Samurai Shodown/Shizumaru Hisame

Shizumaru
緋雨 閑丸, Hisame Shizumaru

Introduction

Shizumaru is a well-rounded, technical fighter who can play offense and defense equally well. His range is slightly shorter than most other characters but he makes up for it with big damage, great mobility and strong defense.

While Shizu can be played at any level and do well, he has arguably one of the highest skill ceilings out of any character in the game due to his instant overhead setup and Crazy Downpour special move (also called Kyourakuzan or KRZ, or TAP as a reference to the signature move from Boxer from the Street Fighter Series, the Turn-Around Punch). Holding down any slash (A, B, C) will charge the attack, with the strongest version taking a full 80 seconds to charge up. Experienced players will switch which button is held down regularly. Reading the situation correctly and changing your buttons on the fly is a big part of Shizu’s executional demand as a character.

The reward, however, is massive, and makes his damage potential some of the highest in the entire game come round 2. He may feel a little outmatched on the ground sometimes but slip up once, and Shizumaru might just take the round from a single mistake.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Strong tools for any situation Insanely high burst damage potential Great mobility and short hurtbox	Below average range Predictable ground game Requires decent execution and/or situational awareness to play optimally.

Data

• Damage Taken: 105%
• Rage Factor: 0.26
• Rage Duration: 9 seconds
• Jump: 50 frames (Very Slow)
• Forward Walk Speed: 0.3 (Average)
• Back Walk Speed: 0.23 (Average)
• Dash Speed: Average
• Back Dash: 27 frames (Cancelable from frame 11)
• Weapon Pickup / Drop: 40 / 61 frames

Gameplan

Similar to the Strategy section of the 5sp wiki pages. List Shizumaru's archetype, strengths, weaknesses, etc. Sample subsections could include Neutral, Okizeme, etc.

Charging KRZ/TAP

General

When playing as Shizumaru, you need to get into the habit of holding down any Slash button (A, B or C) at all points during the match to charge KRZ. This move is your biggest joker and enables you to blow through anything the opponent does, doing a huge amount of unburstable damage. This gives you great comeback potential or a way to close out a round or match before the opponent can use their rage explosion. Because of the huge threat this move poses, your opponent might also hesitate a bit more, giving you more opportunities to hit them before they hit you.

To charge KRZ, you don't have to stick to a single button - you can switch around buttons and still keep the charge, as long as a Slash button is held down at all times. Because of the nature of holding down a button, you won't have access to certain moves in neutral game. Apart from the obvious normals and specials, these are:

• While holding A: No spotdodge or deflect.
• While holding B: No spotdodge, deflect or universal overhead. Notable: No antiair 623B.
• While holding C: No throw, universal overhead or SSM. Notable: No invincible 623C.

It helps to think of charging TAP as a stance. Holding C is the defensive/neutral stance - you have access to quick normals to halt your opponent's approach, and you can deflect and spotdodge, but you lack the access to a quick whiffpunish in 5C and cannot use throws or SSM. You also have no invincible attack while holding C. Holding A is the offensive stance - you can't do quick pokes and cannot deflect or spotdodge, but you can deal heavy damage with 5C and can throw. B is sort of a mixture of these two, but most noteably you cannot do your best grounded antiair attack (623B) so this leaves you only with low reward antiairs like j.A and such.

Switching charge

A good habit to get into is to never press and let go of a button but instead always holding it down. Even if you do not intend to keep holding it down, it gives you the option to choose. So if you're holding A, and then pressed C to poke/punish with Heavy Slash, keep holding down both buttons until you made up your mind which button you want to free up.

Other good ways and spots to switch the button you're currently holding is during the recovery of any move (mostly specials such as DP after a punish) or by masking it with a 2D (eg hold A, whiff 2D, switch to holding C).

It's important to always have a plan as to why you're holding which button. For example, holding A or B keeps you from using deflect, so in situations where you're soon likely to be able to land one, you want to plan ahead and free it up in time.

