Wikipedia

Laura Matsuda

Laura Matsuda (Japanese: ララ マツダ/松田) is a fictional character from the Street Fighter series of video games, making her first appearance in 2016's Street Fighter V. She is the sister of Sean Matsuda, a character from 1997's Street Fighter III and its updates. She is from Brazil, and much like fellow Brazilian character Blanka, she utilizes electricity in some of her attacks. Critically, the character has received mixed reception, with her moveset being praised, but her story and design being criticized.

Laura Matsuda
Street Fighter character
Laura Matsuda in Street Fighter V
First gameStreet Fighter V (2016)
Created byTakayuki Nakayama[1]
Yoshinori Ono[2]
Designed byTakayuki Nakayama[3]
Toshiyuki Kamei[4]
Voiced byEN: G.K. Bowes
JA: Yoko Hikasa
Portrayed byNatascha Hopkins[5]
In-universe information
Fighting styleJiu-Jitsu
OriginBrazil
NationalityBrazilian

Conception and development edit

 
Laura went through several designs, many of which focused on using "sexy" as a gimmick both in terms of appearance and her interactions with the opponent.[4]

Created for Street Fighter V, the character came about after director Takayuki Nakayama was asked by Capcom's Brazilian branch to have a character other than series regular Blanka represent their country in the game. Nakayama wanted the character to be a "cheerful girl",[1] while series producer Yoshinori Ono wanted a beautiful woman with capoeira-inspired movements, inspired by his visit to Rio di Jainero's Brazil Game Show in 2011. He wanted her to represent Japan's fanciful view of Brazilian women, not necessarily an accurate one, and represent how impressed he was with the country.[2] Art director Toshiyuki Kamei designed the character, building the concept around the keywords of "Brazil" and "Jui Jitsu".[4]

Many potential iterations were considered from various backgrounds, including a male soccer play that had grown up in a poor neighborhood that fought using a ball and motions related to the sport.[6] The design was scrapped however due to Nakayama feeling it was too similar to the character Roberto from another Capcom series, Rival Schools.[7] Meanwhile another early concept called "Wild Rapunzel" would have had long, fluffy blonde hair that she would have used to not only attack but shield herself from opponent's attacks. Other designs also followed, such as a very tall woman with dreadlocks and a long reach, and a female physical therapist that would have used moves that looked "extremely painful".[4]

Several designs were more overtly sexual. One would have had her body wrapped in bandages, using them to attack and revealing varying degrees of her body depending on the strength of the attack used. Meanwhile, a design dubbed "Clumsy Cutie" would have featured a girl in patchwork shirt and pants. As she fought, her clothes would become tattered and tear off her body, gradually revealing more of it. While this design was unused, Nakayama considered utilizing it for a stand-alone character at a later time.[7] Other outfits had varying degrees of exposure, such as utilizing a black belt for a makeshift bra, and emphasis was placed on her physical curves, primarily to have her buttocks exposed.[6] Nakyama explained that in his view, "a characteristic of Brazilian women is that their buttocks tend to get bigger when they exercise", and wanted to leave them exposed for ease of movement.[1] Additional consideration was given to her hairstyle, considering options that would give her a "sexy" or "naughty" appearance.[6]

Towards the end of her development, they chose to go with a doji martial arts outfit for a "MMA" themed design focus, making adjustments to have it give off a sense of comfort and speed.[6] While the initial design was more orthodox and casual, Kamei stated as he worked on it he made it increasingly sophisticated.[4] Sources of inspiration during this point of development included Japanese hakama skirts and attire worn by professional wrestling divas. While early mockups featured a Brazilian flag on the back, it was later adapted to a full color scheme for the attire.[6] Meanwhile, her name was based off Nakayama's name for her, Lala, which he felt gave her a Portuguese feel.[8] Nakayama would later give several of Laura's early designs fleshed out profiles and art on Capcom's "Shadaloo Archives" website.[9]

