Exquisite Violence: Introducing Street Fighter 6 newcomer Manon

Fatal Fashionista

During last week’s Game Awards festivities, we were given our first look at some more newcomers headed to Capcom’s upcoming slugger Street Fighter 6. While we’ve already met, (and even got our hands on) characters such as Luke and Jamie. The new trailer offered up four new faces, one familiar, and three complete strangers. Today, we’ll take a brief look at multi-talented mauler, Manon.

Hailing from France, (one of surprisingly few World Warriors to do so), Manon already wears many hats as a part of her young life. Not only is this newcomer a highly skilled martial artist, but she is also a classically trained dancer, specializing in the art of Ballet. In addition, Manon works as a model, her beauteous visage plastering the pages of fashion mags far and wide. A world-class judoka, Manon wears her gold medal with pride, having blended her fighting, dancing, and catwalk abilities to make herself, essentially, the deadliest model alive.

While Manon is yet to receive a full trailer, we can see from various clips posted by Capcom that she is an acrobatic grappler — perhaps similar in design to an R. Mika or a Laura Matsuda. Manon utilizes her long and sinewy limbs to capture her opponent, pulling them in close for a devastating array of throws. Manon’s ballet skills afford her fluid and distracting movement, along with delicate grace — juxtaposed against her bone-breaking judo skills. Always at home in front of the camera, Manon will always take the opportunity to strike a pose when the possibility arises, and apparently leads her hapless opponent to do the same!

As a grappler, Manon’s graceful movements allow some of her normals to draw in opponents, keeping them close for a victory worthy of a standing ovation. ???? pic.twitter.com/xRtQGFw9et

— Street Fighter (@StreetFighter) December 12, 2022

Manon certainly seems a strange cat, and perhaps the lithest grappler in Street Fighter history. Her ability to essentially “rope in” escaping opponents with her limbs is a fascinating mechanic, and her long arms and legs make her a threat at deceptive ranges. But, ever the superstar, our girl is always ready to vogue for the camera, ensuring that every avenue and alleyway of Metro City becomes her runway.

Street Fighter 6 launches on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox July 2, 2023. Be sure to check out our other reports on the game in its current state, 50 things I loved about the beta, as well as CJ Andriessen’s experience with the Modern control system, and a list of Do’s and Do Not Do’s for the new sequel.

Chris Moyse

Managing Editor – Chris has been playing video games since the 1980s. Former Saturday Night Slam Master. Graduated from Galaxy High with honors. Twitter: @ChrisxMoyse