Advanced V.G. 2/Kaori

Introduction

Kaori is very smart. You can tell because she wears glasses and has an infinite she can start from a divekick.

Kaori is often regarded as the best character in the game, and not without good reason. Her incredibly easy and consistent infinite combo is what she is most remembered for, but even putting that aside, she's a very strong all-rounder character who can switch between simple, but highly effective zoning, and suffocating offensive pressure on a whim. While her selection of strong footsie normals is on the low side, and her aerial presence is somewhat underwhelming, she can get a lot of mileage out of playing a basic "fireball and anti-air" game with Ressenshuu and her cr.HP. Once she pushes her opponent to the corner, she is able to run very powerful rushdown with staggers, divekicks, a proximity unblockable and two 0F unblockables. Those 0F moves also combine with her exceptional guard cancel options to create a character that is very well-rounded at most ranges. If you're looking to follow the advice of Santhrax and pick a top tier, you can't go wrong with Kaori.

Pros	Cons
Simple but effective neutral Strong pressure and close-range mixup options Powerful combos, including an infinite	Limited, linear footsie game Below average aerial presence Lacks a dash brake, limiting her grounded mobility somewhat

Movelist

st.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
9	Mid	5	-	-	--2
A solid enough kick, even if her form is wack. incredibly high utility as any stray LP can start her infinite.

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st.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
13	Mid	5	-	-	--2
Better range than stLP, but it does not chain therefore you cannot start the infinite from it making it the instantly inferior poke. Is special cancelable.

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st.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
28	Mid	10	-	-	--13
A turning thrust kick, good range, special cancels, and chains into stHK which means i n f i n i t e.

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st.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
32	Mid	14	-	-	-0
the ying to stLP's yang, a leaping spin kick that is so advantageous that you can link stLP and do it aaaaaaaaall over again.

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cr.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
9	Mid	4	-	-	-+1
Looks like a low, isn't. Links into itself, chains into crLK, and special cancels. THis is her OTG pickup.

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cr.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
13	Low	9	-	-	--2
Looks less like a low than crLP, but is. Chains into crHP which rules.

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cr.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
28	Mid	6	-	-	--11
The protector of the skies. A dedicated anti-air kick that launches on hit for juggle combos. This button rips and every Kaori player should have it on speed dial.

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cr.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
24	Low	12/28	-	-	--8
A two-hit sweep that looks like a three-hit sweep and also looks like Fish's crouching moves from VSAV. The second hit has barely more range than the first hit. Is special cancelable, so you can combo from this.

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j.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
9	High	6	-	-	-
An upward angled kick.

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j.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
13	High	6	-	-	-
Literally also an upward angled kick but she's turning the other side. Covers all the same space as jLP and has the same startup, but has slightly more damage. Has the same chains of jHP and jHK

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j.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
28	High	8	-	-	-
A stiff forward kick

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j.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
32	High	8	-	-	-
Also literally the same damn thing but she turns the other direction. Much like jLK, this has the same startup and range as it's similarly-strengthed pair but slightly eeks out more damage.

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Command Moves

+

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
28	Mid	7	-	-	--15~-1
Advancing knee. Early hitbox launches, late hitbox leaves the opponent standing. Cancels into special moves even though it looks like it shouldn't.

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+

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
16 (2x)	High	9, 29	-	-	-+3
Command overhead. Hits twice, first hit isn't overhead but (mercifully) whiffs on crouchers. Slow to come out, but cancels into specials so it's a pretty good mixup option if they're sitting still.

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+

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
32	High	19	-	-	--17
Slow side kick. Big on startup and recovery, and doesn't cancel. Not much use for this one other than getting a knock-down, but even then.

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j.+

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
20 (3x)	High	1	-	-	-
The all-important divekick. Can be done from any jump, but only from the jump's apex, no sooner or later. Hits up to three times, has basically no landing recovery, so you can very easily combo or start pressure from it.

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j.+

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
36	High	4	-	-	-
A stomp kick much like Chun-Li's. Only available from diagonal jumps, and it's hard to use since it bounces you away from the opponent, and you can't perform other moves after using it, but it can be a good hitbox to stick out if you're in the air. Of note is that by inputting j.++ at the apex of her jump, Kaori will perform the head stomp with the trajectory and velocity of her divekick, allowing it to act as a pseudo-fast fall as long as it doesn't make contact with the opponent.

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Target Combos
s.LP > s.LK > s.HP > s.HK
s.LP > s.HK (ender is b+HK)
cr.LK > cr.HP

Guard Cancels
LP: s.LP
LK: f+HP
HP:LK Ressenshuu (qcf+LK)
HK:LK Enkenfuu (qcb+LK)

LP guard cancel is the most useful as it easily leads into any combo you can think of. The LK version has its uses as well, specifically if you need to create a bit more space between you and your opponent.

