Akuma (Street Fighter)
Akuma is a male human video game character who features in Street Fighter.
Contents |
Biography
Akuma (悪魔, Japanese for "Devil" or "Demon") was a male human who had a brother named Gouken where the two of them became students of Goutetsu. Goutetsu taught a nameless life-threatening martial art, which incorporates elements of Karate, Judo, and Kempo. He also taught the Shun Goku Satsu (literally Instant Hell Murder), a lethal technique which, although incredibly powerful, puts the user in considerable danger. As the brothers progressed under Goutetsu's tutelage, a dispute arose on the true nature of their fighting style and the path to master it. Gouken, unable to accept the violent nature and the Satsui no Hado of his fighting style, left Goutetsu to begin his own dojo, which Goutetsu did not oppose. Akuma continued Goutetsu's teachings, and vowed to use their fighting style as it was intended. In order to learn Shun Goku Satsu, Akuma embraced the principle of Satsui no Hado, and was forced to give up any compassion he held towards other human beings. In addition, Akuma realized his limits as a martial artist could be expanded, and left Goutetsu's guidance of enlightenment to train alone to gain more power. However, due to embracing the Satsui no Hado to its fullest extent, he developed a lust to fight to the death, unlike Goutetsu, who had been able to use the Satsui no Hado without giving in to its dark side. After coming back from his island, Akuma went back to Goutetsu, and fought him in a death match to prove that he had surpassed him. Akuma killed his master with the Shun Goku Satsu, who died happy to see his student surpass him, and Akuma, believing that he was the true master of the Art, took the prayer beads of his dead master and placed it on his neck. Gouken came to visit his former master to see how he was doing, only to find his lifeless body and his brother, now no longer human. Gouken, shocked to see that his younger brother took the life of their master, berated Akuma, who said nothing and left for the woods.
Many years later, Akuma fought Gouken, while the then-young duo of Ryu and Ken watched. Akuma told Gouken that he was not strong enough to face him without giving in the killing intent; Gouken retorted that the art was much more than just death and destruction, accusing Akuma of dishonoring their master's name. Akuma told his brother that Goutetsu did not truly understand the art, and that he was a fool for not using the Satsui no Hado to its fullest extent. The fight continued, and Gouken won. Akuma told his brother to kill him, but Gouken had no intention of murdering his own kin, prompting Akuma to call him weak for sparing the life of a strong opponent and declare that he would return. A couple of years later, Akuma came back to Gouken's dojo and fought him in battle, using the Shun Goku Satsu on him. Akuma believed him dead, not knowing that Gouken had somehow lived through the attack by emptying his soul, and was only in a coma. Ken saw the flash of the attack while running to the dojo, but arrived only to find Gouken on the floor. Knowing who was behind this, Ken confronted Akuma in the woods and fought him, only to be defeated. After defeating Ken, Akuma disappeared without a trace. Akuma begins to search the globe looking for worthy fighters to challenge. Secluding himself in the shadows, he watches small tournaments and street fights, desperately seeking someone who might be able to match his strength. He is eventually challenged by a man named Gen. Gen fights a vicious battle, even surviving the Shun Goku Satsu by emptying his soul in time. Just as Akuma begins to wonder whether this man is the worthy opponent he's searching for, he begins to sense not all is as it seems. When Gen's mouth begins to bleed, Akuma's suspicions are confirmed: his opponent is sick, and the fight is not fair. After being knocked to the ground, Gen tells Akuma to kill him. Not wanting to carry the fight on any longer, Akuma leaves, infuriating Gen. After the fight, Akuma becomes obsessed with Ryu, hoping to awaken the Satsui no Hado within his prey.
