VF5FS Shun Move Analysis

Top-10 Moves(top)

1. : Shun's elbow is much the same as a 'typical' elbow shared amongst the cast - Use it as a poke to counter an attack or catch a crouching opponent. It is 1 frame slower than a standard elbow at 15 frames. Further potential is available in mixing up this move, using the follow up mid , to Kasen Gyou'in, defensive techniques or abare attack. Be mindful that is very slow however and won't work against aggressive players.

2. : A classic Shun attack and in some ways is his 'real' elbow, as it suits his trickster style. With a long range and fairly fast execution, you can lock down your opponent, stopping them in their tracks with a counter hit and setting up a deadly mid, low or throw guessing game. By pressing immediately after execution, Shun will cancel his attack and enter Soukokukyu (Back Turned) stance for more shenanigans (see below!).

At +8 DP, Shun can follow this move with a , high, mid sequence. Don't abuse this however, as strong opponents will low punch after blocking the first attack. Another tidbit is that if an opponent does not perform fall recovery and is used immediately after they hit the ground, the attack will 'scrape' for some damage. At +8 DP, the whole sequence can be used against lighter characters for excellent damage!

3. : This move is not particularly complicated or tricky in its use, but it is still remarkably effective. In only 16 frames Shun will slide forwards across the screen a good distance, plowing into anything at the end of his fist. On a normal hit it will give a +4 frame advantage, enough to press with another , Chouwan or simply an elbow. On a counter hit, it will cause a stomach crumple and free combo opportunity, which is where this move shines. At a medium to long distance, this move is a constant threat for any opponent wanting to attack or advance. It's also a strong option to follow on after you hit with a or .

4. : A move dreaded by opponents, not for its damage output, but for its ability to make opponents second guess their defence. This sequence hits low then high, meaning the opponent must crouch to guard it. It's reasonably fast and is also half circular. On top of that, it will knock the opponent off their feet, forcing them into a wakeup guessing game. This move truly is one of Shun's best pokes, and attacks overall.

If guarded it can definitely be punished, but there are some mitigating factors. One is that you can follow either kick with , which will make Shun lie down on the ground. Sometimes this can put the opponent off just long enough to avoid big damage. Another factor is that the second can be delayed slightly. Note however that you must use the fastest timing between the s to ensure it works as a sequence, otherwise the first kick can hit whilst the second will be guarded.

5. : This move is a sort of yin to 's yang. While is low and only evadable to the back, is mid and only evadable to the front. Whilst Shun is definitely at a frame disadvantage on block, the move will push back the opponent a reasonable distance when guarded; This can be enough to backdash and bait a whiffed attack.

If is held until the end of the animation, Shun will enter Choukarou stance. Note that when he enters stance he will have a frame advantage even if the initial is blocked.

Another option is to press immediately after to cancel the attack into Soukokukyu. Shun will be vulnerable when cancelling however so it is safer to use this when an opponent is recovering from a fall.

6. / : Obviously it wouldn't be a top ten without Shun's signature drink. When you have plenty of space from your opponent, feel free to use to take a drink and boost Shun's fighting power. This move does leave you completely vulnerable however, so can be a better option as it starts with a drink, and can be followed up with an attack. , has good range, and the timing of the can be varied for maximum confusion.

Be aware if you use but don't use a followup, the overall execution time will be longer than if you had just used . Sometimes if your opponent is less aggressive, it can be better to take a standard drink, which will recover quicker while still baiting your opponent into coming in close.

7. (+6 DP. AKA Chouwan): It's no exaggeration to say that this is possibly one of the best launchers in Final Showdown, so of course it will feature highly in any Shun player's armoury. It will float on any hit, making it an excellent choice for punishing whiffed moves, especially after a backdash. Remarkably it's also not even throw punishable on guard, recovering at -8 frames, meaning there will always be the possibility that you will simply keep attacking to cut through any throw attempts.

The most obvious downside is that you will need at least 6 Drink Points to be able to execute it, meaning good drink management will be needed for best results. Another slight minus point is that being a special mid, it will not float guarding, crouching opponents. This is not the end of the world; Often you can poke through afterwards using , or if you have +8 DP, use the followup . Just don't abuse the followup in general play, as being high it is easily countered if your Chouwan is guarded.

8. (AKA Mule Kick): Overall Shun's Chouwan is a better launcher than his Mule Kick, however the Mule does have a couple of advantages compared to the uppercut. It can firstly be executed without Shun having any Drink Points at all, and secondly unlike the Chouwan it will launch guarding, crouching defenders. It is punch counterable (-13) on guard however, so it is not as safe. It's not a move to use abundantly, but it is a solid launcher, especially if mixed up with low attacks.

9. (From Soukokukyu - back turned) : This is another signature move of Shun's, known for it's ability to cut down an offence before it even begins. As a sabaki, it will deflect a wide variety of moves (generally low attacks and jumping attacks are the exceptions) and then crumple the opponent, providing a free combo. As such, this can be an excellent option to counter an opponent that is constantly harassing you with poking attacks.

