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Michelle Chang (Tekken)

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For the Professor of Chemistry and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, see Michelle C. Chang.
Michelle Chang
Tekken character
Michelle Chang in Tekken Tag Tournament (1999)
First gameTekken (1994)
Created byNamco
Voiced byJessica Robertson (Tekken: The Motion Picture)[1]
EthnicityChinese-Native American

Michelle Chang (Japanese: ミシェール・チャン, Hepburn: Mishēru Chan) is a character in the Tekken fighting game series by Bandai Namco, introduced in the original Tekken (1994). A Chinese-Native American woman possessing a pendant capable of controlling evil powers. The pendant was problematic in Michelle's life, causing her father's death and her kidnappings. She is the adoptive mother of Julia Chang (Japanese: ジュリア・チャン, Hepburn: Juria Chan), who masters her mother's discipline. Michelle is omitted from the canonical games after Tekken 2, but continues to appear in the series' media.

Design and gameplay

Designs of Michelle (left) and Julia (right) were influenced by war bonnets (eagle feathers), as seen on their heads

Michelle debuted in the original Tekken as a young woman of Chinese and Native American descent. She has a pendant believed to control evil powers.[2] Some of the character's early motion capture was performed by series producer Katsuhiro Harada, and replaced as development progressed.[3] With the release of Tekken 3, the development team progressed the series' timeline by nineteen years. Because of this, they chose to "retire" Michelle, and introduce Julia Chang, her adopted daughter. They designed her with a similar look to Michelle to retain that character's "healthy charm", but also wanted to emphasize her intellect, something they felt helped her stand out amongst the more athletic-focused characters in the series.[4]

Initially, Michelle and Julia's designs were inspired by traditional Native American elements, particularly war bonnets.[5][6] In the same vein, their outfits often incorporate leather and denim pieces of attire. In contrast to Michelle, Julia routinely wears glasses to emphasize her intellectual aspect, something that caused issues for the development team Dimps as Tekken's development team insisted they be included for her appearance in Street Fighter X Tekken late in that game's production.[4]

In Tekken Tag Tournament 2, the character Jaycee was introduced. A female lucha libre wrestling character, Harada revealed that it was actually Julia under an alias. When working on the franchise, they found that while Julia had a high usage rate amongst players, "there was a lack of feedback from players saying things like 'I want her to do this, I want her to do that.'" Noticing this was a sharp contrast to how other female characters in the series were received, they feared her popularity may decline if players only focused on the character's gameplay, and used the opportunity to introduce new elements for her character and encourage discussion. At the same time, Harada was mindful that players may receive it negatively, and incorporated options to customize Jaycee to more closely resemble her standard appearance in the game. As Jaycee, Julia wears a white and pink wrestling leotard with white boots and gloves, and a similarly colored luchadore mask that obscures her face with feather-like protrusions on the sides.[7] Julia has also been involved in multiple professions including archaeology,[8] research,[9] professional wrestling,[7] and live-streaming.[10]

Gameplay-wise, Michelle is a fast-paced character and is supposed to be played aggressively for the execution of combos, causing problems for the opponents to defend. She can also perform damaging counters and has a large number of moves that can start juggling combos. However, she can be a very difficult character to play.[11] Julia shares a similar playstyle to Michelle, characterized by her speed.[9]

Appearances

In the original Tekken, Michelle's father was killed by Heihachi Mishima's men for failing to retrieve an ancient pendant capable of controlling powerful spirits, which Michelle inherited. Seeking revenge, Michelle enters the King of Iron Fist Tournament and secures the pendant. In Tekken 2, she rescues her kidnapped mother from Ganryu, who sought the pendant. Michelle later adopts a girl named Julia and teaches her martial arts. When Michelle disappears while investigating her pendant's connection to the creature Ogre, Julia enters Tekken 3 to rescue her.[12] The two are reunited in conclusion.[13] Afterwards in the storyline, Julia mainly focused on reforesting her homeland.[9] Michelle is also present in the spin-offs, such as Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken Tag Tournament 2, as well as in the animation Tekken: The Motion Picture, and in the comics, such as Tekken Saga, Tekken: Tatakai no Kanatani, and Tekken Forever. Companies including Tsukuda Hobby and Banpresto have contributed to her merchandise.[14][15]

Besides Julia's mainline appearances in Tekken 3, Tekken 4, Tekken 5, Tekken 6, and Tekken 7, she has also appeared in various Tekken spin-offs, including Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken Card Challenge, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Tekken 3D: Prime Edition, Street Fighter X Tekken, and Tekken Revolution, as well as in the comics Tekken Forever and Tekken Comic. Additionally, Julia has been featured in the anime Tekken: Bloodline and in Namco's marketing.[16] Several companies, such as Kazya, Brovo Company, Heihachi Zazen, Diamond Select Toys, and Kotobukiya, have produced figurines of her.[17]