Concrete example: You're holding A and attempt to hit the opponent with a 5C, but it was blocked. If you kept holding A here, you're not able to recoil cancel into deflect and are defenseless against attempts by the opponent to punish with a Slash of their own. Instead, you want to hold A, press 5C and keep holding C, and if it was blocked, you can attempt to deflect. In case you're deciding to deflect, always switch back to holding A after deflecting (ie doing 236[A]+B and holding A), because if the deflect was successful you want your C button to be free'd up for a SSM.

Think of different situations where you want to juggle buttons around like this and incorporate these drills into your practice sessions!

Lv4 vs Lv5

Lv1, Lv2 and Lv3 KRZ are fairly useless, which is good because it lets us focus on the two important ones: Lv4 and Lv5. These are probably the only ones you want to use. Let's compare these two: Lv5 takes four times as long to charge compared to Lv4 (80s vs 20s, or 50 Samsho seconds vs ~13 Samsho seconds) while only adding a fraction of the damage, so Lv4 has a way better damage-to-chargetime ratio. Lv5 however is of course completely invincible, whereas Lv4's invincibility runs out before the active frames.

What this basically means that if you can land Lv4 KRZ as soon as you get it, you will do a lot more damage over the course of a match than landing a single Lv5 KRZ. This especially makes Shizu's throw very potent, as KRZ can be easily comboed from it. However, reliably landing Lv4 every time after exactly 20s is unrealistic, and every second you "waste" after you get Lv4 makes you lose on DPS, which makes waiting for access to a horizontal shoryuken more attractive. In the end, which version you prefer to use is up to your playstyle. With that being said, closing out the first round (or second if you lost the first one and whiffed a KRZ already) by using a guaranteed Lv4 is probably always worth it, so don't hesitate to use it this way.

Managing levels

As said above, only Lv4 and Lv5 are worth using. There are two magic numbers that you need to memorize - 13 and 50. This is the amount of in-game time needed to charge to Lv4 resp. Lv5. ALWAYS keep track of the round timer to determine which level you are currently on. In the first round, assuming nothing stops the timer (like RE), you hit Lv4 as soon as the timer reaches 47 and Lv5 as soon as it reaches 10. If either of you die when the timer shows 24, that means 36 Samsho seconds have passed, so you'll have Lv5 in the second round when the timer hits 46. Utilizing the timer to determine your current charge level is a very simple but powerful technique, and nothing feels more satisfying than to go through a fireball right as you hit that Lv5. Get into this habit as soon as possible.

Normal Moves

Far Slashes

5A

5A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 40 Mid 9 - - 23 -2 -5 - No Yes Yes No Fast poke with great range and very safe on block.

5B

5B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 100 Mid 11 - - 35 -4 -12 - No Yes Yes No Swats away at the opponent with his umbrella. Slightly slower but better reach and damage than far 5A, but more disadvantage on block.

5C

5C	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 270 Mid 19 - - 65 -7 -16 - No Yes Disarm No As one might expect from a student of Haohmaru, Shizu borrows heavily from Haohmaru's most iconic button. Covers decent range but much faster than Haoh's far 5C. Very good button for whiff punish.

2A

2A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 Mid 5 4 - 16 +1~+5 -5~-1 - Yes Yes Yes No Fast hilt attack with long active frames.

2B

2B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 20,60 Mid 9 - - 32 -2 -12 - Yes,Yes Yes Yes No A fast 2-hit umbrella attack which both hits are cancellable. The 1st hit has long hit-stun and almost no push back.

2C

2C	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30,30,100 Low 18,19,20 - - 50 -3 -28 - Yes,Yes,No Yes No No This 3-hit heavy slash which hits low and the first two hits are cancellable. Depending on the range the first hit might whiff, so be aware of your spacing.

