Oni

"I shall grind beneath my heel all that exists. (天地の隔たりを見極められぬとは哀れなり)"

- Oni (Street Fighter IV series)

Oni (鬼), also known as Kuruoshiki Oni (狂オシキ鬼), is a character in the Street Fighter series. He makes his debut in the Arcade Edition update of Super Street Fighter IV as a secret boss and a playable character. Oni is in fact Akuma, who has become one with the Satsui no Hado entirely.

Origin
Due to his training and meditation, Akuma may have suppressed some of the darker aspects of the Satsui no Hado, allowing him to control his actions. As Oni, when he finally becomes one with the Satsui no Hado, its power has now managed to completely overtake him.

Concept
While the Shinto incarnation of "Oni" explains the character motivations, his visual aspects still bear significant resemblance to that of Akuma and the Buddhist kongōrikishi (金剛力士), or Niō (仁王).

Oni's name comes from the demons known as oni in Japanese mythology, who are said to be fearsome giants with fangs and horns that once terrorized and pillaged villages and travelers in ancient Japan. The oni demons are also affiliated with lightning, explaining Oni's elemental attribute.

Of additional note, in the Japanese religion of Shinto, impurity and pollution are states of being that are considered unholy (known as Kegare); demons and malevolent spirits are said to be attracted to such impurities, and some were even born from them.

Appearance
Oni appears as a far more muscular and noticeably larger version of Akuma. He has dark blue skin, glowing yellow-red eyes and glowing, spiky shoulder-length hair. He also gains fangs and short protrusions on his forehead, resembling growing horns. The top half of his gi has been blown off by the amount of dark ki he emanates, showing off his stature; the prayer beads that were once around his neck now float about disconnected around his body. He also has claws on his fingers and toes, and no longer wears sandals; his voice also sounds much more demonic.

When using fierce attacks or powerful physical attacks of any kind, his arms and legs glow a superheated color. While it is difficult to spot, the kanji of "heaven" (天) also appears on his back during the same animations, seemingly having branded itself on his back.

In his second alternate costume, his skins shows cracks like old plaster, which progressively falls away as he is hit with Focus Attacks, showing pure, swirling dark ki underneath.

Personality


Oni has discarded his remaining humanity (saying that it is of no use to "evil incarnate") and his prominent moral code as a warrior. He will fight anyone to the death, regardless of condition, rather than seeking out worthy opponents to fight in a fair match. Interestingly, despite calling himself "evil incarnate", he still shows strong hostility towards the main villains such as Seth or M. Bison. In addition, he now talks in the third person more than usual, although sometimes he will talk in complete sentences.

In Street Fighter X Tekken, during Akuma's ending, he faces a Pandora version of Oni, which he aptly refers to as "nothing but a shadow, raging against that which casts it"; the Oni that came from Pandora's box was Pandora's energy responding to Akuma's desire for a battle that will cost him his life.

Ultra Street Fighter IV
In his intro, his roar echoes through the night. Instantly after, his presence causes the explosion of a nearby tree and the death of a bird. He then looks up and proclaims that he is "evil incarnate".

In his ending, he stands in the center of a volcano. Then he only jumps up and chops the ground with his hand, resulting in an instant eruption that engulfs him in lava. As the lava explodes out of the volcano, Oni flies out of it unharmed, laughing maniacally and yelling ferociously.

Gameplay and Fighting Style
Oni is a character who, whilst retaining the basic moveset of Akuma, has many more moves at his disposal which he can use to control the fight. His EX Specials can be used to confuse the opponent with their surprising speed, his projectiles can be used to control the space very effectively and his Air Hado Dash can put the opponent off-balance and in an unsafe position should they choose to attack Oni in the air. He also has a surprisingly fast walk speed, and can put massive pressure on the opponent with his Mixup-based Reversal game and his high-damage combos. His Super Combo, Raging Demon, is unique in that it can be used in the air as well as on the ground and can be Super Cancelled into from Zanku Hadosho.

His Ultra Combos are also very easy to utilise. His first Ultra, the Meido Gohado, can be used on the ground both as an anti-ground and anti-air projectile, and can even be used in the air. It can easily be comboed from his EX Demon Slash, and if the anti-ground variant hits at close range, it will yield an extra cinematic in which Oni throws another fireball at the opponent for extra damage. His second Ultra, the Tenchi Sokaigen, has fewer setups, though it deals far more damage.

