Ibuki (Street Fighter)

“	Ibuki, on the scene!	„
	~ Ibuki from Street Fighter IV

Ibuki is a kunoichi (female ninja), as well as an heroine in the Street Fighter series.

Her first appearance was in Street Fighter III: New Generation, and she has appeared as a playable character for the rest of her appearances.

She is a young ninja-in-training from an ancient clan who, as with Chun-Li, would live her own live of an ordinary female Japanese teenager.

She is voiced by Ayumi Fujimura in the Japanese version, and by Kat Steel in the English version, both who have voiced Ibuki since Street Fighter IV, and in the Street Fighter III series, she is voiced by Yuri Amano.

Biography

Appearance

Ibuki is a young girl from Japan who is raised in a ninja village that is hidden from society's watchful eyes, where she trains in the deadly art of ninjutsu. She has a slim, athletic build and her blackish/brown hair is held back tightly in a topknot that drops well below her waist. Unlike most of her other female counterparts in the same genre, Ibuki's outfit has a more traditional type of ninja dogi, consisting of a sleeveless upper garment, baggy pants, arm guards, and a mask that conceals the lower half of her face. Her footwear consists only of cloth bandages that are wrapped around her shins, ankles, and instep. Her winpose in the games and concept art reveal her wearing a tanktop and a white thong underneath.

Personality

Even though she is a well-trained ninja, she is still a normal teenage girl, and states on several occasions that she finds her ninja garments ugly and her daily training strange. She will jump right back into her "normal" clothes when her regimen is over and/or when she wins a fight.

Ibuki has a notable interest in boys. This can be seen in several of her win quotes in Super Street Fighter IV where she evaluates her opponents based on their looks, behavior and clothing, as well as their fighting performance.

Story

Background

Ibuki lives in a village entirely composed of ninjas, where she has been training since childhood. After doing the same routine everyday and attending a school for ninjas, she wishes to live like a normal schoolgirl.

Super Street Fighter IV

In Super Street Fighter IV, she sneaks away from her clan's summer training camp to compete in S.I.N's tournament, in order to meet cool and handsome guys. When the tournament is over, she realizes that she is going to be late for camp and attempts to sneak back in as if nothing had happened. However, she is caught by one of the camp's instructors.

Street Fighter V

Prologue Story In her prologue, Ibuki has finally finished her ninja assignment and receives a call from Sakura, whom she met and befriended in Super Street Fighter IV. She informs Ibuki of a party invitation sent from her rival, Karin. Ibuki replies that she hasn't read it yet, because she almost fell through a roof while she was getting home to the ninja village, so Sakura tells her to travel to the Kanzuki Estate by plane. Before hanging up, Sakura tells Ibuki that she can't come due to a scheduling conflict. Ibuki reflects on what she should wear to the party and how she's never met Karin before.

After arriving at the Kanzuki Estate, Ibuki is excited to get to the party. However, she is ambushed by Birdie and forced to fight him. After defeating Birdie, Ibuki tells him that she also has an invitation to the party. Karin intervenes and scolds Birdie for his rudeness to her guest. Karin and Ibuki introduce themselves, and both have heard of the other from Sakura's stories. Karin then engages Ibuki in a fight, telling her this will be her introduction. After the fight, Karin informs Ibuki that she is interested in working with Ibuki's ninja clan, and that she had invited her as per the clan's recommendation. Karin states that the contract has already been approved by the Glade of Ninjas, and while Ibuki initially refuses to sign it, she is enticed by Karin's promise that her parties always attract handsome men.

After the party, Ibuki reflects on all the people she has encountered since leaving her village, among them R. Mika. She is seen conversing on the phone with her friend, Sarai, as she returns home to her village, satisfied with her experiences.

Other story appearances:

Ibuki appears in the end of R. Mika's character story, in which she rejects R. Mika's offer of "muscle training", stating that she can't learn anything from someone who is overly passionate and bossy. This angers R. Mika, who asks if she had listened to anything she said; Ibuki responds by saying she was shouting too much so she tuned her out. Mika says Ibuki is arrogant, and Ibuki refutes this by saying she has worked with the Kanzuki family for longer than Mika. The argument between the two continues as the story ends.
In Abigail's character story, Ibuki encounters Abigail and mistakes his car noises for a fart. She is so disgusted that she fights Abigail, though Abigail wins.
In Zeku's character story, Ibuki meets Zeku, in his younger form, who is promoting the arts of Bushinryu. Ibuki mistakes Zeku for a salesman, but Zeku corrects her and offers her a chance to to join his group. After being defeated by Zeku, he shows his present form as an elderly ninja, much to Ibuki's disappointment. She turns down his offer.

A Shadow Falls

Ibuki is seen at the Kanzuki Estate with Birdie, watching a tag team match between Zangief and R. Mika against Alex and Laura. The screen suddenly shuts off, a result of the electromagnetic pulse caused by Shadaloo's Black Moons. Karin decides to travel to New York to find out who is responsible for the activation of the Black Moons, and Ibuki goes with her.

After returning to the Kanzuki Estate, Ibuki is seen having an argument with R. Mika, while Karin and Cammy discuss the plan to stop Shadaloo. The estate is suddenly attacked by Shadaloo agents, among them Decapre and Marz. After defeating them, Karin threatens Ibuki and Mika with the same punishment unless they stop fighting.

During the first infiltration of the Shadaloo base, Ibuki and R. Mika continue to argue, until they are confronted by Balrog and Ed, who managed to get one of the chess pieces that control the Black Moons from Zangief. Ibuki is the first to fight Balrog, her ninjutsu skills are not sufficient to beat him. Mika then engages him, but she also fails. The two then team up and succeed in overpowering him. Ed tries to use his Psycho Power to stop them, and Ibuki uses a smoke bomb to distract both of them. She and Mika take the chess piece and escape, finally being reunited with Karin and her butler, Shibasaki. Karin takes the chess piece and goes on ahead, while Ibuki and R. Mika wait for the rescue helicopter to arrive. Karin returns with Chun-Li, and both are being chased by Abel, who has been brainwashed by Bison's Psycho Power. Zangief appears and knocks Abel out with a Spinning Piledriver, then proudly flexes his muscles. Ibuki is disgusted, yet Mika is amazed.

In the final assault against Shadaloo, Ibuki is hesitant about jumping out of a helicopter, as she is afraid of heights. Nevertheless, Dhalsim pushes her out. During the mission, Ibuki and Mika fight off Shadaloo soldiers, and they watch Zangief's fight against Satsuki. Ibuki becomes worried and tells Zangief to watch out for Satsuki's sword, but to her surprise, the blade shatters when it hits Zangief's muscles. Ibuki is last seen with the other fighters, watching Shadaloo's destruction.

Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact

Later in 2nd Impact, Ibuki was sent by her clan to procure documents from Gill's organization. These documents concern the "G-File" project, which was responsible for creating Necro (before he left it) and Twelve. Gill voluntarily gave Ibuki the documents after she defeated him, though the project was already underway by that point.

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike

In 3rd Strike, Ibuki tracks down Oro to fight him for her ninja graduation exam. She fights well enough to pass, and moves on to go to a university. While there, she joins a club which, to her dismay, turns out to be run by her ninja clan as an additional training method - and she clues in just as an upperclassman holds her at kunai-point.