Shun Goku Satsu

Akuma prepares to unleash "Instant Hell Murder" on his opponent (Ryu.)

(Super Combo, Super Art & Mighty Combo)

+ Special Button (Mighty Combo)

(Ultra Combo)

Shun Goku Satsu (瞬獄殺, "Instant Hell Murder") also called the "Raging Demon" or the "Instant Hell Murder", is a technique commonly seen in the Street Fighter games. Usually, it is a super move that requires a full meter to execute, is unblockable, and inflicts heavy damage. It is normally associated with Akuma, although Ryu has been able to use it as well (only in his Evil state). The motion for the move is usually Jab (LP), Jab (LP), Forward, Short (LK), Fierce (HP) tapped separately and rhythmically, and the character will slide forward, via Ashura Senku.

History

The infamous "Shun Goku Satsu" animation.

The Shun Goku Satsu in the storyline was a very powerful, but fatally dangerous technique taught in the original principles of the martial art taught by Goutetsu. The move usually defeats the opponent instantly or kills them while destroying their soul.

While immensely powerful, some characters have survived its wrath. Gill faced a Shun Goku Satsu head on, but because of his Resurrection ability, he survived the encounter. Gen also managed to withstand the attack by emptying his soul in time before it could consume him, but it took a lot of power to do so. M. Bison has faced it at the end of Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, but kept a portion of his life force and a part of his soul within Rose which allowed him to come back in Street Fighter 4. Gouken, Akuma's brother has also been confirmed to having survived. This was due to his embrace to "emptiness" within his fighting style. It was most likely that Gouken perfomed a soul evacuation much like Gen but somewhat mistimed it, resulting in Gouken lapsing into a comatose state.

Concept

The universal "ending pose" Akuma takes after performing "Raging Demon."

The actual attack of the Shun Goku Satsu is never displayed explicitly onscreen. When performed, the user glides towards the opponent and grabs them. Before anything can be seen, the screen blacks out as the character is relentlessly beaten as showcased by a series of flashes. At the end, the opponent is found on the ground, knocked out as the user stands over the opponent, usually with their back turned to the screen.

The Shun Goku Satsu is revealed to be linked with Akuma's design. His design inspiration came from the Nio, the twin, wrath filled guardians of the Buddha (which are seen in some of Akuma's stages in various Street Fighter games). In some Buddhist beliefs, there are sixteen hells which punish the soul, eight of fire and eight of ice. The Shun Goku Satsu is the channeling of these sixteen hells to the opponent's soul through the user's soul, which in gameplay is displayed as fifteen hit sparks and, provided that the opponent's health is low enough, he/she will die in the final hell which is displayed as fire and the "ten" kanji symbol in some games. Due to the fact that sixteen hells are being channelled through the user to destroy the opponent's soul, the user is put at immense risk - if the user fails to maintain a Zen state of mind throughout the course of the technique, it will backfire and turn the punishment of the sixteen hells on the user.

Appearances

• Super Street Fighter II Turbo: The first appearance of this attack. It was Akuma's Super Combo in later versions of the game. In the original arcade version, Akuma cannot perform it as an attack, and it can be assumed that the original intent was to have him beat up M. Bison "offscreen" during the white flash.
• Street Fighter Alpha series: The "Raging Demon" continued to be Akuma's trademark Super Combo throughout the Alpha series.
• Street Fighter III series: This was Akuma's secret Super Art in Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact and one of two secret Super Arts in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. He could use it in a match no matter what Super Art had been selected, thus giving him access to two (or three, depending on the game) Super Arts at any given time.
• Street Fighter IV series: The attack is again Akuma's Super Combo. However, this series also gave him access to a far more powerful version of the attack known as Shin Shun Goku Satsu (真・瞬獄殺, True Instant Hell Murder) or alternately "Wrath of the Raging Demon", which is Akuma's first Ultra Combo. It is essentially the same as the original but when Akuma comes into contact with a fighter, he tells the fighter "Prepare yourself!" and when he connects, four kanji appear in the corners of the screen, and he says "die one thousand deaths" (the kanji that appear are Isshun Sengeki (一瞬千撃), roughly meaning One moment, thousand strikes), after which Akuma proceeds with the attack, and the opponent screams in pain, in the same manner as if they were just knocked out.

Other users

Street Fighter

• Gou Hibiki - In Pocket Fighter, in a secret super move of Dan he calls his father Gou to do the Shun Goku Satsu. But the Kanji of "Father" appears instead.

• Dan - Dan has a parody of this attack called Otoko Michi, and its command is the reverse of its original version. In most games, the attack's properties are almost the complete opposite of the original; it either takes away the user's health or it does minimal damage.

