With this post we will be looking into Street Fighter Akuma. This will be an over view covering how he is in the games and some of the comics. So if there is anything missing let me know.
Now we were first introduced to Akuma in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a secret character you can face after M Bison. Basically after he kills him. At this point Akuma is a mash up of Ryu zoning with fireballs and Ken rush down which he would bring in his own teleport and air fireballs for good measure. But this important as the way Akuma is treated as the hardest enemy to face is how he would be treated going forward.
Now what do I mean by treated? When it comes Akuma he is known for be the strongest which means 2 things. He is always training and if you think your are strong enough best expect a visit from him. In SF history we see this mostly in Street Fighter Alpha endings when he would visit multiple strong opponents such as Gen and Bison to take them out. He would also challenge worthy fighters such as Ryu and Adon sparing them in interest in seeing them get stronger to face later.
In SF3 we see Akuma in a constant training from master a new move in new generation which we would be able to use later to practicing underwater in the ocean. We see with this story how far he will go and with both series that he the strongest there is in the SF universe.
Strongest is the only way to describe him. When ever Capcom had a chance for a secret boss he was the one. In terms of lore he has defeated both Bison and Gill. He didn’t kill them off as Bison can live without his body and Gill can resurrect. Keep in mind he didn’t take either one seriously. For both they ran into the master of Satsu no Hado in his normal form. Keep in mind Akuma has 2 with Shin Akuma and Oni. Now while Udon story has Akuma taking out Gill in Shin form in videogame lore that has not occured. You will also notice Akuma tapping into Oni as we get the anime treatment going through all of his forms to face the new threat.
In terms of moves Shin Akuma gets a double air fireball with speed and damage modified. Even to the point he raging demon gets more hits. This is Akuma when he is serious and most likely the one we remember as he is the one waiting for you after facing the boss. Most of the time that is how you acquire him as well. But we would later learn this is not Akuma at his worst. That would be Oni.
Appearing in SFIV Oni is Akuma fully unleashed. With his master prayer beads no longer restraining him Akuma fight with a new found level of power with air teleports new fireballs and more at his disposal. However in terms of lore he is much like Akuma other form in it has no impact on lore. Okay with both of his forms have not impact on story how does he matter? in SFIV we see Akuma seeking out Ryu in trying to force him to use the dark hado. This as Akuma see that as the one thing that makes Ryu a challenge to him.
We see his interest in Ryu greatly with Ryu being defiant. One can look at this as a father and son arguing about his path. Something that has ben hinted that Akuma and Ryu may share blood in other media such as anime and manga might be true.
But this seems to change in SFV. Akuma seems to have excepted Ryu as he is not wanting to be consumed by the dark hado. Again this seems similar to how a father would except his son making his own choice. But it also shows that Akuma might not have wanted Ryu to join him in practicing the dark hadou but surpassing him as when Evil ryu aka Kage comes around Akuma banishes him as a fake on the spot.
What this means going forward for Akuma is that he will await Ryu to see what he will become. What that will be is something we will have to see in SFVI. When it is released. That is it for now but if you have any thoughts or suggestions let me know.
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