Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games is a new anime that adapts the 2023 manga of the same name, and its title tells you a lot about it up front. The series follows two girls who have a love of fighting games but attend a girls’ school where video games are banned, and bond over fight sticks. The one major difference between the manga and the anime, however, is that the girls aren’t playing a fictional fighting game like they are in the printed version. Instead, they’re playing Street Fighter 6.
This change was first revealed last year, and it seems like the show’s cast will main Ryu, Ken, Cammy, and Juri. Associating each character with a different fighter is a smart move, as it will help viewers keep up with who is winning in the show’s matches. It does make Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games feel a little bit like an elaborate ad for Street Fighter 6, but it also probably saves the animation team a lot of time if they’re not having to draw a whole new fighting game from scratch.
The show will finally premiere on July 7 after being delayed out of its originally planned 2025 window. Unfortunately for them, the Street Fighter 6 brand synergy comes during an awkward time. But hey, between this and the upcoming live-action movie, Street Fighter is having a pretty packed year, so at least Alex’s incest storyline isn’t going to be the only thing putting the series in the news.