Mai Shiranui
In a nutshell
Of course this Fatal Fury femme fatale returns with this iteration of The King of Fighters. Although she has uniquely fast but high-arcing jumps and hops that makes her high and low game slightly more obvious, her focus is in her ability to zone and coax the opponent into approaching and setting them up for a trap. She's a tricky character with strong ground and aerial game. Though she may lack a fast attack that quickly rises above her vertically for an easy anti-air, she can play in a proactive manner that covers her bases to thoroughly make up for her shortcomings. While she may require the player to be more familiar and comfortable with spacing with normals, she's a fun and tricky character to play and has great attacks that beat out and control hop usage really well.
Video Walkthrough
Move List
Normal Moves
| Frames | Advantage | Properties | Block | Damage | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standing Close | |||||||
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3/5/14 | +2/0 | 
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HL | 70 | Other than Standing , this is Mai's best attempt to controlling the space right above her. While pretty good, it's a bit short compared to other characters' Cl. such as Kyo's and Iori's, and Mai's Cl. may be prone to trading with deep vertical attacks such as Kula's Jumping or Leona's Neutral Jumping  . Other than that, this is Mai's fastest heavy-hitting attack to follow a jump-in with to continue her pressure strings.
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6/4/17 | 0/-2 |
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HL | 80 | Similar to Standing but it's cancelable. If one is trying to run in with a Cl. to pressure the opponent but have an inkling that the opponent may hop back in retaliation, a Cl. may prove useful to tag the opponent horizontally. If the opponent responds with a full jump instead, then stick with the Cl..
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| Standing Far | |||||||
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4/4/8 | +3/+1 | 
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HL | 25 | One of Mai's best normals. Functions in the similar manner such as most Standing . It pressures standing and crouching characters from afar and is fast enough to lock down the opponent without much chances for the opponent to counter hit or escape via jumping. Also a good move to follow up meaty attacks. In some certain, few circumstances, this move could be swept or slid under. Upon trapping an opponent with a plethora of St. and Standing  , Mai may earn the opportunity to lock the opponent from the air with early jump-in attacks such Jumping and Jumping , or hop in anticipation against sweeps and slides that would normally punish St. . What's neat and new in The King of Fighters XIII is that St. | |
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6/4/9 | +2/0 | - | HL | 30 | A great compliment to Mai's St.. It covers that range right above Mai's St. that St. can't reach and works quite well as an anti-air attack. It catches most hops and works well against jumps and super jumps that were spaced to land about mid to mid-close range from Mai's position. If an opponent full neutral jumps in mid-close range, the tip of far Standing will anti-air that kind of jump as well. This move has been redesigned in The King of Fighters XIII to actually hit crouching opponents and force them to block; sweeping or counter poking it won't be easy in this game as it was previously. Stringing together St. | |
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8/6/18 | -3/-5 | - | HL | 80 | Mai slashes with her fan in a manner similar to her old attack from past games, Sachiyo Dori ( +  ). What this means is that she covers the vertical and horizontal space in front of her. One of Mai's weaknesses is that her grounded, vertical space control is really weak and she has to supplement her spacing game with her great air-to-air normals and pro-actively control that area. To give her a breather, Standing can cover that straight vertical space above her, but she has to preempt the opponent's jump and time it a bit early in order for the "far range activation." Otherwise, this move covers a good frontal and vertical space and is good to use in attack strings now and then, but the frame disadvantage usually ends her offensive momentum. So be sure to use this move a bit more sparingly and use it to check the opponent's ability to escape.
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8/7/19 | -5/-7 | Chain Ender | HL | 80 | A higher risk yet higher reward version of St.. It has slightly more horizontal coverage than St. and does more damage as well. It's just that this attack is more prone to punishes, so please use it smartly. Mai can cancel her St. | |
| +
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13/7/12 | KD/+4 |    
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HL | 75 | Essentially a Ryu Enbuu without flames. Can special cancel, and can combo from counterhit with +. Can also go over lows.
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| Crouching | |||||||
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5/3/8 | +4/+2 |
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HL | 25 | Effectively a crouching version of St.. In comparison to St. , Cr. has slightly less range. Regardless, it still has its applications within pressure strings and hit confirms.
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4/4/9 | +2/0 |
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30 | A standard Cr. for high and low mix-ups and pressuring the opponent. Mai can also use this move in conjunction with running under to catch people doing sloppy jump-ins trying to get around Ryuu Enbu ( + ). So, this move acts as one of Mai's lovely anti-air attacks that she could easily set up the opponent for and hit confirm into a knockdown combo.
