Fatal Fury Special/Mai Shiranui

Mai's stage is special as only on it her Musasabi No Mai special move will fly her to one of its flagpoles instead of the stage wall.

Introduction

"Nippon Ichi!" Easily one of gaming's most iconic characters, Mai Shiranui takes to the fighting stage in Fatal Fury Special as a powerful zoning character, capable of shutting anyone out with ease. Easy to play as right away, she has great anti-air tools, a great fireball, a deadly (albeit very risky) super, simple combos, rewarding damage, and a unique stage where she actually gains an additional advantage from it, Mai Shiranui is holding nothing back. Her super is very risky as already mentioned, as while it does great damage and decent chip damage, everyone can very easily punish her on block and can be predictable. Her mobility too is not the greatest, albeit not as bad as some other characters. And while she may seem like a great glass cannon type character, she's not. You must play her defensively as a strict keepaway character. But no matter who she's up against, chances are her impeccable zoning give her an advantage at all times as even her up close game isn't too lacking when she's forced to confront the opponent.

Pros	Cons
Strong defense Easy to use Fast normals	Jumps and backsteps are a bit quirky Short combos Not suited for rushdown

Move List

General Hurtboxes

Standing	Crouching	Jumping	Backdashing	Taunting
		57F (8+43+6) duration.	34F (28+6) duration. Mai is grounded and can easily be thrown.

Close Standing Normals

c5A

c5A
Senda/扇打

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
6	2	Mid	4	7	6	16	+3	+4	Kara Cancel
2nd hitbox is +6 on hit and +7 on block. Knockback is minimal, so you can combo into heavy Ryuuenbu from this. Works as an emergency anti-air.

c5B

c5B
Tatsumakigeri/竜巻蹴り

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
8	2	Mid	8	4	11	21	+1	+2	Kara Cancel
You're generally better off using close A, unless you need those extra 2 points of damage for your stun combo. Whiffs against crouching Jubei.

c5C

c5C
Dai-senda/大扇打

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
14	4	Mid	8	7	17	31	0	-1	Kara Cancel
2nd hitbox is +3 on hit and +2 on block. Close A is generally better as a combo starter, as this one has too much knockback on hit to properly connect into heavy Ryuuenbu. You can still combo into Kachosen or super from this, though.

c5D

c5D
Tatsumakigeri/竜巻蹴り

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
16	4	Mid	10	7	17	33	0	-1	Kara Cancel
Not much reason to use this, unless you want to combo into super. Same hitbox as c5B.

Far Standing Normals

f5A

f5A
Sensu-uchi/扇子打ち

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
4	2	Mid	6	4	10	19	+2	+3	Kara Cancel
Mai's main ground poke. Very good reach for a light normal. Doesn't combo into anything, but you can still create some powerful pressure by cancelling this into light Kachosen on hit or block.

f5B

f5B
Taikuu Mai Kick/対空舞キック

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
6	2	Mid	6	6	8	19	+2	+3	Cancel
Mediocre anti-air. Mai has better options available.

f5C

f5C
Taikuu Sensu-tsuki/対空扇子突き

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
10	4	Mid	8	13	10	30	0	-1	-
Another anti-air normal. Pretty good, but you'll still want to use heavy Ryuuenbu over this.

f5D

f5D
Mai Kick/舞キック

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
14	4	Mid	8	8	17	32	-2	-3	-
Decent reach, but can't be cancelled unlike Mai's other pokes and thus less useful. Largely outclassed by CD.

Crouching Normals

2A

2A
Haimen Hiji-uchi/背面肘打ち

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
4	2	Mid	6	4	8	17	+4	+5	Kara Cancel
Not terrible, but Mai's other crouch buttons are better.

2B

2B
Kaerigeri/反り蹴り

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
6	2	Low	6	4	7	16	+5	+6	Kara Cancel
Has less range than 2D, despite using the same animation. Still a great low poke.

2C

2C
Haimen Hiji-uchi/背面肘打ち

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
12	4	Mid	5	10	18	32	-4	-5	Kara Cancel
Fast startup for a heavy normal. Cr. D has more reach, but you can combo off this.

2D

2D
Kaerigeri/反り蹴り

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
14	4	Low	8	11	21	39	KD	-9	Kara Cancel
Superb sweep kick with great range and speed. Your most useful button in neutral along with 5A. Can be cancelled into Kachosen to deal chip damage on block.