Oni's main weakness lies in his below-average stamina and stun and his short-range Focus Attack which means that he relies on getting up-close to the opponent to really excel. However, this isn't necessarily a problem, as he has an array of moves designed to get him across the screen fast, such as his EX Demon Slash, which is completely invincible to projectiles and can even be cancelled into either of his Ultras.

Shin Oni
There is a non-selectable 'Shin', or boss, version of Oni who can be fought in the arcade mode as a secret boss. The player must not lose a round, get two Perfects, five Super or Ultra Combo finishes, ten first attacks and defeat Seth with a Super or Ultra Combo to fight Oni at his true limits. He can be considered the true final boss since the requirements to fight him are the highest of all secret boss characters in the game.

Storyline-wise, the playable version of Oni is held back by some of the fragments of Akuma's will, not allowing Oni to unleash his full potential. This also triggers possible schizophrenia and mis-allocation of power in the being, torn between the will of Akuma and the whims of Oni. The Shin form of Oni is absolutely free of any hindrances by Akuma. The developers have specifically conceived Oni as Akuma beyond Shin Akuma, meaning that the Shin form of Oni is theoretically one of the strongest characters in the Street Fighter series.

Gameplay-wise, Shin Oni is analogous to the relationship between Akuma and Shin Akuma. While on the surface, the two version operate similarly, Shin Oni's frame data is completely different. He has lesser recovery time between attacks and his special and command attacks have more invincible frames than the playable version. He floats with his ki rather than walking, allowing him to move around faster. Compared to the playable version, he has more stun and stamina. His Gohadoken is a two-hit projectile that neither needs to be charged nor fizzles out after a certain distance, unlike the playable version.

The EX variant of the Gohadoken has three hits and inflicts even more damage. Shin Oni's Gorai Hadoken inflicts slightly more stun than the normal version but still is a three-hit projectile for the heavy and EX version. Due to this, it is pointless to get into a projectile war with him. His Goshoryuken, Rakan Dantojin (Slash) and Sekisei Jiraiken (Overhead Smash) have more invincibility at startup, against projectiles and lower body respectively, than the regular version.

He also possesses an EX version of the Zanku Hadosho which is unavailable to the playable version. His regular and Air Raging Demon also travels much faster and longer, are completely immune to any attacks and have greater priority than most Ultras. The only possible evasions are jumping, Shoryukens and Shoryuken based Super or Ultra Combos and other moves that have startup invincibility. It is impossible to counter Shin Oni's Raging Demon. As an added difficulty spike, the frames needed to activate Shin Oni's Tenchi Sokaigen are half that of the regular playable version.

Asura's Wrath


Oni appears in the second half of the second DLC Lost Episode The Strongest vs. The Angriest, given the epithet of "Destroyer of Heaven". After being slammed into a wall, Akuma immediately allows the Satsui no Hado to take over his body and transform (showing that he has some semblance of control), which prompts Asura to go into his strongest form possible (and the second strongest form), Mantra Asura. Oni goes toe-to-toe with the wrath-embodied god and starts the battle off with a Misogi.

Much like the Evil Ryu battle, the fight with Oni uses the traditional battle system featured in the game and allows a seemingly more accurate portrayal of his powers, which include gigantic Gorai Hadokens in addition to a spread version of Gohadoken that fires off five shots, a much larger Tatsumaki Zankukyaku, and the ability to warp when using Focus Attacks. He retains his Ultra Combos, but it is possible to avoid them; Asura also has the ability to redirect the Meido Gohado, and counter the Raging Demon in a manner similar to his earlier defeat of Evil Ryu, but if Asura does not counter it in time, Oni will be shown attacking Asura with a swinging punch to the side of the head, a punch below the chin, a punch to the face, a punch to the chest, and finally sends Asura flying with the final blow, which deals a lot of damage. Finally, Asura can counter the Tenchi Sokaigen with a similar-looking move before countering the final punch; forming the kanji.

The battle continues until Oni thrusts towards Asura and punches the Moon so hard it splits apart despite Asura blocking the attack. The battle is then taken inside its core and in space. The battle ends when both combatants wrestle each other while blasting through the Earth's atmosphere and crash-land, still struggling. Then begins a punchout between the two fighters that lasts 500 years, still not ending as they are reduced to their normal forms; almost statues covered in moss. They suddenly start to move and then both fighters throw a punch to each other's faces, the episode ends there in a cliffhanger.