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4/7/17 | -3/-5 |
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HL | 70 | Mai's furthest reaching, hardest hitting, cancelable normal attack. It's great for poking and counter poking as well as for punishing opponents. It's quite fast and it's hard for the opponent to gauge when or when not to try to Guard Cancel Roll against this move, suspecting that Mai will cancel into another attack afterwards. If Mai doesn't cancel into another attack, she'll be left with enough frame advantage against a Guard Cancel Roll to meaty the recovery of the roll with another Cr. or another attack. So while at times it may seem contrived to attack and string with this attack, it's not a free ride to try to counter it at all.
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7/8/21 | KD/-10 |
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80 | A standard sweep with moderate range and speed. It's cancel properties makes it good to pressure and attack string with, but of course will knockdown the opponent upon hit; as opposed to counter poking with a Cr., hitting, and canceling into Ryuu Enbu ( + ) for the knockdown. So in comparison with Cr., Cr. has the advantage of hitting low but in return does less damage upon hit if the opponent just so happens to be caught by an attack. Generally it has about the same range and coverage as Cr. but might boast a slight range advantage over it.
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| Jump/Hop | |||||||
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5/12/- 5/10/- |
- | - | 
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45/40 | A very quick attack that is great for limiting opponents' approach options. Such as if the opponent is too fond of doing early, hop forward heavy attacks, Mai could just stick out an early neutral hop Jumping or an early hop back J. to preempt an opponent.
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5/12/- 5/10/- |
-/- |
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45/40 | Mai jumps and attacks with her knee. This move covers mainly the space below Mai's waist, near her knee and crosses up quite well. Within closer ranges, trying to do this move as a hop-in attack will generally whiff most opponents due to Mai's unique hop arc so this move is usually spaced from about mid-close range or from full jumps to gain the cross-up. | |
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7/7/- 7/7/- |
-/- |
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72/70 | One of Mai's best air-to-air attacks. It covers a good "half-circular" range in front of Mai in the air and makes it's particularly good for air-to-air against jumps and hops while Mai commits to a hop. Upon an air-to-air hit, Mai can easily run under and go for cross-under Cr. mix-up and meaty from the other side of the opponent. If the opponent is too close and tried to hit Mai early out of her J., the player could choose to do the J. while holding forward or back and "Option Select" with an air throw, Yumezakura (Air  or  + [while close]), at this moment. While this move has a good downward hitbox, it doesn't reach the downward portion just as fast as J. or her other normals, so it's not entirely the preferred jump-in of choice. Jumping is great for occupying multiple areas in a small amount of time that gives Mai optimal control.
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7/8/- 7/8/- |
-/- |
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70/68 | Mai's most standard jump-in attack. Somewhat similar to J. in application, this move could be used during early during a hop or so to preempt an opponent's approaching hop or attempt to run in. From certain spacings, this attack may cancel into Musasabi no Mai (air) (Air +  ) as proper attack string to throw off the opponent's timing. Just be wary of mis-spacing it or getting countered by a Guard Cancel Roll in the corner.
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| +
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9/5/- 10/5/- |
KD/- |
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HL | 90/80 | Effectively, this is an aerial Ryuu Enbu ( + ). It has great air control and good enough speed; but to hit upon crouching opponents, it must be timed very late. Late, to the point that the opponent could already react and it Mai with an anti-air normal or so. So be sure to mix-up Mai's jump-in attacks so the opponent has to second guess whether or not if there is enough time to anti-air Mai from the correct angle or commit blocking while standing.
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| Command Normals | |||||||
 +
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10/-/- | +3 (at best) |  
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50 | Ukihane- Mai uses her fans to slow her descent, altering her trajectory and falling onto her target with a knee-drop. This move has a massive hitbox that can stuff or trade with anti-airs and even stop air-to-air attempts to counter this attack. This move also causes a hard knockdown, which can set up Mai for offensive pressure or give her time to back off and reestablish her zoning. | |
| Throws | |||||||
| / + /
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0 | KD |
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100 | Fuusha Kuzushi- Breakable. Neckbreaker throw. After throw in the corner, you can roll for an ambiguous cross-up (crossunder +).
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| (air)/ +
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0 | KD |
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125 | Yura- Unbreakable. After an airthrow in the corner (which you can combo into), normal j. safejumps every character except Ash, Yuri, and Kensou, who you can safejump with SJ.
