| Laura Matsuda | |
|---|---|
| Street Fighter character | |
 Laura Matsuda in Street Fighter V | |
| First game | Street Fighter V (2016) |
| Created by | Takayuki Nakayama[1] Yoshinori Ono[2] |
| Designed by | Takayuki Nakayama[3] Toshiyuki Kamei[4] |
| Voiced by | EN: G.K. Bowes JA: Yoko Hikasa |
| Portrayed by | Natascha Hopkins[5] |
| In-universe information | |
| Fighting style | Brazilian jiu-jitsu |
| Origin | Brazil |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
Laura Matsuda (Japanese: ララ マツダ/松田) is a fictional character from the Street Fighter series of video games, making her first appearance in 2016's Street Fighter V. She is the sister of Sean Matsuda, a character from 1997's Street Fighter III and its updates. She is from Brazil, and much like fellow Brazilian character Blanka, she utilizes electricity in some of her attacks. In English, she is voiced by G.K. Bowes, while in Japanese she is voiced by Yoko Hikasa. In live action portrayals of the character, she was played by Natascha Hopkins for the web mini-series Street Fighter: Resurrection.
Created by game director Takayuki Nakayama at the request of Capcom's Brazilian branch and series producer Yoshinori Ono's own inspirations from visiting Brazil, Laura went through multiple character designs during the course of development. In many of them an emphasis on beauty was placed, as well as capoeira-inspired movements and Japanese views on Brazilian culture. Nakayama in particular wanted her designs to illustrate the character's buttocks, originally having them exposed in her finalized design because of his belief that Brazilian women develop larger posteriors as they exercise.
Critically, the character has received mixed reception, with her moveset being praised, but her story and lack of character was criticized. Additional criticisms were levied against her character design, which some including those in Brazil felt she was too sexualized, while others served more to appeal to the male gaze. Academic study also discussed this aspect, with some reiterating these concerns, while others saw her as a more positive portrayal of sensuality and Brazilian culture.
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howtowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Romano, Nick (2016-12-20). "Watch Season 1 of the 'Street Fighter: Resurrection' Web Series". Collider. Retrieved 2024-04-11.