Yuri Sakazaki
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| Yuri Sakazaki | |
|---|---|
 Yuri Sakazaki in King of Fighters NeoWave |
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| Game series | Art of Fighting series King of Fighters series SNK Vs. series |
| First game | Art of Fighting |
| Voice actor(s) | Kaori Horie, Ayumi Hamasaki (Art of Fighting OAV) |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Birthplace | Japan (of American heritage) |
| Blood type | A |
| Fighting style | Kyokugenryu Karate (with her personal styles) |
| Likes | Karaoke and studying various cuisine, Softball, Sweet curry rice |
| Dislikes | Octopuses and spineless men |
Yuri Sakazaki (ユリ・サカザキ Yuri Sakazaki?) is a video game character from SNK's Art of Fighting series first as a damsel in distress and then as one of the protagonists, and The King of Fighters series as one of the supporting characters, and in SNK vs. series.
In Japanese, her name is usually written in katakana. She was originally a damsel in distress in the original Art of Fighting. Art of Fighting 2 was the first game Yuri appeared in as a playable character. Since then, she has appeared in many SNK fighting games, including The King of Fighters series and SNK vs. series (except SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom), alongside her older brother Ryo Sakazaki. The Neo-Geo Pocket game SNK Gals is the only game she appeared without Ryo. She first appeared in 3D as a playable character in KOF: Maximum Impact.
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[edit] History
[edit] Art of Fighting
Yuri is the daughter of Takuma Sakazaki and Ronnet Sakazaki and the younger sister of Ryo Sakazaki, who is four years her senior. When she was an infant, her mother Ronnet died of natural causes, leaving Takuma to raise her and her big brother Ryo alone. Takuma dedicated more time to Ryo than to Yuri, as Ryo is to be the heir to the throne of Kyokugenryu Karate. However, he did not turn his back on Yuri. Yuri later befriended a new boy who had just arrived from Italy, who is Robert Garcia. She enjoyed having conversations with Robert and developed a special relationship with him, but her father and brother insist on breaking up the relationship. However, she considers Robert one of her most valuable friends and enjoys being with him.
[edit] The Yuri Sakazaki Incident
When she was 17 years old, Yuri was living in her father's Kyokugenryu dojo when crime began to infest the city of Southtown. Geese Howard blackmailed Takuma into working for him and became the de facto boss of Southtown, and ordered Takuma to kill Jeff Bogard, the adoptive father of Terry and Andy Bogard. Takuma refused to do so, but in order to force Takuma to cooperate, when Geese was out on business, Geese ordered Mr. Big, a local criminal mastermind, and Mr. Big's henchmen to break into the Kyokugenryu dojo. Mr. Big and his henchmen refused to answer Yuri's questions. Yuri then realized that they were up to no good. She initially managed to escape, but she could not run fast enough to keep the henchmen from catching up to her and was abducted in order to get Takuma firmly under Mr. Big's control and supervision so that Takuma would not disobey Geese. Takuma was forced to do things against his will through repeated threats to kill Yuri, which includes fighting Ryo and Robert. Yuri was worried about her father, Ryo, and Robert. Unfortunately, her abduction caused her brother Ryo and her love interest Robert to tear up Southtown in search of her. A hidden door to the dark room was suddenly opened, and she narrowly escaped. Her brother Ryo was prepared to finish off Mr. Karate using a Haoushoukouken on him, believing he was behind the kidnapping. However, in order to rescue her father, she came unscathed and appeared before the eyes of Ryo and Robert and told Ryo not to hurt Mr. Karate, saying that he was really their father. Takuma removed his mask to reveal his true identity, revealing that he was deceived by Geese through Mr. Big to fight his own son Ryo. Immediately thereafter, they had a joyous reunion.
