Chun-Li/Pop Culture

Chun-Li is one of the earliest female video game protagonists to achieve widespread popularity. Prior to Street Fighter II being released in 1991, most female characters in games existed as objectives to be rescued or cast in the roles of other supporting characters, such as townspeople, girlfriends, the occasional opponent, or simply background decoration; as such, there were very few heroines in action-based video games. After the success of Street Fighter II and Chun-Li's popularity, female protagonists became increasingly common. Since then, in games with selectable characters, at least one of them will almost always be female; and a number of games released since then have placed a female character in the lead role.

Like Ryu, Chun-Li has been referenced countless times in pop culture ever since her introduction in Street Fighter II.

Capcom games

 * In the prologue of Mega Man 9, a news reporter on the TV resembles Chun-Li.


 * A policewoman bearing a striking resemblance to Chun-Li appears in the epilogue of Asura's Wrath, another video game by Capcom.


 * Chun-Li's likeness appears in the game We Love Golf! as an unlockable cosplay outfit for Lisa.


 * Chun-Li has a cameo appearance in the original Breath of Fire, where she can be seen practicing her lightning kicks in the thief's house in the town of Bleak if the player ask him to perform a magic trick and respond to his questions correctly.


 * She also appears in the Pachislot game Chun-Li Ni Makase China! where she has the starring role.

Other video games

 * An NPC by the name of Chun Li can be found in a night club in Ubisoft's game Watch Dogs whose profile lists her as the subject of a foreign police report.


 * In 2008, Sackboy skins for Chun-Li (along with Ryu, Guile and Zangief) were released as downloadable content in LittleBigPlanet.

Comics and Manga

 * Chun-Li made a cameo appearance in the manga Faeries' Landing.

Television and Animations

 * In the Sonic X episode, "The Adventures of Knuckles and Hawk", one of the Chinese women with ox horns resembles Chun-Li.


 * Chan Lee, a character from Bakugan Battle Brawlers, slightly resembles Chun-Li.


 * Chun-Li was seen in a background scene in the U.S. cartoon Jackie Chan Adventures.

Fan Works

 * Chun-Li's Hyakuretsukyaku was used in the fan-made series Dead Fantasy by Final Fantasy character Tifa.

Music

 * British indie rock band Arctic Monkeys has a song entitled "Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick", an instrumental track still unreleased as of now.