Look how pretty she is.
Name:   Akiha Vermillion (紅赤朱秋葉)  —  Nicknames:    Red
Voiced by:   Hokuto Minami (北都南)  —  Type:   Human, Half-Demon  —  Gender:   Female
Birthday:   Sept. 22  —  Sizes:   73 / 57 / 79  —  Height:   160cm  —  Weight:   45kg
Eye Color:   Blue  —  Hair Color:   Red

Overview

Strengths

Placeholder.

Weaknesses

Placeholder.

Combos

This video contains all combos for FVAkiha, including character specifics. The notes below contains the basics but if you're looking for full on character specifics then it might be worth checking it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo-uV-cau0w Do note that it is in Japanese without English translations. Sooner or later I'd like to translate these notes and put them here but until then there's just this video.

Midscreen combos

2AA5B5C4C(2) j.ABC dj.BC AT

Basic BnB

2AA5B5C4C(2) j.ABC dj.C 236C j.A (whiff) j.BE214A

100 meter knockdown

2AA5B5C4C(1) tk j.22B airdash j.C land j.BC dj.C AT

Advanced, damage combo

2AA5B5C4C(2) 236C 5C3C j.BC dj.C AT

100 meter damage combo

2AA5B5C4C(2) j.AC sdj tk j.236B (2369B) wait, airdash j.214A

Midscreen hard knockdown for oki.

2AA5B5C623A tk j.22C airdash j.AB land j.BC dj.C AT

Corner carry from midscreen or 3/4th of screen. On some characters (eg Ryougi) you need to do airdash j.A airdash j.AB instead.

For combos 3,4,5,6, you can switch the enders from j.BC dj.C AT to j.B sdj.C j.236C for hard knockdown oki.

Near corner

2AA5B5C623A j.22A j.C land j.BC dj.BC AT

Damage combo in corner. Slightly delay the j.22A for ease.

2AA5B5C623A(1) IAD j.C land j.BC dj.BC AT

Damage and corner carry

Momiji loops

Momiji loops are basically you doing 623B over and over (up to three times) in a combo. The meter build for a Momiji loop combo is huge (up to 95% meter for a basic combo), so if you're meter starved or need just a little bit for an IH opportunity, it can be worth it, otherwise they do terrible damage.

Starters

2AA5B2C delay 3C623B

Basic starter.

2A5AAA5B5C4C(1)623B

Number of hits required for 623B to connect is character specific.

2AA5B5C236C 2C3C

Does not work on crouching characters; use 4C if too far for 2C to connect.

Enders

2C623A j.8 delay j.22A j.236A

Crossup setup

2C3C623B 2C delay 4C(1) j.22A j.236A

Crossup setup 2

2C(delay)3C623B 2C(delay)3C623B

Hard knockdown. For some characters you don't need the delay but on others you do, best to learn the delayed version and do that on every character.

Hard knockdown okizeme

tk7 j.22B j.214B on landing

Safe way to start ground pressure

sj forward j.22A j.236A

Safe way to start air pressure, can go into (j.22B j.22C)x N loop for some meter gain

Misc. Combos

Air counterhit

land 5C4C(2) j.BC j.BC AT

Shield counter

2C3C j.BC dj.BC AT

Raw airthrow

j.22A land j.BC dj.BC AT

Damage

immediate j.236a/b

Knockdown

Overhead 6[C]

623B 2C3C623B

Knockdown in corner

6C xx 5C4C(2) j.BC j.(B)C AT

When you need damage off overhead in corner

dash 2C delay 4C(2)623B -> Momiji loop

Fullscreen knockdown

dash 5C4C(2) j.BC dj.BC AT

Damage, when in corner omit the dash and link directly into 5c

623C

airdash j.A (whiff) land ...2C3C j.BC dj.BC AT

Damage

(reversal 623c)...2C623B 2C3C623B

Knockdown. Doesn't work if your back was straight in the corner (the 2C3C623B will not be in range

(reversal 623c) airdash cancel late j.22a land j.bc j.bc AT

OTG

FVAkiha doesn't really use OTG's because her corner knockdown game is strong, however they are an option, and are especially useful to know if you land a 2C in neutral. You usually want to OTG in the corner, so these are corner only.