After the reunion, the Sakazakis and Robert returned to the Kyokugenryu dojo and plotted revenge against Geese for disgracing the honor of Kyokugenryu Karate. However, Geese was already busy dealing with the Bogard brothers, who came to avenge their father Jeff. After Yuri rescued her father Takuma, and as a vehicle for revenge, she asked him to train her in the art of Kyokugenryu Karate about the same way he trained Ryo, much to Ryo's opposition and Robert's favor. Takuma accepted the offer, eager to make his daughter into a powerful fighter in her own right and prevent her from being abducted again. He trained Yuri behind Ryo's back, and she made exceptional progress in quite a few days. Yuri uses the lowest-grade Kyokugenryu Movelist in the discipline, called the Raiou principle, which taught only the basic and low-level moves and encouraged personal instinct to be used in conjunction with the tutelage. Among Yuri's personally-crafted moves are the Slipstream Handslap and the Butt Press. Raiou means "Lightning Sparkle" in Japanese. Yuri chose to remain in the Raiou principle of Kyokugenryu Karate. Takuma offered her the incentive to advance to the higher principles of the discipline. However, she rejected that offer, believing that the higher principles of the discipline focused more on offense rather than on defense. Kyokugenryu Karate had never been taught to females until the Yuri Sakazaki Incident.
The Sakazakis' revenge against Geese was successful to an extent, but the victory lasted for a short time. Geese managed to escape the Sakazakis and ordered the murder of Jeff Bogard. The ending of Art of Fighting 2 effectively closed out the storyline of the Art of Fighting series, and brought forth the beginning of the storyline of the Fatal Fury series.
[edit] King of Fighters
In 1994, Yuri considered herself ready to fight in the King of Fighters tournament. She attempted to join Ryo's team in the first tournament. However, she was informed that her brother Ryo decided that only Robert and Takuma would be allowed on his team. Ryo was even opposed to Yuri's entry to the King of Fighters tournament. Therefore, she witnesses an invitation to the first King of Fighters tournament, held by King. She then rushes to urge King to join her and establish a team, alongside her friend Mai Shiranui. They both disputed with King, and King had no choice but to accept them both. Now the team of England enters the tournament.
After the second King of Fighters tournament in 1995, Yuri was called back to the Kyokugenryu dojo by her father Takuma. One year later, Takuma decided to retire from competitive fighting. He suggested to Ryo that Yuri be a part of his team. Since Yuri thought she already had someone to team up with, Takuma made the decision to persuade her to join the AOF team by threatening to freeze her assets. She agreed to join Ryo and Robert in place of her father Takuma, much to Ryo's opposition and Robert's favor. To honor her father, Yuri vowed to fight on the AOF team, although she wishes that he quits being a pushover near the end of the tournament, and she is also ready to assist any way she can. In 1997, she lives a carefree woman after the Orochi saga, but only for a short time. Once again, she is called back to training when the 1997 King of Fighters tournament is about to begin. She does not turn her back on her family or friends, and she trains harder than ever. Despite being the only female of the AOF team, she can well represent Kyokugenryu Karate.
After the 1999 King of Fighters tournament, Yuri senses nostalgia in her. It has been four years since she joined the AOF team, but she remembers the days she teamed up with King and Mai. Yuri finally returns to the Princesses of Punch team without a clue of whom she would team up with. A few days later, she reunites with Mai, and they decided to set up a team again. Mai also invites her old friend Kasumi to join the team, and King replaced Yuri in the AOF team upon Yuri's request, much to Robert's anger and Ryo's favor. However, the 2000 King of Fighters tournament requires a fourth team member, but the answer arrives in the form of Hinako Shijou. Now, Yuri determines herself to advertise true female power.
In 2001, Yuri returns to Southtown to attend the reconstruction of the Kyokugenryu dojo, willing to assist her father and brother. However, a disaster strikes. A grief-stricken Robert arrives at the Kyokugenryu dojo, and admits that the Garcia foundation went bankrupt due to a world financial crisis that directly attacked his business empire. Yuri is so worried about Robert's condition, and decides to help him once and for all. Therefore, she returns to the AOF team, with Li Xiangfei taking her old place in the Princesses of Punch team, and this time it is in order to help out Robert the best she can. Yuri now represents Kyokugenryu Karate the best way she knows how, and this time, she lets nothing get in her way. As the AOF team wins the prize money, Yuri joyfully watches Robert regain his wealth, as the end of the 2001 King of Fighters tournament is signed with the demise of the NESTS organization. Robert is mad about the Sakazaki family being solely interested in his financial resources, but Yuri knows that the Sakazaki family appreciates Robert for his personality and not for his material possessions. Since 2001, Yuri then has been a regular for the AOF team alongside Ryo and Robert (Any King of Fighters game with Yuri on the Princesses of Punch team after King of Fighters 2000 is apocryphal, or noncanonical, and the Princesses of Punch team franchise was dissolved in King of Fighters XI).
