Street Fighter V Devs Reveal Early Sketches of Akira from Rival Schools

One of the most surprising announcements at the Street Fighter V Summer Update livestream was the inclusion of Akira from the Rival Schools series.

Today the official Twitter account of the franchise shared early sketches of the beloved classic character from the development team.

While they’re indeed quite early, since Akira will be released in a whole year (summer 2021), it’s still quite nice to see how she’s shaping up, especially for an old Rival Schools fan like me. 

The other announced characters for the new season pass are Dan, Rose, Oro, and a fifth one who hasn’t been revealed just yet.

You can check Akira out below.

If you’re unfamiliar with Rival Schools, it’s certainly the most “anime” among Capcom’s fighting franchises of the past. It debuted in 1997 on the original PlayStation with the Japanese titled Shiritsu Jasutisu Gakuen: Legion of Heroes, followed by Moero! Justice Gakuen (Project Justice) for Dreamcast in 2000. Multiple Capcom developers including Ideaki Itsuno have expressed the desire to bring it back, but for now, we’ll have to be content with Akira.

Street Fighter V: Champion Edition is currently available for PS4 and PC.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Champion Edition, here’s how Capcom describes it.

“Rule the ring with Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, the most robust version of the acclaimed fighting game! This new version includes all content (excluding Fighting Chance costumes, brand collaboration costumes and Capcom Pro Tour DLC) from both the original release and Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition. Champion Edition adds each character, stage and other content that released after Arcade Edition and with the release of this new version. In total: 40 characters, 34 stages, over 200 costumes – all action-packed into one knockout edition! READY? FIGHT!

All game mode additions and balance updates are free for owners of any Street Fighter V version. Additionally, all DLC characters remain earnable completely free of charge through completing various in-game challenges and receiving earned in-game currency, called Fight Money. For those who can’t wait, in-game content can be obtained instantly using real money. Certain additional content can only be acquired using Fight Money, which can be earned through normal gameplay.”