Yuri Sakazaki

Game series Art of Fighting series
The King of Fighters series
SNK vs. Capcom series
First game Art of Fighting
Voiced by (English) Amy Walls (Maximum Impact)
Voiced by (Japanese) Harumi Ikoma (AOF)
Kaori Horie (AOF2~present)
Ayumi Hamasaki (anime)
Sakura Tange (Dengeki Bunko drama CD)
Information
Birthplace Japan
Blood type A
Fighting style Kyokugenryu Karate (arranged a bit by Yuri)


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 introduced in the original Art of Fighting, and 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. She is the first and only known female practitioner of Kyokugen Karate.



History Through The Games


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, but he did his best to not turn his back on her. 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 overprotective father and brother insist on breaking up the relationship, fearing he'd toy with her affections. However, she considers Robert one of her most valuable friends and enjoys being with him.

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.

Yuri was tending to the dojo when Mr. Big and his henchmen arrived and refused to answer Yuri's questions. She realized that they were up to no good and attempted 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.

Handcuffed, gagged and isolated in a small dark room located in an abandoned warehouse, 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, and in the process, they fought the toughest criminals, bouncers, and martial artists. 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, explained 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. 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 (he had gone to train in Japan), 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. 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; therefore, Yuri received the honor of being the first female student of the discipline.

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, which does not directly involve the Sakazaki family.

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.

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, believing that she would misrepresent Kyokugenryu Karate, but Robert had the opposite point of view on the entry. 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. Then the team of England would enter 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 lived as a carefree woman after the Orochi saga, but only for a short time. Once again, she was called back to training when the 1997 King of Fighters tournament is about to begin. She did not turn her back on her family or friends, and she trained 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 sensed nostalgia in her. It had been four years since she joined the AOF team, but she remembered the days she teamed up with King and Mai. Yuri finally returned 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 required a fourth team member, but the answer arrived in the form of Hinako Shijou. Then, Yuri would determine herself to advertise true female power.

In 2001, Yuri returned to Southtown to attend the reconstruction of the Kyokugenryu dojo, willing to assist her father and brother. However, a disaster struck. A grief-stricken Robert arrived at the Kyokugenryu dojo, and admitted that the Garcia foundation went bankrupt due to a world financial crisis that directly attacked his business empire. Yuri was so worried about Robert's condition, and decides to help him once and for all. Therefore, she returned to the AOF team, with Li Xiangfei taking her old place in the Princesses of Punch team, and that time it was in order to help out Robert the best she can.

Yuri would represented Kyokugenryu Karate the best way she knew how, and then, she would let nothing get in her way. As the AOF team won the prize money, but not the tournament, 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.

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.

Fighting style

Yuri uses the lowest-grade version of the Kyokugenryu Karate discipline, known as 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'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.

Personality

Yuri Sakazaki is a very friendly 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 masks her true feelings for him since his journey to Central America 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.

Appearances

Yuri was introduced in Art of Fighting as a damsel in distress. She first appeared as a full-fledged playable character in Art of Fighting 2. While she 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). She has appeared as a playable character in all installments of the King of Fighters series.

KOF: Maximum Impact marks the first time since Art of Fighting 2 that she has received a new outfit, even though she did wear clog-like shoes instead of sneakers (usually a karate gi wearer is barefoot) in King of Fighters 2000 and 2001. Her sneakers of choice are a pair of red Chuck Taylor All-Stars. In King of Fighters 2000 and 2001 though, she wears a pair of slip-on sneakers. Yuri appears as a Striker in KOF EX for the Game Boy Advance.

In KOF: Maximum Impact 2, some of her 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 King of Fighters 99 to 2002, which consists of brown hair, orange gi with black long-sleeved tights, and no headband. In Art of Fighting 2, her outfit would rip off and she would be bare-chested (although censored) if finished with a super move.



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