The simplest way to transition into the back turned Soukokukyu stance is to do the cancel. Shun will be vulnerable during this transition, but he will move forwards so this can be a good way to advance on an opponent from mid to long range. Other transitions are from ,, and . In each of these strings, the cancel can be used as a fake to bait the opponent into attacking and eating the sabaki, or another attack from the stance.

10. (+10 DP, uses 5 DP when executed): Maybe on balance Shun's best launcher is his Chouwan, but if drinks were an unlimited resource, this move would take the cake. The sole reason for this is that this attack launches from a normal, low hit - Something virtually unheard of in Final Showdown; As a general rule low attacks are not very safe on guard, and are not combo starters (or if they are, only on a counter hit). As such opponents do not typically expect to have to guard low very often, and even if they do get hit low the damage received will probably not be great. However if Shun can reach +10 DP, the consequence of not defending low attacks can be disastrous. Used effectively, this move dramatically raises the stakes of Shun's mid/low mixup.

Attacks(top)

P(top)

- (& followups) - Shun's standing is a 12 frame punch like most of the cast. There's not much to say about the punch itself, so some info on its followups is below. One thing to note about these followups is that if Shun's standing hits, only the second attack ( or ) will be guaranteed. The third attack will only hit if the opponent guards incorrectly.

• - Most characters have a sequence. It's a good string to punish moves at -12 to -14 frames as both hits are guaranteed with the fastest timing. One downside is that Shun is actually at -1 when it hits, unless you press to go into backturned stance. Luckily this is not a bad option, as Shun has a good variety of moves when he's turned around.
• - This string is fairly risky, the final is -16 on guard. You can cancel the into Soukokukyu with , though it has a longish animation so isn't very good unless your punches hit, and as mentioned the opponent will have to guess incorrectly to be hit by the third attack.
• (+4 DP) - Shun can do from the start of the round, and the final comes at +4 DP. It's best to practice hit-checking ; If it's guarded, you can still interrupt the oppponent with the last (+4 DP), for a CH and small combo. If it hits, you can fake the last with into BT Soukokukyu, or hit to Kasen Gyou'in.
• (+6 DP) - Whilst is not guaranteed when the punches hit, it starts low and is fast (like Shun's ) so it will often hit an opponent because it is difficult to quickly low guard when the flurry of attacks come.

- - Shun's elbow isn't that great compared to other characters; It's slightly slower at 15 frames. Also the second hit is not hit-checkable on a normal hit, only a counter hit, so you have to be more careful when hit-checking. In this respect, if you're looking for a little bit of damage to close out the round, try , which can be hit-checked off a NH. Otherwise his elbow is similar to everyone else, use it to counter, or to hit crouching opponents for frame advantage and a launcher/throw mixup. You can press to go into Kasen Gyou'in, but I use this sparingly as the the transition is slow and your opponent can hit you out of it if they mash - Maybe hit again to go into Oushin as this can duck under a lot of attacks.

The followup is not remarkable, it's not a combo starter and is actually at disadvantage on NH - If counter hits, you'll actually lose your frame advantage by doing the followup! What it is decent at is catching players that evade .

- (+4DP) - Shun's backhand is similar to the one in the sequence, and again the last will require +4 DP. It has a good range and is surprisingly decent for catching opponents at a mid distance. It's half circular too, so include it in your repertoire for catching evades, or causing a stagger at a wall. Hit-check the first hit, then either do the second to interrupt for a combo, or fake it out with into BT Soukokukyu.

- (& followups) - This is a bit of an unusual sequence as this is actually an 11 frame punch, which makes it a tiny bit better for interrupting attacks. It doesn't have the same frame advantage as Shun's normal though, so its use is slightly different - Don't try to harass an opponent with it as it definitely does not have advantage on guard.

You can do from the start of the round. At +2, +4 & +6 DP you can hit for a followup after each punch (respectively). Again like this can float on CH, and be cancelled into BT Soukokukyu. The advantage of this sequence however is the transition between the punches and is very fast. Even if the opponent evades the punch it is very difficult to interrupt the followup.

A general point to note is that seems to hit both lower and further than Shun's standard . Generally this doesn't matter, however for some low floats will hit more consistantly.

- - Not much to say here, a universal move amongst the cast - Use it to interrupt attacks! If guarded a backdash to bait an attack is a strong tactic - and (+6 DP) are good to use in this regard.

- - A strong move! This will crumple on CH for a combo opportunity. It is fast, and moves across the screen a good distance, meaning at mid-long distance it is a big threat. On normal hit you will still have a good frame advantage of +4, you can even do it again to try and get a counter! From standing you can press to execute it so you don't have to wait to transition into crouching. This is the same motion as a crouch dash, so you can also do (pause) to crouch dash forward, and then execute the move, which will allow you to advance closer in a smooth motion. On guard this move is not counterable at -8, so you can still blow up throw attempts if you want to take a risk!

- (+6 DP) - One of Shun's signature and best combo starters! You may hear players refer to it as a Chouwan. It's fast, will float on any hit, and is not punishable on guard. It's a great move to use after backdash to catch people after they have whiffed a move.