Jumping Normals

jA

jA
Fuushaken/風車拳

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
6	2	Overhead	5	∞	-	-	-	-	-
Beats low profile anti-airs, like Joe/Jubei slides.

jB

jB
Shoukyaku/翔脚

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
8	2	Overhead	10	∞	-	-	-	-	Air
Beats low profile anti-airs. Almost interchangeable with jump A.

jC

jC
Shousenda/翔扇打

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
Diagonal Jump	14	4	Overhead	5	8	-	-	-	-	-
Fast startup and good horizontal reach.
Neutral Jump	14	4	Overhead	5	6	-	-	-	-	-
Same as diagonal, but has less active frames for some reason.

jD

jD
Hayabusageri/ハヤブサ蹴り

Diagonal Jump

Neutral Jump

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
Diagonal Jump	16	4	Overhead	5	20	-	-	-	-	-
Pretty average jump-in.
Neutral Jump	16	4	Overhead	5	12	-	-	-	-	-
You can air-to-air with this, but you're much better off using Mai's grounded anti-airs due to her slow pre-jump animation.

Universal Mechanics

Lane Blast (CD)

Lane Blast
Tensui no Mai/天水の舞
C+D

Front Lane

Back Lane

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
Front Lane	22	5	Mid	9	7	22	37	KD	-10	Cancel
Fast startup as far as CD moves go, and the range isn't bad either. Useful move when cancelled into Kachosen on block.
Back Lane	22	5	Mid	11	7	17	34	KD	-5	Cancel
Slower startup, more range.

Lane Attack

Lane Attack
A/B/C/D from opposite lane

Front Lane

Back Lane

Mai has the same lane attack for punch and kick buttons.

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
A/B	18	2	Overhead	13	-	4	-	-	-	-
A straight and fast lane attack.
C/D	18	4	Overhead	13	-	4	-	-	-	-
A slower high angle lane attack.

Dodge Attack

Dodge Attack
Hanegeri/跳ね蹴り
6A during proximity guard

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
11	5	Mid	15	16	15	45	Air reset	-12	Kara Cancel, Upper-Body Invuln 1-30F
Very good reach.

Throws

Fuusha Kuzushi (4/6C)

Fuusha Kuzushi
close 4/6C

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
26	3	Throw	1	1	-	-	KD	/	-
You can go for Mai's powerful 41236D okizeme after landing this. Swaps sides.

Yume Zakura (j2D)

Yume Zakura
close j2D

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
26	3	Throw	1	1	-	-	KD	/	-
Air throw. Can be used to catch wakeup backdashes and lane attacks if your timing is on point.

Special Moves

Kachosen (236P)

Kachosen
236A/C

Fan service.

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
A	14 (3)	3	Mid	15	-	36	50	-	-	-
Mai throws a fan at the enemy. Standard projectile that's generally very safe to use. It can be avoided with dodge attacks or low profile moves, however. The fan visually moves around the hitbox, rarely overlapping with it, making it somewhat tricky to Dodge Attack. Occassionally the hitbox will jerk forward for a few frames as well.
C	22 (5)	6	Mid	17	-	45	61	-	-	-
Projectile travels faster, but Mai recovers much slower making this riskier to use. Can be used to punish wakeup backsteps.

Ryuenbu (214P)

Ryuenbu
214A/C

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
A	16x2 (4x2)	3x2	Mid	7	2+2 (4) 12	12	38	KD	+1	Foot Invuln 11-18F
-11 if only the first hit is blocked standing, or -9 crouching. Comes out slightly faster, but isn't fully invulnerable during startup unlike the heavy version. Can be used to destroy enemy projectiles.
C	22x2 (5x2)	6x2	Mid	9	2+2 (5) 17	19	54	KD	-6	Invincible 1-13F, Foot Invuln 14-23F
-16 if only the first hit is blocked standing, or -22 crouching. THIS is what makes Mai the top tier powerhouse she is. Invulnerable startup, so it's a foolproof anti-air when timed right, and it does crazy damage when both hits connect. Excellent "get off me" tool against rushdown characters trying to pressure you up close. Your main combo ender as well, although it only connects properly from close light attacks.

Hissatsu Shinobibachi (41236D)

Hissatsu Shinobibachi
41236D

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
20 (5x2)	3	Mid	26	26	6	57	KD	-7	Invincible 11-14F, Low Profile 15-19F, Airborne 20-51F
Flying elbow charge. Very unsafe on block unless it hits meaty, so use with caution. Since Mai is off the ground, you can dodge and punish certain projectiles with this. Note that there's no light version of this move.

Musasabi no Mai ([2]8P)

Musasabi no Mai
[2]8A/C

Charge time: 30F.