Critical reception

According to Liz Faber's book Computer Game Graphics (1999), "Michelle Chan ... epitomizes the racially diverse characters that populate the modern [video] games".[18] The New York Times "Game Theory" columnist JC Herz claimed that Michelle, having an Asian name but ambiguous features, is "such a confused mixture of signs" that she "represents a perfect metaphor of video games themselves".[19] In her thesis, author Gabrielle Hughes maligned the depiction of Indigenous women in video games tending towards "generic and hyper-sexualized", singling Michelle out among others as examples.[20] In a discussion about representation in video games on BBC Radio 4, one person cited her experience with Tekken and Michelle, where she was disappointed by how stereotyped she was. She also commented on how such stereotyping can result in people having only a limited perspective on what Native Americans can be.[21]

While discussing ethnic representation in the Tekken series, English Professor Samuel Martínez Linares discussed both Michelle and Julia. He discussed how Tekken depicts Michelle's ties to her heritage and culture in stereotypical ways, specifically citing her magic pendant. He felt that the designers failed to represent Chang's heritage and culture with "depth and consistency". He was also critical of similarities between Michelle and Julia and how they were sexualized, citing the comparatively high rate of sexual assaults against Native American women, of which 86 percent were committed by non-Native men. He cited a video game analyst, Fabius, who argues that such sexualization of Native women is "both responsible for and indicative of continuing colonialist sentiments in Western society".[2] At the time of Tekken 6 and Tekken Tag Tournament 2, game director Katsuhiro Harada was criticized by a Native American individual regarding Julia's stereotypical Native American attire with the individual providing examples of Native American clothing to further elaborate their point of view.[22][5][23]

References

  1. ^ "Michelle Chang Voice". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Linares, Samuel Martinez (February 2018). "Representation of Native Americans: From Literature to Video Games" (PDF). National University of Distance Education. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  3. ^ Ryan King (July 9, 2012). "Tekken Tag 2: 'My Staff Say We Have Too Many Characters' - Harada Interview (News)". NowGamer. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Street Fighter X Tekken: Artworks. UDON Entertainment. September 2012. ISBN 978-1926778518.
  5. ^ a b Liv Ngan (January 10, 2024). "Tekken director seeks feedback from Native American community on Michelle and Julia designs". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on May 21, 2024.
  6. ^ Sara Borondo (January 11, 2024). "El director de Tekken quiere saber la opinión de los nativos americanos sobre Julia y Michelle". Vandal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 11, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "鉄拳が目指すアクションゲームの究極とは――本日稼働開始の「鉄拳TAG TOURNAMENT2」。新宿平八こと原田Pが語る格闘ゲーム，その哲学". 4Gamer (in Japanese). September 14, 2011. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  8. ^ "Julia Chang: Wandering Fighter" (PDF). Computer and Video Games. No. 202. Future Publishing. September 1998. p. 52.
  9. ^ a b c Jeff Barton; Michael Littlefield; Kevin Sakamoto (2002). Tekken 4: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (PDF). Prima Games. pp. 56–57.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Dominic Tarason (February 18, 2019). "Julia and The Walking Dead's Negan hit Tekken 7 next week". Rock Paper Shotgun. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021.
  11. ^ Lallée, Aymeric (December 2000). "Guide: Tekken Tag Tournament". PlayPower. HS 8: 50.
  12. ^ Simon Hill, Tekken 3: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.
  13. ^ Namco (1998). Tekken 3 (PlayStation). Level/area: Julia Chang: Homecoming.
  14. ^ "Tekken 2 - Michelle Chang - Mini character collection series". MyFigureCollection.net. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  15. ^ "Tekken 2 - Michelle Chang (Banpresto)". MyFigureCollection.net. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  16. ^ Namco (1998). Tekken 3 - Symphony Orchestra Calendar.
    Tekken 3 - Julia Chang (Namco)
    Takuji Kawano (2004). Fan Service. Namco.
  17. ^ MyFigureCollection.net
  18. ^ Liz Faber, Computer Game Graphics, page 15.
  19. ^ J.C. Herz, Joystick Nation: How Computer Games Ate Our Quarters, Won Our Hearts and Rewired Our Minds, page 161 (as cited in The Dragon and the Dazzle: Models, Strategies, and Identities of Japanese Imagination in a European Perspective).
  20. ^ Gabrielle Hughes (2020). "Tradigital Knowledge? Indigenous Video Games, Intellectual Property Law and the Protection of Traditional Knowledge". University of Oxford.
  21. ^ "BBC Radio 4 FM : September 12, 2020 06:00PM-09:00PM BST". BBC Radio 4. September 12, 2020.
  22. ^ Michael Harradence (January 10, 2024). "Tekken 8 Boss Wants Feedback From Native American Community On The Designs Of Michelle & Julia". PlayStation Universe. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024.
  23. ^ Tessa Kaur (January 12, 2024). "Tekken Director Proves We Can, In Fact, Expect Japanese Developers To Be Culturally Sensitive". TheGamer. Valnet, Inc. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024.
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