#feng wei

[martialartslover7]

Why Asuka Deserves Better. #JusticeForAsuka

Oh, Asuka. My poor, dear Asuka. You were meant for greatness. You were meant, for so much more. Your second name only ended up becoming the subject of ridicule to the developers, despite them having breathed life into, with very clear intentions on making you a hidden MVP of the story.

No matter what any of these cringe dudebros in the FGC, the demented twits on Twitter, or the braindead Redditors claim about you, you are a character, that deserved to be on the top half of the totem pole.

You deserved to fight alongside Jin, Hwoarang and Xiaoyu, the main Tekken trio. You deserved to kick, at least ONE, of Mishima's asses, entirely on your own. You deserved to meet Jun, and maybe even train under her guidance to become a full-blooded Kazama, completing your training…

…You could have, you could have, it's all I can say with her. And it genuinely pisses me off, how she never evolved beyond what Tekken 5 showed to us. And listen, I know that, to many of you, she doesn't even seem like much "to begin with", but that's only because, you're not as invested as I am, much less in the character, and what she was truly meant to be, which, I am pretty sure, most of you just view as "shallow, coomer bait", or "gooner material for virgins".

Well, if you truly think that way, jokes on you, you're the true loser of this tale, as it just proves my point that, you're just a typical FGC shill, who is merely here for the ride, but not for the long term. Much less for the overall integrity of the game's integral core qualities, that made everyone else fall in love with it, in the first place.

And listen, I am fine with it, whatever floats your boat. But then stop trying to copy some pro player's opinion, like a mindless lemming, and then act so surprised, when people rightfully make fun of you for it. Whenever I see these people talking shit, I keep referring back to this meme right here:

But in all seriousness, since this is Asuka's birthday, and I want to clean up the trash, left behind by online circle-jerking sessions on any platform, claiming that "Asuka is just irrelevant, move on, buddy", allow me to take charge, and show to you, WHY Asuka always deserved to be relevant, in spite of the glaring evidence speaking against the argument. Lemme start with this:

When Asuka first debuted in Tekken 5, it became quickly clear, that her fighting style was a derivative, more up-front and aggressive version of Jun Kazama's style of martial arts. And if you really want to go there, I mean…

…Just look at her, man. This doesn't take a genius to realize: Her appearance, her design, the vibes she exuded, all of it, contributes to her feeling like a near-perfect, honorable and tasteful homage to Jun Kazama, who, by the way, at this point in the series, was declared "missing". She wasn't considered dead, just missing.

Not helped by the fact, that…

…Come on, look at her facial features, how can you NOT see a bit of Jun Kazama in her? Especially, when you put this in-game face model of hers…

…right next to Jun's facial model from the character select screen in Tekken 2. Am I being crazy, or do these look actually related, for real now? These two feel eeriely similar. And just for that alone, you could tell, the devs, at one point or another, certainly had bigger ideas with her.

But this is not where it ends. If it was, I wouldn't even be writing this stupid long thread.

Despite Asuka's ending in Tekken 5 being comical in nature, there is STILL some serious value to be found, a trace, a hint, of her being of far bigger importance than even the devs themselves ever gave her credit for…

…And seriously, sorry for going off-track about this, but, I am sure I am speaking on behalf of every Asuka fan, anywhere: FUCK. OFF. With this bullshit mindset of:

"Asuka was never meant to be a serious character, stop trying to pretend, there was ever anything salvageable about her, when all she ever was, is just a cringe, cliché moe anime tsundere girl with huge honkers and a rotten, loud-mouthed attitude, that makes me want to rip my ears off, every time she opens her mouth. Stop the cap. You probably just goon for her, in that case, you're a horny pedo, get outta my face." -- Every FGC shill on social media

And listen, I know, it probably was never exactly like this, but all the key- and buzzwords probably allign, because, I have been there, numerous times, especially in YouTube comment sections and Twitter. And it wasn't just limited to Asuka. This is a universal problem, that can be applied to all fighting game characters in general. We all know the drill by now, the moment you get confronted with the FGC, hoping to find at least one nerd, who is willing to partake in story discussions and theories like in the anime community, the majority of users will, 9 times out of 10, claim:

"I don't care about story in fighting games, no one should, it's a Nothing Burger. You cannot expect that quality from something, not meant to be played, all by yourself. Oh, by the way, I had sex with your grandma." -- Some loser pro player on social media