Near Slashes

n.5A

n.5A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 Mid 4 - - 16 ±0 -5 - No Yes Yes No A hilt attack, whichi is the fastest normal in the game, but it's not cancellable.

n.5B

n.5B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 80 Mid 9 - - 49 -3 -12 - Yes Yes Yes No His main combo tool, similar motion like far 5B but with his sword.

n.5C

n.5C	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 200 Mid 19 - - 49 -3 -28 - No Yes Disarm No Standard near 5C with slower startup.

Kicks

5D

5D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 Mid 6 - - 22 -4 -7 - Yes No No Yes Very fast kick which is cancellable.

6D

6D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 Low 9 8 - 35 -4~+3 -7~±0 - Yes No No Yes Fast low kick that which is cancellable.

2D

2D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 20 Low 5 4 - 17 ±0~+3 -3~±0 - No No No Yes Standard low kick.

3D

3D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 70 Low 8 4 - 30 KD(+102) -14~-11 - Yes No No Yes Fast low kick which knocks down the opponent and it's cancellable.

Dash Normals

66A

66A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 60 Mid 7 - - 22 ±0 -19 - No Yes Yes No Running hilt attack which is deflectable and not cancellable, also very punishable, his 66D is way better option than this.

66B

66B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 80 Mid 10 - - 33 -3 -35 - Yes Yes Disarm No Another main combo tool, similar motion like near 5B, also cancellable but very minus on block.

66C

66C	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 140 Mid 12 3 - 50 KD(+97) -16 - No Yes Disarm No Standard 66C which knocks down the opponent.

66D

66D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 70 Low 7 9 - 29 KD(+102) -13~-5 - No No No Yes Low sliding kick with very long active frames and great upwards hit-box, very safe on block when space correctly.

Air Normals

j.A

j.A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 High 5 - - - - - - No No No No Fast air to air attack.

j.B

j.B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 100 High 13 - - - - - - No No No No Amazing aerial, can be used both as an air-to-air and as a jumpin. Can also cross up, which is especially useful because float gives you a lot of control over your jump-in angle.

j.C

j.C	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 160 High 11(12) - - - - - - No No No No Jump heavy slash with very good downwards hit-box, startup is 11 frames for horizontal hit and 12 frames for downwards hit.

j.D

j.D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 High 8 - - - - - - No No No Yes Jump kick with horizontal hit-box.

Unarmed Normals

u.5S

u.5S	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 Mid 7 - - 27 ±0 -5 - No No No Only Fast chop attack.

u.2S

u.2S	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 Mid 6 - - 24 +2 -3 - No No No Only Fast chop attack which is safe on block.

ju.S

ju.S	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 High 5 - - - - - - - No No Only Jump back fist with small hit-box.

u.66S

u.66S	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 Mid 10 - - 29 KD(+109) -4 - No No No Only Same motion like unarmed 2S but knocks down, startup is slow but safe on block.

Universal Mechanics

Guard Break

Guard Break (Throw) 5C+D / 6C+D 5C+D / 6C+D 4C+D 4C+D	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Neutral / Forward 0 Throw 3 - 71 74 +20 - - - - - Yes Back 0 Throw 5 - 69 74 +25 - - - - - Yes Universal throw, can follow up with combos. Back throw has slower start up but better frame advantage. There is no throw tech, but throws are very punishable on whiff.

Surprise Attack

Surprise Attack (Overhead) 5B+C	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Armed 60 High 20 - - 46 +2 -14 - No No No No Universal overhead. No longer knocks down the opponent since version 1.70. Unarmed 60 High 20 - - 44 KD(+78) -12 - No No No Only Universal unarmed overhead. Knocks down the opponent.

Dodge

Dodge 5A+B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed N/A - 1 16 22 38 - - - - - - Yes Universal dodge. Avoids all attacks for a brief moment, and is mainly used to avoid throws. Complete invincibility from frames 1 to 10. Strike invincibility from frames 11 to 16.

