the film progresses as she is a robot. Xiaoyu was first voiced by Yumi Tōma in Japanese. Starting with Blood Vengeance, the role was taken by Maaya Sakamoto. The staff from Tekken was glad with this new cast. Director Yoichi Mohri enjoyed Sakamoto's performance, believing her work turned Xiaoyu into a beautiful woman. Her fighting style is officially listed as "various Chinese martial arts", in particular Baguazhang and Piguaquan. In his 2003 book Kung Fu Cult Masters, author Leon Hunt wrote that her style "draws extensively on wushu, with graceful balletic sweeps and wide, extravagant stances—like Lei [Wulong], she is a 'shapes'-based fighter and harder to learn than the Japanese or Korean boxers." Her specialities are evasion moves that emphasize speed over strength; according to Simon Hill of Prima Games, her "main strength lies in her speed ... she's the fastest character in Tekken 3." However, GameSpy opined that her offense in Tekken 6 was "rather lacking ... most of the damage she dishes out will probably be from jabs you slip in between her evasive maneuvers." IGN said of her style in Tekken Tag Tournament: "Who says it’s bad to fight like a little schoolgirl? Xiaoyu’s graceful style and fancy setups make her a powerful fighter among the Tekken universe." Appearances Tekken series A sixteen-year-old Chinese martial artist, Ling Xiaoyu was tutored by her elderly relative, Wang Jinrei, at a young age; he believed that she could achieve true greatness, yet was frustrated by her flippant attitude. She learns of Heihachi Mishima's zaibautsu and thinks her dream of owning an amusement park reality. He agrees to build the park should she win the company-sponsored King of Iron Fist tournament. Xiaoyu moves into the Mishima Zaibatsu's Japan complex and enrolls at the Mishima Polytechnic School, where she befriends Miharu Hirano and Heihachi's grandson Jin. Heihachi additionally teaches her trained giant panda, simply named "Panda", to fight so she is able to serve as Xiaoyu's bodyguard. This encourages Xiaoyu to view Heihachi as something of a grandfather figure. Xiaoyu remains a ward of the Mishima Zaibatsu during the events of Tekken 4, she enters the fourth King of the Iron Fist Tournament in hopes of reconnecting with Jin and uncovering the Mishima Zaibatsu’s nefarious deeds. Xiaoyu is saved from Heihachi's evil plans by Yoshimitsu, who informs her of the Mishima family's tragic history. Xiaoyu therefore takes it upon herself to try