How. Fucking. Often. Did I hear this justification. ANYWHERE? Try to guess. Believe me, the count is too high to count at this point. Why are people THIS freaking boring in the FGC? Is the part about, "being so accepting of crushing mediocrity, and never wanting to wish for better" the most common commodity these days? You just want to play the game? Good. Then do me, and everyone else, especially yourself, a favor, and…

SHUT THE FUCK UP! NO ONE ASKED FOR YOUR MENTALLY IMPAIRED TAKES, WHEN YOU NEVER CARED TO BEGIN WITH! SHUT! UP!

But, now that I got THAT out of my system, back to Asuka. As I said, her Tekken 5 ending, despite not being much to go off of, is probably, the one and ONLY time, where we see Asuka, being at her absolute best, despite not being much to go off of, is probably, the one and ONLY time, where we see Asuka, being at her absolute best, despite the comical outcome, which, I am obviously going to cut away, because I didn't come here to waste everyone's time. I am glad to give reminders, here you go:

…and what happens after this? Does it ever get expanded upon? Does Asuka become relevant in any sort of way? Does she maybe get the chance to fight at Jin's side--

Oh, right. No, this is not what happened. What actually happened, is this:

And just seeing her laugh this maniacally like a psychopath, it just reminds me of this laughter right here, when Mephiles killed Sonic in 06, except, Lili's creation itself killed, what little left there was of Asuka's potential as a character, so, same thing:

But just wait, this isn't the only thing we came here for, and that is me dunking on Lili, which, at this point in time, has become far too easy for me, so I will leave that for some other time. For now, just a reminder: It never improved from here. Instead, it just got sadder, the more time passed. And for some reason, everyone is so accepting of it, despite Asuka's and Lili's """""rivalry""""" (or lack thereof, as, by this point, it feels more like an ongoing trainwreck, circus performance, than an actual rivalry to take seriously) feeling like a shittier "carbon copy" of Sakura and Karin.

A can of worms I may need to tackle in the near future...

Since it's her birthday, let us all come together, as Asuka fans, and celebrate, what makes her so great in the first place. And one of those things being:

Her badass attitude.

Ignoring her arcade ending for a moment, every other scene with her in Tekken 5, may it be either against Feng Wei or Jinpachi, was this: Peak. Not much else to add. And because I like being petty, I will gladly remind you all again, why I am saying this, no further comment needed.

THIS is why, many of us grew to love Asuka. Every situation she was put in, she just stood tall. She didn't feel even remotely intimidated by Feng's appearance, let alone Jinpachi, and he looks the most demonic. Any normal person would have just run away, but she never did. And considering she managed to "heal" Jin afterwards, her Kazama blood actually meant something here, which leads me to assume, her fight with Jinpachi must have been insanely one-sided. It's not much, but considering the implications of her ending, and Kazuya's ending in Tekken 4:

This was very likely, a setup for Asuka's character. Considering that, it never openly specified, how pure-blooded of a Kazama you need to be, to have this level of power potency, to match and reject the Devil Gene. Especially since, Jin had always been more Mishima, than Kazama, even by blood. And even if, Asuka just so happens to be from a Side Branch of the Kazama family, this doesn't really change anything, the consistency still alligns with what we have learned. And again, someone like Jin, who was more on the dominant Mishima spectrum, still managed to keep his own powers under control, thanks to his mother's Kazama DNA...

...for a while, at least.

Meaning, as things stand, Jun is not the only one, who was able to keep Kazuya's Devil Gene under locket, to give herself a fighting chance against him. And if Jun managed with him, then surely, Asuka must have done the same to Jinpachi.

And again, I am fully aware that, this is all purely speculation, but the points still stand, even if it doesn't get on-screen confirmation, the implications still hold weight, even now, despite all the retcons. A hidden W for us, Asuka fam. Yay!

(Megumin, because her English VA, Erica Mendez, is just pitch perfect for Asuka, should Bloodline ever get a season 2, don't @ me)

Also, another reason, why we love Asuka, even in some non-canon material, are scenes like this:

*cough* Ahem, considering the thumbnail, I am looking respectfully, please don't smack me, Asuka.