It doesn't have many downsides, but one is that it is only a special-mid, so it will not hit crouching, guarding opponents. At +8DP however Shun gains a high followup which can hit if the opponent crouch guards (of course it won't float but better than nothing!). Also Shun has higher damage combos once you reach 8+ DP and can use instead of just . Be aware that if the Chouwan is guarded, it's best not to use the followup as a decent player will duck the high punch and then counter with a combo starter!

- (+10DP) - One of Shun's 'sacrifice' moves, this will take -2 DP from you every time you use it. However in return its stats are very good - It's a full circular mid, so can only be defended by a standing guard. Most full circular mids in VF are punishable, but this is only -7, so overall it's a very hard move to beat!

- (& followups) - This move is great at catching opponents at a distance and gaining counter hits. At +8 DP you can use the followups . The second attack is high however, so I wouldn't suggest throwing this out if is blocked. After you can press into Oushin stance. Another great property of this string is that it can scrape characters off the ground for good damage (if they don't use fall recovery). Try then off the ground (execute as to prevent Shun's down attack from coming out).

- - There is a temptation for new players to abuse this move, as it can be hard for inexperienced players to deal with. First off, this move is 14 frames, so it is one of Shun's fastest moves. Because it is fast, has a long range, and because Shun ducks so low to the ground, it is really great for interrupting opponents, especially if they are abusing high attacks. But it has some key downsides too, so you should choose the right time to use it.

One downside is it's a special low, so opponents can guard it both standing or crouching.

A big downside however is the frame advantage. On guard Shun will be at -10, meaning characters with a low throw can potentially punish it (it's not quite clear cut, as because of the long range Shun can still be out of range of a low throw). Even on normal hit, this move is -6! So this leaves CH, which even then is only +2 advantage. or Chouwan can beat elbow speed attacks, but won't beat out a or . Against these attacks it's best to try to space at the maximum distance so a or would whiff, then you can punish (eg )

Finally, has a followup with . I would caution against using this (unless in a combo!) - It has a long startup time and if guarded you are vulnerable to pretty much any launcher under the sun. Technically if counter-hits, then the is guaranteed. However this only works with the fastest timing, so you can't hit-check it!

K(top)

- (& followups) - This move used to be quite important in previous versions of VF as it was a commonly used in combos from Chouwan etc.. However now that Shun's combos have changed it has become somewhat orphaned. Don't worry if you're not using this move.

- - The strength of this move is its high frame advantage on guard, good for keeping the pressure on defensive opponents. The move automatically transitions into Choukarou stance. It has a long startup time however, and is particularly vulnerable to an evade, as the opponent can do a simple and fast to knock you out of stance and start a small float. It will produce a stagger on crouching opponents - Be aware that the stagger tends to push the other character away from Shun, and if they don't struggle quickly your followup from Choukarou can miss. But otherwise Choukarou has a good variety of moves to pressure the opponent after the stagger.

- - This move is highly punishable on guard at -15 frames. However it is reasonably fast, floats on any hit and has a decent range, making it a good option to catch players out at medium-long distance. On balance Chouwan is probably preferable to this as it is faster and safe, though this move will float crouching, guarding opponents and doesn't require any drinks.

A trick to 'extend' its range is to run the input in together with a forward dash, eg . Of course you can do this with any move, but as an input it's easy to push out quickly and gives your attack more distance. There is a slight window where Shun will go over low attacks, but it's very hard to time and certainly cannot be used from a negative or neutral (0) frame situation - Look to if you want to crush a low attack.

And finally this is a good move for punishing attacks which both have a long recovery on guard, and a lot of pushback - Think Jacky's somersault () or Akira's bodycheck ().

- - This move has low damage and doesn't give any frame advantage even on CH (!), but it's fast and ducks very, very low. So low in fact it can duck under a lot of mids! This makes it a great way to end a round if you're trying to get that last little bit of health, or occasionally if you just want to stop your opponent in their tracks. Follow with / or evade to prevent getting rumbled after it hits.

- (+6 DP) - There doesn't seem to be much of a use for this sequence, it starts with two high moves so is vulnerable to low punch, and it doesn't have any combo starting ability. It does have some use for gaining higher damage combos however, so check the combo list if you want to eek out some more damage.

- (+10 DP) - Another drink sacrifice move, this string will take -2 DP for the first attack and -3DP for the second! However the move itself is strong and worth spending drinks on - It's one of the few natural combo starters in VF from a low hit. To make it even more deadly, it's effectively 'safe', as you can hit-check the first hit then either go for the second hit (and combo) if it hits, or stop the string and defend if it's guarded. This also means that if it is guarded and you hit-check you'll only lose -2 DP. A really dangerous attack all round.

- - Shun's sidekick, and followup punch. The sidekick has similar frame stats to other sidekicks in the game, though the range of Shun's is quite short compared to a lot of other characters. That disadvantage aside, it's a pretty solid poking option. The kick can be hit-checked on a normal hit into the punch, making it good if you want to fish for around 30 damage to win a round. The followup punch is high, but it will knockdown for a combo on counter-hit. This again makes it a good move for fishing for damage, say at neutral or at wakeup, if you're not sure what the opponent will do - Even if they evade, the punch will usually stop them from attacking. Also note it's a good round ender as it will leave the opponent standing, meaning you can gain +6 DP at the end of the round instead of the usual +4 DP (see the Drinking section of the wiki!)

