A Complex Look Inside Chun-Li (slightly NSFW)

In March of 2016, MatPat released his first, and to date, only, theory on Street Fighter regarding Chun-Li’s Spinning Bird Kick, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DRHU1-SnvM

Over these couple of years, one thing has bugged me that MatPat never talked about: what were the consequences of having 24,000 Newtons of force being placed on Chun-Li’s, as the Game Theorist called it, “rotor head?” After some analysis and research, I was able to discover a few things about the First Lady of Fighting Games, and found some interesting dichotomies between her and another character in the game, which could lead to potential stories between the two.

First, though, we need to discuss some of Chun-Li’s physical attributes, the first being her ability to withstand the forces she places on herself as well as the forces placed on her by others. In MatPat’s video, the Theorist states that, in real life, Chun-Li would not only dislocate her own legs, but would have the ability to cleanly decapitate any opponent she faces with one kick. Let’s assume what MatPat says is true: that her legs are the single force that allows her to hover and she isn’t using her own ki to propel herself upward and forward. Two things in-game are evident. One, Chun-Li doesn’t dislocate her legs and can in fact use her Spinning Bird Kick repeatedly. Two, her kick is not a one-hit kill. So, what gives?

The second one can be answered pretty easily: the entire cast of Street Fighter can withstand forces that would be lethal to regular people. The stunts and abilities in-game are proof of this. As for the first one, while it seems this would be the case, there’s something that stops this: every Street Fighter’s genitalia are as sensitive in-game as they would be in real life. Makoto’s and Poison’s Ultra Combos in Street Fighter IV and Ken’s Street Fighter III: Second Impact ending are proof of this.

Concerning Chun-Li, is this an in-game anomaly like Ken’s blue eyes? Not quite. This tells me that Chun-Li has the ability to neutralize the forces on her groin. In other words, as she hovers, and as she generates the force needed to hover, her groin and hips compensate by expelling an equal, near-equal, or greater force in the opposite direction to keep her from hurting herself and to allow her to use her attack again. In other words, her groin must be able to produce a force of around 24,000 Newtons or greater just to keep her walking.

This is where things start to get strange. Yes, Chun-Li is vulnerable to a kick in the nether regions just like everyone else, which means she can experience pain, and likely even pleasure, like everyone else, but her lady parts are different in that they can produce a squeezing force of over 5,000 pounds of pressure.

In other words, she can’t have sex without fatal consequences to her lover.

My research was scant on the amount of force it would take to shatter a guy’s manhood. However, it can be safely said it would be far less than 5,000 pounds of force. Believe it or not, though, there is enough proof that Chun-Li would cause substantial problems for a female lover.

In real life, there is a woman who holds the record for having the world’s strongest lady bits. Her name is Tatyana Kozhevnikova, and she is able to lift 30 pounds with her genitalia. (Google her; I’m not linking anything here). If we assume this to be a standard throughout the world of Street Fighter, then your Chun-Li X Cammy ship is sinking. Cammy, at best, could lift the equivalent of a small child. Chun-Li, at best, could lift the equivalent of a small truck.

Quite simply, Chun-Li really is the strongest woman in the world, and it’s wreaking havoc on her sex life. Moreso, it could be affecting her mental health as well.

Aside from the fear she would have from being with a lover, this could also explain her obsession with her deceased father. Not only was he the only family she had, but since he was the one who taught his daughter the Spinning Bird Kick, he is likely the only person in Street Fighter who could actually conceive a child with her. As squicky as this sounds, Chun-Li actually does show signs of having an Electra complex: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electra_complex

In order to cope with her loss, Chun-Li has established the defense mechanisms of repression and identification. She hasn’t repressed the memories of her father or his death. Instead, because of her unique physical abilities, she has repressed the idea of sex and replaced it with a strong sense of justice and morality, something that she saw as an inherent characteristic of her father. This leads us to her identifying with her father and taking his attributes as her own. However, this alone isn’t proof of her having an Electra complex – it’s her identifying with her mother that is. Since her mother died when she was young, Chun-Li had to replace her to fill the hole in her father’s life. She was the only woman in his life from the time his wife passed on to the time he passed on. It’s normal for anyone who lost a parent to try to fill in that gap. What isn’t normal, however, is completely becoming that parent, and this is where Chun-Li goes from being a good daughter to being the crazy one in her family. Chun-Li doesn’t just take her mother’s morals; she takes her clothes as well. Her bracelets and qipao belonged to her mother.

