Oni

Oni (鬼, Devil), also known as The Mad Demon (狂オシキ鬼, Kuruoshiki Oni) is a secret fighter in the Street Fighter series. He can be fought as a secret boss in Arcade Mode, as well as being a playable character. Oni is in fact Akuma, who has let the Satsui no Hadou fully engulf and consume him to the point where he has fully discarded all of humanity and has lost his prominent moral code as a warrior who will now kill anyone in a fight, and has taken the form of a full demon.

''Note: This character should not be mistaken for Shin Akuma, even though both have very close similarities to each other. ''

Origin
Due to his intense training and meditation, Akuma has suppressed most of the negative aspects of the Satsui no Hadou, allowing him to control it. As Oni, said negative aspects have now managed to completely take over him. A possible theory of Oni's origin speculates Akuma being caught in a thunderstorm, triggering his survival instincts and allowing the Satsui no Hado to take over. This theory also explains Oni's Hadou attacks being electric in nature rather than Akuma's thermal ones. Oni does not exist in the game canon, being a "What if?" version of Akuma, like Evil Ryu is to Ryu.

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 been blown off, 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 has his sandals. His voice also sounds much more demonic and harsher in both the English and Japanese versions of the Arcade Edition.

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 energy underneath.

Personality Oni, unlike Akuma or Shin Akuma, is more ferocious and gives up his moral code as a warrior, as well as becoming more brutal and demonic in nature. Oni has no morals and will fight anyone to the death, rather than seeking out worthy opponents to fight and kill. In addition, he now talks in the third person even more, as he says his own name after defeating or killing his opponents. He also becomes far more evil to the point of calling himself evil incarnate. As Oni, he completely despises humanity and says it is of no use to an evil incarnate. His hatred for Gouken also grows to a crazed level.

Oni does not refrain from using the maximum potential of Akuma's Ansatsuken art or his yet unrefined attacks. His Goshoryuken is similar to the Shin Shoryuken. His overhead smash resembles an imperfect Misogi. Also, he uses a much smaller version of the Kongou Kokuretsu Zan as a start-up for his second Ultra Combo, the Tenchi Sokaigen. His stance is similar to Akuma's 'Isshun Sengeki' pose during the Wrath of the Raging Demon Ultra Combo. However, he lacks the sheer focus of Akuma, not possessing the finer attacks such as the Hyakkishu, Tenma Kujin Kyaku and Ashura Senku and generally uses wayward one-handed Hadokens which tend to fizzle out after traveling some distance.

Stats

 * See also: Oni's changes in Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition Version 2012

In Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition Oni had a health and stun meter 950 units each i.e slightly less than Ryu's 1000 units for both which are considered the benchmarks to gauge other fighters. His health was increased to 1000 units but the stun remained the same at 950 in the 2012 patch.

Techniques

 * See also: 


 * Oni's damage data (External Link) 
 * Oni's move list in Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition.

Oni possesses an air dash attack, Zanku Hadosho, the direction of which is determined by the punch button pressed. He also possesses a dashing slash called Rakan Dantojin which allows him to pass the opponent by, similar to the Ashura Senku. The four possible variations of the slash have different invincible frames against projectile attacks with the EX version being completely immune to projectiles. He also possesses a jumping overhead smash attack, the Sekisei Jiraiken, which has been compared to E. Honda's Sumo Smash. The EX version of the Sekisei Jiraiken inflicts a lot of stun on the opponent.

Like the other shotoclones Oni also has the Gohadoken, Goshoryuken and Tatsumaki Zanku Kyaku. His Gohadoken usually travels for about 80% of the screen before fizzling out. Alternatively the Gohadoken can be charged by holding down the punch button; a fully charged Gohadoken does not fizzle out, has two hits and more damage. The EX version of Oni's Gohadoken is already fully charged, has two hits and does more damage than the Heavy Punch version.

Oni's counterpart for Akuma's Shakunetsu Hadoken is the Gorai Hadoken, even sharing the same Half Circle Back + Punch motion and hits afflicted properties of the punch used. However his Gorai Hadoken does more stun and damage than Akuma's Shakunetsu Hadoken. The EX version of the Gorai Hadoken has three hits like the Heavy Punch variant but inflicts more stun. Visually the Gorai Hadoken is Hado infused with electricity and is traslated roughly as the Roaring Thunder Hadoken.

Oni has an unique animation for Goshoryuken if he is close to the opponent that resembles the Shin or Metsu Shoryuken where Oni punches the opponent in the tanden with his left hand, followed by a right-handed punch in the solar plexus and a left-handed Shoryuken. If the opponent is far or in the air, Oni does an simple right-handed Shoryuken similar to Akuma. While the startup for Oni's Shoryukens takes more time than other Shotoclones, they have almost negligible recovery time such that Oni recovers the moment he touches the ground. The EX version of the Goshoryuken inflicts more damage and has more invincibility at startup than the Heavy Punch version.

His Tatsumaki Zanku Kyaku is similar to Akuma's but slower and more damaging. Oni like the other Shotoclones can perform an aerial version that comes down in a parabolic trajectory. The EX Tatsumaki sees Oni spin around in the same place and sends the opponent hurtling in a spinning fashion similar to Gouken's Kongoshin. The 2012 patch fixed a problem with his EX Tatsumaki where the last hit would not connect properly.