But leaving my bonobo monkey brain thoughts aside, this ending may not be canon, but let's be real: Does it even matter? THIS is the Asuka we are all looking for. She may be a tough cookie, but this ending shows another major strength of hers, that alligns with what we know from her in the canon games:

Her pure soul.

Sure, she throws punches, and yes, she is brash in her wording, but here, as you can see, she doesn't immediately throw herself into the frey, coming at them swinging. She remains patient, even with said patience gradually dwindling with them, because, we all know, mobsters suck. She has a perfectly good reason to get moody on them, but she chooses not to, at least, not the moment she arrives. That only proves one thing: She might be a vigilante, but getting violent on people is not something she likes doing regurlarly, unless, she isn't even the aggressor in the situation.

In fact, despite being given no incentive to do so, she still decides to show empathy to them, and promising to let them off the hook, if they start behaving from now on. Whether that's truly effective or not, considering that we are talking about Yankees here, that's a different question entirely. The point is: Asuka remains the bigger person, first and foremost, despite living in a hostile, unfriendly environment. If that doesn't make you sympathize with her, then, allow me to remind you, WHY she decided to join the 5th tournament in the first place:

Her father.

That makes her stand out: While most competitors in the series join for monetary gains, in hopes of gaining control of the Mishima Zaibatsu, or just becoming famous...

...AND DESIRING VENGEANCE ON A FUCKING MISHIMA FOR THE UPTEENTH TIME...

...Once again, another sympathy point to garner from her: She is not fighting for any grand goals, she just wants to get penance on the person, who dared to lay a hand on her family. That simple action by itself, speaks volumes of Asuka's overall character. The fact, that she goes this far, in joining a tournament, which has become infamous for being more of a macabre bloodsport than an actual tournament, while she was barely around Xiaoyu's age, too...

This girl, will gladly lay her life down for you, if you're family to her.

Again. The Jun Kazama parallels just keeping coming with this attitude of hers. She knew her life was at risk, just by joining this damned tournament, and yet, she didn't give a damn. She joined regardless. That alone tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about her character basics.

And another point to be made about her:

She is genuinely hilarious. Check her out.

Screw this moronic slapstick humor, where everyone gets turned into a butt monkey for no reason...

I AM LOOKING RIGHT AT YOU, HARADA.

Another reason why I love Asuka: Every situation she gets put in, even when she is the one being made the "loser" of the situation, the way she reacts to all these ludicrous moments feels SO. FUCKING. RELATEABLE. Every time she is confronted with Lili, or she is faced with ridiculous circumstances, like pretty much all her interactions during the Scenario Campaign, she feels like my personal rage translator. The self-awareness she brings, is my jam. And the sarcasm she throws in Hwoarang's face is so freaking delightful, that moment still makes me laugh.

This is where you know: You know a character is good, when they become super relateable in instances like that. You don't need slapstick for this, just have them react in ways that any normal person would.

Another point for contention, and this is one where, if you think about it for a few moments, it just makes too much sense to happen, but you end up becoming sad, that it never got to that point. And that is this:

(Image done by JIN-XIA-HWO-ASK-STE)

These four look so good together as a team, anyone saying "No", you are just lying to yourselves. These four look like a dream team. And I am not just saying that from a design and aesthetic point of view, but also, well, Jin is the only Kazama in the team, that cannot keep his own powers in check, unless he went through very extreme measures to do so. This team needs one Kazama, that can keep his power in-line, preventing him from going haywire again, and risk the lives of Xiaoyu and Hwoarang. Asuka, is, if you will, the super glue, that keeps this trio together.

And though we never saw them interact as a unit, Asuka's prologue in Tekken 6, once again, shows that, despite having all the reasons to be spite- and resentful of her relative, for his actions having gotten negatively reflected back onto her, due to them sharing the same second name, by some freakish "misfortune", look at this:

...Do you see her having any killing intent? Like, does she truly want to exude true harm on her relative, despite everything he has done? Nope. And if it's presented in this sort of fashion, it becomes more than clear, she isn't taking herself TOO seriously. And I like that. She might be a good guy, but she isn't living any delusions, she is aware that her own behavior is not exactly acceptable, and as we established: Family first. Which is why, I am not sensing malice from her. She just wants to have an excuse to smack some sense into him, because, that is how she expresses: I care about you.