2AAA5B

Simple OTG. In the corner it leads to tech punishes using 5B 5C.

2AAA5B2C4C623C airdash j.A(whiff) into corner combo (either Momiji loop or 4C into air combo)

You get a fair bit of damage for your meter investment here, so it's generally worth it if you're pursuing a kill.

Midscreen you can do

623C airdash j.A (whiff) midscreen combo

You will most likely cross under the opponent as you do this, so be prepared to switch your inputs.

Counter hits

FVAkiha makes use of ground and air counter hits very well, using them to get extremely high damage or turn air to air encounters to full corner carry combos.

Anti air counter hit (ie anti air 5A counter hit, air to air j.A or j.B counter hit)

You have a few options but most of them are tricky to land as they depend on the height of the opponent as you hit them after the counter hit.

Easy version

5B 4C j.BC dj.BC AT

Corner carry version

2C623A tk j.22C airdash j.AB land j.BC dj.C AT

Max damage midscreen

4C(1)tk j.22B airdash j.C land j.BC dj.C AT

Air to ground counter hit (ie j.C counter hit)

If you have a double jump remaining you can turn this j.C into massive damage. An easy version is

j.C dj j.22A j.C land 5BC...

Adding that pit before the ground string adds about 1.5k to your combo so it's very useful to know in a situation where you know you'll land a counter hit (as a shield punish, punishing moves with counter hit recovery)

Ground counter hit

5B and 5C on counter hit lead to a lot of damage.

CH 5B, 5B5C... (ie you get to link 5B after CH 5B)
CH 5C22B, 5A5B...

Does not work in the corner.

CH 5C tk7 j.22B~6 22C 214B, land, pit loops

Do note that after the pit loops you don't get much because 623A and 4C both require you to have a jump cancel, which you've used up with the 5C at the start.

Character Specifics

Necos

Standard combos don't work, do this instead.

2AA5B2C3C j.BC dj.BC AT.

Movement

FVAkiha is one of the most mobile characters in all of Melty Blood. Her mobility is one of the biggest reasons she's as good as she is. Of course, with great mobility comes great responsibility - you must make sure that you're not moving yourself into harm's way, as VAkiha's extremely low life means any mistake you make can mean the end for you.

Ground

FVAkiha's walkspeeds are above average, but no one simply walks around in Melty Blood so it is what it is.

Her ground forward dash is extremely fast, has very little startup (ie it doesn't take her long before she starts moving, as opposed to say PCiel, whose dash has a long amount of time at the beginning where she isn't moving), and has a bit of low profile ability, allowing her to dash under some characters who are trying to jump in with buttons towards you, and potentially run behind someone and 5A them on the other side. This dash coupled with her strong frame data allows her to also tick throw quite effectively.

Her ground backdash is average, it's invincible just like everyone's else. It can be useful to increase the distance between you and your opponent if you really can't afford the time to jump and air backdash. Not much more to say about it.

Air

FVAkiha's air mobility is second only to F Hime who has flight. In addition to having two average trajectory jumps and two above average airdashes, she also has puffballs (j.236A/B), pits (j.22A/B/C) and pillars (j.214A/B), and using a combination of all these options can make the opponent's life a nightmare.

Her jumps cover a standard amount of distance and float for a standard amount of time. Her dash jump covers a long distance so dash jumping to poke the opponent out of anything slow in the air is a valid strategy if you have the hard read to back it up. Having two dashes in the air allows you to bait out big normals an come back in and punish.

Puffball (j.236A/B) can be done indefinitely in the air. A version floats you towards where you are facing and B version floats you away from where you are facing. They basically have no hurtbox where her arms are, so it's an extremely good option while moving around if your opponent is anywhere below you, since it's really difficult to challenge from that angle. Choosing between the A and the B version depends on the situation - do you want to go forward or go backward? Using a puffball disallows you from air backdashing till you land, so it's extremely important to know which version of the puffball you want to use. Also note that puffballs' momentum changing is affected by what jump you are doing, so doing a dash jump puffball can make the A version puffball go way ahead and the B version puffball barely move backwards if at all.

