Combo Babies/Ichiro

Ichiro on the character select screen

Overview

A 14 year old Japanese middle school student, and Combo Babies summoner and semi-zoner.

Ichiro relies on his great range, damage, and his summon to defeat opponents. Many of his moves easily hitconfirm, and with how much range most of them have, it can lead to extremely scary situations if you are fighting a good Ichiro. He has no shortage of neutral tools either, being able to close in on an opponent and start opening them up. His summon, tornado, is a powerful and controllable projectile. While it requires 50 frames of charge, if Ichiro gets it out it can dominate the neutral until an opponent destroys it or it hits them.

But, Ichiro has some weaknesses. For one, some of his moves have a deadzone, including some important moves in Ichiro's kit like 5B and j.C. Of course, there are ways to circumvent it (like 2A confirming) but it's something that can occasionally lead to death if you play wrong. Some of his moves also have bad frame data, making him hard to use if you don't understand most of his moves. It takes a different method of thinking in order to perform well, making him challenging to learn.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Insane range. Most of Ichiro's moves have tons of range on them, including air moves. Combined with airdashes, this can give him access to a nightmarish pressure game if he locks you in. Great confirms at almost any range. Even with some of his moves having deadzones, Ichiro can usually confirm off of most ranges with his jump attacks and disjoints. Great damage. Ichiro's normals do an above-average amount of damage, allowing for his combos to do a lot more damage than most of the cast. Summoner. Tornado is a controllable summon that leads to combos and gives massive frame advantage. It does not disappear when he is hit, and he can control it in hitstun, meaning opponents are forced to destroy it before fighting him.

Slow move startup. The price of having long range moves is their slow animations and recovery. This can lead to whiffs being easily punished. Deadzones. Almost all of his moves have a deadzone in front of him, making him require some amount of spacing at all times. Summon requires charge. 50 frames of charge before you can call summon means he can't get it on demand, and must commit to charging for a significant time.

Ground Normals

5A 5A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 6 Mid 5 - - +12 0 Ichiro's jab. Notable for being one of his closest range moves, making it go-to in close range situations. Generally not as used in these as the faster and similarly-ranged 2A though.

5B 5B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 12 Mid 7 - - Launch -5 A long range yo-yo swing. Massive deadzone in front of Ichiro, but it functions as a very long range launcher that vacuums on hit, making it great to start his long combos.

5C 5C	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 6 Mid 10 - - Launch -3 A yo-yo blast. Large hitbox all in front of Ichiro make this great as a beefy attack and situational anti-air, but a long whiff punish animation is present afterwards, making this hard to use in neutral.

2A 2A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 6 Low 3 - - +14 +2 An attack with the tail of the yo-yo. Fast and spammable, with a sizable hitbox. Great normal for Ichiro, who otherwise has few up close options.

2B 2B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 6 Low 10 - - +12 0 A unique 2B, as the only one that is not a launcher. Ichiro 2B is a precise poke that reaches fairly far. On hit, the opponent is vacuumed in and can be combo'd. Can be linked into his true launcher, 5B, for full combos.

2C 2C	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 6, 12 Mid 10 - - Launch -13 A multi-hitting yo-yo arc. Huge deadzone in front of Ichiro, but staple in some of his combos and good for meaty pressure. Not a bad anti-air in some situations.

6A 6A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 12 Mid 9 - - Launch -15 Ichiro's anti-air. Massive hitbox, but most of it is behind Ichiro. This makes it effective at getting opponents off the top of you, and negating crossups if done slightly early. Little to no horizontal range in front however.

6B 6B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 6, 6 Mid 13 - - +12 +5 A 2 hitting 6B poke. Larger hitbox than his other B normals make this easier to space, and the 2 hits make it nice to confirm with. Being plus is also nice.

Jump Normals

JA JA	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 6 High 3 - - Variable Variable A fast downward swing with the yo-yo. Nice for close jump-ins, and for when you need a really fast move.

JB JB	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 6,6 High 5 - - Launch Variable A 2 hit yo-yo spin. Nice air-to-air hitbox, and good to start juggles with.

JC JC	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 18 High 10 - - Variable Variable A long reaching yo-yo swing. Hits very far away from Ichiro, and the extended hurtbox is somewhat negated by land cancelling it. Great for zoning and has use in juggle combos as it vacuums and bounces aerial opponents.

J2C J2C	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 6,6,6 Mid 4 - - Launch Variable A spinning yo-yo whirlwind. Staple for his combos as it easily confirms off of his airdash cancels, launches, and can convert into his 236 specials easily.

Special Moves

236 A/B/C 236 A/B/C

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block A 6,6,6 Mid 3 - - Launch +2 Ichiro's yo-yo X specials. Simple and reliable specials used mainly for combos, these give Ichiro access to large damage extensions. The A version is the fastest, and moves Ichiro backwards. It does the least overall damage. Its main usage is in positioning yourself during corner combos. Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block B 6,6,12 Mid 4 - - Launch -3 The B version is a frame slower in trade for more damage on the final hit. It's only -3, so it isn't punishable easily, but it loses the benefit of being plus. Like 236A, it isn't worth that much to use in combos, but is VERY good for repositioning. Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block C 6,12,12 Mid 5 - - Launch -7 The C version, aka your new best friend. Only one frame slower startup for a ton of extra damage and a huge wallbounce that can loop into itself. Looping 236C wallbounce is where Ichiro gets a lot of his damage. This move is -7, so it is punishable if blocked. Make sure to confirm into this. Can also be used to air stall. Just don't get anti-aired.

214 A/B/C 214 A/B/C

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block A 6 High 7 - - Launch -9 Ichiro's skateboard overhead. Acts as a sort of command jump, and is a true overhead attack which gives Ichiro some high/low mixup. When used near the wall, this can activate a short wallride similar to Lucey's wallrun. The A version moves very slightly backwards. Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block B 6 High 7 - - Launch -9 The B version is identical to the A versions, but does not move at all, only having Ichiro hop in place. Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block C 6 High 7 - - Launch -9 The C version is identical to the others, but makes Ichiro hop forward. This is the best one if you want to use it as an overhead attack, as the forward movement aids it in getting close.

[4]6 A/B/C [4]6 A/B/C

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block A 6 Mid 7 - - Launch +19 Ichiro's tornado summon. Ichiro quickly summons a tornado that he can then control using left and right directions. This acts as a powerful projectile and dominant neutral tool. All versions last about 5 seconds. The A version summons faster than the others, but does the least damage. Ichiro's tornado can be ridiculous in certain situations as it gives him insane aggressive pressure and acts as a way to easily escape combos as he can pilot it in hitstun. It can be destroyed by any fast and far reaching normals, and requires charge, but it is an incredibly powerful tool when it is out. Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block B 12 Mid 19 - - