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Michelle Chang (ミシェール・チャン Mishēru Chan?) is a fictional character in the Tekken series of fighting games. A Native American woman of Hong Konger descent, she is a member of the Chang Family. She was first introduced in the original Tekken and returned for Tekken 2, the non-canonical Tekken Tag Tournament, and its sequel Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Michelle's adopted daughter, Julia Chang, takes her place in Tekken 3 and all of the series' subsequent games, although both of them are playable in Tekken Tag Tournament and its sequel.

Biography

Michelle Chang is a young Native American woman of mixed descent, from Arizona. Her father is a man from Hong Kong, sent to America by Heihachi Mishima with the task of finding a treasure on Native American land. Mr Chang found romance and stayed in America to marry his new love. Michelle was born shortly after, and they lived together happily until, on her eighteenth birthday, Michelle learns from her mother that her father has been killed by Heihachi's men. Outraged, Michelle entered the first King of Iron Fist Tournament determined to exact revenge on Heihachi. Michelle was unsuccessful in winning the tournament, and her entry stoked more trouble for her when it was noticed that she was in possession of a valuable pendant, something which was sought by Kunimitsu, an ex-Manji Clan member, Heihachi himself and, later, his son Kazuya.

Two years after the first tournament, Kazuya organized a second and, determined to seize Michelle's amulet, kidnapped her mother in order to ensure her participation. His plan worked, and Michelle entered the second King of Iron Fist Tournament. The task of acquiring the amulet was handed to Ganryu, a Sumo wrestler and bodyguard of Kazuya's. However, rather than capture his target, Ganryu fell in love with Michelle, a love that was not reciprocated, and Michelle was able to hold on to her amulet.

Shortly after the second tournament, Michelle found a baby girl abandoned in a ruined Native American settlement. Michelle decided to adopt the child, whom she named Julia and raised as her own. Julia grew up with a strong love for her adoptive mother and her tribe, and was taught how to fight by Michelle so that she could protect her homeland. As Julia reached adulthood, stories of martial artists disappearing began to reach the tribe, leading to concerns that the tribal legends of the God of Fighting were coming true. Fearing that the amulet she held could somehow be responsible for the god's awakening, a concerned Michelle traveled to Japan to see Heihachi for answers as to why he originally sought the amulet. Rather than help her, Heihachi kidnapped Michelle and used her amulet to fully awaken Ogre, the God of Fighting. When Michelle did not return, Julia suspected that Heihachi was responsible for her mother's disappearance and entered the newly announced third King of Iron Fist Tournament to confront Heihachi and find her mother. Julia's ending in Tekken 3 marks the final canonical appearance of Michelle, and her current whereabouts are unknown, although she is believed to be alive and has likely returned to her homeland.

Personality

Determined, strong-minded, and compassionate, Michelle houses a deep love for her family and a vengeful nature towards those who threaten them. She pursues her goals with dedication. She also possesses a love for the environment and is a true lover of nature. This is something which is assumed to be passed on to her daughter, Julia, as she taught her to fight to "..protect mother earth, not to destroy it".

Appearance

Michelle has brown eyes, a parted fringe, and long brown hair braided down her back. Michelle displays her Native American heritage in her clothing and accessories, most noticeably the headdress and feather she wears on her head.

Outfits

Main article: Michelle Chang/Outfits

In her few appearances in the Tekken franchise, Michelle's outfits have followed the same general style, consisting of denim shorts, a vest or undershirt, often cropped in design, and cowboy boots over long socks. These core components often vary in color and design, depending on the game and whether the primary or secondary outfit is chosen. Additions to these core items have included leather jackets, elbow pads and scarves. Owing to her Native American heritage, Michelle's outfits are often accessorized with a traditional headdress and jewellery, such as necklaces, bracelets and chokers, bearing traditional designs.

Story

Tekken

Manual, NTSC
This wandering fighter is the daughter of a Native American woman and a Hong Kong man sent by Heihachi Mishima to find an ancient treasure on Native American land. Eventually, on her 18th birthday, she hears from her mother that her father had been killed by Heihachi's men. She is taking part in the tournament to take revenge on "Mishima."[1]

Manual, PAL
The mother of this hardy warrior was a Native American, the father was a Hong Kong man murdered by Heihachi's people. Michelle is in the tournament for revenge.[4]

Version 3
Michelle is the daughter of a Native American woman and a Hong Kong-Chinese man, who was dispatched by Heihachi Mishima to locate an ancient treasure resting on Native American land. On her 18th birthday, her mother told her the facts surrounding her father's death: men working for Heihachi killed him. Michelle has joined the tournament for the purpose of taking revenge against Mishima.[5]

Tekken_1_Michelle_Chang_Ending_-_Mother

Tekken 1 Michelle Chang Ending - Mother

Ending Description
Michelle has just returned from the Tournament and is walking home through the Arizona desert. She stops and drops her bag, seeing her mother sitting outside, rocking in a chair peacefully reading a book. Overjoyed, Michelle runs to her mother, the scene ending with the word 'fin' appearing in the lower right-hand corner.

Tekken 2

Tekken_2_Michelle_Chang_-_Pendant

Tekken 2 Michelle Chang - Pendant

Manual, NTSC
Kazuya wants the pendant that Michelle wears around her neck, since it carries the secret to a great treasure. Michelle's mother has now been kidnapped by Kazuya's men to ensure Michelle's participation in the tournament. Michelle vows to rescue her mother at all costs.[2]

Manual, PAL
*The PAL manual frames the character profiles as a Mishima Zaibatsu intel report.
The Chang family have a long history of involvement with the Conglomerate; our people are currently holding Mrs Chang senior during negotiations over an item of jewellery in the subject's possession. Suggest we utilise Ganryu; he seems to have an interest in Chang's fate.[6]

Official Website Profile (Japanese)
Michelle Chang, an American of Chinese and Native American descent, is a Chinese kenpo master. Before Michelle's father was murdered, he showed her a Native American treasure - a pendant, which is also a key - and entrusted its safekeeping to her. Knowing the pendant's secret, Kazuya has his people kidnap Michelle's mother. In order to save her mother, Michelle participates in the tournament once more.[7]

Ending Description
Michelle approaches a lake in a forest with her pendant in her hand while a bird flies by. After a couple of moments of enjoying the nature while making her choice, Michelle tosses the pendant into the water.

Tekken 3

Sometime before the events of Tekken 3, Michelle adopted Julia Chang while Julia was a baby. Before the tournament, Michelle was kidnapped by Heihachi Mishima, who sought her pendant, which is why Julia entered the tournament. Heihachi planned to use her pendant to awaken Ogre in the Aztec Temple, which he was successful in doing. After Tekken 3, Michelle's whereabouts are unknown. While Michelle is not a playable character in Tekken 3, she does appear in Julia's ending, meaning, at least in Tekken 3, she's still alive.

Other Appearances

Tekken: The Motion Picture

In The Motion Picture, Michelle is young and filled with rage because her entire family was murdered by Heihachi Mishima. She is determined to get her revenge, no matter what the odds or cost. This fierce passion is her greatest strength and her only weakness. She fought and overcame Ganryu during the tournament, but was easily defeated by Kazuya Mishima. Just when Kazuya was about to end her life, Jun Kazama stepped in and saved her. Later on, as the Island is destroyed, she is seen being carried to safety by Paul Phoenix.

Tekken Tag Tournament

Michelle appeared in Tekken Tag Tournament as a playable character. She has her moveset from Tekken 2 with many more attacks added to her arsenal. Like other Tekken characters, her movelist was expanded to bring it up to date, as it was lacking in some areas due to her absence in Tekken 3.

Tekken_Tag_Tournament_-_Michelle_Chang_Ending

Tekken Tag Tournament - Michelle Chang Ending

Ending Description
Michelle is shown sitting on the ground. Julia Chang walks over to her and sits down beside her. Julia and Michelle then begin having an unheard conversation. This ending takes place in Eddy Gordo's second Tekken Tag Tournament stage.

Tekken Tag Special Alliance Partners:

Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Michelle finally returned in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, as a downloadable character for the console version of the game.

Profile:
Julia's mother, and an expert at kenpo. She has a deep and painful past with the Mishima Zaibatsu, after her father was murdered and her mother kidnapped over an ancient pendant.[8]

Tekken_Tag_Tournament_2_-_Michelle_Ending_Movie

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - Michelle Ending Movie

Ending Description
Michelle is walking around the house while Julia is in the shower. Michelle comes across Julia's wrestling mask and seems to be interested in it. She tries it on, smiling and saying "Just a peek won't hurt..." and poses in front of the mirror before trying a few moves. Julia then catches her mom posing. Embarrassed, Michelle tries to take the mask off, but Julia says she looks great in it and has an idea. The scene changes, showing both Julia (as Jaycee) and Michelle (as a luchadora) beating King and Marduk.

Tekken Tag 2 Special Alliance Partners:

Gameplay

Michelle's moveset comprises mainly of ranged kicks and fast jabs, and while she may be weaker in strength than other characters, many of her attacks can be chained into other attacks, allowing her to rack up significant damage through combos and juggles.

