Rainbow Mika (レインボー・ミカ, Reinboo Mika), often shortened to R. Mika, is a video game character from Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Street Fighter V. Her true name is Mika Nanakawa (七川 美華, Nanakawa Mika), and she is a professional wrestler trained by her tag-team partner; the big, domineering, shinai-sporting, golf cart-riding Yoko Harmegeddon.
Personality
Mika is a tomboyish girl who prides herself on going all out and wowing the crowds with her wrestling moves. She can be a little rough around the edges, but definitely has potential for the pro circuit. She idolizes Zangief and considers his way of fighting as the ideal route for herself.
Story
After graduation from a local junior high school, Mika decides to go for her goal to become a female pro wrestler, starting as the pupil of Harmageddon Youko. By way of a several year-interval training period, Rainbow Mika was ready to make her debut as a pro wrestler. She thought of the perfect promotion to make her a star - she would travel the world and fight famous street fighters in order to become the "Star of the Ring". R. Mika meets the great Zangief on the way and cooperates in some way with his mission to destroy the Psycho Drive, though they end up rescuing people with E. Honda as well. Afterwards, Mika continues to train as a pro wrestler so that she can finally meet him (Zangief) again later on.
At some point in the story, Mika meets Kari, and the two fight. Karin is so impressed with Mika’s fighting ability that she promised that the Kanzuki Zaibatsu would sponsor Mika if/when she becomes a first-class wrestler. Six months after the Psycho Drive was destroyed, Zangief finally met R. Mika at her home stage for a public bout. In just under 20 minutes, Zangief finally trounces Mika with a Final Atomic Buster; despite the devastating loss, she still has nothing but respect for him afterwars. Zangief remarks that she's got a high wall to climb, but she is well underway.
Fighting style/Gameplay
Mika is primarily a grappling character, whose main weapons are high-priority command throws. Unlike most grapplers in the Street Fighter series (and fighting games in general), who are slow and heavy, Mika is fast and agile. She has a fairly high and quick jump, and walks quite rapidly. Mika's normal attacks are diverse and useful, but aside from two command throws, her specials are none too impressive, so they must be used as a vital part of play strategy.
Like Dan, some of Mika's special attacks are rather comical. In her Flying Peach and Shooting Peach specials, she flings herself into her opponent buttocks-first, and mostly falls on it and has to rub it due to recoil. For her opening taunt and Beach Special Super Combo, she uses the top turnbuckle of a wrestling ring that appears from the side of the screen. The sudden appearance of a turnbuckle is amusingly redundant when Mika is fighting on her own stage at a beachside wrestling ring.
Trivia
- Nanakawa in kanji means "seven rivers," and her first name Mika means roughly "beautiful blossom".
- The All About Street Fighter Zero 3 guidebook states that R. Mika's hobbies are running on sandy beaches, push-ups, and wrestler's bridge. It also states that her special skill is gluttony.
- El Fuerte is shown to be a huge fan of R. Mika in the Udon comics. In one scene, one of her matches is being shown on TV at a restaurant. T. Hawk, watching, requests that the channel be changed, since he can't stand pro wrestling. After hearing T. Hawk badmouth both pro wrestling and Mika, El Fuerte bursts from the kitchen and yells at T. Hawk. Mika's image adorns every piece of El Fuerte's cooking attire.
- On the cover of the Capcom Secret File from the arcade version of Alpha 3, Mika is teamed up with a black-haired female wrestler named Yamato Nadeshiko (a phrase which actually means the Japanese concept of the "perfect" woman), who works for the same wrestling organization as Mika. She is also sometimes her tag-team partner (see image below).
- R. Mika's attire appears as swap costume for Tekken character Kuma in Street Fighter X Tekken.
- R. Mika's attire and clothing is among the most revealing of all the Street Fighter characters as her wrestling outfit not only has a breast window but also small leg holes and a bare back but most importantly her outfit exposes her buttocks.
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