The upcoming anime Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games incorporates actual footage from Capcom’s Street Fighter 6, replacing the manga’s fictional fighter. The series follows two girls at a school that bans video games as they bond over fight sticks. It is set to premiere on July 7 after a delay from its original 2025 slot.
Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games adapts the 2023 manga of the same name. In the story, two girls who love fighting games attend a girls’ school where video games are prohibited. They connect through their shared passion using fight sticks, with the anime swapping the manga’s made-up game for Street Fighter 6 to feature real in-game footage. This shift was first revealed last year, and the characters are expected to main Ryu, Ken, Cammy, and Juri, helping viewers track match outcomes more easily. Associating specific fighters with characters simplifies the animation process by avoiding the need to create a new game from scratch, though some see it as promotional synergy for Street Fighter 6. The premiere, delayed from its planned 2025 window, is now scheduled for July 7. This timing coincides with other Street Fighter projects, including an upcoming live-action movie, amid a busy year for the franchise.