Just a little heads-up, I do have a short update to give before this episode starts,
so if you want to skip ahead to the actual video, just go to the timestamp displayed
on screen.
Normally, I'd put an annotation here, but YouTube has decided it doesn't like those
anymore.
At the time the audio for this video was recorded, I'm holding an art contest to celebrate
both the upcoming 50th episode of Character Development and the show's 3-year anniversary;
all submissions will be featured in an art showcase during the 50th episode, so if you'd
like to participate, there's a link in the description of this video to an update where
I explain the rules.
You have until June 25 to submit any art, if you're interested.
All that said and done, we now return to your regularly scheduled programming.
Mabuhay mga kapatid!
Kamusta na po kayo?
Pardon my probably terrible Tagalog; I've been pretty excited to get a crack at talking
about the Philippines for a decent while now.
Even though the Philippines have had a rich history as being the crossroads of multiple
cultures such as India, Malaysia, Spain, China, Japan, and the United States, it hasn't
really been in the spotlight all that often in the interactive medium.
On a similar note, I had been keeping an eye on the console release of Tekken 7 for a while,
as I've thought about covering a recurring character from this series, like Ogre, Alisa,
or King since about Episode 30 or so, but the more I heard about Tekken 7, the more
interested I became in the possibility of talking about one of the newcomers, like Shaheen
or Claudio Serafino.
Imagine my surprise, then, when I found out—just last week, in fact—that these two interests
met at a crossroads.
Indeed, one of the new characters in Tekken 7 is a bright-eyed Filipina fighter named
Josie Rizal!
Even though she's had her fair share of mixed reception since being unveiled in 2015,
I still want to ask: how did the Tekken franchise do with its first foray into the Philippines?
Are there any details to Josie's design that tie into the rich culture and history
of the Philippines?
I'm happy to say that there's quite an interesting episode ahead of us today.
I'm the Kitsune Hawk, and today, I'll be looking into the background of one of Tekken
7's newcomers, the Filipina model and kickboxer, Josie Rizal!
So get out your pencils, trivia enthusiasts, because this is Character Development!
Even though Filipino culture isn't something seen very often in video games, the references
to it in Josie's design and background are actually very straightforward and easy to
spot.
There's a very obvious nod to the history of the Philippines with Josie's name.
In fact, it's just a feminine version of the name José Rizal.
José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, known simply as José Rizal, was a Filipino
Renaissance man, with accolades as a poet, physician, journalist, artist, activist, author,
politician, and many more.
Born in 1861, he lived at a time when the Philippines were still a colonial possession
of the Spanish Empire.
Sneaking aboard a ship to Spain in 1882, José Rizal received his advanced education in Europe,
studying in Madrid, Paris, and Heidelberg, even learning to speak and write in as many
as 22 languages before he returned to the Philippines in 1892.
Rizal did much of his writing while in Europe; his novels and editorials tended to focus
on criticizing the Catholic Church and Spanish rule over the Philippines, quickly making
him a person of suspicion to the Spanish government.
Taking his pen to politics, José Rizal proposed reforms the Spanish colonial government could
take to give equal rights for Filipinos, especially freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, equality
before the law, and Filipino representation within the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative
body.
Independence for the Philippines, however, was something Rizal never vouched for, but
that didn't stop the Spanish government from labelling him as a "dangerous radical,"
arresting and exiling him as soon as he returned to his home country in 1892.
By 1896, revolutionary fervor in the Philippines reached its breaking point; Rizal expressed
his disdain for the violence of his peers and was given permission to migrate to Cuba.
Before leaving, however, he was arrested again, tried by the Spanish government for charges
of rebellion, sedition, and conspiracy.
Despite a lack of any evidence connecting José Rizal to the ongoing revolution, he
was found guilty and sentenced to death, executed by a firing squad at only 35 years of age.
Even though Rizal didn't support the idea of independent Philippines, his death convinced
the Filipino rebels that negotiating with the Spanish was no longer an option, and after
the Philippines declared their independence from Spain in 1898, Rizal gained a posthumous
reputation as a de facto national hero, often called "the first Filipino".
José Rizal has had monuments built in dedication of his life, as well as streets, towns, laws,
and an entire province of the Philippines named after him.