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| Special Moves | |||||||
 +
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: 15/-/30
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: +1/-2
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HL | : 60
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Kachousen (fan toss)- Mai's fan projectile. Extremely important for Mai's game. version is slower, version is faster. can be comboed into with close normals. version actually sets up a frame trap with st./cr..
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| +
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: 15/9/25
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: KD/-1
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HL | : 65
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Ryuu Enbu (flame tail)- Another trademark move. is better in blockstrings, and is safe on block. hits twice if close, and is better in combos.
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 +
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: 6/2(4)2(10)22/17
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: KD/-21
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HL | : 45 * 2
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Hissatsu Shinobibachi- Don't use this move in neutral, it's quite punishable. Her highest damage special move. Good for punishing some moves from far away.
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| (Jumping) +
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: 21/-/17
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: KD/-
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HL | : 70
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Musabi no Mai- Diving attack. This move is unsafe if done too high off the ground. It's safer if Tk'd (2367+P) really close to the ground, hitting extended limbs or near a standing opponents feet. Good for some mixups, but don't do it too much. Can also be cancelled from normal jump , , or .
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charge ,  + (Hold)
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36-49/-/17 |
- | - | -- | 70 | Musabi no Mai- Mai jumps to the wall really fast, and then comes back down with the same attack as air + . It's good for running away.
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| charge , +
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33-46 | - | - | -- | 0 | Musabi no Mai- Feint- Same as the above, but Mai doesn't dive. Even better for running away, probably better than the non-feint version. | |
(air) (near wall) 
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- | - | -- | 0 | Wall Jump- It's a wall-jump. Mai can attack as during a normal jump once she has jumped off. Can be useful for escaping the corner, though care must be taken so that one does not get anti-aired in the process. | ||
| DMs | |||||||
| +
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: 11/3(3)32/29
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: KD/-11
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HL | : 30 + 25 * 8
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Chou Hissatsu Shinobibachi- Mai's entire body lights on fire and she launches herself at her opponent similar to + . Good for punishing stuff far away. Has low priority.
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| (air) +
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: 10/28/-
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: KD/-3
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HL | : 25 * 8
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Chou Hissatsu Shinobibachi- She can also do this super in the air. Has the same properties as the grounded version.
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(airok)  + +
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1/10/28 | KD/-15 | 
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- | 450 | Shiranui Ryuu: Kunoichi no Mai- Mai dives toward the wall, and comes back down basically hitting full screen. Can punish just about anything. One of the few Neomax supers that can be done raw. Also a great ender for HD combos, has good damage scaling. | |
Console Changes
- Crouching
has more cancelable frames. - Ukihane (Air
+
) has a different trajectory than Arcade, and recovery time has been changed. - Added new target combo: st. > st.
. It can be used to connect into HD mode and also gives Mai more damage on pokes. - Kachousen (
+
) has faster startup and faster recovery. - Musasabi no Mai (from ground) (~
+) can be canceled with Ukihane (+). - Light Ryuu Enbu (
+
) hitbox is larger vertically. - Added EX Air Chou Hissatsu Shinobibachi (Air
+). It is invincible until it becomes active. - Shiranui Ryuu: Kunoichi no Mai (
+) has faster startup and freezes time after flying to the edge of screen.
Combos
Standard starters:
- cl./cr.- optimal combo starter
- cr., cr., st., st.- target combo
- cr., cr./st. - low option
- J./J.- Jump D is usually her best combo starting jump-in, but Jump C does slightly more damage if you can time it right
- Instant/ lowest air +/Air +- can combo from + if done early enough,
version is always comboable 
st.- can combo after with counterhit
0% Drive
0 Bar
- j. xx + - (128)
- cr., cr. xx + - (144)
- cr.,cr.,st.,st. - (153)
- cr., cr., cr. xx + (154)
- cl. xx + - (166)
- cr., cr., cr. xx + - (171)
- cr., cr., cr. xx + - (194)
- (corner only) cl. xx +, cr. - (255)
- (corner only) cl. xx +, cr. xx + (301)
- (near corner) xx +, +, +, +, air throw - (466)
1 Bar
- cl. xx +, + - (267 [mid-screen]/ 308 [corner])
- cl. xx + (corner) +, st. (260 [mid-screen]/ 327 [corner])
- (corner only) cl. xx +, +, +, cl. / airgrab - (395 / 431)
- (corner only) cr., +, st., +, +, +, Air Throw - (502)
2 Bar
- cl. xx +, ~+
(315) - (corner only)cl. xx +, +, airgrab - (408)
50% Drive
0 Bar
- (corner only) cl. xx + (2 hits)
air +, +, cr. or airgrab - (383)
1 Bar
- (midscreen) cr. cr. st. + (corner), +(1) +, +, +, airthrow (379)
- Carries to the corner from as far as half a stage away.