• Sakura - Sakura possesses this attack in her "Sunburn"/Dark variation, but the attack is spelled with the kanji 春獄殺 (Spring Hell Murder, which is also pronounced "shun-goku-satsu" in Japanese), instead. Also, she can perform the attack in the Street Fighter EX series as her normal self (presumably beause Dark Sakura isn't playable in it). Finally, in her Cameo in Rival Schools, Sakura's Team-Up Attack is the Shun Goku Satsu (with the same kanji as above), except that it's simply a conventional beatdown with her ally holding the opponent down.

• Evil Ryu - It is the same as the original version, but the Kanji of "Destruction" appears instead.

• Kairi - Same as usual, but instead of sliding towards his opponent, he runs towards them and also at the end of the attack, he is seen on his knees, holding his head in pain. Another thing that differs from Kairi's version is that whilst he is performing the attack, a lot of different Japanese symbols are shown appearing in a circle with every hit he does. However, in Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha, the Shun Goku Satsu button input triggers the "Kyouja Renbu" attack. Instead of sliding towards the opponent, Kairi runs to them and delivers a seven-hit punch/kick combo which ends with him impaling the opponent through the stomach with his fist.
• Hokuto - She uses the "Kyouja Renbu" attack in Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha. Her method is pretty much the same as Kairi's where she would run towards the person and deliver a seven-hit punch/kick combo which ends with her impaling the opponent through the stomach with her fist.
• Oni - He posseses the regular version but can also perform the attack in mid air.

Non-Street Fighter

• Morrigan - Morrigan's Darkness Illusion was the first super move to use the button press sequence (LP, LP, F, LK, HP) that is now commonly associated with the Shun Goku Satsu.

• Rogue - Rogue can utilize a varaition of Shun Goku Satsu by kissing Akuma during game play. A large X is superimposed on the background.

• God/Ultimate Rugal (Capcom vs. SNK 2 only) - Rugal obtains this attack after absorbing Akuma's power.

• Ms. Orange - In Okami, Ms. Orange uses this to serve Amaterasu some cherry cakes.

• Omega Zero - In Mega Man Zero 3, the end-boss uses a variation of Shun Goku Satsu as one of his most powerful attacks, and it is used only when his health is below one bar. However, the screen does not black out as he repeatedly slices the opponent in an inescapable chain of seven slashes ending with a rising uppercut. This is the only in-game appearance in where a variation of the Shun Goku Satsu is visible when performed on the opponent.

• In Capcom's Breath of Fire IV, a learnable technique called "Disembowel" uses the the same animation of attack and the Kanji right after the attack is done. However, it doesn't have the same power from fighting games versions, since it cuts the enemy's HP to 1 and rarely hits.

• In Bayonetta, a game made by former Capcom game director Hideki Kamiya, the secret boss, Father Rodin has a move that directly resembles the Shun Goku Satsu. Instead of having his back to the screen, he simply lounges on the floor.

• In Warriors Orochi 2, Orochi X has a move similar to Shun Goku Satsu as his R1 special. However, it is mostly non-fatal, save on Chaos difficulty, where it is an instant kill.

• In Marvel Vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, a Hyper Combo caled "Black Hayato" is used by Hayato and uses the same animation. He dashes toward the user and impales them. Though instead of blows being struck when the screen blacks out, sword slashes are heard and seen. There is no kanji seen before or after the move is performed.

• In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Meta Knight has a Final Smash similar to the Shun Goku Satsu. However, it delivers below average knockback for a Final Smash and normally doesn't K.O. until the opponent's damage meter is above 100%.
• In Soul Calibur IV , Mitsurugi's Critical Finish has a similar flash to the Shun Goku Satsu , he draws his sword and unleash two powerful slash (in the same way that Akuma's attacks) and in the end the opponent is down and burning.

Trivia

• In Gouken's ending in Street Fighter IV, the Shun Goku Satsu is shown as a mighty punch enveloped in crimson energy. Ironically, the Street Fighter US animated series predated this exact depiction, though the energy was violet-colored.

• In the original Street Fighter RPG game, the Shun Goku Satsu and its user, Akuma, don't exist. But the fans of the game developed one version of this maneuver at "Street Fighter RPG Brasil".
• The Shun Goku Satsu in Street Fighter 4 has the words in the background, in which Akuma also iterates, "Isshun sengeki". This translates to "one thousand defeats in one blink" (Literally "One blink, thousand defeats"). An English "mistranslation" has the move treated as being "Die one thousand deaths".
• In Touhou Hisoutensoku, the character Suwako Moriya has a strongest spell card very similar in effect to the Shun Goku Satsu. Seen here
• Akuma is the only character who uses the Wrath of the Raging Demon, this attack might have been perfected throughout his relentless training and will to kill other fighters.
• Shun Goku Satsu also puts together Budda beliefs of the sixteen hells with 16 hits (counting the grab at the start of the attack and the 15 hits afterwards).

Gallery

Video

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