The key to best utilizing Michelle's moveset is knowing which attacks link into which others, and how these attacks can best be used either to counter opponents' attacks or force errors from the opponent, leaving them open to further attack. The fact that her attacks cover all heights allows the player to mix up their attack patterns, making it easier to catch opponents off guard.

Michelle's more complex attack patterns can be tricky to learn, making her a difficult character for less experienced players to use, but in the hands of an experienced player Michelle can be a formidable opponent, with her speed and unpredictability giving her an advantage over other, less agile, characters.

Fighting Style

Michelle's fighting style is a mixture of various Chinese martial arts, such as Xin Yi Liu He Quan and Baji Quan, among others. She also uses various wrestling throws; in the early Tekken games, all of her throws were suplexes. These together appear to form a unique martial art style known in later game as Chang Kenpo.

Moves

Quotes

Character Relationships


Trivia

General:

  • The kanji for "Chang Kenpo" (中国拳法) translates to "Chinese Martial Arts", which is universally known as "Kung-fu".
  • Both of Michelle's endings in Tekken and Tekken 2 end with the scene freezing and the word "Fin" (which is the Spanish and French word for "end" or "conclusion"), appearing on the screen.
  • Michelle is 39 in Tekken 3 and would be 41 at the time of Tekken 4, Tekken 5, and Tekken 6.
    • Aside from this cameo, Michelle and the original Kunimitsu are the only well-known characters not to have made an appearance nor become playable in a canonical game after Tekken 2. Coincidentally, both characters were succeeded by their daughters.
  • Michelle is one of the unused characters mentioned by Tekken 4's announcer.[9]
  • She was the only character whose select portraits in both Tekken and Tekken 2 are mostly Player 2 costume instead of Player 1 costume.

Tekken:

Tekken 2:

  • Her sub-boss is Ganryu.
  • Michelle is one of the few characters (Heihachi and Yoshimitsu being other examples) to have a Sidestep command, something that would go on to become a standard feature in later titles. While other characters were able to move sideways, it was typically as part of another command and offered little to no evasive benefits.
  • She has two secret win animations besides her two default ones.
    • Michelle prays while breathing a sigh of relief after defeating her opponent. This win animation was later used as Julia's default win animations in the main games. The only difference between the two is that Michelle stands whilst praying, but Julia kneels.
    • Michelle imitates one of Kazuya's win poses.

Tekken 3

  • Julia's Tekken 3 ending is the first cutscene in the series to utilize voice acting, making Michelle and Julia the first two characters in the series to speak actual dialogue.
  • In Theater Mode, her surname is incorrectly spelled as 'Chan' in her Tekken 2 ending description.

Tekken Tag Tournament:

  • Michelle was given a third costume rather than only palette swapped versions of her preexisting outfits.
  • Her sub-boss is Ganryu.
  • The manual states that Michelle is 20 years old while her adoptive daughter, Julia, is 18. This means that, like many Tekken 2 characters who returned for this game, this iteration of Michelle is from Tekken 2 and not Tekken 3 era.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2:

  • It is possible to customize Michelle with the luchadora outfit from her ending.
  • Michelle's current voice actress, Julie Ann Taylor, narrated Mokujin's Tekken 6 ending.
  • In her ending, she wears her primary outfit, but without the headdress, white tiger scarf, and jacket.
  • Michelle's Item Move has her lunge forward before performing a quick combo with a tomahawk.
  • It was confirmed in Tekken 7 that Julia's wrestling persona from Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Jaycee, is canonical, meaning it is possible that Michelle's wrestling stint depicted in her ending with her daughter may also be canonical.

Gallery

Main article: Michelle Chang/Gallery

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Tekken PlayStation NTSC Manual, p.24.
  2. ^ a b c Tekken 2 PlayStation NTSC Manual, p.21.
  3. ^ Katsuhiro Harada @Harada_TEKKEN, Twitter, 4:21 PM Jun 13, 2024. Note that information is not stated in-game and only comes from a database of information provided by series developer Katsuhiro Harada.
  4. ^ Tekken PlayStation PAL Manual, p.14.
  5. ^ Tekken Zaibatsu Tekken 1 character profiles
  6. ^ Tekken 2 PlayStation PAL Manual, p.5.
  7. ^ Tekken 2 Official Japanese Website Profile. English Translation: Tekken Zaibatsu "Tekken & Tekken 2 Character Profiles".
  8. ^ Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U profile.
  9. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYvM8JeeO_o

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