[edit] Personality
Yuri Sakazaki is a very sweet young woman. She always cares about her family and friends. She loves and honors her father Takuma and sees him as an example, and she also respects her older brother Ryo as well. She is bothered when Takuma and Ryo constantly get involved in her affairs. She also enjoys being with Robert, but she denies to reveal her true feelings for him since his journey to Southtown to assist his childhood friend, Freya Lawrence. She has many friends within the King of Fighters circle and outside of it and enjoys spending time with them.
[edit] Trivia
- Yuri's moveset is a running parody of various special moves from Street Fighter series. This is very noticeable in King of Fighters '96, when she received her Yuri Cho Mawashi-geri, which acted and curved in a similar though higher arc as Sakura's Shunpuu Kyaku. Yuri has since then received various moves that are parodies of these; Sakura's Flower Kick, Ryu's Shin Shoryuken, Ken's Shoryureppa, Felicia's (Darkstalkers) intro, Makoto's (Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike) intro, Akuma's Shun Goku Satsu, Chun-Li's Flip Kick, and even Ryu's Denjin Hadoken. It is notable that KOF '96 came out a year after Street Fighter Alpha, where Dan Hibiki (a character that parodies Ryo and Robert) was introduced.
- While Yuri and her father Takuma were non-playable characters in Art of Fighting 3, she did make a cameo appearance in Ryo's and Robert's endings (and also between some fights, when you play as Ryo).
- The Yuri Sakazaki Incident occurred both in the Art of Fighting timeline and the King of Fighters timeline (two years before the events of King of Fighters '94). By the Art of Fighting timeline, it happened in 1978. By the King of Fighters timeline, it probably happened in 1992 (the year the original Art of Fighting was released). Yuri was 17 years old at the time of the incident.
- Maximum Impact marks the first time since Art of Fighting 2 that Yuri has received a new outfit, though she did wear clog-like shoes instead of sneakers in KOF 2000 and 2001.
- When you use a special move on Yuri (as her KO is almost full), the top of her costume flies off. This will only happen in The King of Fighters '94, The King of Fighters '95 and Art of Fighting 2.
- In Capcom Vs. SNK 2, when Yuri finishes a fight with a "Dramatic KO" (Finish with a super move as a counter to an opponent's special or super move), she will attempt to tie her gi tighter. However the belt becomes completely undone and her top opens, revealing a semi sheer undershirt. Yuri will then blush in total embarrassment and immediately cover herself. This victory pose first appeared in Art of Fighting 2 when Yuri scores a Perfect victory.
- Yuri appears as a Striker in KOF EX for the Game Boy Advance.
- For unknown reasons, Ryuji Yamazaki has a special win pose against Yuri in Capcom vs. SNK 2.
- In KOF: Maximum Impact 2, some of Yuri's extra normal outfits make her look like fellow Kyokugen practitioners; color scheme B makes her look like Ryo (blond hair, orange gi and black tights), while scheme F resembles Robert's outfit from KOF 99 to 2002 (brown hair, orange gi with black long-sleeved tights, and no headband).
- In The King of Fighters XI Yuri has a rival of somesort in the form of Malin, as the game shows that Malin has something of a grudge against Yuri. It is said that she hates how Yuri always says "Yoyucchi" and her comment against Malin's fighting style.
[edit] Related Games
[edit] Related Characters
[edit] Related Disciplines
[edit] External links
| Characters |
|---|
| Eiji Kisaragi - Geese Howard - Kasumi Todoh - King - Mr. Big - Mr. Karate - Robert Garcia - Ryo Sakazaki - Ryuhaku Todoh - Yuri Sakazaki - Jack Turner - Lee Pai Long - Jin Fuha - Mickey Rogers - John Crawley - Karman Cole - Roddy Birts - Lenny Creston - Wang Koh San - Wyler |