Ryu eventually came to find Akuma's island where he challenged him. The intense battle ended with Ryu gaining the upper hand; in truth, Akuma was only testing him. Akuma regains composure and tells Ryu to find him again when he has embraced the Satsui no Hado, before striking the ground with a powerful blow and disappearing. The island falls apart around Ryu, who is left in the ocean to contemplate Akuma's words. Leaving his destroyed abode, Akuma thinks about all the fighters he has encountered, and wonders with excitement if one day he will fight someone strong enough to kill him in battle. This thought drives him on; finding a desolate cavern, he begins to train anew and await the day when he will fight Ryu again. At some point, he defeats and kills a Muay Thai fighter who was about to challenge the champion, Adon. Adon sees this as a challenge and sets out to find Akuma, to fight him and prove that he is stronger. In the end, he comes to the realization that worthy opponents have challenged him during his journey. He decides that he could stay on Earth to perfect his killing power, knowing that there are opponents that Akuma can consider worthy. While thinking about the opponents he challenged, there are visions of Gen, M. Bison and Ryu on the moon. He then comments that he will be the next to die. While waiting for Ryu to embrace the Satsui no Hado, Akuma wanders the globe in search of worthy opposition. He is confronted by Adon, who wishes to establish his fighting style as supreme. Akuma easily wins but, instead of killing Adon, he just leaves, apparently deeming his defeated foe as unworthy. Sometime later, Akuma is intercepted by Guy, who refuses to allow him to see M.Bison; Akuma ignores Guy's pleas and engages him in combat, the two then decided to end the fight after they realized their primary objective was the same: defeat M.Bison. He then confronts Bison, who tells Akuma that he won't be able to defeat him as long as the Psycho Drive exists. Akuma berates the dictator for not relying solely upon his fists, and they fight. As Akuma emerges victorious, he completely terminates Bison with the Raging Demon, causing him to suffer horribly as the attack kills him. Later on, Akuma was challenged by Gen once more and they fight a second battle, the results of which are unknown. Unbeknownst to Akuma, Ryu rejected the Satsui no Hado during his own battle with the Shadaloo leader, M. Bison, declaring that a true warrior does not rely on violent intent.
Akuma did not officially enter the second World Warrior tournament, but did monitor the events that took place during it in hope of finding an adequate challenge. He also challenged Bison, though whether or not Bison accepted this challenge, and if the result of the fight if the former did happen is left ambiguous. Akuma then left as multiple participants engage Bison. He ambushed the tournament host, M. Bison, and made short work of him with the Shun Goku Satsu. Bison was obliterated in an instant. Akuma then engages in combat with the second finalist, but the identity of this warrior, as well as the outcome of the bout, remains unknown.
At some point, Ryu and Akuma would duel where the latter dominated the fight, as he rebukes Ryu about his rejection of the Dark Hado, Ryu finds the strength to recover and fight back. However, Ken would interrupt the fight, forcing Akuma to leave. During the events of Seth's tournament, he continues his training, and senses the Satsui no Hado reemerging within Ryu. Immediately, he sets off to find Ryu and help him realize this power so he can try to kill him in battle. Like the other tournaments, Akuma does not officially enter, but stays in the shadows. Later, he finds an unconscious Ryu in the care of his brother Gouken. Akuma noticed that his brother has perfected the Power of Nothingness. The two brothers fought, with Ryu being the prize. Both survived their fight, and Ryu was saved by Gouken. Akuma then continued his training and his search for a worthy opponent to match his own, razing an entire forest with his power.
He would later fight Gen once again where Akuma was victorious in their battle. However, he was criticized by Gen for leading to the path of discarding humanity. He then finished the fight where he seemingly killed Gen off for good. He then saw a vision of Ryu rejecting the Satsui no Hado, much to his frustration. Necalli appears and challenges Akuma for his soul. Not only did Necalli lose to Akuma, but he attempts to devour Akuma and Akuma does the Mudo Tensho to escape Necalli's stomach. He then seeks Ryu and battles him, in a Satsui no Hado Vs. Mu no Ken clash. Akuma defeats Ryu in battle, but does not kill him. Instead, he questions if there is no one that can match him. Ryu, smiling while laying on the ground, asks questions to Akuma, claiming that his fists will continue to communicate with Akuma on opposite ends. Akuma then flees, letting fate determine when those two will meet again.
