Akuma

Akuma (悪魔 Akuma, "Devil") or Gouki (ゴウキ(豪鬼) Gōki, "Fortitude", "Great Demon", "Great Devil" or "Great Ogre") in Japan, is an antagonist of Street Fighter franchise. He first appeared in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as an unplayable Hidden Boss.
==Story==
Akuma and his brother Gouken were students of Goutetsu. Goutetsu taught a nameless life-threatening martial art, which incorporates elements of Karate, Judo, and Kempo. He also taught the Shun Goku Satsu (literally Instant Hell Murder), a lethal technique which, although incredibly powerful, puts the user in considerable danger.
As the brothers progressed under Goutetsu's tutelage, a dispute arose on the true nature of their fighting style and the path to master it. Gouken, unable to accept the violent nature and the Satsui no Hado of his fighting style, left Goutetsu to begin his own dojo, which Goutetsu did not oppose. Akuma continued Goutetsu's teachings, and vowed to use their fighting style as it was intended.
In order to learn Shun Goku Satsu, Akuma embraced the principle of Satsui no Hado, and was forced to give up any compassion he held towards other human beings. In addition, Akuma realized his limits as a martial artist could be expanded, and left Goutetsu's guidance of enlightenment to train alone to gain more power. However, due to embracing the Satsui no Hado to its fullest extent, he developed a lust to fight to the death, unlike Goutetsu, who had been able to use the Satsui no Hado without giving in to its dark side.
After coming back from his island, Akuma went back to Goutetsu, and fought him in a death match to prove that he had surpassed him. Akuma killed his master with the Shun Goku Satsu, who died happy to see his student surpass him, and Akuma, believing that he was the true master of the Art, took the prayer beads of his dead master and placed it on his neck. Gouken came to visit his former master to see how he was doing, only to find his lifeless body and his brother, now no longer human. Gouken, shocked to see that his younger brother took the life of their master, berated Akuma, who said nothing and left for the woods.
Many years later, Akuma fought Gouken, while the then-young duo of Ryu and Ken watched. Akuma told Gouken that he was not strong enough to face him without giving in the killing intent; Gouken retorted that the art was much more than just death and destruction, accusing Akuma of dishonoring their master's name. Akuma told his brother that Goutetsu did not truly understand the art, and that he was a fool for not using the Satsui no Hado to its fullest extent. The fight continued, and Gouken won. Akuma told his brother to kill him, but Gouken had no intention of murdering his own kin, prompting Akuma to call him weak for sparing the life of a strong opponent and declare that he would return.
A couple of years later, Akuma came back to Gouken's dojo and fought him in battle, using the Shun Goku Satsu on him. Akuma believed him dead, not knowing that Gouken had somehow lived through the attack by emptying his soul, and was only in a coma. Ken saw the flash of the attack while running to the dojo, but arrived only to find Gouken on the floor. Knowing who was behind this, Ken confronted Akuma in the woods and fought him, only to be defeated. After defeating Ken, Akuma disappeared without a trace.
===First World Warrior Tournament and fighting Gen, Ryu and Bison===
Akuma only appears as a secret character only playable via random fighter at the character selection screen. He shares his moveset with Ryu and Ken. An artwork shows that, at some point, he helps a child who got lost in his cave. In his retconned ending, he defeats Bison claiming his quest was complete, though he feels empty. Gouken is seen in the background of his ending, as one of the people who fear and oppose him.
Akuma begins to search the globe looking for worthy fighters to challenge. Secluding himself in the shadows, he watches small tournaments and street fights, desperately seeking someone who might be able to match his strength. He is eventually challenged by a man named Gen. Gen fights a vicious battle, even surviving the Shun Goku Satsu by emptying his soul in time. Just as Akuma begins to wonder whether this man is the worthy opponent he's searching for, he begins to sense not all is as it seems. When Gen's mouth begins to bleed, Akuma's suspicions are confirmed: his opponent is sick, and the fight is not fair. After being knocked to the ground, Gen tells Akuma to kill him. Not wanting to carry the fight on any longer, Akuma leaves, infuriating Gen. After the fight, Akuma becomes obsessed with Ryu, hoping to awaken the Satsui no Hado within his prey.