- (midscreen) cl. +(2) +, +, +, airthrow (443)
- Carries as far as the previous combo while doing more damage, though it requires a heavy normal to start it.
- (corner only) cl. xx +, +, +, + +, +, +, Air Throw - (553)
- Max damage 1 bar/1 drive
2 Bar
- (midscreen) cr. cr. +, +(1) +, + (354)
- Carries all the way from one corner to another, probably useful for those corner crossup mixups from Mai's throw.
- [Corner] cl. xx +, , [1hit], +, +, , , st. - (554)
- Max damage 2 bar/1 drive
100% Drive
0 Meter
(anywhere) st. > st. HD st. xx [ +(2 hits) xx + xx]x4 + [437/502 dmg]
- + hits once against standing opponents and twice against crouching opponents. Against crouchers, cancel on the first hit at least once to avoid running out of gauge before the last HDC.
- + must be inputted slowly so the following + doesn't register as a super.
- If you reach the corner at any point, drive cancel + into j.+ instead and do the below combo for as long as your remaining drive gauge allows.
(near corner) st. > st. HD st. st. xx + xx j.+, +(2) xx +, +, + xx +, +,+ xx +, +, +, +, st. (632 dmg)
- Builds 75% meter and 25% drive gauge after the last HDC.
1 Meter
(midscreen) st. > st. HD st. st. xx +, + xx +, +, +, + xx +, +, + xx +, +, airthrow (549 dmg)
- Uses meter to carry. Easier than doing the meterless loop, but prorates a lot.
(corner) cr. xx +, st. xx +, +, +, + +, +, + +, +, +, cr. - (?)
- Almost 100% stun.
2 Meter
(anywhere) st. > st. HD st. [ +(2 hits) xx + xx]x3, + xx j.+ (642/711)
- + hits once against standing opponents and twice against crouching opponents.
- + must be inputted slowly so the following + doesn't register as a super.
(near corner) st. > st. HD st. st. xx + xx j.+, +(2 hits) xx +, +, + xx +, +, + xx + (768 dmg)
- Input + as +~ for an easy max-cancel.
(near corner) st. > st. HD (st. >) st. xx + xx j.+, +(1 hit) xx +, +, [ +(2 hits) xx +]x2, +(2 hits) xx + (790 dmg)
- A more damaging alternative to the previous combo.
- Skip either (st.) or the second hit of the last + against crouching opponents.
3 Meter
[corner] st. HD cl., +, +, +, +, + (1 hit) xx +, +, + (1 hit) xx +, +, + (1 hit) + - (809)
4 Meter
[corner] j., cl. HD st., + + - (831)
[corner] j., cl., HD st. xx + [2 hits], xx air +, + [2 hits], xx , +, + [1 hit], xx +, +, +, + [1 hit], xx +, +, +, + - (808)
[corner] j., cl., [HD] st. xx + [2 hits], xx air +, + [2 hits], xx +, + [1 hit], xx +, +, + + - (908)
Team Order
1st position
Mai is an okay but not great point, as Mai's damage without meter is low. She can play a solid zoning game with Kachousen (+), but it's better to put someone else point unless there's a character with matchup problems against Mai, e.g. grapplers, who have a hard time chasing down Mai.
2nd position/3rd position
Mai works equally well in both positions. Once she has meter, she'll do way more damage (as with every character), but when Mai really starts to shine is when you use her neomax to punish -virtually anything- in the game. You'll also need meter for a "get off me" option, and Mai's only invincible reversal is +.
Strategy
Offense
+ is great for both zoning and for initiating an offense. You can also follow the version for a safe approach, as her jump is very high and easy to react to. Resist the temptation to use the version except maybe from fullscreen, as the recovery is slow. The 
version "eats" other projectiles, which is useful against better zoning characters like King.
Make sure to learn some combos ending with +, or beginning with air +, as they has great corner carry. Air + is also PLUS ON BLOCK.
Once you get the opponent to the corner, Mai is an absolute monster. Outside of guard cancel roll, her strings are very safe (ending with + and +). Standing on wakeup can either + (combos on counterhit, and then air throw after) or + on block.
