case for me, lol. I can't even consider playing the character because of the entire stigma around her. Everyone has their own standard to what is acceptable and what is over the line. I can see how a lot of the jokes here might reach that threshold. I do think a lot of people are just engaging in light-hearted fun though. Mostly to poke fun at Sakurai's "Smash is a game for good boys and girls" quote, even if they went slightly overboard with it.

Good. Sf chara should get stages not guests. Terry already stole one

​@@skurinski And Elena, from Kenya, has more potencial of new stage.