Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui

Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui is the 16th episode of Death Battle, featuring Chun-Li from the Street Fighter series and Mai Shiranui from the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series in a battle between female fighting game icons.
==Interlude==
Wiz: When it comes to fighting, combatants come in all shapes and sizes.
Boomstick: And I'm liking the shapes and sizes on these two!
Wiz: Chun-Li, the strongest woman in the world.
Boomstick: Mai Shiranui, the queen of fighters.
Wiz: He's Boomstick and I'm Wizard, and it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
==Chun-Li==
Wiz: Chun-Li, first lady of the fighting game.
Boomstick: Famous for abusing the Thighmaster.
Wiz: Chun-Li is a detective for Interpol, and has gone through a rudimentary police combat training. She has also trained with Gen, a friend of her father's and legend of the Chinese fighting underworld.
Boomstick: But she never did finish her training with him. Does anyone ever finish their training? Seriously! Well, I guess it's not totally her fault. After Bison killed her dad, Gen just kinda disappeared on her. What a dick.
Wiz: Since then, Chun-Li's been chasing after Bison for vengeance. She has trained in defense of Tai Chi and is skilled in a fast-paced kickboxing variant of Kenpo. She prefers speed over strength, using a combination of rapid strikes to pressure an opponent.
Boomstick: And if you can't tell by looking at 'em, her legs are pretty damn powerful. She can even kick people through solid brick. Still, her strength doesn't just lie in those legs. She's strong enough to toss things around as big as a couch.
Wiz: Her main attacks include the unbelievably fast Lightning Legs, the unpredictable Axe Kick, and the physics-defying Spinning Bird Kick.
Boomstick: I wouldn't mind taking a ride on that helicopter!
Wiz: She can also focus her natural Chi energy to create the Kikoken, a slow, limited ranged attack.
Boomstick: And the Kikosho is basically a super version of that: an enormous ball of energy strong enough to stop a speeding car.
Wiz: Her detective skills were instrumental in taking down the criminal organization Shadaloo; and after the tournaments, Chun-Li became a martial arts teacher. However, she has yet to win any major tournament, and failed to kill Bison to avenge her father. She was able to rescue one of her students from Urien, but turns out Urien let her win, wanting only to test her skills.
Boomstick: Also, it seems Chun ends up having to be rescued a lot. Usually by Guile.
Wiz: Oddly enough, her most noble award is placing sixth in an International Shooting Competition, despite rarely carrying a gun.
Boomstick: Well, I guess things wouldn't be too fair if she brought a gun to a Street Fight. Round One... BANG! WINNER!
Wiz: Despite this, Chun-Li is certainly capable of holding her own, and has been consistently proven to be one of the toughest contenders in the Street Fighter tournaments.
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Chun-Li: You ready for this?
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==Mai Shiranui==
Wiz: Mai Shiranui is... well...
Boomstick: Holy crap, look at those things!
Wiz: Mai is a ninja of the Shiranui Clan and has been trained by both her grandfather and the perverted, yet famously deadly, Jubei Yomato.
Boomstick: He brought a whole new meaning to "wax on, wax off"!
Wiz: She has extensive training in the Shiranui-ryuu fighting styles. From her grandfather, Mai learned the Koppo-ken technique, specializing in pressure points and bone snapping. With Jubei, Mai trained in close-combat Judo.
Boomstick: Mai's pretty fast, but focuses on single powerful strikes to punch through an enemy's defenses. The only downside to this is if she misses one, she's left wide open. (chuckles)
Wiz: Her Flying Squirrel Furiante and Deadly Ninja Bee attacks help her control the field of battle, and she uses clever fake-outs to trip up her foes.
Boomstick: And she has an unlimited amount of steel fans she can throw, which I guess she keeps in her non-existent bra.
Wiz: That's right.
Boomstick: Really? I was just making a joke about her giant boobs.
Wiz: Speaking of her... outfit...
Boomstick: Or lack thereof.
Wiz: While it's unrestricted, it isn't exactly form-fitting either. However, as a testament to her training and balance, it doesn't seem to bother her.  
Wiz: She wears it for Kunoichi, a female ninja method of sensually distracting a foe before striking.
Boomstick: ...I'm sorry, what? I was distracted.
Wiz: Never mind.
