Yoshinori Ono wishes a happy birthday to Blanka and welcomes him to Street Fighter V in this video message

Blanka will be arriving next week — and Ono-san’s pretty pleased about it!

According to classic Street Fighter lore, today is Blanka’s birthday — naturally a good day to give us his official reveal trailer for Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition! (His new cuddly Story Mode costume is pictured above.)

Street Fighter executive producer Yoshinori Ono is well-known for his love of Blanka, as evident by his ever-present toy companion. He now offers a video message to SFV players via the Street Fighter Twitter feed, wishing his favorite fighter a happy birthday and welcoming him into the SFV roster. Check it out below:

Happy birthday, Blanka! Executive Producer, @Yoshi_OnoChin, welcomes his electrifying buddy to #SFVAE! ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/ZRhDEw20B8

— Street Fighter (@StreetFighter) February 12, 2018

Blanka will be added to SFVAE next Tuesday, February 20th.

Source: Street Fighter (Twitter)