Pit (j.22A/B/C) can also be done indefinitely in the air (this is where the concept of pit loops comes from). All versions make you float slightly upwards and backwards, overriding all previous momentum. This is great as a brake in the air, so you can just pause and make yourself not land on a potential anti air, which is great when you're air teching and you've used up all your movement options and someone's making you land onto a normal for a ground to air combo. Pits have great recovery and let you keep all your movement options so they're great to just move around with, and they also have the added benefit of activating and putting the opponent in huge amount of blockstun if you push them into pits while in blockstun.

Pillars (j.214A/B) are similar to ground pillars, except done in the air. They're a great way to protect your landing if someone's running towards you to anti air you out of the air, but if someone jumps over the pillar you're in deep trouble because you are in full recovery till you land AND you have extra recovery when you land. They're also good to bully opponents who like to stay on the ground from far, though this is Melty Blood so you wouldn't find players like those often.

Offense

FVAkiha's offense is extremely potent, with F moon's standard extremely good frame data coupled with a really fast dash that allows her to tick throw very well. Just like most characters in Melty Blood, FVAkiha is at her best when she's forcing the opponent to block all of her stuff, creating strings that look like they have no way out, and punishing the opponent for trying.

Pressure

FVAkiha, being an F moon character, has very good frame data on most of her normals. Frame data for normals on block should be at the bottom for you to look at (self note: ADD FRAME DATA).

Her throw is really good and provides a ton of different mixups, while healing her red life, which can be useful if you're trying to make a comeback and you don't have IH.

Her 2A, standard low poke, is +3 on block. +3 is a LOT, considering most C and H moon characters' 2A's are usually 0 or -1 on block. This allows you to do 2A delay 2A as a frame trap.

5A is +4 on block, one frame extra. Coupled with the fact that you can't duck it on block if you play a viable character (sorry Necos), this makes it an excellent tool to catch late jump outs and get a mini combo.

5B and 5C, while negative on block, are excellent frame trap normals, since 5B on counter hit links to another 5B, and 5C on counter hit can lead to massive damage using j.22x.

4C is another frame trap tool that you can chain into if they block your 5B or 5C as another thing to try. Same for 623A, except you can do that after 4C as well.

TK air puffball is a fantastic tool on offense that does frankly too much stuff for a move that is that safe (essentially fully safe). It has a great tendency to just eat Dragon Punches on wakeup due to how the DP interacts with her hurtbox (or rather, lack of thereof). Super jump puffball isn't that good. You want to normal jump tk puffball, you do this by either 412369A or [2]369A (hold 2 for a little while before doing the rest of the motion). After normal jump TK air puffball, you want to chain into j.B for a safe blockstring, or land and 2A if you've conditioned them to always take the j.B high option.

IAD j.C is an option you can use if you're too far away for TK air puffball and your opponent gives you enough time and doesn't mash out a normal to stop you. It is also cancelable into lots

Pairing these together, you can create strings limited by your imagination and your opponent's willingness to escape your pressure. Some examples:

2A, tick throw
2A, delay 5B
2A, TK air puffball
2A2A, tick throw
2A2A, delay 5B
2A2A, IAD j.C dj.j.22A 22B, land, tick throw

As you can see, the possibilities are endless. The key is to mix up enough stuff to where your opponent thinks, "Oh jeez I can't just keep blocking all this because my guard bar is depleting," or they can just not think and mash 2A or mash dragon punch or try to jump out because they don't care, and your job as the aggressor is to punish that (more detail near the end).

Okizeme

FVAkiha's okizeme is very potent and extremely safe for how damaging it can be. Below are some of the more common knockdowns you'll land, and the general options you have off them.

Air throw

Air throw is one of the more common knockdowns you will be landing, so it's important to know what kinds of oki options you get.

Dash 2A

While not strictly meaty depending on the character, it does beat wake up mashing by everybody. 2A is +3 on block as well, so even if they don't mash, you can run with the advantage.

214[B]

If you predict your opponent to just wake up DP, but still want to retain some sort of advantage, you can do 214[B] and make their reversal whiff (or make them hit a pillar, in which case if it hits as a counter hit you can combo off it) while still putting them in blockstun. If they block it you have enough time to run up and do a 2A as part of the blockstring from the pillar. Do note that pillars are not strictly meaty and they can jump out, but they'll have to block them in the air which leads to an unblockable 4C.

