Ryu

"The answer lies in the heart of battle. (戦いの中に答えはある！)"

- Ryu (Street Fighter IV series)

"This is the path of my destiny! (この道を進むのみ！)"

- Ryu (Street Fighter X Tekken, Street Fighter V)

Ryu (リュウ or 隆) is one of the main characters of the Street Fighter fighting games as well as the franchise's lead protagonist. Ryu has made an appearance in every Street Fighter game, as well as in almost every crossover fighting game to feature Capcom characters.

Ryu has become one of the most famous character in the fighting game genre, starring in early fighting games such as Street Fighter and starting to become popular in Street Fighter II, where he was considered a "basic" character. He, along with Mega Man, is considered one of Capcom's unofficial mascots.

Concept
In the early days of Street Fighter mangas, Ryu often had a more "rough and tumble" personality, as well as a bit of a goofy and lighthearted side to him. He was also shown to be quite irritable when hungry. In his short story in Street Fighter Gaiden, he was shown to be a rather happy individual, a trait common among shounen main characters, such as Son Goku from the Dragon Ball series and Luffy from the One Piece series, some of these traits were preserved in modern portrayals.

Appearance
Ryu's most recognizable attire consists of a white karate gi with the sleeves torn off, medium length hair, a long red headband, a black martial arts belt and bare feet (a choice he makes of his own, believing it to instill good values as a warrior). In many of his appearances, Ryu carries around a large, white duffel bag containing items important to his travels, such as clothing, plane tickets, passports, and local currency.

Over the course of time, he has grown taller and more muscular; his karate gi has grown more tattered, his gloves have changed from brown to red and his headband has changed from white to red. Most notably, his hair color has darkened over time; his original Street Fighter appearance gave him red hair, brown in Street Fighter Alpha, dark brown in Street Fighter II and Street Fighter IV, and black in Street Fighter III and Street Fighter V. The red headband Ryu wears was originally worn by Ken. From Street Fighter IV onwards, the red gloves worn by Ryu have started to bear some sort of stylized writing, which resembles the Fūrinkazan characters on his belt.

In some official Street Fighter II artwork, Ryu's belt has four kanji emblazoned upon the right end: wind (風), woods (林), fire (火) and mountain (山); these four kanji make up the Fūrinkazan. The same four kanji can be seen on a sign on the left-hand side of Ryu's stage in Street Fighter II, and are also visible on his belt in Street Fighter IV. The four words are based on chapter seven of Sun Tzu's Art of War, which dictates how one should conduct battle: "as fast as the wind, as quiet as the forest, as daring as fire, and immovable as the mountain."

His alternate costume in Street Fighter V consist of  only his white karate pants with a black belt to his waist and tatters in the edge of his pants, gray shoulder bands in each sides and hand wraps on his hands. He also has a black facial beard.

Personality
Ryu is a silent, humble, and respectful individual; which is often juxtaposed against the light-hearted, fiery persona of his childhood friend, Ken. He wanders the world with the desire for complete mastery of his martial art, and takes both his travels and training seriously. For Ryu, the training and mastery that come from the fight are all that he requires for satisfaction, declining the more material trappings of his various accomplishments as a warrior and simply moving to his next challenge once he is victorious. Though he does not seek the role of a superhero, he possesses a similarly strong sense of justice as well.

Due both to this "wandering warrior" persona and being trained far away from modern-day culture, Ryu often appears detached to others. Despite this, he is a kind and good-hearted warrior who, on rare occasions, shows a sense of humor (albeit a bad one). He also respects others with skills equal to his own; in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, he seems to holds super-heroes like Captain America, Spider-Man, Cyclops, and Wolverine in high respect.

In his appearances in the manga adaptation of Street Fighter II, the anime series Street Fighter II V and the UDON Entertainment comics, Ryu would intake large amounts of food if the opportunity presented itself.

There is, however, a dark side to Ryu: His drive to improve himself, no matter the difficulty, risks developing into a drive to win and to be the best at any cost. This darker drive is fed by (and in turn feeds) the Satsui no Hado within his soul, an influence which Ryu must constantly fight to suppress from killing(at least until the time of Street Fighter III). In times when his inner darkness threatens to overcome his humanity, Ryu relies on his friends and rivals - primarily Ken, Gouken, Chun-Li, Sagat and Sakura - to keep him grounded and help him overcome out of it.

By the time of Street Fighter III, Ryu is somewhat more friendly; while still very quiet and reserved, but is willing to greet people with a smile and some kind advice, very much like his master Gouken.

Ken
Ken is Ryu's best friend from his childhood, as the two have trained in the same art of Ansatsuken for a long time. They share a very close bond to each other and will help out each other no matter the cost.

Guile
Guile greatly respects Ryu and vice-versa.

Chun-Li
Chun-Li deeply admires Ryu for his strong determination and will to never give up in his fights and goals. Ryu seems to respect Chun-Li as well for her great fighting abilities.

Sakura
Sakura is Ryu's fan and a close friend of his. She has always tried to get Ryu to train her in hopes of becoming a better fighter. While Ryu does not believe that he is ready to take her as a student, they will sometimes have a match to see her improvement in fighting.

Rose
Rose is a close friend of Ryu. Like himself, she too detests the Satsui no Hado and will often help him to overcome its influence.

Sagat
Sagat is one of Ryu's most respected rivals, as he was the one to bring out the Satsui no Hado out of him during the first World Warrior Tournament. At first, Sagat had a grudge against Ryu for stripping away his pride as a warrior. Later on, though, Sagat began to respect Ryu for his brave will and sportsmanship, and the two have become great rivals afterwards.

M. Bison
One of Ryu's mortal enemies, Bison has repeatedly tried to capture Ryu in hopes of using him as a host body or brainwash him into being a member of Shadaloo. Due to Ryu having the Satsui no Hado sealed in him, this is part of M. Bison's plan to control that dark power for himself.

Gill
Gill is one of Ryu's enemies. Ryu finds Gill to be no better than Bison due to his actions and the lengths he has gone to achieve them.

