Advanced V.G. 2/Manami

Introduction

Manami doesn't know what a "martial art" is, but she's not gonna let that stop her.

Manami is a speedy mobility-based character who excels at a hit-and-run playstyle focused on annoying her opponent to death. Her ability to pester and harass the opponent with fast, damaging special moves is also helped by her small, awkward hurtbox, which causes some characters' basic juggle combos to whiff against her. However, it's no exaggeration to say that her weaknesses lie in everything about her outside of that -- she has the lowest defense value in the game, her normals all have pitiful range, she has no invincible reversal, and her status as a mobility-based character is hindered by the fact that she cannot jump out of a forward dash. You'll have your work cut out for you as this character, but hey -- your weaknesses won't matter if they can't catch you, right?

Pros	Cons
Easily able to move around the screen and harass opponents with her low-profile dash and advancing special moves Small hurtbox makes it difficult for many characters to combo her Catgirl	Poor defense, thanks to zero reversals and the lowest defense value in the game Normals are so short they're almost not even there Catgirl

Movelist

st.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	Mid		-	-	-
A measly little jab. Useful for starting her standing four-chain, but good luck getting it to hit.

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st.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	Mid		-	-	-
A cha-cha kick that has more range than it looks

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st.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	Mid		-	-	-
I am not sure how to convince you this isn't just her stLP again, but this is her Heavy Punch. It is special cancelable however.

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st.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	Mid	5	-	-	-
By far Manami's longest standing poke, and with good startup as well as special cancelably properties.

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cr.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	Mid		-	-	-
A very wimpy little punch. You can get a crLP > crHP > crHK chain off of it but there is no universe where that crHK is hitting.

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cr.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	Low		-	-	-
Mysteriously still a low despite all visual evidence otherwise. It's special cancelable.

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cr.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	Mid		-	-	-
Awful range, just embarrassingly low range and has incredible amounts of pushback on hit. Does special cancel however and at least has really good damage for a normal.

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cr.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	Low		-	-	-
A sweep with more range than most her buttons, but when grading on that curve the compliment might be backhanded.

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j.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	High		-	-	-
A small downward jab. Chains into jHP and jHK but you really shouldn't be using this.

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j.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	High	6	-	-	-
A kick with pretty good range and a slight downward angle. Easily her preferred light air normal. Same chain routes as jLP.

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j.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	High		-	-	-
A joyful body splash. The range is pretty bad, but the hitbox is made for ambiguous cross-ups.

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nj.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	High		-	-	-
This is purely used for air-to-air space control because the hitbox is much worse than it looks, mainly being from her shoulder area to upward.

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j.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	High		-	-	-
A similar downward kick like jLK. Since jLK is a good button, this also is a good button.

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Command Normals

+

File:AVG2 Manami 6LP.jpg

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	Mid		-	-	-
A weak cat swipe, looks totally useless but has one very important trick up it's sleeve. When you hit this twice, it launches the opponent for an easy juggle combo

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+

File:AVG2 Manami 6HP.jpg

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
-	Mid		-	-	-
A more advanced version of her stHP, moving her forward a noticeable amount. A little on the slow side however.

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Target Combos
s.LP > s.HP > s.HK / cr.HK
s.LP > s.HK > s.HP
s.LP > s.LK > (s.HP > s.HK or s.HK > s.HP)
s.LP > s.HP > s.LP > s.HP (the second LP and HP are actually f+LP and f+HP)
s.HP > s.HK
cr.LP > cr.HP > cr.HK

(j.LP/j.LK) > (j.HP.j.HK）

Guard Cancels
LP: s.LP
LK: s.LK
HP: LP Neko Rocket Punch
HK: LP Goro Goro Attack

LP Guard Cancel leads to her combos, but her short reach means it can be baited. HK GC must be super-canceled, otherwise she's left open to punishment.

Special Moves

Neko Rocket Punch

+

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
		Mid	12	-	-	-
Manami tosses one of her cat paws out on a string before pulling it back. This can hit opponents both on its way out and on its way back, but in either case it is extremely unsafe on block. On top of that, as well as its limited range, the move also deals one blocked fireball's worth of damage to Manami, because she's clumsy and she keeps hitting herself in the face with her paw. Because it's not a particularly useful long-range tool, this mostly sees use as a way to convert combos into EX attacks.
		Mid	16	-	-	-
Goes about twice as far.
+		Mid		-	-	-
Not an ex move like most two button specials, but instead is the best version of this attack. It has the range of the HP version with the startup of the LP version.