Oh, Asuka. We really don't deserve you.

But the biggest point of all...

...and I am sure, everyone is able to agree with me on this, on how to make Asuka the true complete package for an awesome character, forget Lili...

...we need a rivalry between her and Reina. I mean, do I even need to explain why? Just look at these two, and dare to tell me, this doesn't sound like peak story material.

(Image done by @_jelart)

Asuka - A heroic tomboy, fighting for others, never herself, and a Kazama, that purifies the supernatural evil

Reina - An evil tomboy, fighting for dominance, to assert herself above others, which is true to her Mishima nature, enforced by Heihachi, and bearing the Devil Gene (technically, she is a Hachijo, but that makes it more epic)

Kazama VS Hachijo.

Both are foils to each other, and unlike Lili, Reina is an actual challenge for Asuka, not just in terms of combat, but also differing backgrounds, how they were raised, and the clans they both come from. It's just perfect, man. Come on, Bamco, don't be cowards for real, do this. You will have a cash cow waiting for you. Anything to get away from this airhead blond.

Oh, also, another excuse for me to show off this amazing artwork, to match Reina's Devil form:

(Big thanks to @Raydash30 on Twitter for this, you rock, dude)

In conclusion, Asuka Kazama is a queen among queens. In all of fighting games to me.

No matter anyone says, she is deserving of so much more, and I will never forgive Harada for just shoving her into the background, that would be bad enough, but never even TRYING to resolve this "conflict" between her and Lili. This has gone very stale after a while. Like, I don't mind comedy with Asuka, but what you do, my dude, is the equivalent by putting someone in a torture chamber, and putting a laugh track over it. It's not fun, it never was, and it never will be. Outside of it having overstayed its welcome.

Even the white bread basic bitches in the community, who cannot tell the runs from apple sauce would be able to tell you, how old this has grown with these two. Just go on Reddit. OF ALL PLACES. Or in YouTube comment sections, whenever Asuka was a topic in any way. EVERYONE says the same thing: She was meant for so much more. If that doesn't set the tone, then I don't know what will.

YOU HAD ONE FUCKING JOB. ONE. FUCKING. JOB.

AND YOU FAILED HER. EVERYONE LOSES.

If you're interested, check out my video here of why Asuka deserves better, it's her birthday, and I pray to, whatever god is out there, if there even is one at this fucking point, that it will go up from here for her. I am not living any delusions though:

Other than that though, one video summarized Asuka's best core design aspects better than I ever could. And here it is. Check it out, it's very interesting how much thought was actually put into her, overall.

And for more details, if you need a cohesive timeline for all this, check out my Twitter thread for this.

And to end it off in an epic way, here is, what I call, Asuka's theme song for when she fully embraces the main character energy. Enjoy. Now go and do AMVs with dat shizz.

And with that...

Happy Birthday, Asuka. This one is for you.

(Image done by my bestie, Jared789 from DeviantArt)

Peace.

[smirkingcat]

Feng Wei

[sandmandaddy69]

Feng Wei

[maxmuscle313]

King the Wall of Muscle, Muscles of the Beast

Kazuya, Jin, Feng

[skeletonfumes]

"c12的迷幻蓝天 《螳螂》" 冯伟 Feng Wei（c12）

[menaslg]

Feng Wei in T8

[solidsmax]

TEKKEN 8 (2024)

[lainealexandersson]

If Tekken Characters become Critter Pick as seen on Honkai Star Rail part 2

Part 1:

[scorpiyeux]

[imaginative-tekken]

What about everyone’s favorite type of snacks?

hmmm. snacks huh...

Anna - salted popcorn

Asuka - salt & vinegar chips

Baek - jerky

Bruce - nachos

Bryan - apple pie

Christie - oreos

Claudio - pretzels

Dr. B - raspberry mousse

Eddy - mint chocolates

Lili - napoleon pastry

Feng - roasted almonds

Forest - churros

Ganryu - cupcakes

Heihachi - snickers

Hwoarang - hot cheetos

Jin - ice cream sundae

Josie - chocolate chip cookies

Julia - veggies and dip

Jun - strawberry ice cream

Katarina - beijinhos

Kazumi - stir-fried anchovy banchan

Kazuya - chili cheese puffs

King - lemon meringue tarts

Kuma - i wanna go typical bear stuff and say (smoked) salmon

Lars - polkagrisar

Lee - chocolate dipped strawberries

Lei - i wanna say noodles, but idk if that counts as a snack so... fruity hard candies