Gouken
Gouken is Ryu's master who raised him since he was a boy. Ryu also views him as a father and was inspired by him to become a martial artist.

Akuma
Akuma is one of Ryu's most hated enemies, as he was the one who tried to kill his master, Gouken. Akuma also attempts to lure Ryu into succumbing to the Satsui no Hado, therefore casting aside his humanity, in hopes of finally finding a worthy opponent for the ultimate fight to the death that he seeks. Ryu knows this is an ambush planned by Akuma, as Ryu tried his best to find a way to get rid of the Dark Hado, refusing to get succumbed by that power.

Pre-Street Fighter
As a very young child, Ryu was orphaned and left with no memories about his parents, and whether they were still alive. He was found and adopted by a man named Gouken who raised Ryu in his secluded dojo and trained Ryu in the ways of his martial arts. Shortly afterwards, Gouken would later train his best friend's spoiled son, Ken Masters. Ken served not only as a sparring partner, but also gave Ryu a friend in the form of a boy his own age. Ryu looked up to Gouken as a father figure, and regards Ken as his best friend and surrogate brother, a relationship which remains to this day.

When Ryu was 23 years old, Gouken believed that Ryu was ready to travel the world in order to test and hone his martial skills against the best fighters from around the world. With this, Ryu left Gouken's dojo, and headed to fight in the World Warrior tournament.

Street Fighter
Ryu is one of the participants of the World Warrior tournament. After defeating all challengers, Ryu's skills earn him the right to fight its host, Sagat. Sagat nearly beats Ryu into unconsciousness and, thinking he had won, drops his guard to help Ryu up. Ryu, however, allows himself to be engulfed by the Satsui no Hado and strikes Sagat with a nearly-fatal Metsu Shoryuken that not only knocks Sagat unconscious, but also marks his chest with a great scar. After regaining consciousness and discovering what had happened, Sagat swears vengeance on Ryu.

Street Fighter Alpha 2
Ryu leaves Sagat behind and returns to his home, only to find that Gouken, his master and adoptive father, has apparently been murdered. Learning that Akuma had fought and supposedly killed his adopted father, Ryu began to travel the world to find this man. He encounters and fights Akuma on a secluded island known as Gokuentou, and wins; however, Akuma was only testing him, and senses that Ryu has the same powers as he does. He proceeds to tell Ryu about the Satsui no Hado - a power that consumes the practitioners of their shared fighting style, driving them to win even when it means killing the opponent. Akuma then uses his fist to smash the island, leaving Ryu stranded.

Sometime after escaping the island, Ryu battles Ken and loses. Ken realizes Ryu is not himself, as he has been deeply troubled since his last victory over Sagat. Ken gives him his red hairband as a reminder to stay focused, which Ryu was sincerely grateful for. Soon thereafter, a fan of his, named Sakura, comes up and expresses her desire to train under him. Ryu replies that he himself still has much to learn, but allows Sakura to take a picture of him for now.

At some point, Ryu is found by Sagat, who is out for a grudge match. Ryu protests that Sagat hasn't fully recovered from their last bout, but Sagat persists. Ryu lets Sagat win rather than do any further damage, and Sagat leaves. Only later, upon reflection, does Sagat realize that Ryu held back, vowing to fight him again.

Street Fighter Alpha 3
Two years later, Ryu continues to be troubled by what Akuma had told him, compounded by his encounter with Rose, who has intricate ties to M. Bison. She tells him that he cannot defeat Bison unless he fights him at the cost of his soul. True to form, when Ryu confronts Bison, he is defeated despite putting up a valiant fight. Bison takes the semi-conscious Ryu and begins brainwashing him, using the revelation that the Satsui no Hado - the dark power Ryu struggles to avoid using - is akin to Bison's own Psycho Power.

This scene is interrupted by the entrance of Sagat, Ken, and Sakura, each of them having followed Ryu for their own reasons. While Ken and Sakura distract Bison, Sagat fights the brainwashed Ryu, quickly noticing the effects Bison's brainwashing has had on him. At Sagat's urging, Ryu comes to his senses to confront and defeat Bison, destroying him temporarily.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo
During the World Warrior tournament, Ryu enters to test his skills, and defeats many of the new warriors. He encourages Ken to re-enter as well. However, it is unknown how far Ryu himself progressed in the tournament, although it is implied he may have lost to Ken. Other sources on the other hand support the idea that he's the tournament winner. In his ending, he shortly leaves the tournament after he wins against Bison, and revisits his master's grave to tell about his victory and the experiences he had with the other fighters. Ryu then states that the ultimate battle is out there waiting for him and departs, stating that the fight is everything.

In HD Remix, Ryu appears in Ken's ending, appearing in a somewhat blurry photo with Guile wearing a tuxedo while still wearing his red headband. This is the first time Ryu is seen wearing anything other than his gi.

Super Street Fighter IV
Sometime after the second World Warrior tournament, Ryu enters into a new tournament to further master his skills as well as reunite with his longtime friend Ken for another rematch. During his journey, he meets up with Sakura whom he encourages to train harder. Meanwhile Ryu also meets up with Sagat once more; the two fight, and while the result of the fight is unknown, it is implied that Ryu won.

During the final round with the tournament host Seth (actually a copy of him), he defeats him in the S.I.N. headquarters. During and after this battle the building fell around them as Ryu unleashed the Satsui no Hado on the BLECE machine, a weapon of mass destruction developed by S.I.N. that harnessed the energy in the human body.

During this, Sakura - who has been searching for Ryu - finds him and the BLECE machine, and a pulse of energy from it knocks her into a wall. Ryu defends her by unleashing a Shoryuken on the machine, and they leave the building together, the weapon destroyed.

He then encounters Gouken, who has in fact survived his last battle with Akuma, and Gouken uses the "Power of Nothingness" to seal the Satsui no Hado which is eating at Ryu, knocking him unconscious. Akuma then arrives on the scene to challenge his brother for a death duel, the winner of which will claim "the cub" (meaning Ryu). The outcome of the duel is unknown but, since Ryu is later seen free of Dark Hado's influence, it is very likely that either Gouken won or the battle ended in a draw (possibly interrupted).