Stance Break

Stance Break A+B during Just Defense	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 0 Mid 5 - - 52 KD -24 - - - - Yes Universal Stance Break.

Counter / Blade Catch

Counter / Blade Catch 236A+B Counter Counter Blade Catch Blade Catch

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Armed 0 N/A 2 11 34 46 +35~+59 - - - - - No Universal counter that works against mid-guard normal slashes. Upon successful counter, you can follow up with any attack except throws. The amount of time to follow up depends on timing and the strength of slash, and deflecting medium slashes staggering the opponent for longest amount of time. Additionally, if you deflect a heavy slash or running medium slash, the opponent will be disarmed. Unarmed 0 N/A 2 12 10 22 KD - - - - - Only Universal unarmed counter, works against the same slashes as counter. Upon successful blade catch, your will disarm your opponent and knock down the opponent to the corner, regardless of the strength of slash.

Rage Explosion

Rage Explosion 5A+B+C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 0 Unblockable 21 1 - 58 0 - - - - - No Activate the rage explosion gauge and push back the opponent, available once per match. It's basically same as max rage with more damage buff (Rage Explosion 140% vs Max Rage 120%), and allow access to Lighting Blade. The less amount of health remaining, the more amount of rage explosion gauge when it activates. The rage gauge will be completely gone after rage explosion runs out / WFT connects / Lighting Blade. In order to activate, the character must be on the ground with the weapon on hand. It can be activated during hit-stun / throw staggering / weapon deflected / recoil cancel / normal cancel / blocking, but not during attack recovery. The rage explosion push back is unblockable, and its hit-box extends all the way up to top of the screen.

Lightning Blade

Lightning Blade (Issen) 5A+B+C during Rage Explosion	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 300~709 Mid 9 - - - KD -44 - - - - No Dashes full screen and slash across the opponent in classic style. It has full invincibility and can anti-air. Damage scales based on remaining rage explosion gauge.

Command Moves

Wall Jump

Wall Jump (near wall)9	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed - - - - - - - - - - - - Yes Shizumaru can jump off walls.

Special Moves

Mist Blast

Mist Blast 236S

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Light - - - - - - - - - No - No No Quickest startup but shortest range. Unsafe on block unless spaced perfectly. Very hard to utilize this correctly compared to the other two version. Medium - - - - - - - - - No - No No Medium startup and range. Heavy - - - - - - - - - No - No No Slowest startup but longest range. Recovers very quickly, if an opponent tried to jump over it on reaction you can most of the time still antiair them. Keep in mind that you are in a disarmed state for a short while after you have thrown the umbrella, which means you won't have access to a DP to antiair with. However you can still use a heavily disjointed u.5S as an antiair.

Cross Current Slicer

Cross Current Slicer 623S

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Light - - - - - - - - - No - No No Medium - - - - - - - - - No - No No Has invincibilty against air-attacks, making this a useful antiair move. Heavy - - - - - - - - - No - No No Full startup invincibility, can use this as a reversal or to yolo after a blocked slash. Say goodbye to your lifebar if any of these are blocked though. Rage - - - - - - - - - No - No No

Freezing Rain Repeller

Freezing Rain Repeller 236D File:SS Shizumaru 236K.png	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed - - - - - - - - - - - No No A projectile reflector which also deals a physical hit up close. Does little damage but comes out very quick. Can sometimes be cute with this during recoil cancel situations but you should mostly stick to its intended purpose as an anti-fireball tool.

May Shower Slice

May Shower Slice 214S	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Light - - - - - - - - - No - No No Medium - - - - - - - - - No - No No Heavy - - - - - - - - - No - No No

Rains of Time

Rains of Time j.2D File:SS Shizumaru j2K.png Pogo Attack Pogo Attack	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed - - - - - - - - - - - No No

Dreadful Drizzle

Dreadful Drizzle j.8S

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed - - - - - - - - - - - No No Shizumaru opens up his umbrella, halts his momentum if done from a diagonal jump and slowly floats down to the ground. Can be cancelled at any point by hitting 1,2 or 3. After cancelling it this way, you can reopen the umbrella by doing 7S, 8S or 9S again. This can be repeated as often as you want/can. You can also steer left and right, but this has a noticeable amount of delay. A very good move to annoy the opponent and bait them into doing something stupid.

