Norimaro

Norimaro

Norimaro
Name	Norimaro Toujou
Gender	Male
Weapon/Power	Clumsiness, various everyday objects, Good luck
Affiliation	Hero
First Appearance	Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
Game	Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
Creator and Owner	Noritake Kinashi

Norimaro, sometimes called Norimaru, is a secret character in the Japanese versions of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, an original and extra character that doesn't represent Marvel or Capcom. He portrays a nerdish, cowardly schoolboy-type guy armed with a camera who corresponds to the profile of "misfit"; he throws common school items such as rulers and folders, mini-Gouki dolls, and plushies as projectiles; and would attempt to ask for his opponent's autograph mid-battle (can be seen when the player presses the START button during a match, being aware that he is fighting against a famous hero). But despite this comic relief facade, he is a pretty decent character to play with, and has some of the most powerful moves in the game. Norimaro is created and owned by Noritake Kinashi, a real-life japanese comedian, who also voices him in the game. After he was created, he had no name, and there was a contest to decide his name, with "Norimaro" as the winner, suggested by Akiman, one of the game designers.

Norimaro is a bizarre and surreal fighter, awkward and ungainly-looking, capable of launching all kinds of objects to his opponents or to transform into other characters through costumes.

Backstory

Since he only appeared in one game, not much is known about Norimaro. However, it is known that he is a Japanese "otaku", somewhat clueless and a big fan of the fighter Chun-Li. He is also well versed in Marvel comics characters. His true intentions are hidden, but is believed that he introduced himself at the battle of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter to take pictures of her, and probably also take snapshots of other superheroes. It seems that Norimaro is aware that the Marvel heroes (Spider-Man, Captain America) have come out of a comic, as when he meets Apocalypse says that "He seemed bigger in the comic." In the final sequence it is revealed that he has managed to steal Chun -Li's panties.

Appearance

Norimaro's design is based on the stereotypical japanese nerds. He looks like a typical Japanese student armed with a camera. His hair is shaved and he has big glasses. His clothes are a purple school uniform that has a nameplate attached. He has a shoulder where he hides his tools and throwable objects. He has a noticeable mole on his nose.

Gameplay

Norimaro has an unique gameplay in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, he fights withouth fighting at all. He is an unable fighter, but he still has potential to fight. He throws various everyday objects at the opponent and some ordinary actions, such as slipping with a banana peel (which acts as his launcher) are part of the attacks. Most of his moves are comical and aren't related to fighting, this makes Norimaro a joke character.

This non-fighting gameplay style wasn't used again until Phoenix Wright was added in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

Special Moves

Tourist's Treasure: Norimaro panics and turns around, which swings his bag and causes a doll or a school item to fly out, which acts as a projectile.
Personal Victory Jump: Norimaro leaps into the air, yelling "Shoryuken" in what he probably thinks is a deep, serious voice. Works as an anti-air, has some recovery time, but sadly is the weakest anti-air in the game.
Fierce Hand Current: Norimaro cries while flailing his arms about, then falls over. Is a good move and sends the opponent flying if connects, but has a lot of recovery time.
Banana Slip: Norimaro slips with a banana peel, launching the opponent in the air. This is Norimaro's hard kick and technically isn't a special move, but it has a special feature: if the banana hits the opponent, he will slip as well, and the peel can hit OTG.

Assist Attacks

Assist	Counter	Cross-Over
Tourist's Treasure	Fierce Hand Current	Hyper Strong Miracle Treasure

Hyper Combos

Hyper Strong Miracle Treasure (Level 1): Norimaro panics and throws thousands of school supplies and toys out of his bag.
Ultimate Grand Champion Jump (Level 1): Norimaro charges and then does a high jump that hits multiple times.
Ultra Variety Private Memories (Level 1): Norimaro dashes forward, and if this hits, he rapidly switches between a variety of silly poses, such as taking a bath, hiding behind his father, drawing on the floor, flipping an egg, dressing up as Rockman, playing with a teddy bear, being bit in the leg by a dog, playing in a cardboard car, and singing kareoke.

Gallery

Trivia

Norimaro is the first original character to appear in the series.
Due to cultural differences, Norimaro was not supposed to be available in the American version of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and the code that would have him a playable character was actually locked out in the programming if the game was set to the United States region. However, ROM files of the game proved that Norimaro was in fact originally planned to be available since all of his dialogue was translated to English. Although not available to be played in the US version he can still be seen in the first gallery picture in the game.
Norimaro has an unused hyper combo that can be found in the game files. It appears to be an anti-air attack in which a thought bubble appears above Norimaro's head, displaying various Capcom women in seductive poses. He smiles at the thought, but then suddenly suffers a massive nosebleed that sprays violently in the air in front of him. The characters that may appear in his thoughts incude...
- Chun-Li jumping through the air, providing an upskirt view of her Quipao.
- Sakura carrying a bag and looking at the viewer.
- Cammy kicking, providing a view of her buttocks.
- Morrigan in her victory pose.
- Felicia panicking.
- Also included, likely as jokes, are Anita, who is only ten years old, and Zangief, who is obviously male.