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Kairi
PlayStyle: Neutral/Shoto
Similar to: Ryu, Ken, Akuma
Strengths: Decent overall normals, great reversal, solid fireball game, and complimentary supers that are easy to combo into each other. He has a decent divekick as well to get around other character that try to out zone him like D.Dark. Kairi has solid damage but he just doesn't excel too much at anything. Can be played in a multitude of styles. His overall kit makes him very slippery and hard to control.
Weaknesses: Has trouble hitting his Sairou-Kyoushu super at all distances from hitting his projectile, so you have to be careful with your spacing and combos. He has no variations on his dive kick so it can be baited or be made punishable. His Mouryo-Kasen (Hurricane Kick) whiffs on crouching opponents and is very punishable on whiff. His juggles off of his Garyu-Messhu can be quite tricky to time and are a bit more strict than other characters who can juggle more easily.
Play if: + You want to have a fireball and a dragon punch
+ You like straight forward solid characters
+ You like a unique take on a shoto archetype
Avoid if: - You want a more mixup heavy character
- You want strong setplay
- You don't want to confirm if your opponent is standing or not in combos
Recommended Gougi Decks: Aggro, Juggernaut, Stealth Raptor, Shinobi, Thunderbolt, Sky Dancer
Max Punish Combos
Meterless: dash cr.MP > cr.MP > cr.HP > Heavy Mouryo-Kasen (52 Damage)
1 Meter: dash cr.MP > cr.MP > cr.HP > Heavy Maryu-Rekkou > Sairou-Kyoushu (85 Damage)
2 Meter: dash cr.MP > cr.MP > cr.HP > Ryobu > Garyu-Messhu > dash cr.MP > cr.HP > Heavy Maryu-Rekkou > Shinki-Hatsudou-Kai (93 Damage)
3 Meter: dash cr.MP > cr.MP > cr.HP > Ryobu > Garyu-Messhu > dash cr.MP > cr.HP/st.HK > Sairou-Kyoushu > Shinki-Hatsudou-Kai (95 Damage)
Key Normals
Crouch Heavy Punch: Go to solid anti air and can easily combo into Sairou-Kyoushu for great damage. If you are too slow for a Maryu-Rekko this normal is your go to to stop jumps. Its also a great attack to use at the end of a chain because it's special cancellable. Going into Ryobu after hitting, is the best way to convert into his Garyu-Messhu while grounded.
Stand Light Kick: This is an excellent button to check dash in low with and to buffer into Mouryo-Kasen (Tatsu) or Shinki-Hatsudou (Fireball) to whiff punish or counter poke an opponent.
Ryobu: This forward medium kick is your go to chain combo ender so you can go into his Garyu-Messhu super for a juggle. This goes over low attacks, avoids throws, and can anti air far ranged jumps. However this is punishable on block so be sure to make sure to hit with it.
Crouch Heavy Kick: Completely safe on block and can be cancelled into Shinki-Hatsudou on hit or block to push the opponent away and build chip damage. This sweep will also low profile projectiles and is a great whiff punish tool.
Stand Heavy Kick: This is your best heavy normal to use on block if you want to maintain saftey after a chain. You can hit confirm Stand Heavy Kick into Ryobu then into super for more damage. This can also be made plus after a knockdown as a meaty giving you a free Crouch Light Kick into Crouch Medium Kick into Shinki-Hatsudou or Mouryo-Kasen.
Key Special Moves
Shinki-Hatsudou: Your go to fireball to control space and to end some combos with. If you have played other fighting games like Street Fighter you'll feel right at home using this special move. Be wary using this up close on block as most characters can punish this on block. You can however bait the opponent by cancelling into Sairou-Kyoushu.
Maryu-Rekkou: This is your standard dragon punch type move that is fully invincible on start up. Great for anti air, hitting an opponent's buttons (light punch version is safer to use because of faster recovery), and calling out gaps in chains and pressure on wakeup. You can cancel the early portion into Shinki-Hatsudou-Kai. Using crouch Heavy Kick as your kara canel normal will give this uppercut a lot of extra range.
Mouryo-Kasen: The less consistent combo ender due to this move whiffing on crouching opponents. However after hitting two hits of this tatsu you can convert into Garyu-Messshu and get a juggle combo going. This special can also be used to cross up opponents and hit them in the back.
Combo Examples
Chain Combo
Cr.LK, Cr.MK, Cr.HP, Ryobu(Fwd.Mk), Garyu-Messhu, Jump HK, HK Mouryo-Kasen
Link Combo
Cr.MP, Cr.MP, Cr.MK, HK Mouryo-Kasen, Garyu-Messhu, Dash, Cr.MP, Cr.HP, Mouryo-Kasen
Tech
You can cancel Sairou-Kyoushu early into Garyu-Messhu to get a full juggle combo
Stealth Raptor allows an instant jump attack cancelled into an air Mouryo-Kasen, followed by Sairou-Kyoushu
General Strategy
Kairi is usually played as a mix of a zoner and hit and run character. He has great mobility and good normals for punishing players avoiding his fireball. Confirming hits into Mouryo-Kasen against standing opponents is key because you are able to get juggle combos from it going into Garyu-Messhu and it gives Kairi the best okizeme and most corner carry. You can play a style of throwing projectiles outside of jump range and using his Maryu-Rekkou to anti air the opponent, simply mixing that in with using his divekick to keep the opponent in check will make Kairi shine.
Frame Data
Onto the ancient warrior Garuda
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