Ryu eventually finds Akuma's island (known as Onigami Isle or the Gokuentou) and challenges him. The intense battle ended with Ryu gaining the upper hand; in truth, Akuma was only testing him. Akuma regains composure and tells Ryu to find him again when he has embraced the Satsui no Hado, before striking the ground with a powerful blow and disappearing. The island falls apart around Ryu, who is left in the ocean to contemplate Akuma's words. Leaving his destroyed abode, Akuma thinks about all the fighters he has encountered, and wonders with excitement if one day he will fight someone strong enough to kill him in battle. This thought drives him on; finding a desolate cavern (also known as Kiga Cave), he begins to train anew and await the day when he will fight Ryu again. At some point, he defeats and kills a Muay Thai fighter who was about to challenge the champion, Adon. Adon sees this as a challenge and sets out to find Akuma, to fight him and prove that he is stronger.
In his ending, he comes to the realization that worthy opponents have challenged him during his journey. He decides that he could stay on Earth to perfect his killing power, knowing that there are opponents that Akuma can consider worthy. While thinking about the opponents he challenged, there are visions of Gen, M. Bison and Ryu on the moon. He then comments that he will be the next to die.
While waiting for Ryu to embrace the Satsui no Hado, Akuma wanders the globe in search of worthy opposition. He is confronted by Adon, who wishes to establish his fighting style as supreme. Akuma easily wins but, instead of killing Adon, he just leaves, apparently deeming his defeated foe as unworthy.
Sometime later, Akuma is intercepted by Guy, who refuses to allow him to see M.Bison; Akuma ignores Guy's pleas and engages him in combat, the two than decided to end the fight after they realized their primary objective was the same: defeat M.Bison.
He then confronts Bison, who tells Akuma that he won't be able to defeat him as long as the Psycho Drive exists. Akuma berates the dictator for not relying solely upon his fists, and they fight. As Akuma emerges victorious, he completely terminates Bison with the Raging Demon, causing him to suffer horribly as the attack kills him.
In his ending, Akuma is then challenged by Gen once more and they fight a second battle, the results of which are unknown. Unbeknownst to Akuma, Ryu rejected the Satsui no Hado during his own battle with the Shadaloo leader, M. Bison, declaring that a true warrior does not rely on violent intent.
===Second World Warrior Tournament and waiting for a worthy opponent===
Akuma did not officially enter the second World Warrior tournament, but did monitor the events that took place during it in hope of finding an adequate challenge. He also challenged Bison, though whether or not Bison accepted this challenge, and if the result of the fight if the former did happen is left ambiguous. Akuma then left as multiple participants engage Bison.
In a retconned and non-canon event, he ambushed the host, M. Bison, and made short work of him with the Shun Goku Satsu. Bison is obliterated in an instant. Akuma then engages in combat with the second finalist, but the identity of this warrior, as well as the outcome of the bout, remains unknown.
In both the original Super Street Fighter II Turbo and its HD remake, Akuma has two different endings, depending on who the final opponent is. If it is M. Bison, Akuma will muse on the fact that he did not master the Psycho Power and let it control him. If it is Shin Akuma, he will reflect on his victory over his own darkness, and consider death beneath him. Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival combines both endings into a whole one, while Ultra removes the second ending, thus causing the first ending to always play regardless if Akuma beats M. Bison or Shin Akuma.
===Third World Warrior Tournament===
Sometime before the third World Warrior Tournament, Ryu and Akuma would duel, with Akuma dominating the fight, as he rebukes Ryu about his rejection of the Dark Hado, Ryu finds the strength to recover and fight back. However, Ken would interrupt the fight, forcing Akuma to leave.
During the events of Seth's tournament, he continues his training, and senses the Satsui no Hado reemerging within Ryu. Immediately, he sets off to find Ryu and help him realize this power so he can try to kill him in battle. Like the other tournaments, Akuma does not officially enter, but stays in the shadows. Later, he finds an unconscious Ryu in the care of his brother Gouken. Akuma noticed that his brother has perfected the Power of Nothingness. The two brothers fought, with Ryu being the prize. Both survived their fight, and Ryu was saved by Gouken. Akuma then continued his training and his search for a worthy opponent to match his own, razing an entire forest with his power. In Elena's ending in Ultra Street Fighter IV, she is shown to have befriended him in one of her flashbacks.
