Kairi

Kairi (カイリ) is a video game character from the Street Fighter series, first appearing in Street Fighter EX Plus. He is Hokuto and Nanase's long lost elder brother from the Mizukami clan.

Appearance
In Street Fighter EX, Kairi appeared as a tall and muscular young man, with long brown hair tied in a ponytail. His eyes are black with his left eye being scarred, possibly a relic of his duel to the death against his father. He wore a form fitting, sleeveless blue shirt, dark blue pants held by a black obi and wore blue gloves and leg warmers.

His alternate appearance, Kairi is shirtless, he wears only white karate pants held by a black karate belt. He is barefoot and maintains his blue fingerless gloves. His hair however is cut short but with short dishiveled spikes downward.

In Street Fighter EX 2 and onward, his appearance dramatically changed. His hair is no longer brown but has become silvery-white, his eyes went from black to red and they seem to glow during certain special attacks or during some of his win poses. His body became covered in scars as a result of both him succumbing to his demonic powers and his endless string of battles. He wears white pants which are red near the top as well as a black belt. He no longer wears his shirt nor his leg warmers, his arms are covered in bandages and they are covered in blue flames whenever his power is at its highest point (gameplay-wise, when he has a full Super bar).

In Street Fighter V, Kairi's pants are dark purple, he wears blue handwraps on both of his hands and his hair is black.

His EX 2 appearance in Street Fighter V, Kairi remains largely the same as his karate pants is light beige.

Personality
Nothing much is known about Kairi's personality as information about the Street Fighter EX cast is relatively scarce. However one can assume that due to his memory-loss and his father's last words, Kairi is a serious warrior who is determined to make sense of himself and his life.

In Street Fighter EX 2, Kairi became more darker and serious as a result of his new demonic power. Sometimes, Kairi holds his head in his hands and scream in pain (as seen after performing his Kyouja-Renbu attack or his win pose), indicating that his new power is taking a huge toll on his mind.

Story
Kairi was born to the main house of the Mizukami family and was trained in the family's ancient art of hand-to-hand combat. However, in a stormy night, Kairi was thrown into the sea from the ship in which he was traveling and lost his memories. For ten years he has wandered the world, fighting without rhyme or reason. Only the words "you must challenge your limits" remained in his memories. Led by these words, Kairi thought that the only way to recover his memories was to follow the way of the Shura (修羅) and fight, replacing his lost memories with the nature of a demon. As he continued fighting, he eventually faced his younger sister Hokuto and was pushed down from a cliff. After the fall, Kairi's body got covered in scars. Despite the attempts of Nanase, the youngest of siblings to stop them, this has been an unavoidable fate for Kairi and Hokuto.

In his EX3 ending, Kairi manages to defeat Hokuto in a battle. Seeing nothing but Kairi's broad back, she wonders if it is their father before losing unconsciousness.

Fighting Style and Gameplay
Like Allen's, most of Kairi's moves are similar to those of the Ansatsuken-style characters (i.e., Ryu, Ken, Akuma), as detailed below.


 * ​Shinku Hadoken -> Shinki Hatsudo (lit. Divine Soul Invocation)
 * Shoryuken -> Maryuu Rekkou (lit. Demon Dragon Rending Light)
 * Tatsumaki -> Moryou Kasen (lit. Nature Spirit Vortex Whirl)
 * Tenmakujinkyaku -> Ryuujin Kyaku (lit. Dragon Blade Leg; Street Fighter EX2)
 * Ashura Senku -> Makuu Shihai (lit. Demon Air Control; Street Fighter EX2), though they function a bit differently.

Also, in Street Fighter EX2, Kairi has inherited and succumbed to a power similar to the Satsui no Hado. Because of this, he has abilities and a power level similar to those of Akuma, and having moves that resemble his techniques; (e.g. Zanku Hadoken and Shun Goku Satsu, Akuma's most lethal technique). An original ability from this power also exists, as having him surge with this power when his super meter is at Lv.3, allows his attacks to negate any projectiles.

Trivia

 * Kairi appears in the manga Street Fighter III: The Twin Dragon for the first time. He also appears in Street Fighter III: Ryu Final.


 * Kairi's voice actor, Kaneto Shiozawa, died in 2000 two months after the release of Street Fighter EX3. Shiozawa also voiced Vega in the EX series and Street Fighter II V, as well as Hyo Imawano from Capcom's Rival Schools series and Zato-1 from Arc System Works' Guilty Gear series.