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Goro Goro Attack

(Charge){ +

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
		Mid		-	-	-
Manami's version of a Blanka Ball, and appropriately, one of her most important moves. The LP version is mostly used for movement due to its slightly short travel distance and very low whiff recovery. Curiously, although the move is considered airborne from frame 1 (making it invincible to throws and causing an air reset when she's hit out of it), Goro Goro Attack is considered as a grounded attack on a system level, meaning it cannot be blocked int he air, and can also be super cancelled into grounded moves without any issue.
		Mid		-	-	-
The HP version is used for actually dealing damage thanks to its knockdown, as the LP version leaves them standing after hit.
+		Mid		-	-	-
The EX version moves at an upward arcing path, and while it can be blocked in the air, it is one of Manami's most damaging moves, making it very useful in combos.

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Goro Goro Attack 2

(Charge){ +

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
		Mid		-	-	-
After spinning on the ground like Sonic, Manami launches towards the opponent in an upward arc. The angle it travels at is fantastic, but it has two major flaws: it doesn't knock down like the first Goro Goro Attack, and it has dreadfully slow startup. Mostly used for pre-emptive space control
		Mid		-	-	-
Cast a much wider and further angle to shoot Manami off at.

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Banzai Attack

(Charge) +

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
	Mid	7	-	-	-
Similar to Goro Goro Attack, but without any distinction between light and heavy, or an accompanying EX version. The slightly better hitbox compared to Goro Goro Attack makes this slightly better for certain engagements in the close range or medium distances, and its good damage makes it a solid option for super cancels. Most importantly, this is lower-body invincible, so you can low crush some normals at midrange with this

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Neko Chotto Ranbu

+

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
	Mid		-	-	-
Manami's command grab. Especially important, because it allows for very easy follow-up juggle combos. Very useful for breaking down defenses.

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Super Moves

Gottsui Neko Rocket Punch

+

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
	Mid		-	-	-
Neko Rocket Punch, but, like, really big. This super travels a set distance irrespective of where you are, so it's possible for this move to not make full contact with the opponent, causing you to lose out on a lot of damage. It also will not fully hit airborne opponents, also significantly decreasing the damage. Overall very hard to use, but it's good to aim for it when you can, since if it lands successfully, it is one of the most damaging supers in the game.

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Ultra Goro Goro Attack

(Charge) +

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	FrameAdv
	N/A		-	-	-
Like Goro Goro Attack 2, but unblockable. Can be charged by holding down the buttons, causing it to deal more damage which is important to know because when uncharged it does about as much damage as stLP. Mostly used as something to make the opponent wake up into.

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Strategy

Manami wants to be as agile and difficult to catch as she possibly can, for two reasons: the first is that the range on her normals is catastrophically short, so there's not much point to standing around trying to play footsies. The second is that if she gets caught by the opponent, her low defense value means a single mistake can be fatal. To that end, Manami wants to spend most of her time harassing people in neutral with a combination of Goro Goro Attack and Banzai Attack to mess with the opponent's timing, as well as j.LK > j.HK chains for both approach and runaway. If she's able to establish offense up close, you mostly want to prioritise her highly rewarding normal throw and command throw. If Manami finds herself on the defense, she has to rely mostly on chicken blocking and guard cancels, since she has literally nothing else to help with her defense.

Combos

Basic Combos
- j.LK > j.HK > s.LP > s.LK > s.HK > [b],f+KK > [b],f,b,f+P / f,hcf+P
- f+LP*2 > sj.LK > sj.HK (land) j.HK > s.HK > [b],f+HP > [b],f,b,f+P
- (corner) j.LK > j.HK > s.LP > s.LK > s.HK > [b],f+LP > f,hcf+P

Throw Combos
- Punch throw > sj.LK > sj.HK (land) j.LK > j.HK s.HK > [b],f+HP > [b],f,b,f+P
- Punch throw > [b],f+HP+HK
- hcb+HK > sj.LK > sj.HK (land) j.HK > s.HK > [b],f+HP > [b],f,b,f+P