Ryu (Street Fighter)

Ryu is the main protagonist of the Street Fighter series, first appearing in the original Street Fighter.

Ryu is an experienced martial artist, highly focused on his training, aiming to become the strongest he can.

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 be more comfortable). 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.

In the first Street Fighter, Ryu wore a white headband and red shoes. 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 black in Street Fighter III, Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter V. In the Street Fighter III series, Ryu’s black hair has a blue tint. The red headband Ryu wears was originally worn by Ken. Ryu gave his white headband to Sakura before getting his red headband. From Street Fighter IV onwards, the red gloves worn by Ryu have started to bear 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 (Kaze), forest (Hayashi), fire (Hi) and mountain (Yama); 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."

In Street Fighter II V, Ryu wears some casual outfits throughout the episodes; his primary appearance is a white short sleeve shirt, blue denim jeans and red and white sneakers. He also has a black watch on his left wrist. Ryu is not wearing his red headband. When he wears his white karate gi, he only wears brown prayer bead bracelet on his left wrist. He is also more tanned than in the games.

His second 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, meek, humble, submissive, self-deprecating, 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 the mastery that comes from the fight are all that he requires for satisfaction, declining the more material trappings of his various accomplishments as a warrior, simply moving on to his next challenge once he is victorious without delay, unless he is offered food or if he wants to converse with his friendly rivals. Though he does not actively seek the role of a hero, he possesses a strong sense of justice as well; protecting the innocent against the predations of bullies and tyrants is the one of the few things that Ryu will prioritize over a satisfying fight.

Because of this "wandering warrior" persona and also being trained far away from modern-day culture, Ryu often appears detached to others. Despite this, he is a kind, authentic, good-hearted, and demonstrative warrior who readily helps those less fortunate than himself, is protective and gentle towards children, and 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 hold superheroes like Captain America, Spider-Man, Cyclops, and Wolverine in high respect. To those who he is able to beat and is on friendly terms with, he compliments or encourages them to continue training and get stronger, sometimes offering help first hand (e.g. Dan).

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 Hadowithin 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.

Abilities
Ryu's fighting style is generally referred to as Shotokan, despite the relative lack of resemblance to the real-life martial art. His normal attacks however, seem to resemble the martial art somewhat, especially with some aspects of Hapkido via the in-depth names of his normals in most Japanese sources. His take on the unnamed Ansatsuken style added with his own take on Shotokan, focuses on powerful singular strikes that usually knock the foe down, and is centered around his trademark Hadoken.

Moveset
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.

Another notable weakness tends to be Ryu's lack of physical range, making it difficult for him to safely poke out other characters with footsies due to the range of his normals, often forcing him to rely on zoning with his Hadoken or to use his slow-startup Senpukyaku command normal to approach and stuff attacks. However, in later games, this problem seems to be mitigated, especially in games where he's aged and in most of his current 3D appearances.

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 when his Shoryuken are embedded with electricity, and feature the fewest and least drastic costume changes in the game (as he only equipped with single blue boxing glove and a geta sandals to either knock his opponent or taking his opponent down in a powerful assault). He also has a Mighty Combo called the Reppuu Jinrai Shou, a multi-hitting punch combo that ends with a Shoryuken. His other Mighty Combo is a powerful Shinku Tatsumaki as he was embedded with a thunder storm during execution. He also retains his Shinku Hadoken serving as one of his Mighty Combos.

In Street Fighter V, Ryu retains most of his moves in the previous games. His V-Trigger is the Denjin Renki where Ryu powers himself up as both of his fists are embedded with electricity as he can shoot his Hadoken in electric properties and can stun his opponent with his Shoryuken in electric damage.

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 Kakuseiwhich not only increases his speed by 15%, but also upgrades his other Hyper Combos as well.

In Street Fighter V, Ryu's Shinku Hadoken serves as his Critical Art while his Denjin Hadoken also serves as his second Critical Art when his Denjin Renki V-Trigger was activated.

Trivia

 * Ryu and Chun-Li have made the most crossover appearances out of the entire Street Fighter roster, Ryu appearing in all crossover fighting game to date involving the series (not including guest appearances by Street Fighter characters in non-crossover projects).
 * 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 prefers walking barefoot (possibly for comfort).
 * 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 references the original Street Fighter game in one of his win quotes in Capcom vs. SNK 2 ("What strength! I won't forget that there are many like you all over the world!").


 * 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.
 * In the the Japanese version of the Capcom arcade quiz game Quiz and Dragons, Ryu's full name is given as Ryu Takegami (Takegami Ryū), though this has never been referenced in any other media and it is unlikely Capcom considers this his full name officially.


 * 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 updated version.


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


 * His premium school costume in Street Fighter V has a minor resemblance to Daigo's outfit from his wild form in the Rival Schools series.


 * Ryu has the most character connections out of anybody, making allies and enemies than any fighter which makes Ryu the most well known from allies and enemies alike.


 * According to his win quote against El Fuerte, Ryu has no food preferences. He will eat whatever is available to him.


 * The end of the story A Shadow Falls possibly marks the first time chronologically in the games that Ryu is not seen with his red headband since he first got it.


 * Ryu’s Power Ranger form from Power Rangers Legacy Wars, Ryu Ranger, is similar in name to Ryo’s Ranger form from Gosei Sentai Dairanger. The Ranger costume design is a mashup of the White Ranger, parts of Ryu’s regular outfit, the Green Ranger, and Red Hawk from Choujin Sentai Jetman.