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
A (Non-Mai Stage)	20 (5)	3	Mid	Jump + 16	21	18	-	KD	-1 at best	Invuln 1-15F after touching wall
Dives fullscreen.
C (Non-Mai Stage)	20 (5)	6	Mid	Jump + 16	21	18	-	KD	-1 at best	Invuln 1-15F after touching wall
Dives at a steeper angle.
A (Mai's Stage)	20 (5)	3	Mid	30	22	20	-	KD	-3 at best	Invincible 1-29F
Even after it starts up, it takes 18 frames for Mai to return to the lane and hit her opponent.
C (Mai's Stage)	20 (5)	6	Mid	30	22	20	-	KD	-3 at best	Invincible 1-29F
Even after it starts up, it takes 18 frames for Mai to return to the lane and hit her opponent.

Super Move

Chou Hissatsu Shinobibachi (616BC)

Chou Hissatsu Shinobibachi
When health is flashing
616B+C

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
30 (0 + 7x3)	4	Mid	15	6+5+5+32	20	82	KD	-14	Invincible 15-18F, Upper-Body Invuln 19-23F, Airborne 26-62
Powered up version of Hissatsu Shinobibachi. Good chip kill move. One of the easier super inputs, too. You can combo into this, but your standard C Ryuuenbu combos deal the same amount of damage, so it doesn't matter much.

Combos

• c5A/B > 214A/C
• 2C > 236A - 31 damage
• c5C/D > 616BC - 40/42 damage

Strategies

The Basics

If you're new to the game and want to start winning matches as fast as possible, you can't go wrong with picking Mai. Her gameplan is very simple but effective and revolves around a small number of moves. She's also one of the least demanding characters when it comes to execution: you don't need to learn any weird motions or long tricky combos to play her properly. Despite this, she's still extremely powerful even in high level play and does have a lot of tricks up her sleeve that give a dedicated player plenty of potential for improvement. In nearly all of her matchups, Mai plays a pure defensive keep-away game, using projectile pressure to force her opponents into taking risks and punishing all attempts at getting close with her heavy Ryuuenbu.

The moves you'll be using in the most in neutral are:

• Light Kachosen (236A): A great projectile that's very safe to use and gives Mai good spatial control. Use this as often as possible to pressure your opponent and force them to jump or do some sort of evasive action lest they keep taking chip damage.
• Heavy Ryuuenbu (214C): Once your opponent goes for a jump or tries to challenge you up close, this is what you use to get them off your back. Fully invulnerable startup, making it very difficult for your opponent to counter this move with anything. Against jump-ins, you'll want to time this quite late so it catches your opponent during their landing recovery; this way the move hits twice dealing a ton of damage.
• 2D: One of the best sweep kicks in the game and possibly Mai's most useful normal. You can cancel it into 236A on block to continue your pressure and deal chip damage.
• 5A: Another great ground poke that's even faster than her sweep. You can also cancel this into 236A or other specials.

Despite all her strengths, Mai does also have some weaknesses unique to her: she has twice as much jump start-up and landing recovery frames as average, and she's the only character to not be considered airborne during a backstep, making it possible for her to grabbed out of her backstep with any ground throw. Her walk speed and jump duration are still faster than average, though, so all things considered her overall mobility is still far from bad.

Mai has the lowest stun threshold in the game: 13 points, tied with Tung and Jubei. This isn't a massive flaw due to her strong defensive tools and smaller than average size, but it does make her susceptible to re-dizzy TOD combos against characters with high stun potential like Duck and Jubei. There are quite a few situations where you can make use of Mai's small hurtboxes to avoid moves; most notably, you can crouch-walk past Jubei and Mai projectiles.

Advanced Strategy

Hissatsu Shinobibachi (41236D) is generally unsafe, but can be made safe on block if it connects just as your opponent is getting up. You can follow it immediately with 214C to deal extra chip damage and punish anyone trying to press buttons against you.

Backstep cancels are very useful for Mai: to gain extra frames of invulnerability, you can cancel the recovery of her backsteps into 214C.

Matchups

Vs. Andy Bogard

5 - 5

Andy has excellent anti-projectile tools making it hard to keep him out. Use Kachosen with caution especially when you're in the range of his light Kuuha Dan. Heavy Ryuuenbu works well against Andy's Zaneiken, dealing great damage if you can land both hits.

Vs. Axel Hawk

5.5 - 4.5

Mai is better at zoning, but Axel's dodge attack makes it possible for him to get in despite his poor mobility. The odds are still on your side as it takes quite a bit of skill and effort for Axel to clear all the hurdles and get within striking distance. Keep him out so he doesn't get a chance to threaten you with his excellent 2D and 5B pokes.