Later, Ryu and Ken chase their long-lost master along a cliff face, with Ken wanting Gouken to stick around while Ryu wishes him well. Afterwards, he and Ken are walking through the desert while Rufus mocks them on his motorcycle, though it later breaks down and he is left pushing it while Ryu and Ken drives by (in Ken's jeep). Ryu later bids Sakura farewell as she, Dan and Blanka leave for home on a cruise ship. Some time later, having decided that his battles have made him stronger, he meets a now-older Sakura. What happens next is unknown, although Gouken might have taught Ryu the Shin Shoryuken and Denjin Hadoken at some point before Street Fighter III.

Story
Prologue - 'Finding True Strength'

In his dream, he was fighting against his evil self which he tells him to make him stronger which Ryu ultimately rejects it. It soon changes where he was seen fighting his master, Gouken in a sparring match which Ryu charging himself in a dark aura and hits his master with a single Hadoken as it explodes in a flash of light. Ryu soon wakes up in his dream as Gouken noticed who states to him that he was nearly consumed by the Satsui no Hado.

Ryu was later found by Rashid who finally introduces himself as the hero who travels the world. Rashid wants to challenge Ryu in a match which is to test his mettle. Gouken gives Ryu an advice of fighting his opponents which lies in a heart of battle and himself. Rashid asks him if he is not up fighting today as he silently accepts his challenge. After Rashid was defeated, he accepts his defeat and both are seen are having a friendly shake after the match. As Rashid leaves with his servant, Azam, Ryu decides to leave while handling his duffel bag to understand more about his own power as Gouken tells him to meet Ken who is worried for him.

Ryu finally reunites with Ken who notices their master about the Satsui no Hado. Ryu wants to know more answers about the fist of destruction which it does not lead to it as Ken decides to fight Ryu in a friendly sparring match. After that, Ken states it is not too shabby and he tells Ryu if he is controlled by the Satsui no Hado he will help him snap out of it. He also tells him to relax and go fight.

Arriving in China, Ryu encounters one of the Shadaloo's soldiers only to be brutally intercepted by a revived Charlie. Ryu feels the Satsui no Hado within his fist as Charlie wants to challenge him in a fight just to understand more of his power and limits. Ryu replies that he wants to know more. After sparring with Charlie, both are seen clashing each others' fist with their own chi. After this, Charlie calmly remarks that the Satsui no Hado within Ryu wasn't expecting to be as Ryu replies that he was struggling to suppress it completely until he made up his mind once he finds the answer what lies ahead about his power. He will keep moving and fighting no matter what the answer is. Charlie finally realizes that he and Ryu are not looking for the same thing but he gets something out of it and he thanked Ryu for their fight as they parted ways.

In the game's story, at some point during his travels, he encounters the mysterious warrior Necalli.

Street Fighter III
Years later, Ryu enters the third World Warrior tournament to further advance his fighting abilities. His most notable fight during the tournament is against Hugo, who is able to withstand his Shin Shoryuken and hold his own. He continues his travels afterward, meeting Oro along the way.

Shortly after the tournament, Ryu meets up with Ken for a friendly match in the latter's storyline, from which he emerges the victor. Ryu also serves as Hugo's pro-wrestling tag-team partner for a brief period of time before moving on, also shown in Hugo's storyline.

At some point, he encounters Alex, whom he solidly defeats. Ryu encourages the young wrestler to continue honing his abilities against strong opponents. Fascinated by Ryu's skill and determined to become stronger, Alex soon sets out to find Ryu for a rematch.

SNK vs. Capcom series
Ryu has appeared as a playable character in every installment of the SNK vs. Capcom series. His personality is depicted as having a slightly sarcastic demeanor to some foes, but is praised by a few other characters.

SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos
His ending has two variations, both his, and an extended version seen when the game is cleared with Red Arremer. In Ryu's ending, he states that his experiences tell that there are plenty more worthy opponents in the world, and Ryu sets out once again in his journey. In the extended version, after Ryu's statement, an extra scene is shown with Akuma observing Ryu from a long distance, stating that he will continue to monitor his progress.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
Ryu appeared playable in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, along with Chun-Li and Alex.

"X-Men vs Street Fighter"
Ryu is a playable character in "X-Men vs Street Fighter" and appears in Wolverine's ending.

"Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter"
Ryu is a playable character in "Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter" when Ryu was asked by Captain America and other Superheroes if he wanted to join the Avengers, he told them that he must continue to fallow his own path to mastery, the others respect his wish and gave him their luck on his adventures.

Marvel vs. Capcom series
Ryu appeared as a playable character in the Marvel vs. Capcom series.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
In his ending, Ryu is shown to continue his journey in search for strong challengers. This leads him to a confrontation with Iron Fist, and Wolverine in a team up with the X-Men against Docter Doom, he appears in the expansion released later the same year, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. In Ultimate, Ryu's ending was changed to show that Iron Fist chose him to be his successor to the Iron Fist legacy. Ryu is shown using the mystic arts of K'un-Lun to fight off Akuma, stating it is the perfect counter and alternative to the Satsui no Hado.

Street Fighter X Tekken
Ryu appears in Street Fighter X Tekken, with Ken as his tag partner. In their ending, Ryu begins to succumb to the Satsui no Hado as the Pandora's box is about to open. As the blinding light disappears, Ryu is nowhere to be found. Only his red headband was left on the ground, which Ken picks up as he wonders where he disappeared to.

Ryu's text ending suggests that two things could have happened when he vanished: that he either succumbed to Pandora's power and disappeared with it, or he sacrificed himself to protect the world from the box. There is no certain answer given, but it suggests that Ryu will not be gone for too long.

Their Tekken rivals are Kazuya Mishima and Nina Williams.