Leo - gingerbread cookies

Ling - soft caramel

Lucky Chloe - lollipops

Marshall - donuts

Master Raven - bundt cake

Michelle - candy apples

Miharu - salty fudge

Nina - punsch-roll 

Panda - rhubarb

Paul - baconchips

Raven - twinkies

Robert - ranch doritos

Sergei - stuffed buns

Shaheen - zaatar croissant

Steve - cinnamon rolls

Zafina - peanut butter cups

[gaymer-hag-stan]

Who Is Tekken?

I made a tier ranking because I was bored and because this is TEKKEN 8'S RELEASE WEEK!!!

So, basically this is a tier list based on who I think represents the series best. Not personal preference, just who I think of when I think of Tekken, and which characters I think usually act as the "face" of the franchise.

Tekken God Tier a.k.a. The one true "Face" of Tekken

Paul Phoenix - Although the story is centered around the Mishima Family feud, Paul I think best represents the spirit of Tekken as a whole. His design is outrageous, he can be considered goofy, not only because of the hair but because of his most recent portrayal and rivalry with Kuma, but he is nevertheless not treated entirely as a joke character. He is always there and he is a veteran.

Tekken Kings Tier a.k.a Characters present in all games that are also synonymous with Tekken

Yoshimitsu - Yoshimitsu is another character that is always present and, like Paul, he represents Tekken's spirit. He always looks ridiculous and he is completely redesigned in each new installment.

King - King also fits the same mentality as the other two. The jaguar mask, and the fact that when he speaks jaguar growls come out make him a staple to the "ridiculous but not a joke character" archetype that Tekken essentially jumpstarted and has polished to perfection over the years. Many other fighting games have joke characters of course, but some of Tekken's joke characters are actually pretty viable options.

Tekken Overlords Tier a.k.a. Characters who are present in almost all games and also represent the brand in promotional events and such

Nina Williams - Nina is undisputedly the Queen of Tekken. She is the only female fighter to appear in all Tekken games, she has her own spinoff game and she is almost always featured in collaborations and promotional events. She is the Chun-Li of Tekken with Cammy's demeanour. A two-in-one type of deal if you will.

Kazuya Mishima - Kazuya was the protagonist of the original Tekken game and has ever since taken on the role of either the primary or secondary antagonist. If Nina is Tekken's Chun-Li, then Kazuya is Tekken's Ryu, but with a twist. Kazuya is no hero, he is not the golden shoto honest boy who wants to save the world. Quite the opposite. Tekken can be campy but it can also be extremely edgy. Kazuya perfectly represents this inherent need to be edgy. When other fighting games attempted to replicate Street Fighter's Ryu by making more stoic stereotypical Japanese heroes who don't say much and only want to become stronger, Tekken introduced a villainous type of protagonist that will stop at nothing to achieve ultimate power. Tekken doesn't have a Ryu, only an Evil Ryu.

Ling Xiaoyu - Many would argue that Xiaoyu is Tekken's Chun-Li, and in the sense of having an upbeat female Chinese martial artist she is, but she is more like Chun-Li's little sister, or Tekken's little sister in this case. Nina is mature and sexy while Xiaoyu is cheerful and cute, childish even, in her debut appearance. Depending on who you ask she may be the main female character of Tekken but I'll say she's the second best thing. Still extremely important for the franchise.

Hwoarang - Hwoarang has never missed a game since his debut and I don't think he will in the future either. He is a very integral part of Tekken and his high kicks in the tightest of jeans definitely add a little more unhingedeness to the series.

Marshall Law - Every fighting game that respects itself pays homage to the greatest martial artist that ever lived. Law has every Bruce Lee mannerism that you can imagine and then some!

Tekken Warrior Tier a.k.a Jack

Although Jack's appearance and moveset are not necessarily remarkable, the fact that he undergoes a name change with each new Tekken entry, to match the mainline game's numbering, is kinda iconic in its own right and tied to Tekken itself. Even though he skipped Tekken 4 (and the JACK unit in the original game is a generic one not related to Jane's JACK who is present in all the following games) there is still a JACK-4 line, which further goes to show that you can't have Tekken without the JACKs.

