The Street Fighter 6 Closed Beta has been a resounding success, except for one thing - the company's acknowledgement of Juri's extremely dedicated fanbase.
Street Fighter players had a fantastic weekend - well, at least those that got into the SF6 Closed Beta Period. Getting their hands on Capcom's latest entry in the historied fighting game franchise was nothing short of a delight thanks to how functional it was. Bizarrely enough, one of the biggest criticisms the beta received revolved around Juri, and not necessarily due to her playstyle.
Ever since her debut in Street Fighter IV, Juri Han has become a fan-favorite. Whether you like her strong, dominant personality, her playstyle or her character design, she quickly became just as popular, if not more, than legacy icons like Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li.
There was an underlying reason she developed a big fanbase - people grew a fascination for her feet. Listen, we're not kink-shaming or anything, but the reality is that a substantial portion of Juri's fanbase has a foot fetish. With this in mind, Capcom unapologetically pinned this particular "character trait" and put it front and center for Street Fighter 6. Don't believe us? Just look at what the character select screen looks like.
Its hard being a Juri fan whos not into feet. pic.twitter.com/N8pWzOez7e
— kremit|| Commissions Open 6/10 (@krembeni) October 7, 2022
It's no secret that Street Fighter and fighting games, in general, tend to present female characters with skimpy clothes and suggestive poses, but it seems Capcom has crossed that thin line between making it part of her appeal rather than her whole personality with Juri.
Someone please mod some crocks onto Juri. I can't take this anymore
— ShoYouMomo (@Shoyoumomo_) October 9, 2022
Twitter user Xanoz had some strong words regarding this new direct approach Capcom is taking with Juri for Street Fighter 6:
Officially tired of Juri feet since it's hitting creepy territory now. Apparently in 6 she's on menus and in one of her taunts just blatantly showing feet being fetishy and that's fine and dandy but it was better when it was subtle. Force feeding people who ain't hungry.
It's worth reminding people that Capcom has a history of taking away certain poses characters made for being too suggestive. For example, in Street Fighter V, they tuned R. Mika's super animation in which she gave herself a butt slap - she still does it, except it happens off-frame rather than giving it a rather extreme close-up.
Will they do the same for the multiple feet-centric Juri win poses, super animations, character select screens, and even taunts? That remains to be seen.
For more Street Fighter 6 content: