[14][15] In terms of personality, they wanted her to be strong-willed woman who made most of her own equipment, and to have a taste in heavy metal music, particularly the band Pantera.

While matching fingerless gloves and red tabi cover her hands and feet, the lower portion of the uwagi ends similarly to a leotard with the back pulled tightly between her buttocks.

[22][12] For her portrayal in The King of Fighters XIII, character artist Ritsu Yamaguchi wanted to recreate the atmosphere of her Fatal Fury series appearances.

He felt her outfit alone would illustrate her sex appeal, so he focused on the stoic aspect to give her a "more sensual atmosphere", downplaying many of her more sexual animations by comparison.

[41] In video games, the character was originally voiced by Akoya Sogi,[5] with Ami Koshimizu taking over the role with the release of King of Fighters: Sky Stage in 2010.

To this end, she spoke in a lower tone than normal, and used a lot of expression to create a sense of familiarity to give the impression someone could easily be friends with her.

[6] In 2025, Rebecca Rose serves as Mai's English voice actress for her appearances in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves[3] and Street Fighter 6.

[43][44] She furthermore has a variety of hand-to-hand combat maneuvers, such as her "Flying Squirrel Dance" diving attack and a rushing cartwheel kick followed by an elbow strike called "Deadly Ninja Bees".

[48] Mai also appears in the 1998 visual novel game The King of Fighters: Kyo,[49] and later in several titles of SNK's Days of Memories dating sim series.

[70] Mai has also been featured as a character in collaboration events with other games, including 300 Heroes,[71] Ultimate Heroes,[72] Dazzle Dance,[73] Dungeon Fighter Online,[74] Fantasy Fighter,[75] Honor of Kings,[76] Brave Frontier,[77] Game of Dice,[78] Samurai Kingdom,[79] Clash of Kings,[80] Crash Fever,[81] Crusaders Quest,[82] GangRoad JOKER,[83] Grand Summoners,[84] Everybody's Marble,[85] Rival Arena VS,[86] Saishu Senkan: With Lovely Girls,[87] Tower of Saviors,[88] Valkyrie Connect,[89] Venus Eleven Vivid!,[90] World Cross Saga,[91] Yamato Chronicle,[92] The Fellowship of The Dragon,[93] Puzzle & Dragons,[94] Dungeon Hunter Champions,[95] Tokyo Prison,[96] Ninja Must Die,[97] and Doomsday: Last Survivors.

[107] In the follow up anime Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture, Mai helps the others on their quest to stop the antagonist Laocorn Gaudeamus and his henchmen,[108] and is voiced by Lisa Ann Beley in English while Mitsuishi reprises her role in Japanese.

[9] For her crossover appearance in Korean mobile game Mad Blade, the developers produced a live-action short film featuring Mai.

[11] In audio media, Mai appears in Dengeki G's Magazine drama CD series for Fatal Fury, where she is voiced by Megumi Hayashibara.

[113] Later, she appeared alongside the rest of SNK's voice cast as part of their "NEO・GEO DJ Station Live" audio performances in Shinjuku, Tokyo, singing "Dear Mai Boi" herself in 1998.

[116] Multiple "booth babe" models dressed as the character have been fixtures at Tokyo Game Show and other venues, noted in particular for their popularity at such events.

[126] Mai was also announced to join the roster of the mobile action RPG SNK All-Star if the number of pre-registered users exceeds half million.

[127] A variety of merchandise was also produced to promote her appearance in SNK Heroines, including a t-shirt, standees and stickers bundled with special editions of the game.

[165] Joystiq's Richard Mitchell meanwhile emphasized the character's presence in SNK's work over their competitor Capcom's stating "there's one thing Street Fighter will never have, and that's Mai".

[167][168] James Stephanie Sterling in an article for Destructoid in particular criticized her absence from the game, comparing it to Capcom "releasing Street Fighter without Ryu".

[173] Games Tribune Magazine writer Javier Bello felt the comparison was in part due to the visual appeal of both characters introducing "a sexy and pleasing touch to the eye" in contrast to a cast of "squads of fighters with plenty of testosterone and muscles", with Mai's emphasis on exposure pushing her popularity further in his opinion.

[175] In regards to her appearance in Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture, Jean-Karlo Lemus and Heidi Kemps of Anime News Network noted the emphasis on fanservice, particularly with how she was introduced "boobs first" in the production.

USA, who praised Obari's anatomical detail in the film and stated he "made Mai Shinarui the crazy underdressed heroine she is today".

[177] Gavin Jasper stated while focus was often placed on her breasts, he felt her "optimistic spirit helps balance her into a fun character who is always a blast to play as".

A thesis for the Federal University of Bahia cited Mai as an example of how female fighting game characters hypersexualize the breasts and hips, drawing comparisons to portrayal of the mythological Venus.

It additionally cited her as an example of how such games tend to portray Asian women as inherently sexual through their use of traditional clothing and how much of her body it exposes.

[183] The staff of Inside Games praised it as "80% of Mai Shiranui's charm" and an enduring aspect of her character, citing how it fit as a distractionary element of her role as a ninja that was refined to be more realistic as the series progressed.

[13] Mai has been cited as especially popular among the young people in Hong Kong during the late 1990s, impacting local youth and Mong Kok culture in the country.

[188] In an interview with Dead or Alive developer Team Ninja, they stated their character Momiji's red clothing and ability to shoot fire was a direct homage to Mai.

[193][194] Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft attributed its popularity to the outfit's simplicity rather than any correlation to the King of Fighters, with the attire acting as a "uniform of sorts" as an "easy go-to choice" for cosplay.

The statement rapidly became a meme on social media platforms, with Team Ninja taking the opportunity to advertise her inclusion in Dead or Alive 5 and to welcome players to "the world of adults".