Mai Shiranui debuted back in 1992’s Fatal Fury 2, and has since become one of fighting games’ most beloved recurring characters as she’s garnered such a fan base that she rivals the likes of Street Fighter’s Chun-Li and Darkstalkers’ Morrigan Aensland in popularity.
Mai has donned her trademark red kunoichi dress (it has admittedly run on the pinker side in some instances) in her myriad of appearances over the last 32 years, and so it came as quite a shock when, here in 2024, SNK developers finally decided to give her a new standard costume. Fans all across the internet are showing appreciation for this bold move as we’ve collected fan art of biker Mai from a slew of various, talented artists.
As her standard attire in the upcoming Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (set to release on on April 24, 2025) replaces her flowing red dress with a partially un-zipped black leather jacket with pink floral designs embroidered across the back. She dons matching pants and high heel boots, but still retains the traditional red and white theme on her fans.
We call this a bold move by SNK because Mai has accumulated many devoted fans over the last three decades, and changing anything about such an established character always runs the risk of emotionally-enhanced disapproval; the frequency in which we see Miss Shiranui featured in games, cosplayed, and drawn by artistically gifted fans is extremely telling.
It’s that last category that we’re honing in on today as we’ve rounded up a 12-image gallery as 12 different artists share their versions of Mai in her new gear.
There are a variety of styles and techniques on display as Mai goes from realistic to cartoon-like, or is drawn more with pencil vs. paint, but they all point to a general appreciation and even celebration of the new look (especially considering this is the second roundup of new Mai artwork we’ve done).
You can check out all the artwork for yourself via the gallery below and then let us know what you think of SNK’s call to change up a character long-beloved for her visuals, as well as their execution in doing so.
Click images for larger versions
If you haven’t seen it already be sure to take a look at Mai’s concept art from City of the Wolves.
Artist credits in order of appearance in gallery: Click Burgundy, MicheMashu, YukinoshinF, Zabka_Zee, AiShou, Sheep_Shin, Rynneponii, GenjimaruP, MichelleHemora, Rosie_Rosie, Sleepy_Korok, kd_kaewdesu.