Once the opponent starts respecting these you have the option to run up throw, IAD j.C, run up puffball, etc, but note that these two are the primary options you have.

Corner 623B

Ender to Momiji loop and hard knockdown. This can lead to a really good mixup that's relatively safe. The most standard way to pressure off this is to regular jump towards the opponent, do j.22A then do:

j.C for your standard high.
Land and 5B for your empty jump low.
j.236A for puffball that will, just like it does basically everywhere, go through DP's or Heat activations, which you can then land and punish.

j.C and 5B both become super + on block and really easy to hit confirm (and lead to pit loops) because you have a pit right on top of them. This mixup does somewhat lose to wake up backdash, but you can simply delay your timing if you expect a wake up backdash, or input an backdash option select (for FVAkiha, 2A2C) upon landing and catch that backdash.

Air puffball

Often landed as a frame trap or as a combo ender

Frame trap/corner 623A j.22A j.236A

You're right on top of them as you land this, you get the option to neutral double jump and go for sandoori. Sandoori is a Japanese term, identical in meaning to the American which-way, describing a left right mixup with three different options.

Double jump up, float left, late j.C (so you land before j.C becomes active) 2A
Double jump up, float right, late j.C (so you land before j.C becomes active) 2A
Double jump up, float left, airdash forward j.C
Double jump up, float right, j.236B (to bait DP's)

These options create a three way mixup that's relatively safe (you can use the different floats to confuse which way to enter 623 for DP's, or j.236B to flat out beat DP's).

4C j.AC sdj j.236B

You're slightly further away from them so you can't go for sandoori. Your options include airdashing forward and:

j.214A

Pillars that they have to block as you land safely and try to go for another mixup.

whiff j.A, land 2A

Cheeky low.

Ground throw

Ground throw with FVAkiha really good. It fills back your red life and gives a hard knockdown that you can set up a lot of mixups from.

Airdash air backdash j236A/B (left right, good to mess up 623 DP inputs)
Meaty 2A
Meaty puffball
"Meaty" airdash jC (shield bait)
Walk back, airdash:

jB whiff 2A (cross up low)
jC (overhead)
j236A/B (dp bait/another left right)

Ground throw has a lot of potential and you basically get to do whatever you want.

j.236C combo ender

If you want a good knockdown midscreen you'll most likely go for this. For 100% it's not a bad investment. Your options include:

whiff j.A, BEj.214A.

Creates lots of blockstun for your opponent to deal with as you dance around them and do whatever you want.

float away during j.236C, airdash forwards, j.214A

Same concept except not as easy to shield on reaction and punish.

float away during j.236C, airdash, j.A whiff, land 2A

Cheeky low.

Escaping pressure

Escaping FVAkiha's pressure is pretty tough. Here are some theories as to how to avoid it.

Defense

As a character with the lowest life in the game, you really don't want to be put into a position where you have to rely on defense. However, if you do get caught in such a position, namely having to anti air and having to deal with someone's offense, here are some strategies.

Anti air

Anti air in Melty is more preemptive and soft read based than purely reactionary. That being said, FVAkiha has a few anti air options available to her.

Air to air j.A/j.B

Classic Melty anti air. If you get a counter hit with these you can turn it into big damage and/or corner carry into good mixups. If you don't get a counter hit you can still do good damage, however you have to choose whether you think you'll get the counter hit so you can just do a j.A or j.B, land and do a full combo, or you think you won't get a counter hit, in which case you can chain into other normals and end the combo with air throw or j.236C for the knockdown. Whether you're going for the counter hit or the basic chain depends on you and how hard a read you have on getting that counter hit. The counter hit combo will lead to a lot more damage and better positioning and oki situation on counter hit, but without counter hit doesn't net you anything, while the basic chain works all the time but gives much less damage and worse positioning. Do note that j.A is better if they're around your shoulder level or slightly higher, while j.B is better if they're much higher than you.