Vs. Big Bear

6 - 4

Bear doesn't need to respect your projectile zoning as he can just go past Kachosen utilizing the upper body invincibility of his Giant Bomb tackle. Use 2B and 2D to stop him from getting into throw range instead.

Vs. Billy Kane

4.5 - 5.5

Billy's long range normals allow him to safely poke you without fear of getting countered by your Ryuuenbu, so you'll want to keep him either very far away or within the distance of your fastest pokes.

Vs. Cheng Sinzan

6 - 4

Cheng is big and slow, so keeping him out isn't terribly difficult as long as you don't get caught off guard by his balloon special. Abuse Kachosen as much as you can.

Vs. Duck King

6.5 - 3.5

Even though Mai has a huge advantage in neutral thanks to her zoning and long reaching pokes, all it takes is one bad slip-up for you to lose a round as Duck's long combos make stunning Mai a trivial task. His Needle Low slide goes under Mai's projectiles, but you can easily beat it with your sweep.

Vs. Geese Howard

5.5 - 4.5

Either spam projectiles and force Geese to approach you, or go past his Reppuken with a well timed Hissatsu Shinobibachi and challenge him up close. Poke him with your lows and Ryuuenbu to avoid getting countered with Atemi Nage.

Vs. Joe Higashi

4 - 6

Possibly the toughest matchup for Mai since Joe's projectiles have better frame data and they can't be avoided with a dodge attack. Joe, on the other hand, can low profile and punish Mai's Kachosen with his slide kick, so use projectiles with caution if he's in the range for a slide. If you go for a jump-in (as you most likely eventually have to), use your light attacks - they don't have much range, but they beat Joe's low profile anti-airs. To avoid taking chip damage, light Ryuenbu can be used to destroy Joe's projectiles.

Vs. Jubei Yamada

6 - 4

Very fun matchup due to the fact you can both low profile each other's projectiles. Mai has a slight advantage as she can simply crouch or crouch-walk past Senbeis while Jubei has to commit to a slide or repeated 2B. You still take chip damage if you block a Senbei while crouching, so you have to let go of block to dodge them. 2B and 2D are both great pokes against Jubei.

Vs. Kim Kaphwan

4 - 6

Use projectiles with extreme caution. 5C, 5B and 214C can all be used to keep Kim from divekicking you all day. Kim's combos are a big threat to Mai due to her low stun resistance, so avoid taking unnecessary risks especially when Kim is in close range.

Vs. Laurence Blood

6 - 4

Zone him with projectiles and anti-air with 214C, as usual - Laurence's floaty jumps give you plenty of time to react. Be mindful of the range of his moves, as he can hit you from quite a distance away. If he keeps avoiding your projectiles with his dodge attack, go for a sweep kick.

Vs. Mai Shiranui

5 - 5

You're guaranteed to have access to the better version of Musasabi no Mai in a mirror match, but obviously this goes for your opponent as well - you can counter the move with a well timed 214C. Just like in the Jubei matchup, crouch walk can be used to get past projectiles.

Vs. Terry Bogard

6.5 - 3.5

Terry gets bullied hard by zoning. He does have an anti-projectile tool in the form of heavy Crack Shoot, but using it to counter Mai's projectiles requires perfect timing and spacing so it's not a massive threat to you - throwing fans is generally very safe against Terry. As long as you anti-air his jumps with 214C, he'll have a very difficult time trying to get close. Still, he's got the combos to potentially TOD you off a single mistake, so never let your guard down.

Vs. Tung Fu Rue

6.5 - 3.5

Tung can low profile Mai's projectiles with 2D or repeated 2B, but it's still tough for him to get past your zoning. Even if Tung does manage to get in, you can always backstep away or stuff his close range moves with a heavy Ryuuenbu. Tung has enough combo potential to stun you off a jump-in, so be sure to anti-air all jump attempts.

Vs. Wolfgang Krauser

5 - 5

Clash of the zoners. You can dodge and punish low Blitzball with a well timed Hissatsu Shinobibachi, but Krauser may occasionally mix it up with high Blitz, so there's some risk involved. His Leg Tomahawk goes over Mai's projectiles, but you can make it whiff simply by crouching - it'll connect and do chip damage if you're crouch-blocking, though.

The matchup differs slightly depending on which stage you're on; Musasabi no Mai is a lot harder for Krauser to counter on Mai's home stage and it makes for a good anti-fireball move, so she gets a minor advantage.