Boomstick: Okay! Mai can create fire and explosions, and she can control whatever fire she's created.
Wiz: Mai consistently enters the King of Fighters tournaments to support herself, her claimed fiancé, Andy Bogard. However, she has yet to win any major tournament, nor has she ever made a great impact in taking down the bosses.
Boomstick: Or taking down Andy!
Wiz: She always does well, though, even joining Andy's award-winning team in 1999.
Boomstick: Even so, she ends up having to be rescued a lot, usually by Andy. But for some reason, I don't seem to mind.
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Mai: Mai Shiranui of the Shiranui School must teach you a lesson.
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==Prelude==
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all!
Boomstick: And in honor of Mai's double D's, here's a PSA from the NCA-double-D.
Wiz: The national campaign against drunk driving.
Boomstick: Yep.
Wiz and Boomstick read out a PSA about drunk driving.
Boomstick: It's time for a DEATH BATTLE!!!
==Death Battle==
Mai Shiranui awaits her opponent in the middle of a deep forest. Chun-Li walks up and Mai gives her a respectful bow.
Chun-Li starts off with a Kikoken, but due to the slow movement and limited range of the projectile, Mai easily rolls under it and starts delivering a fast barrage of low strikes and the Folding Fan Fandango, ending with a dropkick to knock back Chun-Li. She pauses for a moment before charging in to finish off her opponent.
However, Chun-Li recovers and springs to her feet, kicking Mai in the face. She then flips over Mai's attempted Ryu En Bu Attack and throws her back. Just as Mai gets back up, Chun-Li charges in with her Axe Kick, followed by several hard blows, and her Lightning Leg Attack.
Realizing that close-combat with Chun-Li is not favorable, Mai gets some distance and throws out three of her Hacho San (Butterfly Fans) with the third being powered by her pyrokinesis. She also leaps in. Chun-Lin blocks the first two fans but is unable to block the third fiery one and Mai's simultaneous fire strike from above, taking both hits and an extra strike. Mai then attempts a fake-out with her Flying Squirrel Furiante, but Chun-Li anticipates the move and lets loose with a powered-up version of her Lightning Legs, causing Mai to take heavy damage and knocking her down. Chun-Li charges in but Mai manages to recover, flips over Chun-Li and trips her with a sweep kick.
Mai changes her strategy and begins leading Chun-Li in a chase up the tall trees. Each time they pass each other they exchange blows, but Mai manages to get another pyrokinetic strike, knocking Chun-Li down. Chun-Li retaliates and catches Mai off-guard with her Spinning Bird Kick. Mai is left dazed on a large tree limb, as Chun-Li lands and pauses to build up her ki to finish off her opponent. This is Chun-Li's final mistake as it is just enough time for Mai to recover and roll out of the way. Chun-Li's Kikosho Attack misses, and Mai uses her legs to grab Chun-Li's head, slamming her into the tree limb, and then kick her into another tree. As Chun-Li falls, Mai follows her down in a fiery rolling attack, slamming into her opponent as she hits the forest floor. With Chun-Li standing in a fiery daze, Mai uses her pyrokinetic powers to engulf Chun-Li in a huge explosion of fire, leaving nothing but a charred skeleton, similar to Mortal Kombat's Scorpion's Fatality.
Mai: Nihon'ichi!
==Results==
Boomstick: Boobs win!
Wiz: Chun-Li may be a bit tougher and quicker than Mai, and her professional training even prepared her for the fake-out ruse. However, her arsenal pales in comparison to that of Mai's. With her pyrokinesis and steel fans, Mai had superior range and energy-based attacks.
Boomstick: And while Chun's a beast in close corners combat, her straightforward approach was a bad matchup against Mai's ninja training.
Wiz: It was certainly a close match, but Mai's nimbleness and firepower eventually won out.
Boomstick: Chun-Li's never looked hotter.
We cut to the "Mai Shiranui" winner card.
Wiz: The winner is Mai Shiranui.
==Trivia==
===Production===
*The core connections between Chun-Li and Mai are that they are both iconic East Asian female fighting game martial artists and sex symbols in gaming. In addition:
**Both were trained in martial arts by an elder (Gen and Jubei Yamada, respectively) and a deceased relative (Chun-Li's father Dorai and Mai's grandfather Hanzo, respectively).
