Latest news with #Akuma
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Roman Reigns Confirmed For Street Fighter Movie Role
Roman Reigns is getting ready to (street) fight. Reigns was rumored to be in the running for a role in the upcoming live-action Street Fighter movie. Deadline reported that Reigns, Andrew Koji, Jason Momoa, and Noah Centineo were in talks to star in the live-action Street Fighter movie produced by Legendary Pictures. According to Hollywood reporter Jeff Sneider (The InSneider), Reigns was up for the role of Akuma. Reigns' role as Akuma has now been confirmed in a new report for another role in the movie. The Hollywood Reporter revealed that rapper/actor Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson joined the cast. Jackson will play Balrog, 'a disgraced boxer who is also the bodyguard of the villain.' That same report also seemingly confirms the roles of both Roman Reigns and Jason Momoa, also ending speculation that they were up for the same role. 'The call sheet ranges from A-lister Jason Momoa as Blanka to heartthrob Noah Centineo as Ken to gay country singer Orville Peck as Vega. Joe Anoa'i, aka WWE superstar Roman Reign [sic], and martial artist-actor Andrew Koji (Warrior), are on the roll call as battler Akuma and lead character Ryu, respectively. Callina Liang (Presence) is playing Chun-Li,' THR wrote. Reigns' past acting credits include Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and a voice-acting role on Disney's Elena of Avalor series. The new Street Fighter film is a new live-action film based on the iconic Street Fighter video game series. Akuma is the younger brother of Gouken, who is Ryu and Ken's master. Akuma debuted as a secret final boss character in the Super Street Fighter II Turbo video game. He has also appeared in multiple games since then, including 2023's Street Fighter 6. Roman Reigns has been absent from WWE TV for several weeks, but he is rumored to make his return ahead of SummerSlam. Read More: The post Roman Reigns Confirmed For Street Fighter Movie Role appeared first on Wrestlezone.
Express Tribune
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Roman Reigns cast as Akuma in upcoming live-action Street Fighter movie
WWE superstar Roman Reigns is stepping into the world of video game cinema with his latest role as Akuma in the live-action Street Fighter film. According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, Reigns joins a growing cast in Legendary Entertainment's reboot of the iconic fighting game franchise. While the film's plot remains under wraps, the casting news comes alongside confirmation that rapper 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) is also set to appear, reportedly playing the role of Balrog. The new Street Fighter adaptation continues to build hype with its star-studded lineup, which already includes Andrew Koji as Ryu, Noah Centineo as Ken, Callina Liang as Chun-Li, and Jason Momoa rumored to portray Blanka. Reigns, who has been off WWE television since his character was written out by a faction involving Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Paul Heyman on the RAW after WrestleMania 41, now turns his focus to the big screen. Taking on the role of Akuma—a powerful, red-haired martial artist known for his dark techniques—marks a bold new chapter in Reigns' entertainment career. The film is being developed by Legendary in partnership with Capcom, and it is expected to lean heavily into the iconic Street Fighter II characters and storyline. Directed by Kitao Sakurai, best known for The Eric Andre Show, the film was initially slated for a March 2026 release but has since been delayed. As production ramps up, fans of both pro wrestling and classic fighting games are eager to see how Roman Reigns brings the fierce Akuma to life on screen.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Japan bans flashy baby names like 'Nike,' 'Pikachu'
[Source] Japan's parliament passed legislation in late May establishing standards for children's name pronunciations, addressing disputes over creative interpretations of traditional characters. What you need to know: The law requires family registries to include phonetic guidance for all names, preventing parents from assigning arbitrary sounds to kanji characters. Officials will reject applications where proposed pronunciations lack connection to the written characters' standard meanings. Registry offices can deny names like pronouncing traditional 'Taro' characters as 'George' or 'Michael.' Households will receive postal notifications about existing name pronunciations, with a one-year window for appeals or modifications. Why this matters: The legislation responds to administrative burdens at medical facilities, schools and government agencies struggling with unconventional pronunciations. Creative, unusual names — including examples that sound like 'Elsa,' Naruto,' 'Nike,' 'Pikachu' and 'Pooh' — have divided opinion between advocates of parental choice and critics citing potential social consequences. Still, the naming approach has gained popularity over past decades, with daughters receiving distinctive names more frequently than sons as families embrace personal expression. Previous naming controversies include a 1993-1994 legal battle over registering 'Akuma' (meaning 'demon'), which ultimately failed. Meanwhile: The new legislation comes amid Japan's population decline. Last year, births dropped to 686,061, the lowest annual total since national records began in 1899. Meanwhile, fertility rates fell to 1.15 children per woman, significantly below the 2.07 threshold needed to maintain population levels. Government officials have identified the 2030s as the critical period for reversing demographic trends. Trending on NextShark: This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices. Subscribe free to join the movement. If you love what we're building, consider becoming a paid member — your support helps us grow our team, investigate impactful stories, and uplift our community. Trending on NextShark: Subscribe here now! Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!
Japan Today
05-06-2025
- Japan Today
Government tells parents what not to name their babies
Those who were in Japan in August 1993 might recall a news item about the father of a newborn, who went to the Akishima City office and attempted to register his infant son with the given name "Akuma," written with two characters that combined mean devil or demon. Perhaps out of sympathy for the child, paper pushers at the city office were disinclined to accept the father's application. Akuma's dad maintained that such a name was perfectly legal, because the ideographs for aku and ma both appear in the Education Ministry's list of characters approved for standard use. The media had a field day reporting the story. In January 1994, the Hachioji branch of the Tokyo District Court ruled that Akishima City had not followed proper procedure, temporarily restoring the name so that it could be denied properly. By July of the same year the father finally gave up, agreeing to pick a different name, ending the controversy. But, reports Weekly Playboy (June 9) the root problem, of what constitutes an acceptable name, became more widespread. It seems that all too many parents these days have been saddling their infants with kirakira (flashy), i.e. silly or frivolous names. Which finally moved the Diet on May 26 to pass a new law setting standards for naming children. The new law specifies what types of names will not be accepted for entry into family registers. For example, names cannot be assigned a reading that's unrelated to the actual characters. So two characters typically read "Taro," a common Japanese male name, cannot be read "George" or "Michael." Likewise, readings cannot be assigned to characters in an arbitrary manner. The character "Ken" (meaning healthy or robust) cannot be assigned to be read as "Ken-sama" (Master Ken) or "Kenichiro." In addition, characters used in a name cannot be assigned with an opposite or contradictory reading -- sort of analogous to the practice of calling a tall man "Shorty" in the West. So for instance "Takashi" (meaning high) cannot be read "Hikushi" (low). And it goes without saying that the new law bans names that carry discriminatory and/or antisocial nuances, or which are otherwise clearly negative. Which almost certainly eliminates names like "Akuma" from the running. That said, Weekly Playboy points out that it's only fair to state that plenty of Japanese given names are quirky enough, even before the new law goes into effect next May. Certain names are based on historical precedents, such as "Asuka." Originally a village in Nara Prefecture it is used to name an historical era from the late 7th to early 8th century, and written with characters meaning "flying bird." Another example would be "Satsuki," the old name for the fifth lunar month and written with characters normally read gogatsu (May). Or take "Kazuko." Written with the character wa in heiwa (peace) and ko (child), between 1926 and 1957 it was Japan's most popular name given to baby girls. The reason why a character normally read wa came to be read kazu is obscured in the mists of time. Linguists have advanced several theories, but no one knows for sure. Some say it might be derived from the word for number (also kazu), or possibly a corruption of a verb with a similar sound, such as katsu (to win). Japanese language scholar Hiroyuki Sasahara, professor at Waseda University, tells the magazine the widespread use of given names using two characters dates back to the 8th century CE and follows a long-established naming practice in China. Japanese, however, adopt nonstandard variants in which a kanji used to name a child may be pronounced not according to its dictionary reading, but based on its root meaning, opening up a whole new can of worms. For instance, the character dai or okii, meaning "big," can be arbitrarily assigned such readings as Hiroshi, Takashi, Takeshi, Hajime, Masaru, Yutaka and numerous others. Before deciding on a child's name, some prospective parents consult fortune tellers. "That was basically modern-day style of fortune telling that first appeared during the Showa period (1926-1989)," Sasahara explains. Appealing to common sense, he encourages parents to read up on the Japanese language, kanji, and names, and make efforts to conceive how their child's name would be perceived by society. "Because names have historical and social implications, I think parents have a responsibility to consider how a child's name will be accepted by society," he asserts. Sasahara thinks the flashy name phenomenon has been enabled to some degree by the increased trend toward nuclear families, as such households lack an elderly relative who can offer sensible guidance and advice. That said, the article concludes, the names that Japanese choose for their progeny will play a role in determining whether or not their language will have a rich future. And that's reason enough to take the process seriously. © Japan Today
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Japan Just Banned ‘Sparkly' Baby Names in a Wild New Law
Americans may try to find the most whimsical, beautiful, and one-of-a-kind baby names for their children — but in Japan, that is no longer allowed. A new law banning 'sparkly' baby names just went into effect there, which will restrict what baby names Japanese parents are allowed to choose. New revisions to the Japan Family Register Act on May 26 limit the use of kirakira baby names, according to the South China Morning Post. This translates to 'sparkly,' 'shiny,' or 'glittery' names that promote individual expression. More from SheKnows These Baby Names Give Off Major 'Stranger Things' Energy Jewel Lovely Kitty Elsa Ōjisama ('Prince') Naruto Pikachu Naiki (pronounced 'Nike') Pū (like Winnie-the-Pooh) Purin (pronounced 'pudding') Daiya ('Diamond') Akuma ('Devil') According to CNN, special names like this can be 'confusing for hospitals, schools and authorities who don't know how to pronounce them.' This is mostly because names are typically written in Kanji, based on Chinese characters, which can be pronounced multiple ways. Figuring out the right pronunciation for these names is complicated if the names aren't traditional names or if parents pick an unusual combination of characters to write a name. (Think: 'Ashleigh' instead of 'Ashley.') This rule was first prompted by a parents Shigeru and Ayako Sato, who named their child Akuma, which translates to 'Devil' in 1994, per TODAY. Japanese officials approved the name initially, then later took them to court to make them change the name out of concern for the child. They ended up agreeing to change his name. A 2022 study found that unique kirakira names have increased in popularity since the 1980s. They analyzed nearly 60,000 baby names over 40 years published in local newsletters and found that parents have increasingly been giving their babies unique and individual names. Interestingly, this increase was more prevalent for baby girls than for baby boys. Other countries have bans on baby names as well. Like in New Zealand, where they routinely reject names based on royalty like King, Prince, Princess, Duke, Queen, and Royal. In Italy, the name Blue (or the variation Blu) is banned due to a 2000 presidential decree mandating that a child's name must correspond to their gender, and officials have argued that the name Blue is not associated with the female gender. In the US, names that include a numeral are banned, which is why Elon Musk and Grimes dropped the '12' from their son's name and changed it to X AE A-XII. There's nothing wrong with wanting to give your baby a special name, but you might want to double check you aren't breaking any laws first! Best of SheKnows 19 Celebrity Parents With Trans & Nonbinary Kids 20 of Serena Williams' Most Adorable Motherhood Moments 30+ Baby Names With Ivy League Vibes — No Degree Required
