back in those days." In spite of the fact that Blanks is a bad guy in the film which he saw him in, The King of the Kickboxers, he states "his build and look, I just thought that it would make a great character --high-flying, crazy kicks... I mean, you have to remember, this was Billy Blanks pre-'Tae Bo.' He was so bad-ass." Goddard began designing Dee Jay by drawing a sketch of him and sending it to the Japanese team. He sent the film The King of the Kickboxers by copying a VHS tape and sending it through FedEx. He designed him as a "positive, fun character," implementing elements such as him being Jamaican, a "fun-loving guy," and a person who is trying to "jump-start his music career while kicking a lot of ass." While the design on his pants originally said "MANTIS," but was changed to say "MAXIMUM." This was because his sprite facing left was a mirror image of his sprite facing right, and the N and S in "MANTIS" would be reversed on the left sprite. According to Goddard, "we decided that Mantis wasn't going to work down the side of his pants, so we opted for Maximum." Soon after, Dee Jay was adapted into the 1994 Street Fighter film, played by Miguel A. Núñez Jr. with his musical background replaced by computer skills. As one of the only characters to be created by an American designer, Street Fighter co-creator Akira Nishitani commented that he only learned the story behind the character's creation decades after. Reception Dee Jay has received a generally positive reception in Japan for his many appearances in the Street Fighter series, however has received mixed reception in the West. Rocky Mountain News described Dee Jay as "a flashy rapper-type, and probably the best of the new four" characters introduced in Super Street Fighter II. Total Magazine also praised his character design, and highlighted him as the "personal favorite of the Total team". GameDaily listed him at number seventeen on their "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time" article, noting the strength of his fighting style in game. Games World praised the 1994 Street Fighter film for casting Miguel A. Núñez Jr. as Dee Jay, rating his role as a 9 out of 10. However, IGN editor Jesse Schedeen criticized his inclusion in the film, stating that he "seemed included merely for