Special Moves

Ressenshuu

+

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
	16	MId	17	-	-	-+2
Kaori's projectile. You'll be getting a lot of mileage out of the LK version, since its travel speed and low recovery make it incredible for covering your approaches.
	24		19	-	-	--1
The HK version isn't half-bad for this either, and it helps to be able to vary your timing in a fireball war.
+	40 (2x)	Mid	0	-	-	-+1
The EX version is an instant super that very easily confirms into a lot of different combos, but the second hit has a propensity to whiff at point blank in the corner, so be mindful of your spacing.
+		Mid		-	-	-
SECRET: It's basically the HK version of Ressenshuu but it does more damage and builds way less meter. Useful for further varying your fireball timing in neutral, but like most of these moves, it's not a huge deal.

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Enkenfuu

+

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
	24	High	6	-	-	--16
Kaori's version of a tatsu. The LK version hits overhead, but it doesn't knock down, and the opponent often recovers well before you do, so this will often get you punished.
	32 (2x)	Mid	6	-	-	--6
The HK version is a mid, and much safer on block (punishable only by instant supers), but it's mostly used in combos.
+	28 (5x)	Mid	7	-	-	--2
The EX version deals a lot of damage, but you won't be able to land the full thing in a juggle combo, so it's best to confirm into it on the ground

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Ryuurentai

cl. +

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
16 (3x), 24	N/A	1	-	-	-
Kaori's proximity unblockable. 1F startup with no whiff animation, so it's pretty safe to go for in a lot of cases. Leads to a Retsuzandou midscreen, and an OTG pickup in the corner. Going for this after a divekick is very strong.

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Super Moves

Retsuzandou

+

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
10 (13x), 24	Mid	0	-	-	--11
Basically a ranbu super. It's instant, but it's unique among instant supers in that it's the only one in the game that doesn't allow the opponent to buffer reversals during the superflash, meaning it's completely guaranteed in a lot of situations where the opponent might otherwise have a way out. Combined with the huge damage, this is one of the tools that makes Kaori as terrifying as she is.

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Strategy

Kaori's biggest weakness is that she suffers from a very linear footsie game, due to poor reach on most of her grounded buttons, and a series of aerial buttons that aren't really all that different from each other. However, she's blessed with a fantastic fireball and a highly-rewarding anti-air normal in cr.HP, so a lot of her neutral will be based around using these two tools, forcing space control her fireball and swatting people out of the air if they try to move around it. For jump angles that cr.HP can't catch, try more unorthodox methods of punishing jump-in attempts, like throwing another fireball, or making the opponent eat an instant super during their landing recovery. Once you've restricted the opponent's movement and pushed them to the corner, you can open up your offense by applying stagger pressure. The main way Kaori will be opening people up is through frame traps mixed with throw/Ryuurentai, and catching chicken-block attempts from the opponent with f+HP and cr.HP. You can very easily start this up by applying normal strings cancelled into LK Ressenshuu, as the frame situation here is very good for you. You'll have a very easy time locking people down once you get going, so make sure you're ready to capitalise on the opponent's defensive mistakes.

Combos

Basic Combos
st.LP > st.LK > st.HP > st.HK, cr.LP > cr.LK xx HK Enkenfuu/Retsuzandou
dash st.HP > st.HK, cr.LP > cr.LK xx HK Enkenfuu/Retsuzandou
EX Ressenshuu, Retsuzandou
cr.LK > cr.HP xx HK Enkenfuu, EX Ressenshuu

(corner) cr.LK > cr.HP xx LK Ressenshuu, f+HP xx LK Ressenshuu, cr.HP xx LK Ressenshuu, cr.HK xx LK Ressenshuu
Best meterless damage in the corner, but the timing is tight. You want to make the first two LK Ressenshuu whiff, then slightly delay the last cr.HP so that the next Ressenshuu hits, letting you link the cr.HK.

(corner) cr.LK > cr.HP xx LK Ressenshuu, [st.HP xx LK Ressenshuu]x2
Easier but less damaging corner combo. Still useful to know, though, since you can tack on an EX Ressenshuu at the end if you want to cash out some meter.

Anti-Air Combos
cr.HP xx EX Ressenshuu/Retsuzandou
cr.HP xx EX Enkenfuu, Retsuzandou
(corner) f+HP xx LK Ressenshuu (whiff), delay cr.HP xx LK Ressenshuu, st.HP > st.HK

Throw Combos
Throw, Retsuzandou
(corner)Ryuurentai, OTG cr.LP, s.LP > s.HP > s.HK (> EX Ressenshuu)

Misc. Combo
EX Ressenshuu, Retsuzandou
(corner) EX Ressenshuu, st.LP > st.HP xx LK Ressenshuu, st.HP xx LK Ressenshuu

The Infinite

Do this if you're okay with not being cool. Otherwise, do the combos above.

- s.LP > s.LK > s.HP > s.HK (link) s.LP > ... (really, it's just her target combo over and over)

Setups
- dash HP > s.HK > infinite
- divekick > infinite
- Guard Cancel > infinite
- Anything s.LP can punish