Yuri Sakazaki

Biography

There have been two birthdates of Yuri Sakazaki. By the Art of Fighting timeline, Yuri Sakazaki was born on December 7, 1961. By the KOF timeline, she was born on December 7, 1975. According to her official biography, she stands at 1.65 meters (5 ft 5 in). She weighs about 50 kg (110 lbs). Her blood type is A. Her hobbies are studying various cuisine and karaoke. Her favorite foods are sweet curry and homemade pickled Umeboshi (Japanese plums). Her treasured possessions are her friends and her late mother Ronnet's pearl earrings (Ronnet fell ill and died shortly after giving birth to Yuri), and her father. Her favorite sport is softball. She dislikes octopuses and indecisive men. She has a speech habit of putting the suffix "-chi" at the end of some words, for she uses Tosa-ben, a Kochi dialect.

Yuri Sakazaki is the daughter of Takuma Sakazaki and Ronnet Sakazaki and the younger sister to Ryo Sakazaki. Her story begins with what is called the Yuri Sakazaki Incident. One day, at the age of 17, she was in her father's Kyokugenryu dojo. However, by the order of Geese Howard (when he was out on business), Mr. Big, a local criminal mastermind, and other strange people dressed in black broke into the dojo. They refused to answer Yuri's questions, and Yuri was abducted by them and thrown into a room where there was nothing in there but gloom in order to get her father Takuma Sakazaki firmly under Mr. Big's control. She remained in that dark room for several days, and she was so worried about her father Takuma and her brother Ryo, and Robert was glued to her mind. A hiddenly door to the dark room was suddenly opened, and she narrowly escaped the dark room. Her brother Ryo was prepared to finish off Mr. Karate using Haoushikouken on him, believing he was behind the Yuri Sakazaki Incident. However, in order to rescue her father, she appeared before the eyes of Ryo and Robert and told Ryo not to do so, saying that Mr. Karate was really their father Takuma, and thus Takuma removes his mask to reveal his true identity. Immediately therafter, they had a joyous reunion. After the reunion, as part of the preparation for their revenge against Geese Howard, Takuma trained Yuri in the art of Kyokugenryu Karate about the same way he trained Ryo, much to Ryo's opposition and Robert's favor, as Kyokugenryu Karate had never been taught to females before the time of the original Art of Fighting. He trained Yuri behind Ryo's back. Yuri uses a very light variation of Kyokugenryu Karate with some personal instinct tied in, which included techniques such as the Raiou Ken and the Butt Press.

In 1994, Yuri attempted to join Ryo's team in the very first King of Fighters tourney that would be separated from the Fatal Fury franchise, but Ryo decided that only Robert and Takuma would be allowed on his team, much to Yuri's displeasure and Robert's disfavor, and Ryo was even opposed to her entry to the King of Fighters tournament. For 1994 and 1995, Yuri teamed up with Mai Shiranui and King. It was not until 1996 that Takuma suggested Ryo that she be a part of his team, much to Ryo's opposition and Robert's favor, as he was deciding to retire from competitive fighting. Takuma made the decision to have Yuri on Ryo's team and threatened to freeze her credit cards, and that motivatived her to join the AOF team. Yuri was with the Princesses of Punch team for King of Fighters 2000 (although Kasumi Todoh had some reservations against teaming up with a Kyokugenryu Disciple, but knew that she had to follow a strict code not to foul her family's name), but since 2001, Yuri Sakazaki has been a regular for the AOF team alongside Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia.

Yuri's normal outfit is a white gi, red belt and shoes, and deep purplish blue tights. Many of her fans call her cute.

While Yuri (and her father Takuma) might not have been playable in Art of Fighting 3 (what a shock to Robert, and probably due to Ryo's past oppositions of Yuri's entry), she made a cameo appeaerance in Ryo's and Robert's endings.

The Yuri Sakazaki Incident occurred both in the Art of Fighting timeline and the King of Fighters timeline (two years before the events of King of Fighters '94). By the Art of Fighting timeline, it probably happened in 1978. By the King of Fighters timeline, it probably happened in 1992. Yuri Sakazaki was 17 years old at the time of the Yuri Sakazaki Incident.

In King of Fighters 2001, some of Yuri's moves parodied moves that are trademarks of Satsui No Hadou from Capcom's Street Fighter series. Any connection between Kyokugenryu Karate and Satsui No Hadou is superficial at best.

Related Games