Manon

"Prepare."

—Manon (Street Fighter 6)

Manon Legrand (マノン・ルグラン, Manon Ruguran^?), also known as the Judoka Ballet Dancer (柔道家のバレエダンサー, Jūdō-ka no bareedansā^?, French: Judokate Danseuse de ballet)^[4], is a fighting game character from the Street Fighter games, appearing as one of the new characters in Street Fighter 6. She is a French judoka fighter, who's also a ballet dancer & model.

Biography[]

Appearance[]

Manon Legrand is a French woman with short light pink hair with hime-cut bangs and longer fringes in each side of her hair, reminiscent of a swan. In her default outfit, she wears a royal blue singlet with red, white and blue streaks, and with cutouts around her torso and hips. Embedded on her collar is a gold medal with two abstract figures, with one throwing the other. On top of her singlet, Manon wears a white gi with a turquoise trim, with the sleeves rolled up and the waist tied with a black judo belt. Her matching blue footguards and wristbands have white stripes across them. Her nails are also painted to look like the French flag.

Manon's second outfit reflects her ballerina trait prominently. She adorns a pink orchid feather cape that loosely covers her black bra while showing off her toned midriff. Her hands are protected by a pair of pink gloves that have long black gauntlets. The gold medal is attached to a black choker around her neck. Her legs are clad in glossy black leggings adorned with black ruffles around the hips that evoke the image of a ballet tutu. On her feet, she wears pink gladiator sandals. Her hairstyle remains unchanged, and she completes the look with a pair of flat-top sunglasses featuring a purple tint.

As a child during her arcade story, she wears a karate gi used in Judo. Her long fringes are cut short to match up her short hair resembling a mushroom haircut. She also wears this as a young adult and her long fringes appear in shoulder-length.

When she bakes her cakes and any various desserts prior to her main appearance, her pink hair is long and was styled in ringlets similar to Karin Kanzuki's and wears a pink and white gothic dress.

Her third outfit is inspired from the French Revolution^[5]. It has her wearing a French royal military outfit; a dark blue and red short military jacket with red interior. It has gold parallel buttons, gold epaulettes, a large white jabot, gold wrist cuffs with ruffled white sleeve cuffs. The jacket also features long skirt that reaches down to knee height in a split tail design. She wears a pair of white gloves, a matching white military pants which are tucked into off-white knee-high cowboy boots with v-shaped opening both in front and back. The edges of the V-cut are adorned with gold trim, with a gold fleur-de-lis on each of the front opening. The boots also feature red violet sole and toe cap. While her hair color remains the same, the style drastically changes to Victorian ringlets, as it appears in her World Tour background story.

Personality[]

Manon is depicted as being idealistic who seeks herself for her self-improvement in beauty and enjoys street fighting which she wanted to become the world's strongest model by using her main fighting skills. Aside from being idealistic, Manon is also shown to be snobbish and haughty and like both Karin Kanzuki and Cody, she loves to fight strong opponents, as seen in her win quotes. Nevertheless, Manon is not without a standard, such as having a strong despise of people with hidden evil agenda like JP.

In her arcade story, Manon also displays her family problems after achieving many sports accomplishments throughout her life. Deep down, she hates being called a "strong" person due to what her mother had said to her younger self before she had left, that Manon would be "just fine" without her because she was "strong". This made Manon become indifferent to any praise and accomplishments and became somewhat aloof, as she believes that it's natural for her to do "just fine" in everything, while deep down Manon hates how people would idolize her "strong" prowess and not caring about her feelings or anyone else's, since Manon believes people treated her as if she would be "just fine" in any situation and viewed her as being perfect and thus unapproachable, resulting into her having trouble of befriending others. This changed with her encounter with Marisa whose her determination to improve herself despite her loss taught her that "just fine" wasn't enough for her. Since then, Manon embraced that she is "strong" not because she has enough strength to do things herself; but because she has a drive and motivation to make herself stronger.

Concept[]

Manon was pitched with the simple keyword "judoka". Feeling that making a normal judoka would be unimpressive, Manon's design would be modernized with grace in her feet movements, making her distinctly French by adding ballet as part of their inspiration. Her French heritage came from the sport's popularity in that country, with France having the second highest number of Olympic medals behind Japan, and the 2024 Summer Olympics taking place in Paris.^[6]

Manon was also originally named Mimi before consulting with the localization staff.^[7]

Character Relationships[]

Friends/Allies[]

Marisa[]

Manon's rival. While the two are opposites of each other in their personality and background, they both have an admiration for each other, namely Marisa's drive to work harder in spite of her loss.

E. Honda[]

Enemies[]

Story[]

Background[]

Manon Legrand were born as the youngest of the trio sibling of a wealthy French aristocrat family. During her youth, Manon has developed incredible talent in judo, being hailed as a "genius" by those around her. Being the sole daughter, Manon lived a mostly happy childhood with her older brothers whom they shared sibling bonds with. Though during some point of her younger days, Manon's mother has left her (it is implied that she was divorced) but not before assuring Manon that she would be "just fine" without her because she was "strong". These seemingly normal words cut deep into young Manon's heart, as she believes that she was left on her own because of her "strong" prowress and later come to hate the word "strong".