Air throw

Air throws in Melty are a really good anti air, similar to Guilty Gear. However, the difference is that in Melty Blood if you whiff an air throw you're stuck there swinging for all eternity, have additional landing recovery and are fully in counter hit state as you're flying across the screen, whiffing your air throw. However they do lead to decent combos, for FVAkiha at least, and they are (almost?) instant, much faster than j.A or j.B, so if you think someone is going to airdash at you and you won't have time to get out a j.A or j.B or they're going to do an empty airdash trying to bait your anti air shield, you can get an air throw (and possibly yell "SCOOOOOOOPS!" when you get it). Do note that you can air throw to the left or the right by holding that direction when you input your air throw, so if you're in the corner and you see someone jump at you, it might be a decent idea to air throw them into the corner.

Ground normals (ie 5A, 5C, 3C)

Ground normals generally don't tend to be amazing anti airs in Melty due to how fast jumping normals are and how much ground normals aren't designed for great anti air use (you won't find anything like a Guilty Gear 6P, for example).

5A isn't a great anti air in terms of hitboxes(the hitbox is the underside of her arm, while the hurtbox is the whole arm and slightly above it), but if someone's airdashing at you really low, there might be a chance you can 5A them out of it and get a small combo or an air tech situation. 5A is also a good anti air if you were able to dash under the opponent, since their normal will then come out on the other side adn there's no risk of their jump normal hitting you out of your 5A (unless their jump normal hits behind them), and as FVAkiha's dash has a bit of low profile, there are quite a few situations where you can use dash under 5A as an anti air.
5C is a better anti air in terms of hitboxes, but it is a slow normal so you can't really use it as a raw reaction anti air - it is a soft read (ie prediction + reaction, "I think they'll air dash at me; oh they airdashed, I'll 5C.") anti air. Same with 5A, if they get hit by this you can jump cancel it and get a small combo, or let them tech for an air tech situation.
3C is extremely slow but its saving grace is that it reaches extremely high when 5A and 5C do not, so if someone's flying above your head high enough where you can't 5A or 5C them but not super high so you can't reach them at all, you might be able to get 3C as a little hit. Same with 5A and 5C, you can jump cancel it and get a small combo (do note that jump cancelling with 8 after 3C gives you a super jump, which might be necessary for you to get a combo off it) or let them tech for an air tech situation.

All these normals on counter hit lead to full air combos similar to counter hit air to air j.A or j.B.

Shield

Shield is the universal anti air, and since you're F moon you can input 236D after your shield and get a basic combo after it. if you think someone will air dash at you and you don't have time to air throw them or j.A them, and you're sure that they will hit an air normal, you can let it out and get decent rewards if they do the air normal. However if they just empty jump or air dash again or use some other method to bait shield, causing your shield to whiff, you're going for a ride, as shields are punishable by counter hits during recovery. Be extremely careful when using shield as an anti air against good opponents, as they will blow you up extremely hard if you mess up.

Avoid the scenario

Melty Blood is an aerial game and you're FVAkiha so you have some of the best air movement in the whole game. The best way to anti air is to not get caught in situations where you have to rely the above tools to try to get out. Try to be above the opponent whenever possible (and avoid their air normals). Use pits and puffballs to maintain aerial superiority. Use your good air normals and puffballs if someone below you want to challenge you. Use your two airdashes and one double jump to completely avoid whatever situation your opponent has set out for you down below. This is not to say that there will never be scenarios where you have to rely on the above options to escape your opponent jumping at you, but like the old proverb says, "The best cure is prevention." Don't be there for your opponent to jump at you.

Post block reversals

She only has 623C as an invincible reversal, which on hit gives fairly good rewards, but during recovery is counter hit punishable and is relatively slow so it's easy to safejump (however it is air unblockable so they actually need to do a decent safejump - they can't just air block it).

She also has shield just like every character, however as with every character, it's a huge risk if it gets baited because she's in counter hit state during recovery.

Her shield bunker slides very low to the ground and there are chances that you can avoid some stuff with it but it's generally not a great option because C and F shield bunkers are not fully invincible like H shield bunkers are. Her backdash is fairly standard; it can avoid some stuff if you really want to avoid stuff with it, but again, if it gets baited you are going for a ride.

As an F moon character she does not have access to EX shields and dodges.

Her 2A is 5 frames so it's not as good a mash-out-of-jail-free card as it is for some other characters with faster 2A's, but you can always find situations where you can make use of it to abare out of the opponent's pressure.