===Street Fighter V===
In Akuma's story, he and Gen fight once again. Akuma becomes victorious in the battle, but was criticized by Gen for leading to the path of discarding humanity. He then finishes and seemingly kills Gen off for good. He then sees a vision of Ryu rejecting the Satsui no Hado, much to his frustration. Necalli appears and challenges Akuma for his soul. Not only did Necalli lose to Akuma, but he attempts to devour Akuma and Akuma does the Mudo Tensho to escape Necalli's stomach.
After Kage went after Sagat, Akuma is the said shadow demon’s next target, to prove his former host Ryu is nothing without him. Akuma considers Kage as nothing more than soulless silhouette of his former host. Just as Kage mockingly claims he kept part of him at bay because of his believes in laws of heaven, a nearly beaten Akuma mocks Kage back for not understanding anything aside from only strength and fighting endlessly. Akuma then uses a Houten Seikengeki punch to make Kage disappear from him, and wonders if Kage is the path which Ryu has truly chosen.
He then seeks Ryu and battles him, in a Satsui no Hado Vs. Mu no Ken clash. Akuma defeats Ryu in battle, but does not kill him. Instead, he questions if there is no one that can match him. Ryu, smiling while laying on the ground, asks questions to Akuma, claiming that his fists will continue to communicate with Akuma on opposite ends. Akuma then flees, letting fate determine when those two will meet again.
===Fourth World Warrior Tournament===
As with the third World Warrior tournament, Akuma did not enter the fourth World Warrior tournament, but once more lurked in the shadows. He was challenged by Sean who mistook him for Ryu, only for Akuma to beat him easily. He successfully pulled off a Shun Goku Satsu on the tournament sponsor Gill, although he left without realizing that Gill had resurrected himself. He then faces Ryu, asking him to show him his full power, but Ryu replies that malicious intent is not the way of the warrior. In this game, he appears as a secret boss. Using the Raging Demon on whoever the player is facing, he battles the player afterwards. If Akuma is felled, the scenery will darken, the ground will shake and he will get back up and unleash his true power for a second fight.
Over this time-span, Akuma had trained relentlessly, harnessing his power and learning several new techniques; some were meant to create tidal waves, others were described as strong enough to split Uluru (Ayers Rock) in half, and one could kill an opponent with a single strike. One such self-taught technique is called the Kongou Kokuretsuzan, in which Akuma channels all his power into one hand and smashes it into the ground, creating a vortex of energy upward around him. It is supposedly this technique that was used to destroy his original training ground, the Onigami Isle Gokuentou. The same technique is also said to have the power to make the Earth itself crumble beneath him.
Akuma continued to develop his now-incredible fighting skill, and even fought with Oro in a simple, inconclusive battle, with each other sensing the other's massive chi and testing their powers. Though mutually impressed by each other's power, both men expressed some contempt for the other on a personal basis.
It is also revealed that Akuma has now demonstrated the ability to remain underwater under massive pressure for extended periods of time, and has even managed to make his Tenshou Kaireki Jin technique powerful enough to destroy the massive sunken ruins of a modern liner ship.
==Fanon Appearances==
===Capcom vs. SNK 3: Battle of the Ages===
Akuma is one of the game's Hidden Boss.
===Super Smash Bros. Worldwide===
Akuma is one of the characters of the game.
===OW - Super Smash Bros. Calamity===
Akuma is one of the bosses of the game.
===Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Fanon Edition===
Akuma appears as an Spirit
===Jake's Marvel vs. Capcom===
Akuma is one of the characters from Capcom side.
===Super Smash Bros. Worlds Collide===
Akuma appears as an Assist Trophy.
===TPXZF1997's Super Smash Bros.===
Akuma appears as a Primary Spirit.
===World Heroes 2 Hyper===
Akuma is one of the bosses of the game.
===Capcom vs SNK 3: Fighters' Spirit===
Akuma appears as a playable character.
==Gallery==
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