Even species of lizards, beetles, and frogs have been named after José Rizal, showing
how much of an impression he left on the history of the Philippines, so the idea of Tekken
having its first Filipina character named in honor of the late 19th century polymath
makes enough sense.
From her name, we now move on to Josie's default design, which is fittingly inspired
by the flag of the Philippines, itself a symbol of independence from Spain.
Josie's outfit utilizes the four colors of the Filipino flag: red (as seen on her
headband, skirt, and belt) for courage and patriotism, golden yellow (as seen on her
top and sandals) for unity and freedom, blue (again, seen on her skirt) for self-sacrifice,
truth, and justice, and white (which makes up the floral patterns on her top) for liberty,
equality, and fraternity.
Additionally, Josie's outfit is adorned with sun and star-shaped accessories, such
as her earrings, necklace, and belt buckle, as well as the tails on her skirt and the
shapes on her sandals.
With regards to the flag of the Philippines, the sun and its eight rays represent the eight
provinces that participated in the Philippine Revolution against Spain in 1896: Manila,
Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Bataan, Laguna, Batangas, and Nueva Ecija.
As for the trio of stars surrounding the sun, they represent the three islands where the
Revolution took place: Visayas, Luzon, and Mindanao.
That Revolution, by the way, was partially inspired by the writings of José Rizal.
Another detail in Josie's design that references Filipino culture is the aforementioned pattern
on her top, which is inspired by the Arabian Jasmine.
This particular flower is known in Tagalog as sampaguita, and it's recognized as the
national flower of the Philippines.
Garlands of sampaguita flowers are frequently used as decoration for altars, graduations,
weddings, and many other occasions, so it's definitely a flower close to the people of
the Philippines.
Adding to this, Josie's concept art refers to the floral patterns as "Sumpa-kita,"
a Tagalog phrase that means "I promise you," a phrase that also happens to be the origin
of the word sampaguita.
Quite a few of Josie's moves take their names from actual locations in the Philippines,
namely Iligan Switch, Ormoc Switch, Sapu Switch, Subic Ring, Panquil Ring, Lingayen Stomp,
and Kawasan Falls.
Two more of her moves, Carabao Horn and Reverse Sampaguita, are named after national symbols
of the Philippines; the national animal and the national flower, respectively.
Funny I mentioned Tagalog a moment ago, too, as Josie—rather unusually—doesn't speak
a word of it, instead speaking standard English.
Both Tagalog and English are considered the official languages of the Philippines, with
Tagalog being slightly more common than English as a native language, so while it's not
particularly unusual for Josie to primarily speak English, it is a bit odd that she doesn't
speak any Tagalog at all, or that she doesn't have any trace of an accent.
As for Josie's fighting style, she's referred to as a kickboxer whose techniques are inspired
by Eskrima.
Eskrima, also known as Kali or Arnis, is a Filipino martial art that focuses primarily
on defending oneself against an opponent with weapons, usually knives, machetes, and clubs.
While it's intended for people wielding a weapon themselves, it is still possible
to use Eskrima techniques while unarmed.
Footwork is the most important part of Eskrima, whether it's for dodging, covering, or countering,
though unarmed Eskrima is much more defense-oriented, emphasizing grappling and disarming alongside
footwork.
By mixing unarmed Eskrima with kickboxing techniques, Josie's style might very well
be based on Yaw-Yan, also known as "The Dance of Death," a mix of Filipino martial
arts and kickboxing started in the 1970s by Napoleon Fernandez.
Ultimately, with Tekken's first-ever fighter from the Philippines, I'd say they did well
with Josie Rizal.
It may be much more straightforward than other characters I've discussed in previous episodes
of this show, and there is a bit of a hodgepodge of geographical terms in her movelist, but
the design strongly inspired by the Filipino flag and the name inspired by the national
hero José Rizal certainly make up for it.
Tekken 7's PC and console release is still pretty recent at the time of this video, so
this could very well only be scratching the surface with Josie's Filipino background.
If not, then here's hoping she shows up in a future installment… preferably speaking
just a little bit of Tagalog, and maybe sharing at least one occupation with the person she's
named after.
Ah, well, just a thought.
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