User:MoonJet/Josie Rizal

Josie Rizal (ジョシー・リサール) is a fictional character from the Tekken fighting game franchise by Bandai Namco Entertainment, making her debut in Tekken 7, and is, so far, her only appearance. A professional kickboxer, Josie hopes to join the Tekken Force, an organization that has helped her country. Much like fellow Tekken 7 newcomer Lucky Chloe, Josie has received mixed reception.

Creation and gameplay
Josie Rizal is a young woman from the Philippines. She wears a yellow top, a blue miniskirt, and a red rabbit ear-like hair accessory. Her fighting is a mix of kickboxing and eskrima. Josie practices eskrima, the native martial art and the national sport of her home country, combined with kickboxing reminiscent of Yaw-Yan, an indigenous kickboxing martial art. She lacks the characteristic sticks used in eskrima, instead fighting completely unarmed. Josie's name is based on José Rizal, a national hero from the Philippines. Though, she bares little resemblance to him, besides the name and ethnicity. Josie's moveset carries similarities to older Tekken character Bruce Irvin, and some of her moves were inspired by famous Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao. Tekken 7 producer Michael Murray stated "...there were only a few techniques inspired by eskrima. Eskrima typically parries or neutralizes an attack, and then rapidly counter attacks. Some of her throws and her punch reversal technique were inspired by this." Appearance and personality-wise, she also bear similarities to Soulcalibur's Talim.

Josie was designed by character designer Mari Shimazaki, known for her work in the Bayonetta series. Her primary costume was designed after the Philippines flag. The character was created in response to the growing popularity of the series in the Philippines.

Tekken 7
Josie was a big crybaby from a young age, unlike her parents who were fans of martial arts. They insisted she also train in martial arts, which she initially refuses, but eventually she reluctantly agrees to her parents' expectations. However, she is unable to get over her crybaby nature whilst she undergoes training in kickboxing.

After Josie grew more accustomed to her training, she became a professional kickboxer and a model to help get her household's finances on track, until a large typhoon struck their home. When the Mishima Zaibatsu sends the Tekken Force, to give relief aids to the typhoon victims in her ravaged country, Josie aspires to become the member of the Tekken Force. She eventually decides to join the Tekken Force by taking an employment examination during The King of Iron Fist Tournament 7. Unfortunately, her opponent in the final exam is actually a Tekken Force bear officer named Kuma. Nevertheless, despite having realized the other participants quit the exams due to Kuma, Josie have no choice to fight him, in order to complete her qualification to Tekken Force.

Reception
Josie has received mixed reception, as noted by Kotaku. Filipino poet Adonis Durado criticized Josie, stating "The problem with Josie Rizal’s character is too obvious: it doesn’t have any trace of Filipino-ness-neither in her physical attributes nor in her outfit." Durado also questioned the lack of arnis sticks in her attacks. Similarly, IGN staff writer Kenn Leandre was critical of the character, questioning "Even if one is going to create a token character from The Philippines, the least you could do is create someone that looks like he or she came from the streets of Manila or Palawan. Is it too hard to do?" Leandre also lambasts her name for being similar to José Rizal.

Josie has also received positive reception from some publications. Joseph Asuncion at One eSports praised her design as "[stealing] the show." Kevin Wong of Vice Media opined "Rizal, on the whole, is a positive portrayal," while also noting that Filipino representation in video games is "scarce." Writing for Hinge Inquirer Publications, Zofiya Acosta also disagreed with Josie's polarizing reception, stating "In truth, even though the thought of a foreign entity turning one of our greatest national heroes into a fighting game character wearing a skimpy skirt sounds like the textbook example of cultural appropriation, I can't bring myself to hate it," while also noting the character as "emblematic of [Tekken]'s silliness." Noting the rarity of Filipino characters in video games, Lorenzo Veloria, writing for GamesRadar+, praises Josie, and states "There's just enough to let you know she isn't just another generic asian combatant. And, as touchy as representing an entire nation in one character goes, there isn't anything over the top about her costume and her look doesn't play into any stereotypes of the Filipino culture."

Despite the mixed reception, shortly after Josie was introduced to the public on March 29, 2015, she became a trending topic on Twitter with many Filipino fans expressing generally positive reactions. Director Katsuhiro Harada also claimed that 90-percent of the feedback on Josie was positive upon reveal.

Cultural impact
Just two days after Josie was officially announced, someone claiming to be an official from the Philippine National Center for Culture and the Arts told the Philippine media that they plan to "take steps to correct any wrong impression Josie Rizal may have given about Dr. Rizal and the Philippines." However, three days later NCCA legal counsel Trixie Cruz-Angeles clarified that the agency had yet to issue any position on the matter in a post she made in her personal Facebook page stating "The NCCA has not asked for the deletion of Tekken character Josie Rizal. In fact, the NCCA has not taken cognizance of the issue nor issued an opinion. If you've been reading that website, unders. The name of our chairman is Prof. Felipe de Leon, Jr. Also, matters pertaining to national heroes are within the jurisdiction of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines."

Josie has been cosplayed by actress Nadine Lustre. Harada declared it as a "perfect" cosplay.