As stated on Wikipedia, in the identification mechanism of the Electra complex, a woman “incorporates… the personality characteristics of the same-sex parent; in so adapting, the girl facilitates identifying with [the] mother…. If sexual competition for the opposite-sex parent is unresolved” the girl could “become a woman who continually strives to dominate men, either as an unusually seductive woman… or as an unusually submissive woman.” There’s no question that Chun-Li wants to dominate men. Street fighting is a male-dominated sport, and she wants to be the greatest fighter in the world. Her repressed sexual urges as such manifest in her fighting and training. She can’t be a good lover, but she can be a good fighter. The idea of her dressing somewhat seductively for battle, while at first a sexy design choice for the very male creative team of Street Fighter II, has become such an ingrained part of her character that it gives credence to the theory that fighting is a complete and necessary replacement for sex. If this is the case, then it can be stated that her dressing like her mother while she street fights is symbolic for her internal struggles. She wanted to be the replacement for her mother, physically, mentally, and sexually.

The thing is that because of her strong morality, she had to internalize this. She couldn’t stop herself from showing this in very subtle ways, however, as her subconscious needed to resolve the situation to give her some peace of mind. In continuing to repress all of the qualities she thinks would make her a worse person, she may be doing more harm than good. The idea of what she could become terrifies her, as she wishes to be seen as pure, beautiful, and “daddy’s little girl,” but there’s already a character who embraces everything Chun-Li tries to stay away from, and could end up being a glimpse into Chun-Li’s future. Juri is what Chun-Li could become if she gave in to her dark side. In fact, both are motivated by the exact same thing: their parents were killed by Bison and both want revenge. Whereas Chun-Li took the “good” road, Juri became a femme fatale; whereas Chun-Li lived a clean life, Juri became a part of the seedy underworld. What’s most interesting, however, is that while Juri out and out despises Chun-Li’s lifestyle, Chun-Li, despite being the poster girl of chastity, may actually want the life Juri lives. Moreso, Juri knows this, if the quotes between the two are any indication.

In Super Street Fighter IV, Chun-Li and Juri meet for the first time. Their conversation in their rival battle goes like this:

Chun-Li: “Juri! Hold it right there!”

Juri: “Wow. Back for another beating, officer? Or maybe you’ve got a little schoolgirl crush?”

Chun-Li: “One way or another, you’re coming with me.”

Juri: “This is gonna be fun.”

At first, it doesn’t look very much more than the two talking smack, but Chun–Li’s quote is somewhat enigmatic. “One way or another” can be interpreted as Chun-Li saying she’ll stop Juri no matter what. As a response to Juri’s comment on Chun-Li having a crush on her, however, it can also be interpreted as her saying, “Even if I do.” This goes deeper with her win quotes toward Juri, as in both Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter V, her quotes are in the forms of questions:

IV: “What would your parents think if they saw you now?

V: “If we both lost the same thing, then why are we so different?”

While it seems she might be trying to instill guilt in her opponent, there’s something else there: wonder. And Juri is picking up on this. At first, Juri just wants to beat the hell out of Chun-Li and “hear her scream.” Since she’s considerably toned down as of V, however, she seems to be more perceptive of her opponents as well. In Chun-Li’s case, she wants Chun-Li to be the same:

“Be a little more obedient. You want me to like you or not?”

While this may just be Juri wanting to control Chun-Li, it can also be read as Juri’s acknowledgement of the latter’s fascination with her and her willingness to put up with Chun-Li’s sense of justice if Chun-Li is willing to learn from her. To top it off, if Menat’s perception of Juri being lonely rings true, then Juri WANTS Chun-Li to be her companion. In other words, they see in each other the qualities they themselves are missing.

Am I saying that they’re going to be lovers? No. Remember, if what MatPat said is true, Chun-Li can’t be intimate. Juri can, but her personality makes her more of a “one-night-stand” girl. Their relationship would be completely platonic.