The regular Heavy Punch has Oni sticking his left hand out for a safe, cancellable poke that unfortunately lacks in range. His Forward + Heavy Punch command move sees him take a big step forward and stick his Hado covered right hand out which has the ability to nullify projectiles or one hit from multiple hitting, EX, Super or Ultra projectiles. He shares the Zugai Hasatsu which is a two hit overhead chop command move, executed by Forward + Middle Punch with Akuma. His Medium Kick has impressive range and is comparable to Sagat and M. Bison's heavy kick but slower. The Forward + Medium Kick sees Oni do a pinwheel kick with decent range like Akuma. His regular Heavy Kick is the standard Roundhouse like the other Shotoclones. Oni's Forward + Heavy Kick is a two hit overhead command move similar to the Zugai Hasatsu and is shared with Akuma. It also resembles a faster, less damaging version of Ken's Forward + Medium Kick command move. Oni's Focus Attack sees him drive an open hand into the solar plexus of the opponent. The lesser than average range of the Focus Attack has recieved some criticism. The distance of his backdash has also been criticized. Oni walks around surprisingly fast despite his bulk.

His Super Combo is the Raging Demon. However, it can now be used in mid-air when using Oni, having priority over other attacks such as Shoryukens in the air. He is also able to cancel the Zanku Hadosho into the Air Raging Demon. Both variants of Oni's Raging Demon were given a slight damage increase in the 2012 patch. The kanji character that appears if Oni achieves a Super Combo victory is an amalgamation of the characters "King" and "Demon" and can be interpreted as Demon King; alternatively, it can mean "Altar" in the literal sense and "worship(ping) the demon" metaphorically.

His Ultra Combos are new and appear to be based on Akuma's Super Arts from Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. His first Ultra Combo, Meido Gohado, is an advanced and more powerful Messatsu Gou Hadou. Oni needs to be close and on the ground in order to force his opponent right into the wall with the Meido Gohado to follow up with an orb of the Satsui no Hado, with the force of the orb emitting energy from behind the opponent shaping into the Kanji character 天. The full animation Meido Gohado is the second most damaging projectile Ultra after Gouken's (fully charged) Denjin Hadouken, inflicting 450/100 units of damage. The air-to-ground version is called Messatsu Go Zanku similar to Akuma's version, but executed with both hands, while the anti-air version is the Messatsu Go Tenha which is fired directly upwards. Oni has complete upper body invincibility while executing the Messatsu Go Tenha.

His second Ultra Combo, Tenchi Sokaigen, appears to be a precursor to his Kongou Kokuretsu Zan attack, where he only forms an eruption of energy in front of him. Like the Meido Gohado, Oni needs to be close enough to launch his opponent up into the air in order to slam them with a left-handed Goshoryuken to the opponent's exposed back. The background for this attack spells the 天 Kanji. From the 2012 patch onwards the Tenchi Sokaigen is the third most damaging Ultra with a damage of 525/1000 units after Gouken's fully charged Denjin Hadoken at 540/1000 units and Hakan's Oil Coaster which inflicts a damage of 530/1000 units.

Shin Oni
There is a non-selectable Shin or True version of Oni who can be fought in the arcade mode as a secret and the true final boss. The player must not lose a round, get two Perfects, five Super or Ultra combo finishes, ten first attacks and defeat Seth with an Super or Ultra combo to fight Oni's true form. He can be considered the true final boss since the requirements to fight him are higher than that of Shin Akuma's, Shin Gouken's, and even Shin Evil Ryu.

Storyline-wise, the playable version of Oni is held back by fragments of Akuma's conscious, not allowing the Onigami to unleash its true potential. This also triggers possible schizophrenia and mis-allocation of power in the being torn between the will of Akuma and the whims of the Onigami. The Shin form of Oni is absolutely free of any hindrances by Akuma. The developers have specifically concieved Oni as Akuma beyond Shin Akuma, therefore the Shin form of Oni is one of the strongest entities in the Street Fighter canon along with Gill, Oro, Final Bison, Shin Akuma, Ingrid etc.

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 rather than walk, 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 (Back Dash) which is unavailable to the playable version. His regular and Air Raging Demon also travels slightly faster.

Trivia

 * 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 killing blow. This is the only fighter in the game that shows physical contact with the opponent after winning a match.
 * 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 that of the first two stages of the Super Saiyan and his prayer beads look very similar to the Dragon Balls from the Dragon Ball Z 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 fighting stance resembles the artwork of Shin Akuma from SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos.
 * Oni has the power to cause a volcano to erupt by dealing a single blow to the volcano, but this is most likely a small piece of his power; in the beginning of Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, he is so powerful that he was able to destroy a large tree with just his aura alone.
 * Oni's Ultra Combos are the only ones (aside from both of Akuma's Ultras) that show a black and white changing background.
 * Also, if either Ultra Combo is a finishing move, no "KO" sign will be shown on the screen. The opponent is not seen to physically fall over, but shown collapsed in the ground or midair, implying that Oni has actually killed the opponent.
 * Right after Oni hits the volcano in his ending of Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, he was seen floating in the air. He is also seen floating in one of his win poses, where he states "I am not human". It is possible that when Akuma is in this form, he gains the ability to defy gravity.
 * Implied by the quotes, 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, as a boss, 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.
 * If Cody wins against Shin Oni, it is the only time besides fighting Ryu that he admits having fun.
 * Akuma despises Oni for representing Akuma being enslaved by the Satsui No Hado and vice versa, as implied by their quotes to each other in the arcade mode.
 * It is possible to modify the PC version to override Oni's framedata with that of his Shin variant; however, his stamina and stun remain the same.