Nintendo’s crossover series won’t let Mai Shiranui in, but no one can keep her down!

Last month, Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate crossover game welcomed its latest DLC guest fighter: Terry Bogard, who hails from video game developer SNK’s Fatal Fury and King of Fighters franchises. But Terry wasn’t coming alone, as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai gleefully announced that 20 more SNK characters would be making background cameos in Terry’s stage.

However, Sakurai also let it be known that SNK character Mai Shiranui would not be appearing…because Smash is supposed to be a game “for good boys and girls,” a mission with which busty kunoichi (female ninja) Mai’s appearance is incompatible, despite Mai never being portrayed in an explicitly sexual or promiscuous way within the games.

Mai’s exclusion broke the hearts the many fans she’s acquired since her debut in 1992’s Fatal Fury 2, but they’ll be happy to hear that while Mai isn’t getting an invitation to Smash, she is getting her very own pop-up shop.

Hosted at the Akihabara Container event space, located right across the street from Tokyo’s JR Akihabara Station, the pop-up shop’s cheeky official name is the “For-All-Ages Mai Shiranui Exhibition.” Thanks to her decades-long fighting career, in which she’s been part of dozens of games, Mai has been drawn by an unusually large number of different character designers, and the pop-up store’s exclusive merch collects several different designs in the same items.

▼ Fan (1,980 yen [US$18])

Having illustrations from so many different eras side by side highlight how trends and aesthetic tastes have evolved in the video game/anime world, and from a pure artistic perspective it’s interesting to see how many variations can spring from the same starting template.

▼ The Mai History Muffler Towel (2,000 yen), with her official portraits from Fata Fury 2 (Mai’s first appearance), Fatal Fury Special, Real Bout Fatal Fury, Real Bout Special, King of Fighters ‘99, King of Fighters 2000, and SNK Heroines (Mai’s latest appearance) plus her move lists for each

▼ The Mai T-shirt (5,000 yen) comes in a package shaped like the cartridges for SNK’s over-powered Neo Geo home video game console.

Because Japan loves puns almost as much as it loves busty ninja girls, shoppers who spend over 6,000 yen will receive a free bag of Mai Shiranui rice. Why? Because both the kanji for Mai’s first name, 舞 (meaning “dance”) and the kanji 米 (meaning “rice”) can be read as “mai.”

▼ Mai Shiranui Rice (the same illustration is also available as a for-purchase poster)

▼ For pixel art connoisseurs: a framed, multi-layer Mai art panel (9,090 yen).

As an added bonus, if you stop by the store on January 1, Mai’s birthday (as listed on her official character bio), and spend over 10,000 yen, you’ll get a free canvas tote bag.

Akihabara Container is also promising other, not-yet-unveiled Mai merch, such as Mai jackets, stickers, and keychains. There’ll also be a selection of other SNK items, like acrylic stand character art (1,200 yen each)…

…super-deformed SNK Heroines pins (300 yen each from the randomized capsule toy machine)…

…and, because the store is open during the New Year’s season, a traditional kagami mochi rice cake, made to look like recurring last boss Geese Howard’s Raging Storm super move (1,000 yen).

The For-All-Ages Mai Shiranui Exhibition opens December 26, and runs until January 6.

Shop information
For-All-Ages Mai Shiranui Exhibition / 全年齢対象!『-不知火舞-展』
Venue: The Container Akihabara
Address: Tokyo-to, Chiyoda-ku, Kanda Sakumacho 1-13, Chomuchomu Akihabara 1st floor
東京都 千代田区 神田佐久間町1-13 チョムチョム秋葉原 1F
Open noon-8 p.m.
Website (The Container Akihabara)

Source, images: Press release
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’d like to remind everyone that Mai is saying “Nippon ichi” (“I’m the best in Japan!”), and not “Me bouncy.”