Gen

"You cannot keep my fists in your sight, for they move with the fury of hell!"

- Gen

Gen (元) is a character in the Street Fighter series. He is a Chinese martial arts master and former assassin who uses legendary fighting techniques, and is stated by the official website to be in his 70s by the time of Super Street Fighter IV.

Gen is currently the only character in the Street Fighter series who can switch between fighting styles (having two of them) during a match, and one of the few characters in fighting games with multiple movesets. He also notably taught Chun-Li the art of Tai Chi.

Appearance
Gen is an elderly man who often has a stern look on his face. He wears a purple outfit and has a red sash around his clothes, and wears red Chinese martial art shoes with white socks. He has white hair and has a long white beard. In the original Street Fighter, he had black pupils in his eyes. In his more recent incarnations, his appearance has changed considerably, as his eyes are now completely white in color, showing neither visible irises nor red veins.

Prior to his recent appearance in Street Fighter IV, Gen had short hair. In the Street Fighter IV games, his hair not only has grown much longer but he also keeps it tied in a formal bun with a purple Chinese qipao on the back of his head. In most recent games his skin also has aging wrinkles in his entire body, most notably his face.

Personality
Gen is a silent, precise and wise man who takes fighting very seriously and prefers to take on formidable, honorable warriors, such as Ryu and Akuma. Elderly though he is, Gen's temperament is extremely sharp, his speech patterned with a weathered and biting coarseness. With a tendency to muse over death (likely rooted in his condition), he is also not hesitant to speak of such dark matters regarding the inevitable passing of all things, especially to those that walk the path of a fighter, since he seeks to die as he has lived: fighting.

Despite being a powerful assassin in the past, and a legend in the Chinese underworld, Gen follows a code, and never imposes his power over those who cannot fight, nor does he kill the defenseless. Though he fights to test his strength and his opponents, much like Akuma, Gen is very respectful to younger fighters like Sakura and Ibuki, and is displeased by those who do not rely on their own power, as he values the true spirit of martial arts and honor.

Pre-Street Fighter
Gen was known as one of the legends of martial arts, supposedly being the "man who killed hundreds". He was not only a great martial artist, but a legendary assassin, said to be invincible. Gen was also a friend of Chun-Li's father, and he briefly trained her in her youth. Gen also owned a restaurant called Genhanten in Sendai, Japan - where he met Ryu for the first time.

Street Fighter
Gen entered the first World Warrior tournament to find worthy opponents. When he did not, he went back to the streets of China.

Street Fighter Alpha 2
Later, he was diagnosed with leukemia, and did not have much time to live. Gen did not blame his loss in the first tournament on his illness. At first, he decided he would be careful and just manage his restaurant, but old foes sent assassins who made repeated attempts on him and his family's lives. Due to this, he decided he would stop hiding and go out fighting, in a blaze of glory, as he felt it was a more honorable way to die.

He went on a search for a worthy opponent, taking on members of Shadaloo and other crime syndicates, to provoke a fight to the death in which he would meet his demise. Word got around about Akuma, a fighter who fully embraced the Satsui no Hado. After seeking him out, Gen challenged him to a fight that he hoped would be decisive. The two fought fiercely until the end, each surviving the other's finishing blow. However, Akuma sensed that Gen was terminally ill, making it an unfair fight. Thus, Akuma decided to end the match, leaving him to his fate.

Street Fighter Alpha 3
Eventually, Gen challenged Akuma once again, but although the results of the battle are unknown, Gen did survive.

When Gen and Akuma fight during the game's story mode, they perform their signature moves on each other before the fight begins, re-enacting the fight described above.

Super Street Fighter IV
Gen is haunted by nightmares where he is surrounded on all sides by the ghosts of those he has killed in the past when he was still an assassin. Scorning the ghosts, he proclaims that while he is still alive, he will not succumb to the likes of them. Reflecting on how Chun-Li has grown into a strong and admirable woman, he knows he cannot protect her for much longer, as his time is running short. He remembers the day when his illness allowed Shadaloo to capture her father; cursing his body and its "infernal frailties", he vows not to let them get away.

He joins the S.I.N. organized tournament, and at some point Chun-Li finds him and demands that he tell her all that he knows about what happened to her father. Gen refuses and fades away, leaving her alone. When the S.I.N. base is destroyed, Gen protects Chun-Li from the ensuing collapse, though it's not shown how. While partially trapped under the rubble, Gen witnesses Akuma and Gouken fight over an unconscious Ryu, internally referring to the two fighters as "Life and Death". He muses that "Death is indeed strong." Impressed by what he called their "ultimate battle", in which both men were "prepared to give up the ghost", Gen resolves not to die until "the final battle between Life and Death", so he returns to what he calls "my own fight to the death".

Gameplay and fighting style
Gen's assassination style incorporates various Kung Fu styles, such as Mantis, Crane, and Tiger, that he has utilized in his assassinations. As of Street Fighter Alpha 2, this is reflected in the ability to switch between two fighting styles during gameplay. This makes him the hardest and most rewarding character to master.