While her defensive options are just as lackluster as a majority of the cast, the problem with FVAkiha's stuff is that if it gets baited it hurts a lot, lot more than it hurts everyone else, because her life is extremely low and her defense modifiers are really high (as in she eats a lot more damage per hit than most characters). Be very careful while trying to make a defensive read with these tools. The safest way to defend with FVAkiha is to use your reactions and reads to block and EX guard whenever you can to recover your guard meter, get more meter, and push the opponent away further, and read if someone wants to throw you and avoid it, either with throw techs, abare 2A's, or jumping out.

Pit loops

The main reason most people consider her an S+ theory character (similar to C-Roa and F-Hime). This is the only true infinite left in the PC version of the game (the Ringwide version, played in Japan arcades, is slightly older and has a C-KohaMech infinite), and as such, is extremely damaging. However it is extremely difficult to execute and has very specific starters, so it's not like Marvel vs Capcom 3 where Zero can take any hit and convert it to full corner carry and sougenmu lightning loops. Pit loops can also be used on block as block pressure, but right now we're discussing only on hit.

I want to preface this by saying this THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT NEEDED IF YOU WANT TO BECOME A DECENT FVAKIHA! There is no necessity for you to ever learn this unless you are trying to become the greatest FVAkiha player ever. Learning how the character actually functions is a ton more useful than learning how to do this. If you're a new player, I highly suggest working on your neutral game and basic BnB consistency instead. While it does help to know the basics of pit pressure for blockstrings, it is absolutely not a necessity with this character.

Infinite basics

Before we delve into how to actually do the infinite, we need to note a few things:

The infinite has very specific starters. You can't take any random hit and turn it into 8k with pit loops.
After 33 hits, the opponent gains more meter than you do for every hit. This, coupled with circuit sparks (bursts) makes sure you can't ToD any character from full life with this infinite.

Starters

Counter hit 5C
Counter hit j.C
Pushing someone in hitstun into a pit behind them.
Hitting someone with low-to-the-ground charged air pillars.

The first two starters are counter hits, so they require the opponent to cooperate with you.

The third starter often requires either the corner, or ending the combo extremely short midscreen (ie 2C jump airdash forward j.22A, airdash back cross back over to original side).

The fourth starter is relatively impractical (it can work as a shield punish midscreen, however, especially for H moon).

As you can see, you can't really just land a hit from round start and go into the infinite and kill. It requires some kind of setup or a counter hit.

Enders

The best way to end pit loops is with a knockdown, preferably in the corner. After doing enough reps, land and do a ground combo, such as dash 2C623A etc. It's not possible to ToD someone from the infinite so the thing is to just take a well positioned knockdown off it.

For 5C specifically, where you have spent your jump cancel to get the pits, you can't turn that into a great knockdown, since comboing off 623A and 4C requires that you have a jump cancel. If you're really gung-ho about getting the corner you can do 2C 623B dash OTG 623C into stuff, but ending the combo in 623B is still fairly decent.

How to do loops

One of the main things to note with loops is you can't keep doing pit loops without needing at least one pit to push away. This is accomplished by doing either pit input~6 or 6 right before the pit input.

The first one looks like this

22x6

The second one looks like this

226x

There's no real difference in which input you want to use. Pick whichever input feels more comfortable and natural to you.

Once you can do that, it's just a matter of knowing how to push people and doing pillars extremely low to the ground for the least amount of recovery, so you can jump up and do them again. A basic example that you might want to try is:

CH j.C dj j.22A~6 j.22B j.214B land dash jump jump j.22C j.22B j.214B

How you want to position people during pit loops depends entirely on your positioning, execution and creativity.

There are also other things you might want to learn for pit loops, such as pit airdash pit (executed by j.22x airdash 22x) that open up new and even swaggier routes for the loops, but if you're just beginning to learn pit loops, just keep it simple.

Block pressure

Pit loops are also useful for block pressure, not just raw damage. You can cancel j.C to pit if you double jump cancel it, and if you have an airdash left you can do blockstrings such as

j.C dj j.22A 22B airdash j.22A j.22B land, tk j.22B airdash j.22A j.22B etc.