- - A fearsome move in Shun's repertoire - It's low, it's half circular, and it's even pretty quick. It doesn't do a lot of damage but it does knockdown, meaning the opponent will have to defend a wake up situation (or if you're positioned well you can ring them out!). It is punishable if guarded, practice using the guard cancel () if you see the opponent blocking it as while it's definitely not a get out of jail free card, the opponent will have to have a quick reaction to punish. Note you must use the fastest timing to ensure the second kick hits.

P+K(top)

- - A tricky move to use well - The first hit is high, and it takes a while for the second mid hit to come out, so it can get stuffed by quite easily. It is half circular though, and even on guard the right attack choice from Soukokukyu can beat out your opponent. Not a move to use abundantly but can have its uses.

- (& followups) - First things first, this move is sloooooow. It's not a move to throw around hoping it will hit. Generally my advice is to use it from a combo (ie ) where you know it will hit.

Once it does hit, Shun will take a big swig from his bottle. If you press no buttons after it hits and let Shun take the full swig, he'll gain +5 DP. However you can cancel the swig at any time during its animation with one of the followup attacks; The earlier you cancel, the fewer drinks Shun will gain. His followup options are:

• - A headbutt which if it hits will start a small combo. Use if you're confident the opponent will try to interrupt you while you are drinking with an attack.
• - A falling kick which can transition into Oushin. If you're less confident whether the opponent will be aggressive, use this option.
• - This option will go straight into Oushin, but is a quicker overall transition, so can catch players out.

How early you cancel the drinking animation depends on:

• What situation it hit from - Depending on the combo, the opponent will be able to recover quicker.
• How aggressive the opponent is - You may need to cancel it earlier if they attack immediately after their fall recovery. Experiment with different timings.

Also remember another option is to do no followup. Smart opponents may watch for you to do a followup, then whiff punish it. You can try to stop this by simply doing no followup attack, and possibly then evading the opponents attack.

- (+8 DP), or from Running, (no DP required) - Shun's flying headbutt. The purpose of this move is to attack from a very long distance quite quickly. Not bad for whiff punishing rising attacks from a very long distance. Don't use it a lot as it's vulnerable to evade but it's a good surprise attack. Hit to transition into BT Oushin. Note if it hits into a wall it will also cause a slump.

- (hit) - Quite a good move, though it takes some practice to use correctly. This hit-throw will deal out a decent chunk of damage whilst gaining Shun +3 DP. It's also half circular. It is however quite a slow move. One common use is to catch out a tech rolling opponent - If they are ducking or evade the wrong way they'll get hit. You can also try baiting attacks with a backdash into this move (, backdash -> is not a bad option).

- - Stats wise this is a good move, guaranteeing from Choukarou on hit. However it has an odd range and it can be difficult to get it to hit. It can be used in a combo from the catch throw in Oushin also.

- (+8 DP) - Shun will be able to use from the start of the round, and at +8 DP he'll gain another attack afterwards. This is a really great string to mess around with your opponent. On hit the first attack will stagger, effectively guaranteeing the followup - Good for fishing for damage. The second hit also knocks down, putting the opponent into a wake up situation. You can delay the timing of the second hit, and it is also not punishable on block (-8), meaning that you can mix in a few different combinations of this string to keep the opponent guessing. itself is a great whiff punisher after a backdash too.

- (+10 DP) - Shun's final 'drink sacrifice' move, this launcher will take -3 DP off you whenever you execute it (even if it doesn't hit!). But what's great is that it is actually positive frames on guard (+4), meaning if the opponent blocks you can keep attacking! Bust out a Chouwan or to catch your opponent out.

- - Shun's charge move doesn't have a lot of uses. But one thing it's not bad for is catching players out near a wall. The move itself travels forward a good distance, can duck under high attacks, and also pushes back a good distance on hit. Because it does 21 damage points, if you hit a player into a wall it will cause a heavy stagger which is very difficult to struggle out of. Whilst staggering hit the opponent with for big damage (see the 'wall combos' tab in the combo section for detailed combos). I don't recommend charging it up however as it typically just gives the opponent time to recognise and evade.

- - Shun's 15 frame punisher. Very useful for punishing moves which are -15 or more on guard. You can also try to use it to catch a failed evade.

- - This move is fairly slow, but it is a half circular mid. Not a bad move to occasionally bust out when your opponent is recovering from a tech roll, as you can punish an incorrect evade from quite a distance. Also it has some use for jumping over the opponent when they are on the ground, and about to do a rising attack - If timed right the rising attack will whiff. On top of that if the attack hits at the same time as the rising attack it will crush it due to its high damage. Remember to hit afterwards to go into BT Oushin.