Design and personality edit

Laura stands 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) tall, and her primary outfit consists of a green sleeveless jacket with yellow highlight tied up beneath her breasts, matching doji pants, sandals, and a black martial arts belt across her waist. The color scheme in particular was meant to highlight her "Brazillian femininity" and Jiu-Jitsu, while bracelets were added to each wrist to act as accents to the design. Her hairstyle is long and flowing on right side while the left is styled into cornrow braids, and along with her voluptuous body was meant to give her a more pronounced South American look. While the initial plan was to have her rear exposed and only covered by a thong,[4] Capcom Brazil objected, and as a result black tights were added beneath the pants on the final model to cover the exposed skin.[1]

Laura was given several alternative outfits in the game, many of which featured her wearing hotpants or some type of swimsuit, as well as a Christmas-themed outfit and one modeled after the character Gloria from Devil May Cry 4.[10] Her outfit for the game's "Story" mode in particular, consisting of daisy dukes, a thong, and a shirt that exposes the undersides of her breasts, was overseen by Nakayama. He added tanlines to the design as a personal preference, initially worried they may be "overkill" but deciding to be "honest with himself" instead.[3]

According to Johnathan Klein, Street Fighter V English-language voice acting director, Laura's personality was built around the theme of "everyday being Carnivale" for her. They wanted her to be brash and playful, while also sweet to the point it felt as though she were "killing you with kindness."[11] Nakayama meanwhile wanted her to have a "cool" personality and be someone that "understood their own sexiness" without being "sarcastic". He chose early on to make her the sister of an existing Street Fighter character, Sean Matsuda, to further strengthen that character's background.[12]

Appearances edit

Laura Matsuda was introduced in the 2016 fighting game Street Fighter V. A Brazilian fighter and sister of Street Fighter III character Sean, Laura was trained by her maternal grandfather Kinjiro of the art of Jiu-Jitsu, which she later becomes the heir of. She looks for opponents to fight to promote her fighting style. The story mode shows her joining the other heroes in their attempt to stop Shadaloo.

In other media, Laura also appeared in the web mini-series Street Fighter: Resurrection, a prequel series to the events of Street Fighter V. Portrayed by Natascha Hopkins, her role in the story explores her relationship with her family and her involvement with the other characters.[5][13]

Gameplay edit

Laura Matsuda's fighting style is Jiu-Jitsu,[14] known in-game as "Matsuda Jiu-Jitsu," and she is considered a grappler-type character that utilizes various throws to attack the opponent.[15] Similar to Blanka, Laura use electricity in some of her attacks. However, unlike Blanka, she also has an electric projectile. Another notable attack includes Laura grappling the opponent and slamming their face into the ground.[14]

Originally Laura's design relied on her using throws to pressure the opponent, however the development team felt this caused her to lack individuality amongst the cast, as many other characters had similar attacks. Combat director Ryuichi Shigeno stated he "hastily" gave her a slow-moving projectile attack, "Thunder Clap", to help set her apart, and was ultimately pleased with the results.[12][15]

Promotion and reception edit

Laura debuted in Street Fighter V, officially being revealed at the Brasil Game Show on October 8, 2015, four months prior to the game's release.[16] In 2019, a collectable statue of Laura was released. The statue showcases Laura in a blue and purple bikini.[17] In 2022, Laura was featured on one of the covers of the Street Fighter Swimsuit Special 1 issue.[18]

Reaction to the character was mixed. Paste writers Suriel Vazquez and Eric Van Allen considered her one of the most "unique" additions to the series, and while they considered her story elements to be particularly weak, "her spunk and use of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu make her a solid new addition to the lengthy Street Fighter gallery."[19] Gavin Jasper at Den of Geek was more critical of the character, naming her as the worst addition in Street Fighter V's base roster. While he praised her design and felt she had potential, he described her as incredibly annoying and added her main attribute appeared to be "she’s Sean’s less-interesting sister."[20] Ash Bates from Cultured Vultures meanwhile observed that "With the success of the UFC and MMA in general, including a character like Laura represented a modernisation for the series. Instead of focusing on traditional styles, Laura brought something new and relevant to the series, only Capcom improved it by including electricity powers too."[21]

