Seiko 5 Sports Blanka Street Fighter V Special Edition

By Tyler Frederick

The 90s called

The year is 1998. My dad and I are sitting on our living room floor, PlayStation 1 humming away, and my first experience with the fighting game (and Capcom) legend Street Fighter II on our big, bulky box TV. I was obsessed with Ryu and Ken and used them regularly throughout every Street Fighter game moving forward, but I always had the creeps about one character, Blanka, whom I grew to love. The bright green, orange-haired monster, believe it or not, is human but received his powers through a mutation when exposed to electric eels as a child. Fast forward to 2020, and the watchmaking legend Seiko released six Seiko 5 Sports Street Fighter V Special Editions, all unique, and the Blanka variant (SRPF23K1), much like the character, is wild.

^{Seiko 5 Sports Blanka Street Fighter V @horologyobsessed}

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Key Features of the Seiko 5 Sports Blanka Street Fighter V Special Edition

I’ll be honest: Blanka isn’t the most appealing in terms of visuals, both in watch and character form, but the colour scheme and design brought me back to simpler times: playing video games, watching cartoons on a Saturday morning, colourful cereals and pop tarts, sour candy, regular trips to the game store; I fell hard for this watch. I grew up playing and obsessing about video games, and Street Fighter was my go-to comfort game, so having the Blanka Special Edition felt more than right. While the internals and case design aren’t different from other “5KXs” (4R36 movement, 100m of water resistance, SKX-styled case), it’s all about the vibrant looks reflective of Blanka’s bright and bold colours.

^{Electric Thunder bezel insert and kunai-styled indices @horologyobsessed}

I assure you that every bright and bold detail perfectly reflects Blanka’s character design and aesthetics. Implementing an SKX-styled case was the perfect choice for all Street Fighter V edition watches, especially for Blanka’s tough and rugged exterior. While the case is your standard Seiko design, the big talking point is the highly vibrant bezel insert and dial. I love the attention to detail here. The “electric charge” design of the bezel insert reflects Blanka’s special attack, “Electric Thunder,” which first appeared in Street Fighter II. The vibrant green dial features a “spinning” texture, a tribute to Blanka’s arsenal of spinning attacks, and the kunai-styled indices represent his sharp teeth.

^{Seiko 4R36 movement @horologyobsessed}

Flipping the watch over greets us with an open case back and a logo on the crystal. The logo features Blanka’s name, the Street Fighter V logo and the controller command to charge Blanka’s special attack, “Electric Thunder.” While it’s not the prettiest, I love the watch, and the time Seiko took to make it a true reflection of Blanka warms my heart and makes the kid in me smile from ear to ear.

^{Spinning, textured dial @horologyobsessed}

Specs

Case	316L Stainless Steel 42.5mm Diameter 13.4mm Thick /w Glass 20mm Lug Width Screw Down Crown & Case Back 200m Water Resistance
Dial & Crystal	Mineral Glass Green “Spinning” Dial Kunai-styled Indices Day/Date @ 3 SKX Handset
Movement	Seiko 4R36 Automatic 24 Jewels 21 600bph 40-Hour Power Reserve
Strap	Green and Orange Textile

Seiko 5 Sports Blanka Street Fighter V Special Edition

^{An homage to Street Fighter @horologyobsessed}

Quibbles

My quibble is an obvious one. While I love the watch because of my love for Street Fighter, the only other demographic this watch calls to is those who share the same passion. Even then, there are others in the Street Fighter V collection that are more “conventional” looking and would probably get more attention. In addition, using a nylon strap didn’t bode well with me, as I’m not the biggest fan of textile straps.

Final Thoughts

Loud, bright, and weird, the Seiko 5 Sports Blanka Street Fighter V Special Edition isn’t for everyone, but it’s a watch I’ve enjoyed every second of. It brought me back to simpler times and sparked my desire to revisit a game series I loved. It got the wheels turning; I would love to see a collaboration between Seiko and Capcom legend MegaMan: MegaMan (Regular or X), Rush, Zero, and Protoman, all in watch form. Seiko, call me. Thank you to our friends at Gem Bijou for allowing me to check out the Blanka Special Edition.

About the author

Born into a family obsessed with motorsport, Tyler Frederick became enamoured with speed and beautiful cars at a young age. His love of Formula 1–and all things mechanical–eventually lead him to horology. You can follow him on Instagram.

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