Tekken Fighters Tier a.k.a. fairly recognisable characters who appear in most games

Lei Wulong - Tekken not only has its own Bruce Lee, but it also has its own Jackie Chan*! Lei has one of the most complicated movesets in fighting game history and as fighting game development gets pricier and pricier, he puts an actual strain on Namco's developments costs. While I don't think he will completely miss Tekken 8 or any following Tekkens, he is most likely gonna be permanent DLC to accommodate for the resources and money needed for his animations lmao

*since he is still alive though they actually started making his face more distinct as time went on and graphics became more realistic, possibly to avoid a lawsuit lol

Jin Kazama - Jin has essentially been the protagonist of Tekken since Tekken 3 (with a minor stint as a villain in 6 and, technically, being in a coma throughout Tekken 7's entire story) He is once again positioned as the "hero" in Tekken 8, although, like I said with Kazuya, Tekken doesn't do heroes the traditional way.

Bryan Fury - Bryan is the resident kickboxer of Tekken and he hasn't missed a game since his debut. His psychotic laugh is a Tekken trademark and his unhinged personality is a perfect match for a series like Tekken.

Steve Fox - Likewise, Steve is the resident boxer of Tekken. Arguably, he's not as strong in the personality department, so his fighting style kind of hard carries him and is also probably why he hasn't skipped an entry since his inception.

Asuka Kazama - Asuka is kind of the "new generation" type of Tekken girl. She had a really strong debut in Tekken 5, I think she really served in that game, but ever since the rivalry with Lili subplot was introduced I feel like Lili's personality overpowers hers. Nevertheless, they have been positioned by Namco as the new main female Tekken rivalry ever since Tekken 6 so that's that.

Tekken Brawlers Tier a.k.a. the last three core Tekken characters

Heihachi Mishima - Heihachi is arguably the Akuma of Tekken. He often assumes the final boss role and has been in all Tekken games until his death (?). Tekken 7 was teased as the big finale to Kazuya and Heihachi's rivalry, and his death (??) truly meant the end of an era for the series.

Feng Wei - I struggled a lot with this one because he's a character I personally don't care at all about, but personal bias aside I think his moveset is quintessential Tekken, and like Asuka he also had a very strong Tekken 5 debut that kind of hard carries him ever since. His scenes in the Tekken 5 opening cinematic are pretty memorable.

Lili - If the Tekken universe has an it girl it is her. Lili has been a consistently popular character since her debut and I don't think it's hard to see why. Her personality is hilarious, the rich mean daddy's girl type, her moveset is hella fun and her design is pretty slick and gets the message across - you know she is the spoiled brat before she even opens her mouth.

Tekken Grand Masters Tier a.k.a. characters who are still pretty important but can skip a game or two

Lee Chaolan - Lee's trademark "excellent" is definitely pretty standard amongst Tekken fans, but from here on, him and the characters that follow are more or less characters who are mostly relevant within the Tekken community and don't necessarily represent the franchise as a whole or are instantly recognisable as Tekken characters. Lee's is a very interesting take on Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. In Tekken 1, all of the "rival" characters are in some way reused or alternate versions of the initial eight characters' fighting styles. In this case, he practices Jeet Kune Do like Law, but unlike Law, he doesn't retain any of Bruce Lee's mannerisms, other than the outrageous screams.

Eddy Gordo - Eddy is the resident capoeira master of Tekken, and you could argue this alone could earn him a higher placing, but I feel like the fact that he was Christie's pallette swap for two games split the spotlight between them. He still has a story-related reason to fight and is therefore still coming back whereas Christie's story arc is done for now, but even still, he was missing from the initial arcade release of Tekken 7 and is now only coming back as DLC. Eddy is undoubtedly a trademark Tekken character, but I feel like all the characters above him have become a tad more essential than him over the years.

Sergei Dragunov - Dragunov certainly has his fans, and has a fun moveset and an interesting... gimmick, if you can even call it that, in that he chooses not to speak. Ever... Almost.

Jun Kazama - No other character has had such a strong impact in the Tekken fanbase as Jun. Despite only being canonically present in one game (and it will 100% remain so as she is definitely still dead in Tekken 8) she has been constantly requested by fans, has had a "clone" character in the form of Asuka, and even an "evil counterpart" in the form of Unknown. Jun is kind of the face of the Tekken Tag Tournament games, as both of them, and any future ones we hopefully get, were always fans' chance to get to see her again after her death. Even after Asuka's debut, Jun's comeback in Tag 2 was among the main marketing for the game.