The two styles are the Sou-style (暗殺拳・喪流) and the Ki-style (暗殺拳・忌流). These fighting styles are also known as the "Mantis style" and "Crane style" respectively in the English localization of Street Fighter Alpha 2; some later games retained the original Japanese names. When he changes from one style to another, Gen's fighting stance, basic techniques, special moves and even Super Combos are changed.

In the Sou-style, Gen's special moves include the Hyaku-Ren-Kou (百連勾), in which he strikes the opponent rapidly with hand stabs, and the Geki-Rou (逆瀧), a vertical jump kick which can be followed with another. His Super Combos while using the Sou-style include the Zan-ei (惨影) and the Shitenshu (死点咒). When using the Sou-style, Gen can chain his basic attacks from lower to higher strength level, being the only character with this ability besides Guy.

In the Ki-style, Gen's special moves includes the Jyasen (蛇穿), and the Ouga (徨牙). His Super Combos include the Jya-Kou-Ha (蛇咬叭) and the Kouga (狂牙).

When Gen is played on X-ism mode in Street Fighter Alpha 3, he loses the ability to switch between fighting styles. Instead, he has a blended style which uses techniques from both styles (except for the Ouga technique) and uses the Zan-ei as his sole Super Combo.

UDON comics
Gen appeared in UDON's Street Fighter II comic series and in Street Fighter Legends: Chun-Li.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Gen appeared as a main character the live-action movie, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, portrayed by Robin Shou. Depicted as a younger martial arts master, he serves as the leader of a secret anti-crime organization known as the Order of the Web. It is Gen who teaches Chun-Li her more advanced moves, including the Kikoken, and accompanies her in the fight against Bison and Shadaloo. His back-story also reveals he was a partner-in-arms with Bison in their earlier days as criminals, but Gen eventually left him, no longer tolerant of stealing from others.

Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist
He was mentioned by Gouken in Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist second episode "Round 1: Fight" as a kung-fu master he met during his Musha Shugyo who taught him how to use the Power of Nothingness as the foundation of his Ansatsuken art instead of the Satsui no Hado.

Trivia

 * In Gen's stage in the original Street Fighter, there are a lot of signs in the background. Some of the signs include Southeast Asia Money Exchanger, Siu Wah Bargagain ("Bargain" misspelled) Palace, Gou Norman French Cuisine, etc., which hints that his stage is in Hong Kong.
 * Gen is known for his quote in English, spoken to a defeated opponent: "You are a big fool!". Incidentally, Gen says this before his final battle against M. Bison in Alpha 3.
 * In the Street Fighter IV games, Gen now bears a strong resemblance to the martial arts master Pai Mei from Kill Bill: Volume 2.
 * Pai Mei himself was based on the famous leader of the White Lotus Clan, Bak Mei, who also appeared in many martial arts films by Shaw Brothers Studios. Although a master of many styles, he was famous for practicing the art of Dim Mak (pressure point strikes), which Gen appears to utilize.
 * "Groan", the BGM that plays during his Stage 9 battle in Street Fighter Alpha 3, indicates that despite fighting the standard Akuma, Gen is actually fighting Shin Akuma.
 * His restaurant is one of the backgrounds in Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix (Pocket Fighter in Japan), where Fei Long, Dhalsim, Birdie, M. Bison, Victor von Gerdenheim, Rolento, Charlie, Sodom and Bishamon can be seen having lunch, Gen himself is seen on the leftmost side of the stage, slicing a duck.
 * In the original Street Fighter, Gen uses an attack in which he kicks with both feet while balancing on one hand. Chun-Li can be seen using this same attack in Street Fighter III.
 * The Senkyutai special move used by Yun and Yang in Street Fighter III: New Generation is similar to two of Gen's special moves from Street Fighter Alpha 2: his juggling kick special used in Sou style and his rolling special used in Ki style.
 * A small AI bug caused CPU Gen players in Street Fighter Alpha 2 to occasionally "spazz-out", and perform various springs of attacks, even when the player is far out of reach of the attacks.
 * In the UDON series, it's stated Gen is the grandparent of Yun and Yang, employing the twins at his restaurant in Hong Kong. However, it's not been shown in any of the games if this is completely canon yet. At the very least, he has a connection to the twins in the main series, due to him being possibly a relation of Lee.
 * Due to the fact that he has two fighting styles, Gen is one of the two characters to have two Super Combos (the other one is being Dan), but the only character to have four Ultra Combos in the Street Fighter IV series.
 * Gen by the time of Street Fighter Alpha 3 is one of the few characters who is still able to chain his normals via a magic series sequence.
 * Gen's game over sequence in the Street Fighter IV series implies that he dies from his disease: he lies on the floor, face down, and does not breathe.
 * Gen, Adon and Sagat are the only characters who describe Oni as a deity or a god.
 * Gen's martial arts style may been a direct homage to classic 1983 manga/anime Hokuto no Ken ("Fist of the North Star"). His Hyakurenko technique may have been based off Kenshiro's Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken.

Sprites
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100914093311/street-fighter-x-tekken/images/archive/1/13/20100914134959%21Riiuu.gif http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100920040614/street-fighter-x-tekken/images/archive/1/13/20100920041459%21Riiuu.gif http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100920041461/street-fighter-x-tekken/images/1/13/Riiuu.gif

Quotes
See: Gen/Quotes.