Laura's depiction as a sexualized character with a highly suggestive outfit in Street Fighter V has attracted commentary. In an opinion piece published by Red Bull, Greg Candalez said Laura exemplifies the inappropriate and inaccurate stereotype of Brazilian women by international audiences as being sensual and prone to dressing provocatively.[22] In addition, an article by The Daily Telegraph listed Laura as an example of "porn-type heroines [that] are harming children," highlighting her outfits in the game.[23] Similarly, Christopher Hodges of Screen Rant was critical of her design, saying she was "designed only to be hot and absurdly-dressed and not a character with any actual depth."[24] Brazilian website Universo Online shared the sentiments, feeling that her "hypersexualized" design was at odds with attempts to better portray women in gaming, and further outfits that were released only highlighted the issue further, in particular when considering how other female characters were less sexualized by comparison.[25][26]

On the other hand, Brazilian journalist Bianca Freitas argued that Laura represented a stereotyped ideal of a country's culture as did many other characters in the franchise, and felt the claims of hypersexualization were misplaced, as in his eyes Laura was no more sexualized than many of the male characters. He further felt that reactions to the character represented a "distortion" between how the world pictured Brazil and how Brazilians viewed themselves. While he pointed out that Brazil was a "universe of cultures", he stated was not uncommon to see women in the peripheral regions Rio di Jainero similar to Laura, and felt that in Ono's case the inspiration for such a character was indeed apt with that in consideration.[25]

The character has also been the subject of academic study. Brazilian Society for Interdisciplinary Studies of Communication examined her on the grounds of her portrayal of race and feminism, where they observe "Laura has her image and her body hypersexualized and objectified for the contemplation of the players." In the analyses, they state "...there is a band between the buttocks that emphasizes and provokes the look for that region. Your body is purposely exposed so that the male gaze is met, even if this exhibition does not present practical coherence with the role it performs, that is, a fighter who should dress accordingly." After noting the colors of her outfit and the bracelets worn on her arms, they state "...it is possible to state that Laura carries in her image signs that express sensuality, joy, sexualization, miscegenation and Brazilian identity." Comparing Laura with her brother Sean in terms of race, the study observes "...the "whitening of the character so that, even though she is not white, she remains within the aesthetic standards eurocentric".[27]

