First appearing in Street Fighter Alpha 3 (1998) as a wrestler trying to make a name for herself, Mika was designed by Akira "Akiman" Yasuda with the help of artist Daigo Ikeno.

While several outlets were critical of her design, others noted it was suitable for her wrestling character, and in particular The Mary Sue utilized her in a discussion contrasting sexualized versus empowered in regards to the differences between her game and comic counterparts.

[7] In Street Fighter Alpha 3 her outfit consists of a blue and white leotard extending down her thighs and arms, while her long blonde hair is in pigtails on the sides of her head.

[1] Years later, Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono heavily petitioned the game's director for her inclusion in the title, citing her as his personal favorite character, with no success.

[9] However, she was later included in Street Fighter V, with art director Toshiyuki Kamei focused on updating her outfit with a bolder design, and adding flair to signify her character transition to a headline act in professional wrestling.

Describing her in a design note as a "peppy girl with some meat on her bones and a classic pro-wrestling style", they emphasized her "girlishness" and "cuteness" in contrast to the other series wrestlers, and wanted to show her bouncing around the arena as she fought.

[1] Akiman on his Twitter voiced approval for the change, stating that she was easier to see thanks to the removal of the hearts from her chest, adding in a later tweet they made her look "overdone" and describing the cutout as "very neat!

[1] An athletic Japanese woman wearing red and white wrestling boots and leotard with a bob style haircut, she was designed by Ikeno during Street Fighter Alpha 3's development as Mika's tag team partner, and appeared on the cover of Capcom's "Secret File" arcade flyer for the game.

[16] In Street Fighter V, a game set after the events of her first appearance, Mika is now a full professional wrestler and works with her former tag team partner Yamato Nadeshiko.

[17] Outside of the Street Fighter series she appears as a supporting character in the 2001 PlayStation game Startling Adventures: Kuusou Daibouken X 3's third chapter, where the protagonist helps her during a wrestling match by preventing attackers from entering the ring.

[28] In the first volume Super Street Fighter, a collection of short stories, she appears as part of a wrestling committee alongside other wrestling-themed characters from the series, the group ultimately breaking into a brawl.

"[31] Todd Ciolek from Anime News Network declared Mika as "the worst Street Fighter character," reasoning "every little detail about her annoyed me, from the stupid boob-hearts on her costume to the way she whomped opponents with her butt—and rubbed it after she hit the ground.

"[33] However, this opinion is not shared between all critics, with GamesRadar noting her "ridiculously impractical attire" and propensity to attack with her buttocks as "all for her fans, and the Japanese wrestler's moxie comes through in her boisterous, crowd-pleasing personality.

Mentioning that while fans of the character may focus on the visual appeal, "she’s not exactly a straightforward sex kitten, either", and projected an "unabashed femininity" that Myers found amazing and uncommon in fighting games.

[40] Jonathan Holmes from Destructoid questioned the controversy over the decision by stating "While there are surely plenty of folks who adore seeing their screen filled with frilly thong shots, I imagine there may be even more players out there who'd find the sudden prioritization of arse in their fighting games to be little out of place.

"[42] Chris Carter at Destructoid commented "It's still a bit weird that something this goofy was removed, especially with the design Laura has in general," and noted that a character like Necalli is "probably far more harmful" for children's eyes.