Laura Matsuda

Laura Matsuda (Japanese: ララ マツダ/松田) is a fictional character from the Street Fighter series of video games, making her first appearance in 2016's Street Fighter V. She is the sister of Sean Matsuda, a character from 1997's Street Fighter III. She is from Brazil, and much like fellow Brazilian character Blanka, she utilizes electricity in some of her attacks. In English, she is voiced by G.K. Bowes, while in Japanese she is voiced by Yoko Hikasa. Meanwhile in live-action media, she appears in the web mini-series Street Fighter: Resurrection, played by Natascha Hopkins. Created by game director Takayuki Nakayama at the request of Capcom's Brazilian branch and series producer Yoshinori Ono's own inspirations from visiting Brazil, Laura went through multiple character designs during the course of development. In many of them an emphasis on beauty was placed, as well as capoeira-inspired movements and Japanese views on Brazilian culture. Nakayama in particular wanted her designs to illustrate the character's buttocks, originally wanting them to be exposed due to his belief that Brazilian women develop larger posteriors as they exercise. Laura received mixed reception: while her moveset and gameplay were praised, her story and lack of character were criticized. Additional criticisms were levied against her character design, which some, including those in Brazil, felt was too sexualized, particularly accusing it of pandering to the male gaze. Academic study also discussed this aspect, with some reiterating these concerns, while others saw her as a more positive portrayal of sensuality and Brazilian culture.

Conception and development

Created for Street Fighter V, the character came about after director Takayuki Nakayama was asked by Capcom's Brazilian branch to have a character other than series regular Blanka represent their country in the game. Nakayama wanted the character to be a "cheerful girl", while series producer Yoshinori Ono wanted a beautiful woman with capoeira-inspired movements, inspired by his visit to Rio de Janeiro's Brazil Game Show in 2011. He wanted her to represent Japan's fanciful view of Brazilian women, not necessarily an accurate one, and represent how impressed he was with the country. Art director Toshiyuki Kamei designed the character, building the concept around the keywords of "Brazil" and "Jiu Jitsu". Many potential iterations were considered from various backgrounds, including a male soccer player that had grown up in a poor neighborhood who fought using a ball and soccer-themed kicks. The design was scrapped, however, due to Nakayama feeling it was too similar to the character Roberto from another Capcom series, Rival Schools. Meanwhile another early concept called "Wild Rapunzel" would have had long, fluffy blonde hair that she would have used to not only attack but shield herself from opponent's attacks. Other designs also followed, such as a very tall woman with dreadlocks and a long reach, and a female physical therapist that would have used moves that looked "extremely painful". Several designs were more overtly sexual. One would have had her body wrapped in bandages, using them to attack with varying degrees of her body becoming exposed depending on the strength of the attack used. Meanwhile, a design dubbed "Clumsy Cutie" would have featured a girl in patchwork shirt and pants. As she fought, her clothes would become tattered and tear off her body, gradually revealing more of it. While this design was unused, Nakayama considered utilizing it for a stand-alone character at a later time. Other outfits had varying degrees of exposure, such as utilizing a black belt for a makeshift bra, and emphasis was placed on her physical curves, primarily to have her buttocks exposed. Nakyama explained that in his view, "a characteristic of Brazilian women is that their buttocks tend to get bigger when they exercise", and wanted to leave them exposed for ease of movement. Additional consideration was given to her hairstyle, considering options that would give her a "sexy" or "naughty" appearance. Towards the end of her development, they chose to go with a doji martial arts outfit for a "MMA" themed design focus, making adjustments to have it give off a sense of comfort and speed. While the initial design was more orthodox and casual, Kamei stated as he worked on it he made it increasingly sophisticated. Sources of inspiration during this point of development included Japanese hakama skirts and attire worn by professional wrestling divas. While early mockups featured a Brazilian flag on the back, it was later adapted to a full color scheme for the attire. Meanwhile, her name was based on Nakayama's name for her, Lala, which he felt gave her a Portuguese feel. Nakayama would later give several of Laura's early designs fleshed out profiles and art on Capcom's "Shadaloo Archives" website.

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