On the other hand, the Animus Inter-American Journal of Media Communication also studied Laura and other Brazilian fighters in the Street Fighter franchise, and felt that while analyzing Laura the combination of her race and outfits "leads to the conclusion that Laura can be interpreted as an iconic quali-sign of sensuality." They further state that she represents "...beautiful and sensual women, where warmth and music are an integral part of life. In Laura is a symbol of Brazil Country of Carnival, joyful, festive and touristic."[28]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d How To Make Capcom Fighting Characters: Street Fighter Character Design. UDON Entertainment. October 2020. p. 107. ISBN 978-1772941364.
  2. ^ a b Prandoni, Claudio (2015-09-10). "Visual sexy de Laura é "exagerado", diz produtor de "Street Fighter V"". Universo Online (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2024-03-11. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  3. ^ a b Nakayama, Takayuki [@takaNakayama] (October 3, 2016). ララのストーリーコスチューム。日焼け跡ってセクシーですよね。これはやり過ぎかなと思いつつも、自分に正直に選びました。 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2024-03-11 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ a b c d e f How To Make Capcom Fighting Characters: Street Fighter Character Design. UDON Entertainment. October 2020. pp. 102–106. ISBN 978-1772941364.
  5. ^ a b Romano, Nick (2016-12-20). "Watch Season 1 of the 'Street Fighter: Resurrection' Web Series". Collider. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  6. ^ a b c d e Street Fighter V Collector's Edition Guide. Prima Games. February 2016. pp. 452–455. ISBN 9780744016963.
  7. ^ a b Nakayama, Takayuki. "Concept / Rejected Art First Round of Characters". Capcom. Archived from the original on 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  8. ^ Nakayama, Takayuki [@takaNakayama] (April 25, 2016). ララの話。ララは世に出た時（意図しないで）ローラ、ローラって呼んでいただいてましたが、最初から「ララ」でした。ポルトガル語の感じを出したいので、あの綴りになってます。フルネームは「ララ・マリア・マツダ」です。 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2021-07-30 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ Nakayama, Takayuki [@takaNakayama] (November 11, 2016). もうすぐ「キャラ図鑑」も 200か … 。ホントに日課みたいになってましたね。画像はブラジルの ベラちゃん。ララの原型の一人です。電撃のギミックはまだなかったですね。 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2024-03-11 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Costumes: Laura". Capcom. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  11. ^ Hendershot, Steve; Lapetino, Tim (2017-11-15). Undisputed Street Fighter: The Art And Innovation Behind The Game-Changing Series. Dynamite Entertainment. p. 144. ISBN 9781524104696.
  12. ^ a b Street Fighter V Climax Arts + Zero to 6 (in Japanese). 双葉社. January 2023. ISBN 9784575317794.
  13. ^ Aguilar, Matthew (2016-03-15). "Street Fighter Resurrection: A Sitdown With Joey Ansah". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  14. ^ a b Steven Wong (2015-10-09). "Street Fighter 5 Hands-On Impressions: Throwing Down with Laura, Karin, Rashid and More". Shacknews. Archived from the original on 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  15. ^ a b "Laura Matsuda revealed for Street Fighter V, Ono approved this time!". The Outerhaven. 2015-10-08. Archived from the original on 2023-11-26. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  16. ^ Liebl, Matt (October 8, 2015). "Capcom reveals new Street Fighter V character, Laura Matsuda, from Brazil". GameZone. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  17. ^ Amie Cranswick (2019-07-01). "Street Fighter V's Laura gets a new collectible statue from Pop Culture Shock". Flickeringmyth.com. Archived from the original on 2024-03-12. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  18. ^ "Udon Shares Its 2022 Street Fighter Swimsuit Special Covers For Its Art Book". Kakuchopurei.Com. 24 March 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-06-03. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  19. ^ Martin, Garrett (21 March 2016). "Ranking Every Street Fighter Character Part 3 - Paste". Paste. Archived from the original on 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  20. ^ "Street Fighter Characters Ranked". Den of Geek. 22 February 2019. Archived from the original on 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  21. ^ Bates, Ash (February 25, 2022). "10 Potential Street Fighter 6 Characters We'd Love To See". Cultured Vultures. Archived from the original on May 24, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  22. ^ Candalez, Greg (March 8, 2016). "Opinião: As roupas de Laura em Street Fighter V". Red Bull (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  23. ^ Bye, Clarissa (June 9, 2017). "Video games with porn-type heroines are harming children, body image experts say". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  24. ^ Hodges, Christopher (January 28, 2019). "Street Fighter: 8 Most Powerful (And 8 Most Worthless) Characters, Ranked". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  25. ^ a b Gutierrez, Barbara (2016-01-02). "Street Fighter V: A hipersexualização de Laura é justificável?". Universo Online (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  26. ^ "Lutadora brasileira ganha roupas ainda mais ousadas em "Street Fighter V"". Universo Online (in Portuguese). 2016-03-29. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  27. ^ Maria, Soraya; Barreto, Bernardino (January 7, 2017). "Objetificação e Brasilidade: Análise de Laura Matsuda (Street Fighter V)" (PDF). Intercom – Sociedade Brasileira de Estudos Interdisciplinares da Comunicação. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  28. ^ Arrivabene, Rafael; Cordeiro, José; Perassi, Richard. "Análise Dos Personagens Brasileiros Da Franquia Street Fighter -identidade E Representação Nos Videogames". Animus Revista Interamericana de Comunicação Midiática. 18 (37). Archived from the original on March 12, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
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