Akuma did not enter the fourth World Warrior tournament, but once more lurked in the shadows. He was challenged by Sean who mistook him for Ryu, only for Akuma to beat him easily. He successfully pulled off a Shun Goku Satsu on the tournament sponsor Gill, although he left without realizing that Gill had resurrected himself. He then faces Ryu, asking him to show him his full power, but Ryu replies that malicious intent is not the way of the warrior. In this game, he appears as a secret boss. Using the Raging Demon on whoever the player is facing, he battles the player afterwards. If Akuma is felled, the scenery will darken, the ground will shake and he will get back up and unleash his true power for a second fight. Over this time-span, Akuma had trained relentlessly, harnessing his power and learning several new techniques; some were meant to create tidal waves, others were described as strong enough to split Uluru (Ayers Rock) in half, and one could kill an opponent with a single strike. One such self-taught technique was the Kongou Kokuretsuzan, in which Akuma channelled all his power into one hand and smashed it into the ground, creating a vortex of energy upward around him. It was supposedly this technique that was used to destroy his original training ground, the Onigami Isle Gokuentou. The same technique is also said to have the power to make the Earth itself crumble beneath him.
Overview
Personality and attributes
He was shown to abide by the code of the warrior where he fought to improve his skills and defeat powerful foes. This saw him sometimes fighting others in order to gauge their abilities but generally he fought people of equal or greater strength. Typically, he was known to not randomly kill people with him only doing so to those he fought in combat. Thus, whilst he did kill his teacher and his brother, he did so only within their one-on-one matches with this not transgressing his principles.
Akuma is a cold and extremely powerful warrior whose sole reason for being is to hone his fighting skills by battling and destroying strong foes. He rarely displays any sign of emotions or humanity, aside from occasional bursts of anger, and rarely smiles. He, however, will not engage in battle towards helpless people and in some cases may even defend them, either as a righteous calling or an afterthought of conquering major adversary. The only instance of humanity he has displayed after being drenched in the Satsui no Hado is with Kazumi Mishima, whom he respects, even in battle.
Powers and abilities
He was the wielder of a dark ki that was known as the Satsui no Hado (殺意の波動 Satsui no Hadō?, "Surge of Murderous Intent") that drove a need to win no matter the cost.
Among the techniques known to him included:
- Gohadoken (豪波動拳 Gōhadōken?, "Great Surge Fist") :
- Tatsumaki Zankukyaku (竜巻斬空脚 Tatsumaki Zankuukyaku?, "Tornado Slashing Air Leg") :
- Hyakkishu : (百鬼襲 Hyakki Shuu?, "Hundred Ogre Assault") :
- Ashura Senku (阿修羅閃空 Ashura Senkuu?, "Asura Flashing Air") :
- Tenmakujinkyaku (天魔空刃脚 Tenma Kuujinkyaku?, "Sky Demon Air Blade Leg") :
- Zenpou Tenshin (前方転身 Zenpō Tenshin?, "Forward Turnover") :
- Shun Goku Satsu (瞬獄殺 Shun Goku Satsu?, "Flash Prison Murder") :
- Kongou Kokuretsuzan ((金剛國裂斬, "Vajra Province Rending Slash") :
Notes
- Akuma was created by Noritaka Funamizu where he featured in the Street Fighter universe.
- In Japan, the character was known as Gouki (豪鬼, Gōki, lit. "Great Demon" or "Great Ogre").
- As noted in Undisputed Street Fighter: A 30th Anniversary Retrospective. the character was created by request of Noritaka Funamizu to Akira Yasuda when creating a new Street Fighter character. Akuma was designed in order to please fans who were victims of April's Fools in the claims from journalists that there was a hidden character named Sheng Long. Funamizu wanted the character, Akuma, to be based on Ryu's design. While still being an evil character, Yasuda still wanted to create a major contrast between the regular boss, M. Bison and Akuma.
In other media
Television
- In Street Fighter, Akuma appeared as an antagonist in the setting of the 1990s American animated television series in the episode "Strange Bedfellows" where he was voiced by actor David Kaye.
Films
- In Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation, Akuma appeared in the setting of the 2000 anime film where he was voiced by English actor Keith Burgess in the dub.
Video games
Appearances
- Super Street Fighter II Turbo: (1994)
- Street Fighter V:
External Link
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