Asura's Wrath
Ryu appears in a special post-launch DLC mode for the game as a boss opponent with the player using the eponymous character in the "Lost Episodes" series. The story starts with Ryu being suddenly warped to Asura's world through a dimensional rip and is suddenly challenged by the god wherein he is challenged to two 1-round matches in the vein of Super Street Fighter IV. In between matches however, Ryu will switch Ultras. The player character, Asura, uses a Burst gauge much like in his native gameplay. The battle draws to a close when Asura uppercuts Ryu straight off of the Earth and lands on the moon, inadvertedly bringing about Evil Ryu. The episode ends when Akuma also manages to appear, wanting to challenge Asura personally.

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U
Ryu appears as a downloadable content character in the Super Smash Bros. game for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. He comes with an arena based on his classic Suzaku Castle stage from Street Fighter II. His appearance marks the first time a Super Smash Bros. game has two third-party characters from the same company, as fellow Capcom hero Mega Man is also playable. Ryu is also the first DLC third-party character in the Super Smash Bros. series as well as the only character to have two Final Smash attacks when in possession of a Smash Ball (explained below).

Ryu's Special attacks consist of his usual signature moves (the Hadoken, Shoryuken, Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku, and a Focus Attack) as well as some of his standard basic moves. Much like his home series, each of Ryu's attacks has three levels: Performing the attacks with a simple button press(like most other characters in the game) is the weakest, while holding the button for a second makes the attack stronger. Using the directional commands from the Street Fighter series (as opposed to the standard Smash Bros. input) will give Ryu an even more enhanced version of the attacks, and also allows him to do the Shakunetsu Hadoken. His normal moveset uses his normals, but uses different attacks based on either tapping or holding down the attack button and has his Joudan Sokutogeri as his forward Smash. He is essentially a truly combo-oriented character who can be played either like a traditional Smash Bros. character or a Street Fighter character. For his Final Smash attacks, he uses either the Shinkuu Hadoken or Shin Shoryuken, depending on his range from his target.

Blood Brothers 2
Ryu, M. Bison and Chun-Li appear in DeNA’s mobile RPG, Blood Brothers 2.

"Namco X Capcom"
Ryu is a main character in "Namco X Capcom" as a central character.

"Project X Zone"
Ryu is a playable character in "Project X Zone" as he, Juri, Jin Kazama are a target for Seth who wanted to use his Satsui no Hado, Juri's Feng Shui Engine, and Jin's Devil Gene for his own purposes.

"Project X Zone 2"
Ryu is a playable character in "Project X Zone 2".

Street Fighter II manga
Ryu has been training in with his best friend Ken under Gouken to become a better fighter. One night, Cho, a friend of Ken, tells them the dangers of Shadaloo, it's leader Bison, their works of evil and corruption and a special serum know as DOLL they developed.

Unknowing to them, Shadaloo has been tracking them, they begin to attack Ryu and Ken, Ryu was able to defeat Sagat, but could not find Ken or Cho, he went to find Gouken, only to find Gouken on the floor and dead, Ryu had also believed that Cho and Ken were killed by Shadaloo.

At some point, he goes to the Island known as Shad which is hosting a tournament by Shadaloo, on the island, he meets Cho's girlfriend Po-Lin and her younger brother Wong-Mei, he tells that he was a friend of Cho and about the night Shadaloo attacked them, he tells then Cho was murdered by them. At some point, he finds out Ken was alive, but was unaware that he was being brainwashed by Bison under the serem of DOLL.

He attacks him with his Shoryuken, Ryu falls to the ground as he is being covered in sement by the brainwashed Ken, however, Ryu's hand was still able to move and he was able to break through the sement, and finds Chun-Li about to be stabbed by a member of Shadaloo in a medical bed. Ryu saves her by attacking the Shadaloo member, and goes to follow Ken to find out where Bison was.

Ryu went to fight Bison after Ken was defeated by him, as he fought against Bison, the police had surrounded the Island bring Bison into justice, he was able to overcome Bison's attacks, telling him that he is not a murderer who enjoys reeking havoc like him.

Ryu sets on another journey to prove his skills, before he leaves, he tells Ken, Po-Lin and Wong-Mei that they will meet again someday, now that Cho has been avenged and Shadaloo is not longer a danger to Po-Lin and Wong-Mei, he feels pride at what he did, knowing that they will be safe.

At some point later, he goes to a strange island, he sees a darker-counterpart of himself as it tries to attack him, he eventually comes across Ken, Chun-Li, and Guile, each of them were on their own adventure for their own personal reason, they all were fighting a darker-counterpart of themselves, now knowing they were on no normal island.

They eventually come across Bison and his Henchman (as they too have had the same situation like the others), they had no choice but to work together in order to escape this island alive, they come across their darker-counterparts (each of them out to destroy their normal-counterparts).

As they fight for their lives, Ryu hits a steaming pipe that eventually causes a chain reaction for the Island to sink into the sea, they find their boat and leave the island, Bison and his men escape into their own ship, letting them know that the battle to stop him from taking over the world is far from over.

Street Fighter Alpha manga
Ryu is still under training as he performs a forbidden version of the Shoryuken, he told his master that he came up with this move under a waterfall, knowing the potential dangers of the Satsui no Hado, Gouken told him to never use that move no matter what.

At some point, he fights against Birdie and eventually meets Sagat, he is overpowered by Sagat and gets possessed by the Satsui no Hado, defeating Sagat with ease, fearing the dangerous affects of this power, Ryu did not think it would be wise to get into any fights, he goes to work for Birdie as a bodyguard, he finds out that the police has surrounded the ship.

Ryu took a bullet for Birdie as he was about to be shot in the legs, as bullets had entered in Ryu's chest, he felt the Satsui no Hado awaken as the bullets burst out of his chest, he tells everybody to run as he is transforming into a demon, as he transforms, he jumps from a ship to another one with a hurricane kick, destroying a part of it.