**Both have appeared in multiple crossover games together:
***Both have appeared in multiple installments of the SNK vs. Capcom series and are considered rivals in those games.
***In 2022, Chun-Li was added to The King of Fighters All Star.
***In 2024, it was announced that Mai would be a playable character in the second season of Street Fighter 6's DLC and Chun-Li would be a playable character in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, thus making this matchup part of a canonical entry in either series for the first time.
*Chad James has stated that Chun-Li is one of his favorite characters that he hated to see lose in Death Battle.
*When Chun-Li was initially revealed, the silhouette of her opponent that was shown alongside her was actually Sonya Blade's sprite from the original Mortal Kombat. It is unknown if Chun-Li was originally meant to fight Sonya before it switched to Mai or if it was just to throw people off.
**Ironically, Chun-Li's death sprite comes from when Scorpion or Sonya kills a character in the first Mortal Kombat game.
*The second and third thumbnails for this episode used uncredited fan art of Mai by BCCP on Pixiv. As a result, it was changed years later.
**This makes it the fifth episode where at least one of its thumbnails uses fan art, after Zitz VS Leonardo, Kratos VS Spawn, Bomberman VS Dig Dug, and Vegeta VS Shadow, and with the next 18 being Ivy VS Orchid, Fulgore VS Sektor, Godzilla VS Gamera, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Metal Sonic VS Zero, Lucario VS Renamon, Raven VS Twilight Sparkle, Leon Kennedy VS Frank West, Nightwing VS Daredevil, All Might VS Might Guy, Black Canary VS Sindel, Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia, Zuko VS Shoto Todoroki, Blake VS Mikasa, Steven Universe VS Star Butterfly, Sauron VS Lich King, Frieza VS Megatron, and Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor.
===Errors===
*The measurements for Chun-Li and Mai's bust, waist, and hip size in their respective "Background" slides are accidentally labeled in inches rather than centimeters, something Ben Singer has even acknowledged years after the episode's release.User blog:CrossoverKing96/Road to 100 Archive: Luke vs Harry, Chun-Li vs Mai
===Other===
*This is the third Females-themed episode, after Rogue VS Wonder Woman and Felicia VS Taokaka, and with the next 18 being Zelda VS Peach, Ivy VS Orchid, Yang VS Tifa, Cammy VS Sonya, Amy Rose VS Ramona Flowers, Android 18 VS Captain Marvel, Raven VS Twilight Sparkle, Black Widow VS Widowmaker, Weiss VS Mitsuru, Black Canary VS Sindel, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Batgirl VS Spider-Gwen, Blake VS Mikasa, Korra VS Storm, Harley Quinn VS Jinx, Scarlet Witch VS Zatanna, Phoenix VS Raven, and Ruby VS Maka.
*This is the third Fighting Game-themed episode, after Akuma VS Shang Tsung and Felicia VS Taokaka, and with the next 13 being Shao Kahn VS M. Bison, Ivy VS Orchid, Fulgore VS Sektor, Ryu VS Scorpion, Ragna VS Sol Badguy, Cammy VS Sonya, Ken VS Terry, Sub-Zero VS Glacius, Balrog VS TJ Combo, Ryu VS Jin, Sabrewulf VS Jon Talbain, Heihachi Mishima VS Geese Howard, and Akuma VS Shao Kahn.
**This is the first Street Fighter VS Fatal Fury-themed episode, with the next one being Ken VS Terry.
*This is the first episode in which a character speaks in a different language (Japanese), with the next six being Ragna VS Sol Badguy, Chuck Norris VS Segata Sanshiro, Jotaro VS Kenshiro, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Red VS Blue, and Heihachi Mishima VS Geese Howard.
==References==
Category:Death Battles
Category:Season 1 episodes
Category:Street Fighter episodes
Category:King of Fighters episodes
Category:Animated Sprite battles
Category:Fights animated by Ben Singer
Category:'Females' themed Death Battles
Category:'Fighting Game' themed Death Battles
Category:'Rivalry' themed Death Battles
Category:'Heroes' themed Death Battles
Category:'Video Games' themed Death Battles
Category:'Mascots' themed Death Battles
Category:'1990s' themed Death Battles
Category:'Protagonists' themed Death Battles