1. Conception and design
    Creation  Characteristics 

2. Appearances
    {{anchor|In video game}}Video game  {{anchor|In other media}}Other media 

3. Reception

4. References

Blanka was originally designed as a human character by Akira "Akiman" Yasuda, and underwent several re-conceptualizations during the production of Street Fighter II before reaching his final depiction as a feral savage with green skin and long orange hair. Blanka's backstory is that he was once human, but after a plane crash in Brazil he mutated (resulting in his green coloring and his ability to generate electricity). Blanka was generally well received by critics and fans, becoming one of the most popular characters in the franchise.

Conception and design

Creation

Designed by Akira "Akiman" Yasuda, the concept behind Blanka emerged in an early design as an African man named Anabebe who was raised by a lion.^[2] After the release of Final Fight, Capcom again approached Street Fighter II and considered several designs for the Blanka character (including a masked wrestler modeled after Tiger Mask and a ninja-style warrior).^[2][3] His design later changed to a large man with thick hair and sideburns, named "Hammer Blanka".^[4] The staff then adopted Blanka's feral appearance, because they felt the game would be "dull" with only human characters.^[5]

Characteristics

Blanka's most prominent physical characteristic is his green color, initially attributed to his consumption of chlorophyll from plants to blend into his jungle environment.^[6][7] However, when Street Fighter was brought to the U.S., Blanka's coloring was attributed to his being struck by lightning during the electrical storm in which his plane crashed.^[9][8] In Street Fighter II Blanka's skin is yellowish-green, but later versions of the character are bright green.^[11]

Blanka fights in a self-taught, animalistic style.^[6][9] In several of his special moves he rolls into a ball, launching himself at an opponent.^[6][10][11] In Blanka's signature attack, he crouches and emits an electric current shocking anything it touches.^[6][18][12] Blanka was only capable of beast-like noises in his earlier appearances, but began to speak with words starting with Street Fighter IV.

Appearances

{{anchor|In video game}}Video game

Blanka first appears in Street Fighter II, when he sees his mother (who tells his backstory) after he competes in the World Warrior tournament.^[13][21] According to the story, Blanka was born as a boy named Jimmy who was involved in a plane crash in the Amazon rainforest.^[9][14] Although in the initial games Blanka's mother says the plane crashed when he was "a little boy", the manual for Street Fighter IV says it happened when he was a baby.^[13][15] After the crash he was exposed to electric eels, triggering the mutation which changed his appearance and gave him electric powers.^[14] In Street Fighter Alpha 3, a prequel to Street Fighter II,^[27] Blanka rides on a truck to civilization for the first time.^[16] After defeating Zangief,^[17] Balrog and the leader of the Shadaloo criminal organization M. Bison,^[18][19] Blanka joins old friend Dan Hibiki^[20] and Sakura (Dan's pupil) to destroy Bison's "psycho drive" weapon.^[21] Blanka then returns to the jungle.^[22]

In Street Fighter IV, whose events are set after Street Fighter II,^[23] Blanka, living in a town, feels out of place and decides to travel the world.^[24] At the end of the game, Dan helps his mother find him in Hong Kong.^[25] In Super Street Fighter IV, Blanka enters a worldwide tournament to be recognized by people so his mother will be proud of him.^[26] When he returns home, the townspeople visit him and he plays games with the local children.^[27] Blanka returns as a playable character in the Arcade Edition of Street Fighter V. In the game's story, he attempts to gain more popularity by selling miniature dolls of himself called "Blanka-chans."^[28]

Blanka also appears in several spin-off titles. He is a playable character in the later Street Fighter EX series games Street Fighter EX2 and Street Fighter EX3,^[29] Capcom vs. SNK, Capcom vs. SNK 2 and the home version of Street Fighter: The Movie.^[30] Blanka is a playable character by default in the PlayStation Vita version of Street Fighter X Tekken,^[31] and via downloadable content in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions.^[32] He is a boss character in Street Fighter X Mega Man.^[33]

{{anchor|In other media}}Other media

Blanka briefly appears in The Animated Movie, when he is lowered from a cage and defeats Zangief.^[18] The live-action Street Fighter film combined Blanka and Charlie into one character.^[34] Charlie is taken captive by Bison, who forces Dhalsim to subject him to genetic testing to create the perfect soldier.^[35][36] Blanka was played by Robert Mammone,^[34] while Kim Repia played the role in its home console video game adaptation.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}} The American cartoon series retained the film's origin story for the character, as he and Guile search for a cure for his mutation.^[37] In UDON's Street Fighter comic adaptation, Blanka is used as a living weapon by Shadaloo until he is rescued by Delta Red (Cammy's squad). Returning to his senses, he reunites with his mother.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}} Blanka is an opponent faced by Ryu, Guile, and Chun-Li in the Street Fighter manga history,{{citation needed|date=June 2014}} and makes a cameo appearance in the Disney film Wreck-It Ralph.^[38]

Reception

Blanka has been described as a fan favorite by video game media UGO Networks, IGN, GameSpot and 1UP.com,^{[53][39][40][41]} with IGN calling him "one of the most recognizable Street Fighter characters".^[6] GamesRadar said that Blanka "never quite approached Chun-Li's popularity, but has gained a strong fan following nevertheless".^[14] Sharing ninth place with Ken Masters in the Japanese magazine Gamest{{'}}s 1991 best-character list,^[42] in the 1992 poll he finished 38th.^[43] Blanka was voted 20th in Capcom's poll of 85 characters for the series' 15th anniversary.^[44] In 2008, the character was the tenth-most-popular video game character (out of 500) in the United Kingdom.^[45] Although Blanka was well received by Brazilian gamers, Capcom was criticized for its depiction of Brazil. Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono, surprised when told that Blanka is popular among Brazilians, apologized for the poor impression of the country given by the character.^[46] When the Brazilian program Custe o Que Custar asked people in Spain who the best-known Brazilians were, Blanka ranked third (after Gisele Bündchen and Pelé).^[47] In 2009, after Rio de Janeiro was chosen to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, an internet meme spread making Blanka the games' unofficial mascot.^[48] A 2012 meme said that O Maior Brasileiro de Todos os Tempos, the Brazilian version of 100 Greatest Britons, had chosen Blanka the "Greatest Brazilian of All Time".^[49]

References

• Syubyutu
• Syuchatar
• Syuejia, Tainan
• Syue Mountains
• Syugetsu Anna
• Syugyub
• Syuichi Minamino
• Syuiti Aizawa
• Syuja
• Syuji
• Syukhyub
• Syukumeguri
• Syumbungu
• Syumsinskaya
• Syumsinski
• Syumsinski District
• Syumsinskii
• Syumsinskii District
• Syumsinskii Raion
• Syumsinski Raion
• Syumsinskiy
• Syumsinskiy District
• Syumsinskiy Raion
• Syumsinskoye
• Syumsinsky