Do note that pit airdash pit is often not an airtight blockstring and you might get air thrown or poked out of it, but you can discourage this by j.C'ing after the airdash instead.

Most of the time pit block pressure doesn't have mixups in itself; the way most people get opened up by it is that they get fidgety and try to escape it but fail and get hit, which then the FVAkiha player confirms and goes into pit loops on hit. Simply blocking and ex guarding it is a very safe option to deal with it, but then FVAkiha can air dash j.C, land and go for a ground mixup instead.

Video examples

Players such as Yukichi and Tobari are really good at pit loops and Yukichi especially tries to do pit loops whenever he can, whether as block pressure or getting a hit. This match in particular shows how pit loops work for block pressure as well as on hit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5X4-6i_6WU&feature=youtu.be&t=1h46m42s

There are far more examples in combo videos and match videos, but keep it simple at the start, and delve into more swag loops when you get really good at everything else.

Move Descriptions

Normal Moves

2A

Hits low, +3 on block. Bog standard 2A. Mash it as long as you want/can for hit confirms, or actually be halfway decent and go for two, then confirm the combo.

5A

Hits mid, +4 on block. Unlike most 5A's, this actually hits every crouching character in the game (except for Necos, on whom it whiffs even when they're standing), so it's not a bad idea to just dash at someone and 5A them as a random check once in a while. Its strong frame advantage on block also makes a decent tool to try to frame trap with.

2B

Hits Mid. -3 on block. Same as C and H moon, it has a 2BB follow up. The second B has to be blocked Low and the third B is jump cancelable. Fairly useless.

5B

Hits low, -1 on block. Another strong pressure tool. On counter-hit, you can link into another 5B for massive damage. It's also useful for tech chases in the corner, as well as punish combos, since it doesn't have any forced proration.

2C

Hits low, -4 on block. Used in combos, primarily in the Momiji loop. Its faster then her C/H version, but the hitbox is much lower. Not as good an anti-air as the other moons.

5C

Hits mid, -5 on block. Same as C/H but doesn't wallslam. Can be used as a decent soft-read anti air. Extremely damaging on ground counter hit (ie leads to pit loops).

5[C]

Hits mid, -/+0 on block. Most much useless. Does pretty good guard bar damage though.

6C

Overhead, -4 on block. Her overhead, same as the other moons. Dash cancel it midscreen to get combos. Use it extremely sparingly in your chains to get it to hit, otherwise you'll get mashed out of it.

4C

Hits mid, -16 on block! But, it pushes you out pretty far on block. Hits 2 times and launches. Useful for stuffing out jumps. Main launcher for FVAkiha. You'll be doing this a lot for just about every combo.

3C

Hits Mid, -4 on block. Very similar to C/H's 5BB. Launches on hit. Not very useful, only used in max damage Momiji loops. Can work as an anti air if they're above you. Also has clash frames.

j.A

A quick jab that's decent air to air if they're around the same height as you.

j.B

An upward kick with a pretty good hitbox in front of her. Good for fishing for air to air counterhits if they're jumping above you.

j.C

Just like H moon's j.C except it can't be dash canceled. Can cross up extremely well. Leads to massive damage if you have a counter hit and a double jump (leads to pit loops).

Special Moves

Illuminating Judgment: Scarlet Spot 「赫訳・緋斑」 - 236ABC

Ground Puffballs. Akiha reaches out in front of her and summons a flaming ball at the tip of her finger. Both A and B versions are air unblockable so have some extremely situational use as anti airs, but the EX version is not.
(A version) - The puffball is pointed slightly upwards and hits 2 times twice. It has no use.
(B version) - Ditto A version but pointed forward instead. Still useless.
(EX version) - (100 Meter) Looks like a powered up version of A. Launches on hit. Only used in some metered midscreen combos. Generally not worth spending meter on during combos.