Ryu starts to attack the police who shot him as they tried to defend themselves with their gun, only for him dodge their bullets, as he tries to attack the cop, he holds back the attack (Ryu's mind is trying to regain his control), as he fights against the cops, he comes across Chun-Li and Birdie, who are seeking to help him overcome the Satsui no Hado, he overpowers them with ease, but regains his control back before he could finish off Chun-Li.

At Interpol H.Q. many cops had asked questions about that he showed, he told them about the Satsui no Hado and his first exposer to it at the first Street Fighter tournament, Chun-Li told him that somebody has been after him, she tells him about Shadaloo and how he could help Interpol find Bison, Ryu agreed to help them, at some point, he goes into a sewer (as Shadaloo members have been using it as a place to travel for unknown reasons), Rose gets to him in a hurry and tells him that she knows about his situation with his inner conflict with the Satsui no Hado and tells him to go to the U.S.A. karate tournament to see two men in red as they are the key to helping him with the Satsui no Hado.

He watches Ken win the battle against Dan as he notices Ken using the Shoryuken as a finishing move against his opponents in the tournament, after the tournament was finished, he asked Ken the reason for why did he used the Shoryuken, telling him how dangerous that particular move was, he tells Ken that the Satsui no Hado can take over a person when they are close to being murdered and searching for the ultimate battle to the point when it can even cost that person their life, he tells Ken that he wants to fight him in a battle where he may get killed (thinking it is the only way he can overcome the Satsui no Hado), as they fight, Ken used the Shoryuken on Ryu which knocks him near the sea.

Ryu tells Ken that he has no idea what it is like to be possessed by the Satsui no Hado and losing control, Ken told that he would have to kill Ryu if he ever lost himself entirely to the Satsui no Hado, he tells Ryu that it was their master who had agreed to this choice, Ryu used the Shoryuken on Ken as he himself used the same move as well on Ryu.

Sakura Ganbaru!
Having previously been seen in flashbacks, Ryu appears in the second and final volume of Sakura Ganbaru!, which follows Sakura in her quest to become a street fighter as well as meet and challenge Ryu to a fight. At the area around Suzaku Castle in Japan, Sakura finds Ryu and shed tears of joy, much to his confusion. Sakura proceeded to challenge him to a fight, which Ryu promptly accepted. Ryu held back for some time, but upon realizing Sakura's true strength, started to go all out. In the end, they promised to meet again and, as Ryu started to leave, Sakura took a photograph to have something to remember him by.

Years later, Sakura, now a P.E. teacher in her old school, is greeted by Ryu and Ken, fulfilling the promise Ryu and Sakura made earlier. The story ends with Ryu challenging Sakura to a street fight, and moving in to trade the first blows.

Street Fighter Gaiden
Ryu appears in the manga paying his respects to his teacher.

UDON comics
Ryu is an orphan boy who is raised by a martial arts master named "Gouken" in the mountains of Japan after he was saved by Gouken from a burning store that Akuma started when Ryu's mother was killed. Throughout his childhood, Gouken teaches Ryu the virtues of honor, respect of life, and compassion as a person and a warrior. To train to be the best he could be, but not to ever forsake his humanity for victory and power, a battle which Ryu is constantly fighting within his own mind and spirit. During a training exercise with Gouken's friend Retsu, the young Ryu loses control of his inhibitions after losing a sparring match, succumbing to the evil possession of the Satsui no Hado and savagely attacking Retsu with a ferocious punch that knocks him off his feet. Ryu would have continued assaulting Retsu if not for Gouken restraining his pupil. Later on another boy joins him at Gouken's dojo: Ken Masters, the son of a wealthy American businessman who sent him overseas to learn mental discipline under Gouken's teachings. The two train closely as friends to develop their own unique approaches to Gouken's teachings; Ryu keeping his style focused and devout to the way he was taught and Ken adding his own creative and unpredictable spin to the form.

As Ryu reaches adulthood, he decides to travel out from the temple (by this point Ken had also left Gouken's dojo to become the United States martial arts champion) and continue his training on his own by traveling the world to find strong warriors to test his strength against. These travels eventually bring him to the World Warrior tournament, an unsanctioned martial arts competition that draws the most worthy fighters the world over to compete to fight the champion, the Muay Thai King Sagat. Ryu successfully advances to the finals of the competition but is bested in the concluding battle. Following the bout, his darker instincts once again manifest and he delivers a Metsu Shoryuken against Sagat, leaving a massive gash across the fighter's chest. From the shadows, M.Bison, the leader of Shadaloo, watches the match, taking an notice for Ryu's dark power.

Upon returning from the Thailand to Japan, Ryu is horrified to find that his master had been murdered, the calling card being a large "Sky (Ten)" symbol being painted in Gouken's blood in the temple wall. Ryu, burning with rage, and a desire for revenge, goes to Ken, now living in San Francisco with his fiancee, Eliza.

He tells Ken that their Master was killed by an unknown person, only for Ken to be shocked by this news, he lets Ryu stay with him in his house, that night, they were being watched on footage by a Shadaloo assassin, as they return home for a dinner at night, he has a dream about the time he first saw Akuma all those years ago, Gouken defeated him, but refused to take his life, Akuma leaves them both, telling Gouken he will regret not killing him, Ryu wakes up from his dream, thinking to himself that Akuma might had something to do with the murder since he had the same symbol on his back.

He tells Ken that he needs his help to try and find Akuma in Japan, he goes with Ryu in his Jet, the next morning, they went to visit the temple they trained in, unknown to them, they were still being followed by Shadaloo, that night, Ryu begins to have a nightmare as he is losing control of himself, and brutally beating Ken. As he throws him near a wall, he then performs a Metsu Hadoken and blowing up the top of the temple, he wakes up in fear and finds out that he did made a hole through the wall, he starts to ponder that something is wrong with him.

He is visited by Sagat the next day, telling him that Bison wants to turn him into a slave of Shadaloo by controlling his mind, and tells Ryu to leave the temple, as he and Ken go to a shrine while waiting for Interpol agents to help them. The sky begins to turn red as Akuma comes from the forest.

