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Karin is a character from the Street Fighter series who was originally featured in the 1996 manga Sakura Ganbaru! before appearing as playable fighter in Street Fighter Alpha 3. She is the elitist rival of Sakura, and head of the Kanzuki Zaibatsu.
Personality[]
Karin's laugh and mannerisms are derived from the unpleasant "ojou" stereotypes common in anime and manga as well as the "rich person"/"popular schoolgirl"/"spoiled brat" stereotypes of Western fiction; while she typically remains snobbish and haughty as per the standard, other aspects of her personality can vary wildly in other media. In Namco x Capcom, Karin is calmer, more level-headed and cynical, and serves as the voice of reason for the impulsive Sakura (though she still retains her trademark laugh and condescending comments during battle sequences). In the UDON comics, on the other hand, she is extremely hateful and competitive to the point of obsessiveness, making her much more of an antagonist. Throughout the franchise, she does retain her mannerisms and snobbiness and a habit of acting before thinking.
Typical of some rich girls in fictional media, Karin usually refers to other people as "commoners", or inferiors. She lives by her family's motto more than the rest of her family, as she takes majority control of her father's company from under his nose in a hostile takeover (ironic, since he was the one to drive that philosophy into her).
After Karin finds and eventually defeats Sakura in a rematch, she feels that she won only "by chance" and finally admits that Sakura is actually the best of them. Karin then decides to ditch her family's motto of "always winning" (at least when concerning martial arts) and starts to praise fighting itself as more important than victory or defeat, showing a bit of humility.
One of Sakura's Versus mode win quotes in the Street Fighter IV games implies that she and Karin have become friends sometime after Street Fighter Alpha 3.
| Characters in Street Fighter | |
|---|---|
| Street Fighter/Fighting Street | Ryu • Ken • Adon • Birdie • Eagle • Gen • Sagat |
| Street Fighter II | Akuma • Balrog • Blanka • Cammy • Chun-Li • Dee Jay • Dhalsim • E. Honda • Fei Long • Guile • M. Bison • T. Hawk • Vega • Zangief |
| Street Fighter Alpha | Charlie • Dan • Guy • Rose • Sodom |
| Street Fighter Alpha 2 | Rolento • Sakura |
| Street Fighter Alpha 3 | Cody • Juli • Juni • Karin • Maki • R. Mika |
| Street Fighter III | Alex • Dudley • Elena • Gill • Hugo • Ibuki • Makoto • Necro • Oro • Q • Remy • Sean • Twelve • Urien • Yang • Yun |
| Street Fighter IV | Abel • C. Viper • El Fuerte • Gouken • Hakan • Juri • Rufus • Seth |