The front entrance of the Third Ninja School.
Third Ninja School (第三忍者学校 Dai san ninja gakkō?) is a ninja-themed school attended by both Ibuki and Sarai during Street Fighter IV. It is visible in Ibuki's intro animation in Super Street Fighter IV, and her ending appears to show her class attending a ninja training class headed by a teacher/coach.
In UDON's continuity[]
In the UDON comic's continuity the school is presented in the "Street Fighter V: Back to School Special" issue for Free Comic Book Day 2021, under the name Atago Gongen High School. Atago Gongen is presented as a normal civilian learning institution without anterior motives, unlike Ibuki's home village and Sarusuberi University. Besides Ibuki and Sarai, Makoto and Elena also attend this school. Not much in the course of instruction is ever shown but presumably general school activities are performed and even a history class is shown with Ibuki and Sarai attending. It is also shown the school has some extracurricular activities with Makoto and Elena both partaking on a women's wrestling class.
Other activities include the school's annual college fairs where many scouters pitch their offered paths to prospective high school students. This is shown how Ibuki confirmed her Sarusubere University desire (though she wasn't informed of it's hidden ninja activities) and later a now graduated Ibuki alongside Karin and Sakura now demonstrating to Atago Gongen students what their respective learning facilities offered, most notably Makoto and Elena.
The school is also shown to offer transportation via school busses for it's students, something Ibuki is shown taking advantage of although not in a conventional way.
Known Students[]
- Ibuki (during Super Street Fighter IV, formerly in UDON continuity)
- Sarai (during Super Street Fighter IV)
- Makoto (currently in UDON continuity)
- Elena (currently in UDON continuity)
Trivia[]
School sign at the beginning of Ibuki's intro.
- The name of the school is briefly visible at the beginning of Ibuki's intro in Super Street Fighter IV, as a sign in the school's entrance (picture on the right). The name of the school in UDON's continuity is named after "Atago Gongen", a Japanese spirit or kami.
- An early concept design for Ibuki's Sporty costume in Street Fighter V shows it was planned to have the kanji for "Third Ninja" displayed, but the final costume design uses the kanji for "Sarusuberi" instead.
- The girl's school uniform is similar to the school uniforms of Taiyo High School from Rival Schools. According to series creator Hideaki Itsuno, he liked Ibuki's school uniform from her Street Fighter III ending and asked if he could use the design for his character and "say they were from the same school"[1]. This last fact was never properly addressed in official sources and was completely ignored/retconned with the introduction of the Third Ninja School in Street Fighter IV.
- Ibuki is the only known student shown using the school's bus service, even if a bit unofficially. Sarai was shown already on campus by the time Ibuki arrived and both Makoto and Elena's method of transportation to the school was never shown.
References[]
- ↑ Nakayama, Takayuki (July 05, 2016). "VS interview Round 2: Hideaki Itsuno Part 3". Published on the Shadaloo Combat Research Institute official site.