He tells Akuma that he murdered his own brother, Akuma told him that Gouken was just an opponent who was beneath him, he told Ryu that Gouken was unfit to teach, and was unable to devote him completely to perfection, in rage by his words, Ryu and Ken attacks him, Akuma dodges both of their attacks with his Ashura Senku and throws both Ryu and Ken into the air.

As Ryu watches Ken get thrown into a dojo, he rushes to Akuma for combo attacks and performs a Hadoken at him, Sakura sees the chaos behind the tree, and go to attack Akuma, only for her to get hit by him in a ruthless manner as she hits a tree and getting knocked out, Ryu gets angry at the fact that Akuma would attack a teenager in a ruthless fashion, Akuma told him that he could learn from her.

Akuma gets the upper hand as he uses combo attacks on him, Ryu gets possessed by the Satsui no Hado and goes for an attack that he dodges but leaves a hole in the ground, Akuma sees the Dark Hado flowing within him, he tells Ryu that he will be worthy to face him and to seek him out in the next Street Fighter tournament, he tells Ryu to embrace the dark power and proving to him that he did not spare him his life in vain, he knocks out Ryu and leaves.

Ryu starts to awaken for the ground and sees Ken helping Sakura and her friend, Ryu told him that he needs to find him at the Street Fighter tournament when he is worthy of him, Ryu desired to travel around the world to increase his strength in order to defeat Akuma and avenge Gouken.

He tells Ken that he cannot let Shadaloo stop him from his goal, he eventually finds out that Ken is going to be a father, and knows that he himself must continue on this journey on his own.

Archie Comics
Ryu, along with other Capcom and SEGA characters appeared in the Sonic the Hedgehog/MegaMan crossover comic, Worlds Unite.

He is helping Sonic, Megaman, and X in the battle against Simga and his army from trying take over the worlds of Capcom and SEGA, he is eventually fought by Simga after gaining a boost in power and had a hard time fighting him, although Simga was defeated by Sonic in his super form with Megaman's help, the portals that lead to everyone's homeworlds was starting to fade away.

Thanks to Pane's plan from stopping Sigma in a different timeline in a portal, everyone was returned back to their homeworlds with no memory of their fight against Sigma.

Street Fighter
In the live action movie adaptation of the games, Ryu's place as the main character of the series is replaced by Guile as the military leader of the Allied Nations Shadaloo branch. Ryu (with the last name of Hoshi), along with Ken, are two con artists who love to take money from rich crime lords through their schemes. This time, however, they unwittingly become entangled in the war to free the country of Shadaloo.

Unlike in the games, comics and animes, Ryu is the most inaccurate representation in every aspect of the character in the film, he is no more than a simple street brawler with no secretly tapped abilities. The only visual representation of what may be the Hadoken is during a side-story fight with Vega nearing the climax to the film. It is represented by the screen going white for a brief moment as Ryu screams with his hands in the traditional Hadoken stance. In that regard, it is shown in the film that Vega, not Sagat, is Ryu's rival.

His name is pronounced "Rai-you" instead of its traditional and more accurately pronounced "Ree-you". His name is pronounced correctly only twice out of the 14+ times it is spoken; once by M. Bison when ordering that he and Ken be given clean clothing after they are welcomed into the Shadaloo base, and once by Guile when commanding Chun-Li and Balrog to find Ryu and Ken during the final battle.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Ryu is mentioned by Gen at the end of the film as a potential recruit for the Order of the Web. It is said that he is a powerful competitor at in a "Street Fighter Tournament".

Street Fighter: Legacy
Jon Foo played Ryu in Street Fighter: Legacy which was co-directed by Joey Ansah and Owen Trevor.

Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist
Ryu appears along with Ken and Gouken in Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist portrayed by Mike Moh. Ryu was found as a young boy wandering in the forest near Gouken's dojo, unable or unwilling to speak, and was brought to Gouken to be raised. Usually emotionally closed off due to whatever traumatic experience led him to wander the forest, Ryu spontaneously taps into the Satsui no Hado during a bout with Ken; Gouken sends both students away to travel the world in the hopes of keeping Akuma from finding Ryu. A minor story about the origins of Ryu's theme is included.

Street Fighter: Resurrection
Moh reprised his role as Ryu in Street Fighter: Resurrection.

Street Fighter: World Warrior
Moh will reprise his role as Ryu in the second season, Street Fighter: World Warrior.

Street Fighter
His story in this TV series is basically a loose combination of the two stories in the games and in the live-action film. Ryu, once again given the last name of Hoshi and replaced by Guile as the main character, is still a con man, as well as Ken, but despite this, he is still dedicated to his training. Unlike the film, Ryu has a rivalry with Sagat.

Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
Ryu trained with his best friend Ken as a teenager, rescuing him when the latter almost falls into a pit. Sometime after their training, Ryu said his farewells to Ken as he leaves in order to become a master of Ansatsuken. A few years later, Ryu battles against Sagat on a dark and stormy night; unbeknownst to them, they were being watched by a Shadoloo Drone. As the two appeared to be evenly matched, Sagat began to overpower Ryu, and went for a finishing blow; Ryu then charged up and unleashed a powerful Shoruken that catches Sagat in midair and floors him, leaving him scarred. Ryu then finally defeated Sagat with a Hadoken.

Sometime after the battle, Ryu is at a tournament in Hong Kong, where he is hassled by everyone around him without apparent reason. He is forced into the tournament ring, where he quickly defeats his cocky opponent with a headbutt to the face. This is enough to impress one of the spectators - Fei Long, who entered the ring to test Ryu. Upon Ryu's victory, Fei Long began to tell him about the terrorist company known as Shadaloo and the man who had recently joined them - Sagat.

Ryu ponders Sagat's fall from grace as he travels to India, where he watches a match between Dhalsim and E. Honda. The former suddenly sensed an unknown power coming from Ryu, occupying him long enough for Honda to get the upper hand. Dhalsim loses interest in the fight, however, and quits, still keen on learning of Ryu's power.

