Do you think Vanessa Lewis is Brazilian or American?

Before Virtua Fighter 4 was released, Yu Suzuki had already stated in a random interview that the game would feature two new characters—one of them a Shaolin Monk, while the other would be a female character from Brazil who would be stronger than the other women in the game...

However, when the game was released, Vanessa’s nationality was listed as Unknown, and she was given the surname Lewis, which is a common American surname. However, this does not prevent the character from being Brazilian, just as the characters in the American movie Silent Hill have the surname Silva, which is common in Brazil, yet they are still American...

People often forget that Lewis is actually the surname of the man who adopted Vanessa, similar to how Leona Heidern from The King of Fighters series got her surname. Interestingly, Vanessa's backstory is quite similar to Leona’s—both are likely Brazilian but have an unknown nationality in the game because their parents were murdered when they were children in Brazil, and they were later adopted.

Vanessa Lewis’s backstory is as follows:

"She (Vanessa) entered the tournament as Sarah’s bodyguard after hearing about J6’s plans to recapture her. When Vanessa was still a child, her parents were killed. She was taken by J6 shortly afterward and trained as a combat tool. A man named Lewis, a member of the special forces, infiltrated J6 and rescued Vanessa. Vanessa grew close to Lewis. However, their time together was brief, as a J6 special forces member assassinated Lewis. Years later, she joined an organization to protect important individuals. One day, she learned about J6’s intention to capture Sarah in the 4th tournament. Vanessa decided to enter the 4th tournament not only as Sarah’s bodyguard but also to find Lewis’s killer." (source: FightersGeneration)

The name Vanessa, while common in the United States, is even more common in Brazil, ranking among the top 10 most common female names in the country. Additionally, it’s worth noting that Vanessa’s fighting style is Vale Tudo, a Brazilian combat style.

Furthermore, SEGA may have intentionally left Vanessa’s nationality unknown, either on purpose or possibly because her appearance in Virtua Fighter 4 did not match the stereotypical image that Japanese people have of Brazilian women. However, Vanessa's look in Virtua Fighter 5 is much closer to how Japanese developers typically depict Brazilian characters. A comparison can be made with Christie Monteiro from Tekken or Katarina Alves from Tekken, as Vanessa in VF5 shares some visual similarities with them.