Illuminating Judgment: Fire Curtain 「赫訳・火帳」 - J.236ABC

Air Puffballs. While midair Akiha jumps a bit higher into the air and puts a flaming ball underneath her. This move is key to her pressure and is exclusive to F moon. It stuffs just about anything underneath it and opens up opportunities for some nasty mixups. It counts as a projectile and can be TKed for a pressure reset. Combined with her 2 jumps and airdashes, this move makes her float up in the air for an almost unfair amount of time. All versions give an untechable knockdown that you can OTG from. Puffballs affect the momentum of your jump, and their effect is accentuated/diminished if you did a dash jump for A and B version respectively.
(A version) - Akiha jumps and gains slightly forward momentum after the puffball.
(B version) - Same as A but backward momentum instead of forward.
(EX version) - (100 meter) You can also influence which direction you drift by holding 4 or 6 right after the move. This can be used create some nasty which-ways in the corner.

Illuminating Judgment: Maple Leaves 「赫訳・紅葉」 - 623ABC

Affectionately called the Momiji (or Momiji rush). Akiha spins around once and rushes toward her opponent, striking them again after jumping in the air, and hitting them back to the ground. Used primarily in the corner combos called Momiji loops.
(A version) - Akiha dashes along the ground but doesn't jump up for the final blow. Unlike for C and H moon where this move worked as an anti air with upper body invincibility, F's 623A has no invincibility whatsoever and thus isn't a very good anti air at all (though it is still air unblockable). Its main use is in combos for corner carry and damage in the corner. Hits twice and both hits are jump cancelable.
(B version) - Just like the Momiji rush from the other 2 moons. Hits 4 times and is used in combos. Lower body invincible but if they only do one meaty 2A they will most often be able to block in time. Not a very good reversal at all.
(EX version) - (100 meter) OTGs. Used in fullscreen Momiji loops. Has a small amount of invincibility up until the first hit. Can be used as a makeshift reversal, although not recommended.

Piercing Moon 「月を穿つ」 - (J.)214ABC

Flame Pillars. Akiha flicks her hand upward and summons a flame pillar in front of her that moves forward slowly. It's very similar to C/H moon's except that F moon's pillars are slightly taller and can be used in the air. This can make moving around her pillars much more difficult compared to the C/H version of herself. Akiha can (and should) use pillars in the air. Using Air Pillars is core to her neutral and pressure game. Keep in mind that air pillars move a shorter distance then ground pillars and that you cannot preform any input till you land and recover on the ground. She will also resume the air momentum she had before the pillar was summoned. Pillars can be used for good oki. Pillars are also able to OTG, but it is not recommended.
(A version) - The pillars spawn just in front of Akiha. and move about 3 character lengths away. Can be charged to about 5 character lengths. Used for spacing and blockstrings.
(B version) - Same as A. But the pillars spawn where A's uncharged version ends. Moves 3 character lengths away from that spot. Can also be charged to move farther.
(EX version) - (100 meter) Starts where A starts and travels all the way to where a fully charged B would end. (Almost full screen!!!) If you can get your opponent to block it, it will carry them more or less right into the corner.

Illuminating Judgement: Enticing Lull 「赫訳・誘凪」 - (J.)22ABC

Flame pits. Akiha hops back slightly and summons a swilling pit on the ground. This move can be used on the ground or in the air. The pit stays for a set amount of time and disappears if akiha is hit. The pits ignite if the opponent is over them and in block/hit stun. You can also manually ignite them by inputting their motion a second time. These pits do not launch your opponent like C/H moon's pits but they do add quite a bit of damage in addition to being able to be summoned faster. Flamepits are usually TKed and used in combos and blockstrings. An interesting side note: If you get a Half moon character while in auto heat into blockstun with any C normal canceled into pit (so that it auto ignites from the blockstun), the pit forces a circuit spark. Air flamepits make you stop in the air and their ability to break momentum isn't affected by doing a dash jump.
(Version A) - Akiha summons a pit right underneath herself.
(Version B) - This version has the pit summon about where a 214b would spawn.
(Version C) - Cost no meter. Just summons a pit a little bit farther then the B version.

Arc Drive

Crimson Lord: Uncountable Pureness 「赤主・遍生」

Akiha lifts her arms up and shoots a small full-screen laser from her eyes. Hits 10 times. Only does about 2.8k of damage. Pretty much useless. You can use it to end a Momiji loop or catch people mashing backdash on wakeup if your feeling yourself. Is very punishable on wiff. Somewhat punishable on block.

Another Arc Drive