Doing repeated j.+s on opponents wakeup (especially midscreen) can crossup and can be extremely annoying. Keep in mind that this is very unsafe if blocked.
Air + when it hits the opponents "knees" (or if they're crouch blocking) is much more safe; if you hit high on their body it's unsafe if blocked.
Cr. (1 or 2), st. > St. is a very effective hitconfirm into HD mode.
Jump and Jump are effective crossups, especially with Mai's high jump. J. has higher blockstun than other jump normals, making it best for anticipated blocks. You can then run > throw, or run > cr. into target combo or frame traps.
Cr. is cancellable, useful for cancelling into +/ mostly.
Neutral/Defense
Mai is the most mobile character in the game, with 2 special moves that change air trajectory (air +, air +), a wall jump, the fastest run in the game, a move that jumps fullscreen (charge , +), and also the highest normal jump in the game (and therefore one of the best hyper hops in the game). For this reason, it's best to stay moving constantly.
If zoning with Kachousens, your anti-airs must be pre-emptive except for +, which has a little bit of startup invincibility. Some effective pre-emptive anti-airs are:
- St.
(great anti-hop button) - St. (same as above but slower)
- Far (good regular jump anti-air, although it trades. Closest thing she has to other characters cr.)
- Hop (beats a lot of air moves)
- Hop (also pretty good against air)
- Cr. (low profiles a lot of moves)
- + can occasionally smack people who are running back and forth doing hop normals (a common part of KOF neutral). However it's very unsafe on block, so don't do this too much.
- + (beats characters who will land far away)
If you get stuck in the corner, some options to get out are
- Block and wait for a poke opportunity (learn to not panic and be patient, as you won't always have meter or an obvious opening to jump out. Everything in KOF has an answer)
- wall jump out
- Ground Musabi no Mai across the screen if there's an opening
- Roll (careful with this one), GC roll, and GC Blowback
- Finally, + is Mai's only invincible move (as far as I know). You can also cancel into this if someone jumps over your Kachousen.
Hyper hop normals, or especially, are a good way to close distance, as it goes a -long- distance.
Neomax 1 frame startup, so if the opponent did literally anything besides blocking, they'll get hit. If you know the strings your opponent likes to do, for example Mr. Karate's that use the invisible fireball a lot, this can punish that.
Advanced Strategy
After throwing the opponent into the corner, Mai can jump into the corner just by doing a regular jump forward, though as far as I know she's unable to land a crossup j. this way. You can also walk forward a bit and then roll into the corner, and depending on how far you walk creates an ambiguous roll setup.
When the opponent is cornered, wall jump > air + hits 4 times (usually hits 3) and is safe on block. You get a full combo if it hits as well.
Whiffing ground Musabi no Mai and jumping around the screen with said move builds meter. Using +/ to cancel the opponents projectiles also builds meter, while denying meter to the opponent.
Frame Traps
Frame Traps and Links
"(n) frame gap" = The amount of frames that opponent has to counter a frame trap.
1. cl., cl. - 3 frame gap between cl., and cl..
2. cl., cr. - 3 frame gap between cl., and cr..
3. cr., cl. - 2 frame gap between cr., and cl..
4. cr., cr. - 2 frame gap between cr., and cr..
5. st., cl. - 3 frame gap between st., and cl. .
6. st., cl. - 4 frame gap between st., and cl..
7. st., cr. - 4 frame gap between st., and cr..
8. cr., cl. - 4 frame gap between cr., and cl..
9. cr., cr. - 4 frame gap between cr., and cr..
10. Instant/ lowest air +, cl. - 3 frame gap between instant/ lowest air + and cl..
11. Instant/ lowest air +, cr. - 4 frame gap between instant/ lowest air + and cr..
12. Instant/ lowest air +, cl. - 4 frame gap between instant/ lowest air + and cl..
13. Instant/ lowest air +, cr.- 4 frame gap between instant/ lowest air + and cr..
14. +, far - 1 frame gap between +, and far .
15. Air +, cl. - 3 frame gap between instant/ lowest air + and cl..
16. Air +, cr. - 4 frame gap between instant/ lowest air + and cr..
17. Air +, cl. - 4 frame gap between instant/ lowest air + and cl..
18. Air +, cr. - 4 frame gap between instant/ lowest air + and cr..
Tips and Tricks
You can jump in with , you'll get a jumping straight into HD activation. This is universal for every character.