Christie Monteiro - Like I said, Christie replaced Eddy in Tekken 4 and 5 as the "face" of capoeira for Tekken. Although Eddy was the OG, and I feel like his Tekken 3 and Tag 1 appearances are his main popularity and nostalgia boosts over hers, Christie is arguably the more fun of the two and although her story arc is over, she has more to give in the personality department. With Tekken 8 going the extra mile to make Kuma and Panda feel more unique, decades after their debut as identical characters, I think the same energy can be applied to Eddy and Christie. They already had different standing throws to begin with so a first step was taken ever since Tekken 4.

Craig Marduk - Marduk is the series' resident big burly screaming neanderthal type of character. He has had a bit of character development through his feud and eventual friendship with King and, even when it seemed like Gigas had kind of replaced him in Tekken 7 he actually made it back so good for him, I guess...

Leo Kliesen - Leo kind of invented being non-binary back in 2008 right? What was initially envisioned as a gimmick, a character without gender, has taken on a whole new meaning as people found new ways to express their identities that weren't as widely explored before and I think that this is a good thing. No one in the Tekken world seems to treat Leo's androgyny as something abnormal, in fact nobody even acknowledges it, nobody is bothered by it, nobody loses sleep about it. Leo is Leo and they're here to stay. My only issue is that Leo's personality trait sliders were all set right in the middle too and this is definitely something that could be worked on a lot more.

Lars Alexandersson - Tekken 6 tried really hard to set Lars up as "the new Mishima" and I don't think it worked. I mean look at Reina's reception. I think that's what they were going for at the time. Did it work? Yes and no. Lars is intrinsically tied with the story and he seems to have been positioned as a positive role model and moral compass for Jin to make him "find his way" or whatever the fuck. If you think about it, after Jun's death, Jin only had Heihachi's abusive relationship and murder attempt and then his equally bloody reunion with his father in the form of family. Lars, and I guess Lee (they don't seem to have canonically interacted with each other before Tekken 7's ending) are now positioned as the good influences in Jin's life. Although Lee has worked under both Heihachi and Kazuya, and Lars had no issues working as a mercenary for Heihachi in the Tekken Force and only quit after Jin started World War III. Once again this harkens back to how no one is a saint in Tekken. Lars is no exception.

Raven - He took a small break in 7 but his fighting style was still represented in the form of his master. Raven's design is a knock-off Blade but the fact that he is a ninja working for the United Nations and that they also keep expanding his organization with new members in the form of Master Raven and Victor is proof enough of his relevancy to the series.

Tekken Experts Tier a.k.a. the last few ones that actually matter

Kuma - Kuma is a joke character, but an arguably quite good one at that. Tekken employs many "jokey" characters, the Pauls, the Yoshimitsus, the Kings, as marketing gimmicks. "Oh you know Tekken has a guy with weird hair that punches real hard" or "Tekken has a mech space ninja" or "Tekken has a dude with a jaguar head" but nothing hits quite hard like "Tekken has a bear". Street Fighter II had many martial artists in its original eight-character roster. A stoic karateka, a cheerful Kung Fu master, a hardened wrestler. But it also had Blanka, a weird "out of the box" type of character that fights with an unconventional fighting style and has a unique appearance. The other characters I mentioned have unique appearances but Paul practices judo, King is a wrestler and Yoshimitsu is a ninja (so at least his shenanigans are somewhat excused). But Kuma is a talking bear (when he speaks we hear growls, just like with King, but he is canonically able to communicate with humans, he just follows Tekken's "everyone speaks their mother tongue" and therefore speaks 'bear') who practices a mix of Mishima-style karate along with... Well bear moves. Very few other games in the market can match that energy.

