MANILA, Philippines - Over the weekend, Bandai Namco Games held a special event to introduce their newest Tekken 7 characters, one of which is of Filipino descent - Josie Rizal.
The character is a homage to Philippines's national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. According to reports, Tekken project head Katsuhiro Harada consulted Mark “MarkMan” Julio, Mad Catz's community manager who has Filipino blood, about the character's traits, including her name.
Alongside Josie are Jin Kazama and Devil Jin who will be returning to Tekken 7.
Sneak peek of the characters in action were released by tekkenchannel on Sunday. As seen on the trailer, Josie is wearing a skimpy gold midriff and a blue skirt paired with gold gladiator sandals. She is also accessorized with gold earrings, bracelets and a red headband.
The topic "Josie Rizal" quickly became a trending topic on Twitterverse Sunday up to this writing. Reactions from the Netizens include praises, amusement and curiosity about the character. Moreover, people also shared their suggestions about the character's possible "Pinoy-like" finishing moves. Here are some of their hilarious suggestions:
I hope they dub Josie Rizal in Filipino too...every time she gets hit, she would go "ARAY!" ...pwede rin "Aray teh! Ano ba!?" #Tekken7
— Borgy Gavina (@borgygavina) March 30, 2015 josie rizal after every win: "el filiboompaniz!"
— Mediatrix (@mxdiatrix) March 29, 2015 Will Josie Rizal stab her opponent with a pen cos the pen is mightier than the sword?? Will she say "Mi ultimo adios" when she dies??
— ????? (@soffrancheska) March 29, 2015 josie rizal slaying all her opponents with a pen and literary quotes from el fili and noli
— ?||ka (@kimchisoul_22) March 29, 2015 Petition for "BOOM PANES" to be what Josie Rizal says whenever she knocks someone out
— ???? (@decastbro) March 29, 2015 josie rizal's prefight scene: *drinks a bottle of empi* "rak na itu"
— Norman (@nuaine) March 29, 2015 some of Josie Rizal's (still cant take this seriously) "before the fight" lines: "BUWISET KA" "HUMANDA KA SA AKIN" "BOOM PANES"
— Liara Prado (@liliprad) March 29, 2015 And of course, social media would not be complete without Josie Rizal memes:
josie rizal: awtsu pic.twitter.com/AUlyA5Oido
— Keana (@KishiFishy) March 30, 2015 Josie Rizal vs. She Dragon. OMG PLS. YES PLS. pic.twitter.com/AyE5Ij0Tg1
— Noelle (@IndividNoellism) March 30, 2015 NEXT BATTLE: Josie Rizal VS Mystica Round One... FIGHT pic.twitter.com/fk3k4lqqjZ
— kris aquino lising (@kristianlising) March 30, 2015 This sums up my current feelings out Josie Rizal's costume for #Tekken7. (Source: http://t.co/r2VW6qnTpT) pic.twitter.com/htuaWuJWWo
— Jose Mari Deluria (@maridood) March 29, 2015 Move over Josie Rizal. Jonie Sha ftw! #Tekken7 [pic] — https://t.co/rJp29Bfucm
— Jusyl Magallanes (@jusylfruit) March 29, 2015 Meanwhile, not everyone is amused by the character's creation, saying that the character is a sign of disrespect to the hero:
But srsly... Josie Rizal's character is a huge misinterpretation of what Filipino and martial art should have been.
— tris (@trishaay) March 30, 2015 RT@Chuwanabee: Josie Rizal? A ridiculous character from Kick-box Philippines. Seriously? Can we have a little respect for our national hero.
— Gil ?brique Rafer (@GilObriqueRafer) March 30, 2015 JOSIE RIZAL? I say they go and add Andrea Bonifacio.
— ? g??c? ? (@perfectxselenur) March 30, 2015 Nothing will make Josie Rizal should speak in Filipino and should have a finishing move that relates to his novels.
Josie specializes in "eskrima and kick boxing." She is yet to have a release date on when she will be launched in the game.