For the past three decades, Mai Shiranui has basically only worn her revealing red dress across Fatal Fury, The King of Fighters, Capcom vs. SNK and basically everything else, but not any more.
SNK finally revealed Mai for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves after sitting out the last game, which comes with a brand new costume for the fighting game icon.
The developers also just recently unveiled Mai’s official character design sheet for the upcoming game to give fans (and prospective cosplayers) a better look at what the artists have been cooking up behind the scenes.
Instead of showing off her assets in her signature dress, Mai is doing so in a crop-top leather jacket and pants with white and pink accents along with probably a lot more detail than you initially realized.
Her 2D art better shows off the floral pattern that appears across her back, one sleeve and the bottom of one of her pant legs, which looks like it lines up closely to a sprial when she holds her fan above her head and spins as a nice detail.
The artist notes also point out that Mai’s gloves, belt and shoes are not made out of leather as well, but rather a suede-like material that doesn’t have a sheen to it.
SNK has also added Mai’s character profile to the official Fatal Fury website with the following biography.
“Successor to Shiranui-style ninjutsu. Following an important tip-off from dutiful monk Sokaku Mochizuki, this modern-day kunoichi proceeds to South Town with purpose—her intense flame and ever-refined techniques lighting up the darkness therein.”
They don’t specify what Mai is doing in South Town, but perhaps she’s still on the hunt for Andy Bogard after all these years so the pair could finally get hitched and settle down.
It is also interesting to see the Fatal Fury 3 and Real Bout monk mentioned by name since he hasn’t appeared in really anything for decades though this also likely means he will not be a playable character on the roster — but maybe his successor could be.
Unsurprisingly, fan artists also immediately took a liking to Mai’s new costume and quickly put out great works with many others sure to follow.
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Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is scheduled to launch on April 24, 2025 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.