As Ryu left, a young girl accidentally bumped into him; he then picked up a spilled milk bottle and, taking responsibility for it, gave her some money from his bag. When the girl returns and tries to give him his change, however, she was attacked by a group of thugs, prompting Ryu to retaliate and defeat them. As the goons were arrested, an officer informed Ryu that they were Shadaloo members. Ryu then checks on the little girl, who is in better condition, and tells her to keep the change; E. Honda claims half of the money, and then offers Ryu a chance to train with him.

While the two train in Thailand, they are met by Guile via helicopter; the military officer tells them that Ken has been kidnapped by Bison. At this point, the Shadaloo mastermind, who was actually tracking them the entire time, arrives in his jet, accompanied by a brainwashed Ken. As Ryu is attacked by his friend-turned-foe, he refuses to fight back, causing Ken to fight back against bison's influence. Sensing this, Bison teleports behind Ken and tosses him off the side of the mountain.

Bison then impedes Ryu's rescue attempt, belittling his morality and compassion and claiming that Ken may not even be alive. As the enraged Ryu then attacks, Bison tries to recruit him to Shadaloo, desiring to use his power to take over the world, but Ryu adamantly refuses despite the fighting slowly turning in the dictator's favor. Out of nowhere, Ken reappears and joins Ryu in the fight against Bison; the duo are able to weaken him and defeat him with a combined Hadoken, reducing Bison to a sphere of Psycho Power which is then hit by his Shadaloo jet, causing it to explode.

Sometime later, Ryu says his goodbyes to Ken once more as he prepares to leave to another adventure, but he is surprised by the reappearance of Bison, who attempt to run Ryu down with a truck. The film ends with Ryu charging towards him.

Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation
Ryu is still contemplating the death of his master, Gouken from Akuma while at the same time experiencing trouble with the Dark Hadou, an evil energy which Gouken's brother, Akuma, who casted away his humanity in order to become stronger long ago, while in the city, Ryu fights off a few agents working for Shadaloo who were doing crimes for Saddler, gaining the attention of an Interpol agent Chun-Li, who does some background research and realizes Ryu is the fighter who defeated Sagat, the Muay Thai Champion. also catching sight of Ryu Sakura, who becomes fascinated with Ryu and vows to track him down and become his student.

At some point, he is visited by Rose who tells him about his possible dark future and a meeting with a person that will cause him an inner conflict, before she can finished, she senses a person coming among them, she teleports away, Ryu had come across Ken who was coming to pay his respects and to visit him, as Ken goes to get water, Ryu feels his body in pain as he has visions of Akuma, he questions on what is wrong with him, a part of a forest is destroyed by his dark ki as he falls to the ground, after he awakens, he meets Shun who claims to be his younger brother.

Ryu asked if their father was also not alive like their mother, Shun was about to answer his question, but hesitated, Ken himself was also interested in this question also asked him about their father, Ryu had told Ken not to worry about that for the time being, the next night, Ryu feels very strange as the Satsui no Hado begins to rise inside him again and takes over him, Ken senses something sinister as he finds Ryu gone, Ken follows the dark power coming from outside as he sees Ryu who is possessed by the Satsui no Hado, Ken breaks him from the influence as he returns to normal, as Shun hears something strange from outside and sees Ryu looking tired, Ryu told him to stay back.

Street Fighter Alpha: Generations
Ryu is traveling to Japan to revisit the dojo that his was raised in, he is however stopped by a woman who was watering plants. She asked him about where he was going, and he told her that he was going to pay his respects to his master. As he remembered how the dojo has change, he has a dream about Akuma. Thinking that Akuma has come to fight him, Ryu started to get into a fighting pose.

He woke up from the nightmare, realizing that it was just a dream. He is later on tested by a monk would saw his fighting potential. Ryu eventually loses the match against the monk, which was impressed by him and invited him to dinner at his own home. As they ate, the monk told Ryu about Akuma, and Ryu told that he saw Akuma when he was still a child. As the talk continued, Ryu saw the same woman that he witness from before.

At some point, he came across Sakura who was looking for him. Ryu was asked by Sakura to have a match with her, he did so in hopes of improving himself. After the matched, Sakura thanked him for it. Feeling that he was ready to face Akuma for his wrongdoings, Ryu is told by the monk where to find him. When he finally sees Akuma and begins to challenged him, as they fought, Ryu realizes this skills are not going well against Akuma. He then starts to fail into the influence of the Satsui no Hado and attacks Akuma, as he begins to perform the Raging Demon. He is then stopped by a flower wich reminds him of Fuka. Akuma told him that he has lost his desire to be powerful due to his love that he has for his master, Ryu told him that it has made him powerful. Akuma then attacked him, but Ryu is able to block it with his own ki, which begins to purify him of his Satsui no Hado, and giving back some of Akuma's humanity. The movie ends as Ryu continues to travel around the world.

Street Fighter II V
Here, Ryu appears as a 17 year old who travels with Ken for the early part of the series, and has yet to learn the Hadoken as part of his original fighting style. After being trounced in a bar fight with Guile, he and Ken decide to travel the world, teaming up with Chun-Li.

Wreck-It Ralph


Ryu makes three cameo appearances in Disney's 52nd Animated film, Wreck-It Ralph where Kyle Hebert reprises his voice role in the film. First, a 16-bit Ryu and Ken notice that the arcade is closed and decide to take a break and head off to the Tapper bar. Later, a computer-animated Ryu can be spotted as one of the customers the Root Beer Tapper has to serve. Then, Ryu can be seen passing by Ralph for a couple of seconds as Ralph is looking for a medal. Finally, he is seen in the credits in the car-breaking bonus stage alongside Wreck-It Ralph.

Ironically, in the Japanese version of the movie, he is voiced by Taketora, the current Japanese voice actor of Akuma.

Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game
Ryu has a secret love for Chun Li, but he tries to forget it in order to devote more of their training. In this game's backstory, Ryu was originally trained in Karate by his mother, who taught him the basics and then enrolled him in Gouken's dojo.