K+G(top)

- - This move compliments - Whilst is low and evadeable to the back, is mid and evadeale to the front. They are both 17 frames too making it a strong mid/low mixup. On block Shun is at a disadvantage, but it will also push back the opponent creating some distance for whiffed attacks or you can backdash to bait moves. If you hold you will transition into Choukarou stance and actually have frame advantage; Pressure with from Choukarou to stop the other player from attacking.

There is a short window where Shun will jump over low attacks, however it is later in the animation so it doesn't work from a disadvantage or even a neutral (+0) situation. Look to the next move, , if you want to crush low attacks.

- - This is Shun's attack for crushing low attacks. Even at disadvantage, this move can be used to beat a low punch or any other low attack. Unfortunately the combo damage is quite low until Shun reaches +8 DP, and he can use the (execute as ) sequence, but it's still a useful move. One handy property of this move is that Shun will 'collapse' to the ground if he is counter-hit by a launcher while executing this move. This means that the damage you would potentially receive from being hit by a launcher is low, and therefore the move is less risky when you have poor frame advantage (go abare!).

- - There is one very specific use for this move, and that is to crush rising attacks. You will need +7 DP to do it (the damage modifier ups the damage to 21 points, allowing it to crush), but it has an enormous amount of active frames, so if the rising attack occurs at any time whilst this move is executing, the rising attack will be stuffed. It also has a long execution time overall, so I'd suggest busting this move out early (before the rising attack starts) as if the opponent doesn't do a rising attack you will recover earlier and have more distance between them.

- (+7 DP) - A good low sequence. If the first sweep hits, the rest are guaranteed. I wouldn't suggest doing the sweeps until you have the full 7 DP however, as the first two sweeps do not knockdown and are at disadvantage on both hit and CH.

- - Shun's full circular sweep, good for catching evades. It is fairly slow, but not a bad move to use when the opponent is in wake up.

- - This move is good for punishing high attacks, as it will duck under them and also gains a combo on counter hit.

- - Shun's so called 'mule kick'. This is a good combo starter to get into your repertoire of attacks. It's not as safe as a Chouwan (-13 on guard), but it requires no drink points, and can launch crouching, guarding opponents.

Its animation sometimes gives the impression that it can beat out low attacks, but this is not the case. There is a distance where an opponent's will whiff, and the mule kick can hit, so sometimes it does seem like it crushes low attacks but this is only a trick of spacing. There is however a window where Shun will duck under high attacks, which can be handy. To see this in action, set the CPU dummy to guard and counterattack with . Then with Shun do your own standing (+2 on guard), then immediately hit . You'll find with the small frame advantage of the blocked punch, the mule kick will beat the CPU's , even though in terms of frame advantage, it should lose out. Keep this in mind if your opponent is someone that busts out a lot of high moves, s or strings - Especially at a mid distance, where their would also miss. If your opponent is in a stance with strong high attacks, this can also be a great move to use as a counter.

P+K+G(top)

- & - Drink up! There are a bunch of different moves Shun can use to gain drinks (see the Strategy section of Shun's wiki) but one the simplest ways to gain drinks is through these moves. For each of these moves Shun will gain +1 DP, the difference being that leans back a bit more (and can therefore avoid high attacks) and has followup attacks too. Still, if you don't want to commit yourself to one of these followup attacks (a smart opponent can wait and punish) the simple will recover slightly faster. Just be aware that either way Shun is completely vulnerable while drinking, so make sure you have some distance between your opponent (or that they are on the ground!) before you take a swig!

- / (& followups) - This is a really strong bait and punish move, and used at the right time can be devastating. A common use is after hits, when you have a small frame disadvantage, however it can be used in a lot of different situations to bait attacks. The followup doesn't do much damage, but is fast and gives a good advantage. The followup is slower, but it has longer range and gives a high damage combo on any hit. Which option you'll use takes a bit of practice, but generally is better at stopping a rushdown, while is better for punishing a whiffed attack. Note that both attacks are high, so don't abuse this setup as a smart opponent will be able to punish it.

- - This is quite a tricky move to use - It has a similar bait and punish style to / , but it doesn't move Shun backwards very quickly, meaning that it can often be interrupted while Shun is still hopping backwards. So unlike / which you can time with your opponent's move (and even at a negative frame advantage) and still evade their attack, almost needs to be used in advance of your opponents attack. The followup punch also doesn't drive forward like / , would, meaning the opponent has to be quite close to Shun for it to hit. In this sense using this move is quite difficult, and you have to sort of predict in advance that your opponent is about to rushdown on you for it to hit.

That said, if it does hit, you'll gain enough frames for a free launcher! On hit however, the opponent is pushed back a long distance, often out of striking range. The key seems to be to buffer in with a forward dash - Practice inputting with the fastest timing in training mode.

- (to Zabentetsu), (to Ōshin), & (to Tentōritsu) - These are all moves which transition into different stances. They have some useful properties which can keep your opponent guessing.

will put Shun into Ōshin which is very low, and can be used in anticipation of a mid rising attack.

has a rare property that Shun will 'collapse' to the ground if he is hit during this animation. This has some special applications for avoiding damage after particular throws. Examples of these throws are: Shun's & , Lau's , Jeffry's and Kage's . Shun can also use this move to avoid damage after Shun's CH (from Chōkarō).

