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Sakura's Biography


Sakura Akiman




Sakura

Sakura Kasugano
wearing her school uniform
  General info about Sakura

 
 

"Sakura is a young girl who is fascinated by street fighting."

Full name: Sakura Kasugano (春日野 さくら Kasugano Sakura)
Nationality: Japanese
Birthday: March 15, 197X (1973 assumed)
Age: 15 in Alpha 2, 16 in Alpha 3
Zodiac sign: Pisces
Height: 157 cm (5'2.8") in Alpha 2, 158 cm in Alpha 3
Weight: 42 kg (92½ lbs)
Measurements (bust, waist, hip): 80-60-84cm (32-24-33½")
Blood type: A (Street Fighter universe), O (Rival Schools universe)
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Brown
Eyesight: 1.5 in both eyes
Shoe size: 24 cm (9½") long
Address: Setagaya-ku Sakura 2-5-choume
 School: Boutoritsu Kyougaku HS (Street Fighter universe); Tamagawa Minami HS (Rival Schools universe)
Likes: Gym class (mainly track & field), white rice, Ryu
Dislikes: Math, playing videogames with her brother Tsukushi
(she always loses)
Special skill: Speaking English, cooking
Best trait: Overflowing energy, and admires femininity in other girls (especially Kei Chitose)
Friends: Kei Chitose (Street Fighter universe); Hinata Wakaba, Natsu Ayuhara (Rival Schools universe)
Job / occupation: Highschool student
Fighting style: Self-taught imitation of Ryu's fighting style

Voice actors:

Yūko Sasamoto (Games)
Chiaki Ōsawa (Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation)
Mao Kawasaki (Street Fighter Alpha: Generation)
Aya Hisakawa (Street Fighter Alpha 2 drama CD)

Notes:

  • "Sakura" is japanese for "Cherry Blossom".
    ''Kasugano'' is japanese for "Spring day plains".
  • Setagaya-ku Sakura is a real existing ward in Tokyo, Japan, (Wikipedia , official website) which had been founded on March 15 (her birthday) in 1947. (Also worthy of notice is that Hideo Kojima from "Metal Gear" fame also lives here, among some more well known people.)
  • Tamagawa High School also exists in real-life.
 



Dan

Dan Hibiki, one of her former teachers

Ryu

Ryu, Sakura's idol
 
  Sakura's background story

 
 

Sakura Kasugano was always fascinated with sports, even as a very young girl. She enjoyed all manner of physical activities as well, including biking, swimming, tennis, volleyball, baseball, soccer... Her parents condoned her somewhat unfeminine interests, as she was an only child and they tended to indulge their daughter and her interests. They also decided to try channeling all of this energy into something constructive, and enrolled Sakura at a local martial arts dojo, where she would be instructed in the art of Karate.

Sakura had been trained under several different masters including Dan Hibiki, but in the end she couldn't find the inspiration she sought after, and was about to quit.

At that instance, she learned about a young man called Ryu, a (Ansatsuken) Karate student who had beaten Thailand's national Muay Thai hero Sagat in a world street fighting tournament. Sakura was so impressed seeing Ryu's awesome technique that she wanted Ryu to become her teacher. She started a quest to find him as it wasn't easy because Ryu was always travelling over the whole world looking for more challenges to improve his skill. Then she heard about a Street Fighting tournament where Ryu was expected to participate...


Additional info from the Street Fighter Alpha 2 manual:

"Sakura Kasugano and her good friend Kei Chitose travel to their high school in a nearby town one day. Kei does not understand Sakura's behavior lately. Whenever Sakura sees a strong-looking man, she wants to pick a fight with him. Kei does not see why street fighting interests her so much. As they walk to school, three men from the college approach. They ask for dates, but the girls feel threatened. They try to run, but the boys detain them. As Kei tries to escape, she is grabbed and held. Sakura shouts "Hey! 3 men against 1 woman is not a fair street fight." Sakura stretches out and spins around like a top. The men begin to laugh hysterically. Sakura does a spinning kick right into the guy holding Kei. He falls to the ground and instantly faints. Kei cries for help as the other two men flee. "That was very dangerous...Don't do that ever again." Kei said to Sakura. Sakura looks disgusted. "That kick was supposed to hit that guy over and over again. What did I do wrong?" As they hurry to school, Kei wishes Sakura would find another hobby."
 



Sakura Ganbaru
Sakura Ganbaru
  Comics

 
 
There are two different comics where Sakura is the main character; the japanese comic (manga) "Sakura Ganbaru!" by Nakahira Masahiko ("Cammy Gaiden"), and "Street Fighter Legends: Sakura" from the american (art-)studio Udon Entertainment.

Sakura Ganbaru! (さくら がんばる！, translation: "Sakura Gives it Her Best!") (Wikipedia) was released in 1996 (or 1997, sorry not 100% sure.) and was based on Sakura in Street Fighter Alpha 2. This manga is about Sakura's quest to find Ryu as she wants to become his pupil. A rival for Sakura is introduced; a young wealthy girl called Karin Kanzuki, the lastest descendant of the Kanzuki family who have the reputation being "the winner in everything." However, Karin is the first one in the family who attempts street fighting. Unfortunately for her, she was beaten by Sakura and eventually lost contact of her, since she was travelling over the world in search for Ryu. So Karin wanted to get her revenge and started to look for Sakura. Preview pages from the first volume can be found here: s-manga.net (Japanese language.)

Sakura Ganbaru! had been translated into english and re-released by Udon Entertainment since June 2007. Previews of volume 1 and 2 can be found on the their internet site; Capcom Comics. The original japanese version had also been re-released in April 2007.

Udon Entertainment Corporation previously made their own comic about Sakura, called "Street Fighter Legends - Sakura". Previews are also available on their site; Capcom Comics. In these comics Sakura finds Ryu and, different from the official Street Fighter story, he accepts her to be his pupil and trains under him. She's often seen in more casual clothes besides her school uniform, and although Street Fighter Alpha was originally set in the eighties, many modern influences (cell phones, computers and internet) where used throughout in the story. (Loved the internet chat part between Ryu and Sakura. ^_^)