As Manon grew up, she begins to pursue various careers and became greatly successful in all of them. Manon won the gold medal in the world judoka championship, being so proud of this achievement that she wore the medal wherever she goes. Manon has also became a renowned ballerina, super model, and actress. The main drive of Manon in perfecting various careers is to prove her mother's word that she's only "just fine" wrong. Though despite the successes, Manon has also became increasingly aloof and indifference due to her regularly being praised for her achievements, believing that she would also do "just fine" in everything, while also hating how those around her (besides her brothers) were viewing her simply as the "perfect" being and nothing else.

Street Fighter 6[]

A super model and world champion judoka, Manon is an idealist, forever seeking self-improvement in the pursuit of beauty. She struts the catwalk of street fighting to become the world's strongest model.

Arcade Mode[]

• Transcript

Manon: Because I'm Strong[]

Manon reflects on being told she is strong for her entire life. She admits that it has grown to be something she does not adore hearing and does not like to compliment herself with. That all changed one day at the colosseum where Marisa noticed her in a crowd and challenged her to a fight. One of the most direct challenges that had ever been sent her way, but she felt a sense of similarity between them as Marisa declared that Manon was "into exactly the same things" that she was.

Manon emerged victorious from their battle, but before she could fall into her indifference in the result, Marisa's personality and love for their bout caught her off guard. Marisa finding enjoyment in facing someone as strong as she is and her eagerness to improve herself despite the loss affected Manon in ways she did not anticipate. Usually when she had been called strong it cut her like a dagger, but when Marisa says it, it made her happy, as Manon finds that Marisa viewed "strong" prowess as the goal to motivate herself in becoming stronger, not simply viewing anyone as "strong" by their accomplishments like how most people viewed Manon.

Marisa challenged her to a rematch which Manon accepted, embracing the fact that she is strong, not in the ways others had seen it, but in the ways she and Marisa do.

Marisa: All of the Might[]

Marisa's arcade mode depicts her first meeting with Manon in her point of view, whom despite being in a crowd of people visiting the colosseum was the only one that truly catches her eye. She challenges her immediately, getting a reaction of amusement from Manon. In Manon's ending she defeats Marisa whom challenges her to a rematch. In Marisa's ending, she wins the rematch. They sit back to back to one another and share a bonding moment. Marisa describes her perspective on winning, losing and fighting those that are strong, confirming to Manon that Marisa did have a simple minded approach to things. Yet when questioned, Manon tells Marisa that she has no problems with that at all, getting a smile from Manon and laughter from Marisa as their bond strengthens through combat.

E. Honda: Chanko Hosue Edomon[]

Manon appeared in E. Honda's flashback while the sumo wrestler were scouting for the location of his Chanko House Edomon restaurant. Overheard that Honda decided to settle on the site of the Fête Foraine travelling canival, Manon approach him and politely object his decision. Though before Manon could explain her reasoning, Honda challenge her for a match as he believes Manon doesn't understand "what makes sumo so great".

After the match, Manon decides to clear things up with Honda and gives him an advice to make a restaurant in a way that Honda "wanted the world to see". Honda takes the advice and decided to built his dream restaurant at Metro City.

World Tour[]

Flexile Grappler. Warrior Swan. Judo's Guidance. (柔軟なグラップラー。 戦士の白鳥。 柔道の指導。, Jūnan'na gurappurā. Senshi no hakuchō. Jūdō no shidō.^?, Grappin flexible. Cygne Guerrier. Guide du judo.)

"I've never stopped to consider what true strength is... but I think I already know. (本当の強さとは��か、立ち止まって考えたことはありません…しかし、私はすでに知っていると思います。, Hontō no tsuyo Sato wa nani ka, tachidomatte kangaeta koto wa arimasen… shikashi, watashi wa sudeni shitte iru to omoimasu.^?)"

—Manon's advice after completing training & achieving Mastery

Gameplay[]

Fighting style[]

Manon combines judo with ballet, utilizing various maneuvers that involve her "dancing" with her opponent. Many of her attacks utilize her long legs to attack from far ranges, complementing her powerful close-range throws.

Moveset[]

Manon uses a unique Medal system that powers up her grab-based special moves. Every Manège Doré command grab or Renversé hitgrab she lands increases the Medal level by one, up to a maximum of five levels. These levels do not reset or deplete in any way, even across rounds, making Manon even stronger as the match goes on. While starting off relatively weak compared to other command grabs, Manon at Level 5 can deal incredible meterless damage off a single grab. Manon's target combos further emphasize her close-range presence, with Temps Lié, A Terre, and Allongé dragging the opponent close to her at an advantage. Outside of her grabs, Manon also has some potent kick attacks, such as Rond-point, an anti-air kick that can lead into a Renversé if done early, and Dégagé, a series of kicks that can hit from both high or low depending on the strength, with the OD version being an overhead she can combo off of.

Manon's Level 1 Super Art, Arabesque, has Manon lunge forward across the screen. Her Level 2 Super Art Etoile is a series of flying kicks that serve as a powerful combo-ender, reversal, and anti-air option. Finally, Pas de Deux is a devastating Level 3 Super Art command grab that has Manon dance with her opponent before slamming them to the ground.