Lightning Rain

Lightning Rain B+C during Dreadful Drizzle File:SS Shizumaru jBC.png	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed - - - - - - - - - - - No No A very good attack out of float to whiffpunish with. Crazy unsafe on block so make sure this will hit. Does little damage on an aerial opponent.

Crazy Downpour

Crazy Downpour S (Hold and Release) File:SS Shizumaru holdS.png "Ikuzo! Amanagare Kyourakuzan!" "Ikuzo! Amanagare Kyourakuzan!"

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Lvl1 - - - - - - - - - No - No No Lvl2 - - - - - - - - - No - No No Lvl3 - - - - - - - - - No - No No Lvl4 - - - - - - - - - No - No No First version which has startup invincibility, however it doesn't last until the active frames so this cannot be used against projectiles and might still get stuffed by the opponent's buttons. Takes 20 real seconds or ~13 Samsho seconds to charge. Lvl5 - - - - - - - - - No - No No Full startup invincibility and a whopping 500 damage, this is basically a slower Issen that you can use anytime, provided you got it locked and loaded. Very scary for the opponent and enables you to blow through a variety of attacks, including projectiles. Can also be used as an antiair. Takes 80 real seconds or 50 Samsho seconds to charge.

Supers

Weapon Flipping Technique

Hurricane Shredder Slash 236B+C	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50, 300 - 1+12~27 - - - - -38 - - - No No Available only during Max Rage or Rage Explosion. Disarms on hit.

Super Special Move

Demon Memory: Heaven's Tears 641236C+D Slayer - Raining Blood Slayer - Raining Blood	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 100, 600 - 10+20~38 - - - - -47~-29 - - - No No Invincibility on frames 1~10. Available only once per match. One of the best SSMs in the game because it goes fullscreen and blasts through any projectile, including moves like Yashamaru's or Jubei's WFT.

Combos

List combos, use numpad notation.

Midscreen

• Throw, 66B > 623C/WFT
• Throw, 2C(2nd hit only) > KRZ
  • The first hit of 2C will whiff here, so only the second and third hit will hit. You want to cancel on the 2nd hit of 2C, aka when the 2C hits the first time in this combo.

• j.B or j.C, 2B(1) > KRZ
• j.B or j.C, n.5B > 623C/WFT

• 2A > 623A/B
• 5D > 623A/B
  • These are your punishers for minimally unsafe moves, like spaced slides and such. 5D is only 1f slower than 2A but has more range and does more damage.

• 66B > 623C/WFT
  • Go-to punish for farther ranges

• 2C > 214S

• backdash j.8S~2~j.L, land, 66B, 623C
• backdash j.8S~2~j.L, land, Issen
  • The famous instant overhead setup which you have probably seen in a Twitter clip at some point. The easiest way to input this is by doing 4471L~L, because you don't actually have to hold up to activate float, you simply need to have hit up recently. The link into 66B is incredibly tight. The link into Issen is more forgiving, but against a knowledgeable player the activated Rage Explosion is a pretty big tell so they'll probably block high a lot more if you're close enough. You can somewhat mix up the overhead by doing a 2C for a low, but it's pretty slow and heavily unsafe on block so keep that in mind.

Videos

• Shizumaru Tutorial, Tech, and Combos by LegendaryWolf Shirou (2019)
• Learning a bit more with Shizumaru (IOH and other float applications) by LegendaryWolf Shirou (2019)

Colors

External Links

• Twitter hashtag: #SS_SZ
• Shizumaru Frame Data