The commonality to these moves is that the opponent has an 'effective' guaranteed attack in that you cannot turn around and guard in time to block the move. However you still have time to input a move, and by using Shun will collapse to the ground and avoid the full damage normally associated with the sequence.

Stances(top)

Shun has a number of stances each with some fairly unique moves in them. Not all stances are created equal however - You will find that Zabantetsu (sitting down) and Tentouritsu (hand stand) are hardly ever used by top players, as their mixup options are limited and the movelists are generally poorer.

Apart from these stances, the stances below are listed below in no particular order, as they all have their own useful moves.


Choukarou (drunken stance, on one leg):

Moves that enter Choukarou will generally give some sort of frame advantage even on guard: , (held) and (held, from Soukokukyu) are examples. Shun has some movement from Choukarou, being able to hop forwards and backwards ( & ), but these have a fairly long execution, so keep any movement to a long range.

- from Choukarou is a high, full circular attack. It has the distinguishing feature of giving a very high frame advantage on counter hit, effectively guaranteeing a Chouwan follow-up and combo. And as hitting an evading opponent with a circular attack results in a counter hit, it is good for stopping evading opponents. It is also one of the fastest executing moves from Choukarou.

It can be ducked however. At +4DP, the followup mid will be available, which adds even more attacking power to this move.

- The main advantage of this move is it will float on counter hit, making it a threat after is guarded, as the frame advantage of means it will crush even fast 11 frame punches. The mid followup will keep opponents honest if they try to attack or even evade and attack after the .

() - This is the same move as Shun's 3 sweep hit. It's a good low attack but the full sequence and knockdown is only possible from +7 DP, so save it until you have enough drinks.

- This catch throw can really surprise an opponent, and like most catch throws is not escapable. If the opponent learns to go on the defensive after blocking into Choukarou, this move can smash down that defence.

, then or - This can be used from long range for a solid mid/low guessing game. is essentially the same as Shun's . This can be mixed up with which is a full circular low attack. Another option to really mess with defensive opponents is to execute only the forward roll, and then throw them when Shun recovers.

- Use this sparingly; is a fast mid, but it or its followup cant produce much damage. The followup is very risky on guard, hit check the first if you must use it.


Kasen Gyou'in (leaning back after taking a drink)-

Kasen Gyou'in is a good stance for creating mind games with the opponent. It can be used as a mixup against an opponent getting up from the ground, or at mid/long range to create a bait-and-attack game. As Shun is vulnerable whilst he is taking a drink, the opponent will want to take this opportunity to attack. By mixing up the distance and timing at which you take your drink, you can confuse your opponent and bait them into being hit by Shun's followup attacks.

- A fairly quick mid attack, with decent range, which provides advantage on hit. The attack can be delayed to confuse the opponent. Can be used to push back opponents - After +7DP, if this attack hits the opponent into a wall it will cause a heavy stagger and an opportunity for a combo.

- A full circular high attack. Good for opponents who try to evade the attack. On hit it will cause a low float, which can usually be followed up by .

- A high attack which will break an opponents guard. Unlike guard breaks for some other characters it does not guarantee a combo on a broken guard, with only +10 frame advantage. It also usually will push the opponent out of throw range, so despite the frame advantage, a throw is usually not guaranteed. But the frame advantage is certainly enough to force a launcher/throw/low attack mixup.

It's worth also noting that this guard break can counter-hit attacks, at which point you'll gain +15 frames, and a guaranteed combo by using .

- This move will transition Shun to Oushin stance. Use this sparingly as Shun will be vulnerable during the transition - But it can be useful if the opponent goes into defensive mode to cause some further confusion.


Oushin (lying down) -

Oushin is another stance with good mixups, and its power has been upgraded significantly from previous versions of VF. Shun is positioned low to the ground, to the point that many mid attacks will whiff, so this limits your opponents attack options.

Shun has a lot more mobility in this stance in Final Showdown, being able to flip and roll forwards and backwards for better spacing. His movement cannot be cancelled like some of the dashes for stances of other characters, but Shun's not so much of a sitting duck in this stance anymore.

Oushin stance is considered 'forward facing' if Shun is lying with his feet towards his opponent. But he also has a 'back-turned' version of the stance in which he is lying with his head towards the opponent. Each version of the stance has some different moves and some moves shared between both versions.

- Drinking

- There's not to much to say for Shun's drinking moves in Oushin - From normal or back-turned you can execute and Shun will gain 2 drinks, and be completely vulnerable to attack. Use this when the opponent is on the ground or at a long distance in which you can recover in time to counter any offence.

- Movement

Movement is carried out with various commands.

/ - Roll to the side (ie evade) axis.
- Flip or roll forwards
- Flip or roll backwards

Rolling to the side (/) does not evade attacks in the manner of a Defensive Move (DM), so you will not see it used often. It does have some use for ring positioning if the opponent is knocked down.

