The Shocking Reason Behind Blanka's Green Skin in Street Fighter 6

In Street Fighter 6, Blanka's iconic green skin has been given a new backstory. The game, which has been praised for its innovative take on the classic Street Fighter formula, features a mix of classic characters and new additions such as the agile Kimberly and the powerful Marisa. Blanka, a ferocious Brazilian beast-man who first appeared in Street Fighter 2 in 1991, is among the returning characters. According to his new backstory, Blanka was once a human child named Jimmy who was stranded in the Amazon rainforest after a plane crash. He learned to fight from the animals of the jungle, including the ability to generate electricity like an electric eel, and became somewhat of a myth. Blanka now works as a tour guide in Street Fighter 6 and assists players in the game's World Tour story campaign.

In Street Fighter 6's World Tour mode, players can uncover the mystery behind Blanka's distinctive green skin by befriending him. During a conversation within the game, Blanka reveals that when he first arrived in the rainforest, he had to rely on the power of the jungle to protect himself from bugs. To do so, he crushed flowers and grass into a paste and coated himself with it. This resulted in his skin becoming permanently green in color.

While Blanka's origins in the original Japanese version of Street Fighter 2 suggested that his green pigmentation was a result of the plants he ate to survive in the Brazilian rainforest, this version of the story is notably different. In the localized English version of Street Fighter 2, Blanka's backstory is altered to claim that he was struck by lightning during the same storm that caused his plane to crash. This event caused him to mutate, giving him his green skin and electric powers. As subsequent Street Fighter games were released, the story was further developed to suggest that the storm was actually an assassination attempt by the criminal organization Shadaloo.

The release of Street Fighter 6 has shed new light on the origins of Blanka's appearance, with neither of the previously assumed explanations proving to be entirely accurate. It turns out that the wild man's green skin was achieved by painting himself with plants, a revelation that has received a divided response from players of the game. Nonetheless, the mystery surrounding Blanka's iconic appearance has finally been put to rest, at least until Capcom decides to make further changes in a future installment of the Street Fighter franchise. Street Fighter 6 can currently be enjoyed on PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.