Anna Williams - Anna is unfortunately, more often than not, in the shadow of her older sister, a sentiment that perhaps hits too close to home for a lot of younger siblings. Nevertheless, even if she began as a Nina clone, she was among the very first who the developers started differentiating from their original counterpart, as early as Tekken 3. Anna is certainly popular, but she is constantly treated as an afterthought to Nina, which itself prevents me from placing her any higher. While Nina is allowed to be part of the main story and have a subplot with her son or others, Anna has only ever had her rivalry with Nina, her having the hots for Kazuya and an interaction with Lee that may not even be canon. Perhaps the fact that she constantly has to live in the shadow of a more popular sister is in and of itself her own gimmick within the Tekken universe. The fact that she always serves the cunt™, all the cunt™ and nothing but the cunt™ is also probably a reason why she is a favourite of the gays and the girls.

Ganryu - Ganryu is another joke character. He has many running gage, actually, from his obsession with Michelle Chang and then her much-younger-than-him (...) daughter and them barely even acknowledging his existence, his lying over his ranking in sumo (and being cancelled by the... Sumo masters??? because of it) and also trying and failing to promote his chanko restaurant through the Tournaments, Ganryu is perhaps the Joke Character of Tekken. Even so, Kazuya apparently found something in him as he was among his elite bodyguards along with Bruce, Anna and Lee in Tekken 2.

Julia Chang - Julia I feel like also peaked during her Tekken 5 era but has been slowly fading in the background ever since. Arguably the most interesting character development she's had was adopting the Jaycee luchadora persona... Which was not canon... Her new streamer persona doesn't seem to be necessarily popular and the fact that she's again missing from another mainline base Tekken game may reflect that Namco don't necessarily seem like they know what to do with her at all.

Devil Jin - Devil Jin is not really an actual character, rather an alter ego of sorts of Jin, although we haven't necessarily "seen" him so far. Whenever Jin canonically assumes his devil form he just seems to lose control for a few seconds and then snaps back to normal. The reason for his existence is that people were pissed that Jin's Tekken 3 moveset was dropped in Tekken 4 as Jin relearned his fighting style to distance himself from his Mishima heritage and go back to his mother's teachings and Namco simply decided to bring it back in the form of an alter ego. He simply exists as a gameplay mechanic, although it still has endured for all these years, showing the impact Tekken 3 still has on the series. The initial story trailers for Tekken 8 seemed to hint that Devil Jin was no more but, for better or worse, Namco doesn't seem to be ready to let go just yet.

Baek Doo San & Michelle Chang - Both have been completely replaced by Hwoarang and Julia respectively so both are mostly in this tier for their presence in the first few games and the fact that their fighting style lives on through their disciples. Arguably Baek's is a little more alive than Michelle's though lol

Alisa Bosconovitch - Alisa is another one of the teen girly characters that Namco loves to push as their main form of female character archetype. Alisa being an android with chainsaw blades coming out of her arms was certainly an interesting gimmick back when she was added to Tekken 6, but it doesn't have an impact nearly as strong as "man with jaguar head" or "talking bear".

Zafina - Zafina closes up the last tier of actually important characters for the game's identity. She is cunty and as assassin but also her fighting style is extremely cooky and her animations are hilarious and, on top of that, she now also has the rotting Azazel hand. A perfect mix of the three pillars of Tekken; edginess, camp and c*nt~

Tekken Mentors Tier a.k.a. Pallette swaps, the last few legacy characters and Mokujin

Tekken Initiates Tier a.k.a Bosses, one-off characters and the literal newcomers who cannot be properly placed yet. I consider Leroy a newcomer since he didn't get a story chapter last time and since he's the only T7 DLC to make it in T8 thus far he gets a small bonus boost

Tekken Beginners Tier a.k.a. even more palette swaps, characters completely replaced by others or obscure randos that only come back for the Tag Tournaments. The rest of T7's characters that did not make the cut (so far) are here either because they didn't have as strong an impact as the rest or they were DLC and haven't shown their full potential yet

[david-de-bergerac]

I was getting more Tekken 8 endings and I needed to just real quick talk about this sign in Leroy's ending that appears to be saying "CAUTION: FENG"

As in Feng Wei.

As in "Watch out this dude regularly trains over here and enough people have gotten greviously hurt walking near him that the city had to put up signs specifically to warn people about him" Feng Wei.

[strangledwires]

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 | Asuka & Feng

[sandmandaddy69]

Feng Wei

[maxmuscle313]

Tekken 8 - Feng detailed bulge muscle pump.

[archiveofillustration]

《brucelee》的签绘 by 冯伟 Feng Wei