Gameplay and fighting style
Ryu's fighting style is generally referred to as Shotokan, despite the relative lack of resemblance to the real-life martial art (except for some of his normal attacks). His take on the style focuses on powerful singular strikes that usual knock the foe down, and is centered around his trademark Hadoken.

Ryu is available in every single Street Fighter game as the quintessential "basic" character of the series: an all-around fighter with an intuitive array of punches and kicks and basic special moves that are easy to pick up. Though this simplicity grants a lot of offensive mobility, it hampers his combo ability quite a bit, especially when compared to characters such as Ken, and renders him fairly predictable against more advanced players.

Many of his attacks are reliable if a bit slow, and they are generally safe (or at least neutral) on block. The relative lack of changes to his moves compared to various other characters make him a solid choice for learning a given game's ins and outs. With fairly 'straightforward', easy-to-use moves at his disposal, he can even become a viable option in high-level play in the hands of a player able to read their opponent well.

Ryu's fighting style is also known to be similar to how he works in the games; a reliable tool-set that barely changes bit by bit each time. It is often in Ryu's nature to stick to the fundamentals, playing to his more consistent techniques he's refined throughout the years, and often seeks to master while tweaking it by small bits. This categorizes him in the "boring, but practical" group of things, but his knowledge of all of his basic techniques makes him confident in any fight.

Ryu seems to retain his role as the balanced fighter in Street Fighter V, and his fighting stats reflect this;

Techniques
Ryu's standard special attacks are the Hadoken, generally referred to as the Fireball; the Shoryuken, or Dragon Punch; and the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku or Hurricane Kick. In later versions of Street Fighter II, Ryu is able to perform the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku in the air, and gains the ability to use a more powerful Hadoken that is an actual fireball.

In the Alpha series, he has a tactic known as the Hado no Kamae, a false Hadoken stance designed for fooling the opponent. In the Street Fighter III series, Ryu gains the Joudan Sokutogeri, a powerful side kick that shoves opponents away with great force.

In the Street Fighter EX series, his Tatsumaki Senpukyaku is replaced with a flying kick attack which can be done in succession by inputting the same command twice or three times. In Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, he gains the Ren Hadoken (a compact Hadoken which can be rapid fired 5 times), the Baku Hadoken (an exploding Hadoken that causes the opponent to wall bounce), and the Hado Shoryuken (a Shoryuken infused with a Hadoken that hits 2-4 times).

In Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, Ryu's special attacks take on electrical properties, and feature the fewest and least drastic costume changes in the game. He also has a Mighty Combo called the Reppuu Jinrai Shou, a multi-hitting punch combo that ends with a Shoryuken.

Super Combos
Many of Ryu's Super Combos are more powerful versions of his normal moves. His trademark Shinku Hadoken is a five-hit Hadoken, and the first Super Combo in the series. The Shin Shoryuken is a close-range high-powered uppercut, and the Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku is a multi-hitting kick.

In Street Fighter III, Ryu can use the Denjin Hadoken Super Art, a ball of pure energy that can be charged to deal more damage, hits and stun damage. The Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku is now his EX Tatsumaki.

Ryu has a unique ability in Marvel vs. Capcom, where he is able to change his fighting style (and outfit) to those of Ken and Akuma (to compensate for the lack of the two characters in the game). In Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Ryu gains the ability to temporarily enhance his fighting power through a Hyper Combo called Hado Kakusei which not only increases his speed by 15%, but also upgrades his other Hyper Combos as well.

Popular Culture
Ryu/Pop Culture

Quotes

 * See: Ryu/Quotes

Gallery

 * See: Ryu/Gallery

Trivia

 * Though he continues to wander the world to become a stronger warrior through training and sportsmanship of the fight, he plans to hold a dojo like his teacher when his wanderings are over.


 * Ryu and Chun-Li have made the most crossover appearances out of the entire Street Fighter roster, appearing in all crossover projects to date involving the series (not including one-off guest appearances by Street Fighter characters). Ryu and Ken, conversely, are the only two characters who have been in every Street Fighter installment.
 * Ryu actually makes a small comical jab at his multiple crossover appearances throughout the years in his introduction in the first "Lost Episode" of Asura's Wrath, saying that it's "not the first time [he's] been sent to a strange land".


 * Although initially easily subjected to M. Bison's will, Ryu is one of only two people to deal him a defeat in one on one direct combat (the other being Charlie Nash).


 * According to some of his Street Fighter IV win quotes, Ryu can afford shoes, but enjoys walking barefoot (possibly for training).
 * In UDON's comics, while tutoring and helping Sakura, Ryu brushes upon this matter as well, saying that traveling barefoot is helpful in building one's character.
 * Furthermore, in his Street Fighter X Tekken win quote against Guy, he considers the idea of rethinking his stance on shoes.


 * Ryu shares his name with the main protagonist of Capcom's Breath of Fire series of RPG games.


 * Ryu is one of three characters whose stage doesn't have an audience until the Alpha series (along with Akuma and Evil Ryu).


 * Ryu's 6th color in Street Fighter IV bears a resemblance to his attire in the Alpha series.


 * Ryu shares the same birthday as T. Hawk.
 * Ryu also shares the same birthday (and year, shown in the SNES manual for SFII) with former Capcom artist, Akira (Akiman) Yasuda.


 * Evil Ryu's winquote to Rose in Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition is almost the same as Ryu's winquote to her in Street Fighter IV.


 * In the original Street Fighter, there's unused audio in the game files for a "Fire Kick", along with unused graphics that suggest Ryu and Ken were planned to have a fourth special move.
 * According to Yoshinori Ono, Ryu suffers from arachnophobia (fear of spiders), a subject matter emphasized in his introduction quote against Spider-Man in Marvel VS Capcom 3 and its Ultimate upgrade.


 * In Street Fighter: Resurrection, Ryu's date of birth is listed as " Unknown" while his offical birthdate is July 21, 1964.

Sprites
Ryu/Sprites