Subpages[]

Quotes[]

Manon/Quotes

Gallery[]

Manon/Gallery

Sprites[]

Trivia[]

• Manon's hairstyle and feather motifs are likely a reference to Swan Lake, an iconic ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
• Her hairstyle bears a near resemblance to musician Lady Gaga, specifically in the music videos from her very first album, The Fame.
  • Interestingly during her arcade story, her voice actress, Cherami Leigh can impersonate Lady Gaga's normal voice during narrations from her music videos within her second and third albums, Fame Monster and Born This Way.
  • Manon's alternate costume bears a resemblance to Lady Gaga's initial costume during her music video, Bad Romance.
  • Manon's dance performance with her back up dancers seen from her World Tour are much like Lady Gaga's dance performance with her back up dancers during her various music videos and her world tour concerts.
  • The kid Manon when she had won championships resembles Lady Gaga's mushroom look from her music video Alejandro. She also resembles Marron in her appearance of Dragon Ball Super.
• She has two older brothers.^[8] They can be seen in her bonding illustrations supporting Manon in various endeavours.
• In Manon's victory animation in Street Fighter 6, she strikes a pose that is highly reminiscent of the poses taken by models on the Vogue magazine covers.
• Manon's original 2D art as seen in the full roster reveal had an official Olympic logo on it, however it would later be changed to a logo similar to the one used to represent Olympic Judo with two simplistic figures, likely due to the International Olympic Committee's strict policy against unofficial usage of its branding.^[9]
• Manon also bears some certain similarities to Abel, with both having similar garments having the same colors, both also being from France, and both also practice Judo.
• In Tekken 8, one of Emilie De Rochefort's new move, Arc-en Ciel is identical to Manon's Arabesque.
• During Manon's Critical Art, Pas de Deux, her "na-na-na" humming is from a famous French nursery rhyme called Il était un petit navire (There was a little ship), specifically, on the lines "Ohé ! Ohé ! Matelot, Matelot navigue sur les flots." The song tells the story of a young sailor who is about to be eaten by the other sailors after losing to drawing straws. They discuss how to cook the man and what sauce to use. The young sailor then prays for the Virgin Mary's intercession and is saved by a miracle, where thousands of fish suddenly jumped onto the boat.
• Her gothic appearance seen in her World Tour where she bakes any various desserts, bears a near resemblance to the villainess, Wera Vann in the french cartoon series, Totally Spies!. Her third alternate costume was similar to Wera Vann's when she disguises herself as one of the English royal guards until she reveals herself to the girls.
• Manon's Japanese voice actress, Ayaka Fukuhara, also voices the character Najd from The King of Fighters XIV-onwards.

Videos[]

Stage Themes[]

Street Fighter 6 Manon's Theme - Walk With Grace

References[]

Street Fighter series Playable Characters
Main Series
		Ken · Ryu
	The World Warrior	Blanka · Chun-Li · Dhalsim · E. Honda · Guile · Zangief
	Champion Edition	Balrog · M. Bison · Sagat · Vega
	Super	Cammy · Dee Jay · Fei Long · T. Hawk
	Super Turbo	Akuma
	Ultra	Violent Ken
	Alpha	Adon · Birdie · Charlie Nash · Dan · Guy · Rose · Sodom
	Alpha 2	Evil Ryu · Gen · Rolento · Sakura · Shin Akuma
	Alpha 3	Cody · Juli · Juni · Karin · R. Mika
	Alpha 3 Upper	Eagle · Maki
	Alpha 3 MAX	Ingrid
	New Generation	Alex · Dudley · Elena · Ibuki Necro · Oro · Sean · Yang · Yun
	2nd Impact	Gill · Hugo · Urien
	3rd Strike	Makoto · Q · Remy · Twelve
	IV	Abel · C. Viper · El Fuerte · Gouken · Rufus · Seth
	Super	Hakan · Juri
	Arcade Edition	Oni
	Ultra	Decapre · Poison
	V	F.A.N.G · Laura · Necalli · Rashid
	Season 2	Abigail · Ed · Kolin · Menat · Zeku
	Season 3	Falke · G
	Season 4	Kage · Lucia
	Season 5	Akira · Eleven · Luke
	6	Jamie · JP · Kimberly · Lily · Manon · Marisa
	Year 1	A.K.I.
	Year 2	Mai (Guest) · Terry (Guest)
Spin-offs
		Arkane · Blade · F7 · Khyber · Sawada
		Cyborg
	EX	Allen · Blair · C. Jack · Darun · D. Dark Hokuto · Kairi · Pullum · Skullomania
	EX Plus	Bloody Hokuto · Cycloid-β · Cycloid-γ · Garuda
	EX2	Hayate · Nanase · Shadowgeist · Sharon
	EX2 Plus	Area · V. Rosso
	EX3	Ace · Bison II
	MSHvSF	Cyber-Akuma · Dark Sakura · Mech-Zangief · Shadow
	MvC	Shadow Lady
		Shin