For forwards and backwards movement /, what Shun will do depends on whether he is in normal or back-turned Oushin. To make it somewhat more confusing, this movement can also switch Shun between normal and back-turned Oushin. A summary of movement is below:

1. Input
   Stance
   Move Executed
2. 
   Oushin
   Flip backwards into Back-Turned Oushin
3. 
   Oushin
   Roll forwards (with followups)
4. 
   Back-Turned Oushin
   Flip forwards into Oushin
5. 
   Back-Turned Oushin
   Roll backwards (with followups)

A simple way to remember this is that regardless of the stance Shun is in, movement towards Shun's head will cause a flip (stance change) and movement towards Shun's feet will result in a roll.

As can be seen for the same inputs, Shun will 'flip' between stances or do a long range rolling move depending on which version of the Oushin stance he is in. This prevents him from being able to flip his way in Oushin incrementally across the whole arena, as the change in stance will result in a roll. Some attacks also switch between normal and backturned, so for example it is possible to do a loop of (to BT Oushin) -> (to Oushin) -> (to BT Oushin) ...

Attacks

Oushin (normal)

- A mid poke, which you can mix up with . Will stagger if the opponent is crouching.

& (+10 DP) - A mid-high-mid and mid-high-low set of strings. is available from the start of the round and can transition back into Oushin with ; is available at +10 DP and also has the bonus of knocking the opponent down. Try to hit check the first , but with +10DP you can mix up with the mid or low ender.

- A low, knockdown hit. Mix up with the above sequence or .

- This move is a special high combo starter, which in theory is very good. However it's execution is so long, it makes it highly impractical to time it as a move to crush low attacks. Not much use for this move unfortunately.

- This is a full circular mid which has advantage on guard, so on paper it's very good. Once you're in Tentouritsu you'll have to make a good guess however, otherwise you'll be open to punishment.

- A high catch throw that guarantees followup damage. At +16 frames it guarantees Chouwan combo at +6 DP, or , below that.

() & - One of Shun's Oushin rolls, and arguably his best. You have a good mixup between mid (mid is essentially the same as ) and low , which is a full circular. Or you can input just the roll, and use a throw or other attack.


Oushin (back turned)

- A mid poke, basically the same as Oushin .

- A mid launcher, which animates like a Mule Kick and shares the same combos. The strong point of this move is it's decent range. If you flip back from Oushin into back turned Oushin with , this often can give good spacing to use this launcher.

- A low kick, mix up with . This will stagger on hit, use Oushin or if the opponent does not recover quickly from the stagger for a good damaging string. Otherwise on hit mixup with other Oushin attacks such as .

- As per Oushin .

- As per Oushin .

- Very similar to Oushin , however your advantage will be +20 instead of +16! This gives the option of , if you don't have enough drinks for a Chouwan.

& - This is a good roll to use to create some space from the opponent. However the follow up attacks aren't as good as Shun's other roll. Particularly both attacks don't have any circular property, so it's fairly easy for an opponent to evade both options.


Soukokukyu (one leg forward, arms high in the air) -

As with Oushin, Soukokukyu has both standard and back turned movesets. It has good mid/low mixups, though is somewhat vulnerable to evading opponents. It has an excellent sabaki from it's back turned version with .

Entering Soukokukyu typically comes from cancelling an attack during it's animation, so it's an opportunity for Shun to show off his mix up shenanigans - Will Shun attack, delay attack, or cancel his attack into stance for other opportunities?

There is a bit of an art to this however, as Shun is completely vulnerable as he cancels his move and transitions into stance. Also for strings, just because the first attack hits this does not mean you have enough frame advantage to transition without being interrupted by an attack. For very aggressive opponents, it is better to simply finish the string, which will usually give a combo, or try to counter with his back turned Soukokukyu sabaki.

Mostly these cancels are from his "Gyou'in" moves, which all animate similarly from different strings and will enter Back Turned Soukokukyu:


;
();

(From Choukarou)

For the Gyou'in moves, hit-checking the first hit of the above strings can be very helpful; Generally players will be defensive if they are hit/counter-hit by a move and you can use that to your advantage as an opportunity to transition into stance. The finisher moves are delayable and cause a small float on counter-hit, so you can use these to stop opponents that do try and simply attack their way out. Also note from the above moves that the transition from into is very quick - This makes it a good tool for harassing an opponent, as even when guarded are evaded the can still interrupt the opponent's attacks.

But he can also enter standard Soukokukyu from:

(cancel)
(cancel)


- Drinking

, , - Each of these moves gain +1DP, and you can either take a small step forward or swivel forward and backwards by using the and variations. But they don't move much distance wise, and as always you are completely vulnerable while drinking.

- Movement

, , and or - As with Oushin, and don't 'truly' evade moves, so you won't see these used much unless for positioning.

From Soukokukyu and will move forwards and backwards. They don't move a great distance, but in particular can be chained together to allow Shun to move forward in rapid succession.

From back turned Soukokukyu will advance forward in a similar fashion. For , Shun will turn around back into standard Soukokukyu, moving a good distance back. This can be used to bait rising attacks, and then punish with .

