User:Cukie Gherkin/Captain Sawada

Captain Sawada is a character in the 1994 film Street Fighter. Portrayed by Kenya Sawada, he came about due to Kenya originally being cast as Ryu, but was recast by writer-director Steven E. de Souza as an original character called Captain Sawada, created to give him a role.

Concept and creation
Captain Sawada is portrayed in the 1994 film Street Fighter by Kenya Sawada. Kenya stated that he came to Los Angeles after hearing that a movie based on Street Fighter II was in the works, eventually contacting the casting director Mary Joe Slater through trial and error. He added that Slater introduced him to producer Edward Pressman and writer-director Steven E. de Souza, emphasizing his physique and action to make up for his lack of English skills. Kenya was considered a "safe, familiar choice" by Capcom according to De Souza, and was originally slated to play the role of Ryu. According to Polygon writer Chris Plante, Kenya had portrayed a character similar to Ryu in commercials. This changed after De Souza decided he wanted someone who had comic timing and better English skills, leading him to cast Bryan Mann as Ryu. In order to keep Kenya in the cast, De Souza and Capcom invented Captain Sawada, as no one in Street Fighter II fit what Capcom wanted out of Kenya, which De Souza said was "essentially another Ryu." Despite this, Destructoid writer Zoey Handley felt Sawada was similar to the character Fei-Long. Because of Sawada's relatively lacking lacking English skills, he was the only character dubbed into English for the US release. According to an Inside Games writer, Kenya ad-libbed in the role, though noted this was a rumor.

Appearances
Captain Sawada first appeared in the Street Fighter film. He is an associate of Guile, and says relatively little.

Captain Sawada later appeared in two video game adaptations of the Street Fighter film, one on arcades and one on consoles. While most of the cast originates from the Street Fighter video games, Captain Sawada is one of a handful of characters from the movie.

During the development of SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters DS, the game's artist, Falcoon, made his first request for a character to be included was Captain Sawada, but it did not pan out due to copyright issues.

Sawada appears in the video game Mainichi Issho, where he provides an introductory lesson to self-defense techniques. He also appeared as a character in the puzzle game Neco Drop 2 in 2021, the first time he had appeared alongside other Street Fighter characters since appearing in the console adaptation of the Street Fighter movie. In Neco Drop 2, a cat based on Sawada is featured.

Reception
Captain Sawada has been received well by fans and critics, ranked among the top 50 Street Fighter characters in a poll. His popularity among fans of the game have lead to the game being nicknamed as the "Sawada Game." Captain Sawada was identified as one of the most unusual fighting game characters by Automaton Media writer Naohiko Misuno, noting that he has developed a cult following. Misuno noted that multiple standout qualities, including his personality and his move where he commits harakiri to damage the opponent with his blood. 4gamer writer Yoshida noted that his harakiri move contributed to the cult success of the video game adaptation of the film, noting that Sawada was loved by fighting game fans. He identified himself as a fan of both the character and his actor, appreciating his appearance in Mainichi Issho. Excite writer Kukanshakyo felt that he had an overwhelming presence in the game, owing to his harakiri technique, as well as his kamikaze technique. IT Media writer Gameman felt Sawada was a strong character in the game, noting that despite having multiple interesting attacks, the harakiri account stands out. Retro Gamer staff felt that the move was both offensive and stupid, appreciating that Sawada never appeared in another Street Fighter game and that the actor had a successful career after the film.