Quotes
See: Oni/Quotes.

Trivia

 * Oni's full name, Kuruoshiki Oni, is a possible nod to the Raging Demon, since kuru (狂) means "mad" or "violent" and oni (鬼) can mean "demon" or "ogre."
 * Oni marks the second time Akuma has ever lost his morals (canon or otherwise) to gain more power beyond his Shin or true form. The other is Cyber Akuma in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter.
 * After the character was revealed in Super Street Fighter II Turbo Capcom USA initially claimed Akuma was possessed by a demon; this was later refuted and considered non-canon. The character's name change from Gouki to Akuma (the Japanese and American names, respectively) reflected Capcom USA's attempt to accentuate the demonic nature. The word akuma (悪魔) means "devil" in Japanese. While two distinct creatures in Japanese mythology, the idea of Gouki becoming a demon might be considered to be fulfilled in Oni.
 * A form of Shin Akuma similar to Oni was possibly planned for Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike before the character being dropped entirely.
 * Oni is called a deity or god by Gen, Adon, Sagat and Dhalsim.
 * Oni's fighting stance resembles the artwork of Shin Akuma from SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos, and his 6th color also resembles Shin Akuma.
 * Oni's second alternate costume is the only costume of any character in Arcade Edition which takes battle damage over the course of a fight.
 * Whenever Oni wins the fight, he physically interacts with the opponent's character. He picks them up by their heads, then (off-screen) supposedly deals a fatal blow. He is the only fighter in the game who has physical contact with the opponent after winning a match.
 * Also, if Oni uses an Ultra Combo as a finishing move, no "KO" sign will be shown on the screen. The explanation is that, it implies that the opponent is not merely knocked out, but outright killed in battle.
 * Oni also has a similar look to that of the Black Oni from Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams. The darkened skin, white hair, and blue flame-like aura are all main traits of the Onimusha form in general.
 * In addition, his hair also looks very similar to the oni of Japanese mythology. A few examples includes Fūjin and Raijin, the Shinto gods of wind and thunder respectively, as well as ancient art examples of strong warriors.
 * Another similarity can be made with the first two stages of the Super Saiyan form from the Dragon Ball Z series. Likewise, his prayer beads look very similar to the Dragon Balls from the same series.
 * The emergence of his character is very similar to that of Aku from Samurai Jack.
 * Oni's theme in Super Street Fighter IV is an alternate remix of Akuma's theme from Street Fighter II.
 * Oni's Ultra Combos are the only ones (aside from both of Akuma's Ultra Combos) that show a black and white changing background.
 * Zangief is the only fighter to notice Oni's increased build mass. However, Zangief fails to notice any other changes in Akuma such as the blue skin, aura etc.
 * Oni is the only character besides E. Honda that recognizes that Cody, while still wearing very loose chains, is in fact holding back on all his battles. Unusually, Shin Oni actually implies that Cody might survive a battle with him if he doesn't hold back. On the other hand, the playable version calls Cody a coward.
 * If Cody wins against Shin Oni, it is the only time besides fighting Ryu that he admits having fun.
 * Oni's heavy punch seems to resemble Akuma's Focus Attack.
 * Oni seems to resemble Demise, one of the main antagonists of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
 * According to Rose's winquote to Oni, it can be implied that Oni was meant to show up at a later time, but not during the present day.
 * Oni's winquote to Evil Ryu seems to make the suggestion that Evil Ryu was the only one who could defeat him, and that with his defeat, there is no one left who can stand in his way.
 * It seems that whatever little part of Akuma is left in Shin Oni is pleased to see that Ryu gave in to the Satsui no Hado as seen in his pre-battle quote against him.
 * There is unused data for Oni which is comprised of mostly Akuma's neutral and close punches and kicks, includes a fully complete and functional Ashura Senku, which would only be used during the Raging Demon. He also has a descending dash which is used for his overhead smash, and the Tenmakujinkyaku.
 * It seems that Akuma does not recognize Oni as a form of himself, but Oni recognizes Akuma as his former self. This could indicate that Akuma is not aware of this form of himself in this state, and simply refers to Oni as a god.

Gallery

 * For more images, see: Oni/Gallery