- Attacks

Soukokukyu (normal)

- A mid, mid poke string. You can't gain a combo from this string, but the first hit is fast so this is mainly about mixups. Do just one , then mixup other attacks, use both, or use both with a delay.

- Hold and Shun will transition into Choukarou, with a frame advantage even on block. On stagger it can push the opponent a bit out of range, so choose carefully between Choukarou or .

- This move has lots of nice points: Half-circular, low, advantage on hit, combo on counter-hit and will duck under high attacks. Be mindful of range however.

- The first move is a sabaki. It counters fewer attack types than his BT Soukokukyu sabaki, but is half-circular, and can be hit checked. Also note that the second hit is +4 on guard, so you can keep up the pressure!

- This move is reasonably slow, but it will gain a combo on any hit, and can jump over low attacks. With this in mind, you now have a variety of moves that can beat out high, low, and fast attacks.

Soukokukyu (back turned)

- This can be tricky to use as the starting hit is fairly long. But for a tech-rolling opponent, into can work, or you can use it to advance on a cautious/hesitating opponent. Mix up with (block or other attack); ; delay ; cancel.

- Another long executing move with decent range, but will combo on any hit. Can mix up with .

- This move has the advantage of being quicker than other moves from BT Soukokukyu. It's a good one to throw out if the opponent is hesitating, as the low can surprise them.

- A very strong sabaki attack, which will counter a wide variety of moves during the start of it's animation, guaranteeing a combo. This can stop aggressive players that will try to knock you out of Shun's transition into stance. Even at a neutral situation, it can be a strong choice to throw out into - The intial movement will close down some space, and the sabaki will beat a wide range of attacks.

- This move takes a very, very long time to come out, as such it's only really viable against an opponent waking up. However jt does cause a small stagger on guard, and can transition into Oushin for a mix up opportunity.

Throws(top)

Just like his attack game, Shun's optimum throws are affected by the number of drinks he is on. Throws are also another way of gaining drinks and further attacking power.

0 - 5 DP: At low drinks, a three way choice between , & is available. Each of these throws produce a similar amount of damage. Generally & will be the preferred options as they will boost your drink meter.

6-9 DP: At 6 drinks, Shun will be able to use Chouwan, and follow up his & throws with a combo. However note that will most likely be a favoured throw escape direction.

10+ DP: At 10 or more drinks, Shun's throw will be available. This throw does a powerful 66 damage points and gains +4 DP, meaning it is the favoured throw when above 10 DP.

-----

- A staple throw which gains decent damage, and also +2 DP. A successful throw will swap positions with the opponent. Be aware however that an escaped throw will swap positions and leave Shun back-turned to the opponent. It is possible to get away from the opponent by doing Shun's roll ( while backturned) or , but these can be countered by long range attacks.

- Generally this throw will not be favoured for other throws which can gain drinks. But it still does decent damage and can slip by players who escape Shun's other throws. Also if escaped it gives a fairly favourable long range position (just don't do it if your back is against the edge of the ring!).

- At low drinks this throw will be highly favoured, as it gains +4 DP. The throw will knockdown in which the opponent can use fall recovery. Note if the opponent uses in place fall recovery, they will recover slightly faster than Shun does. Use backdash, evade or / if needed.

- This throw is more damaging than , but is risky. If it is escaped, Shun will lose 3 DP. And given that the direction is likely to be a favoured escape direction, this makes it a risky choice.

& (+6 DP) - These throws will put Shun at the opponent's back with a frame advantage - Effectively enough to guarantee a 16 frame move. However that means that until Shun has enough drinks to use a Chouwan, he doesn't have any other moves which he can use to gain a combo (and therefore decent damage).

If an opponent guards after , it will effect the float level of the Chouwan, as the player will be hit from a side-turned position. gives a higher frame advantage meaning even if the opponent guards they will be hit from a back-turned position, giving a consistently high float. Also if is escaped Shun will still switch positions with the opponent; He will still be at a disadvantage, but this is very useful if you wish to escape from a wall or the ring edge.

At +8DP, Chouwan with it's followup () will consistently float a side-turned opponent.

And one more tidbit for Shun vs Shun matchups - If you are thrown by this move, the opponent will have a massive frame advantage which doesn't give enough time to turn around and guard, but does give some frames to execute a move. If you execute (transition into Tentouritsu), Shun will collapse onto the ground rather than being floated by a Chouwan. You'll still take some damage (possibly including a ground attack) but it shouldn't be as much as a full combo.

(+10 DP) - An excellent throw, giving both high damage and 4 DP. This throw is strong enough to make the preferred escape direction for your opponent from +10 DP. Use it!

(Opponent's back to wall) - This is a good surprise throw, especially if you are low on drinks, as your opponent will be more likely to try to escape the or neutral direction throws. Shun has a different animation depending on whether the opponent is near a full wall or half wall - Bizarrely despite both versions dishing out the same damage, the full wall version gains 6 DP while the half wall version gains none! Still an excellent throw.

(At opponent's side, and back) - Not much to say here, Shun's side throws are fairly standard. As with all VF characters his back throw does excellent damage (and is not escapable!), but also gains 6 DP!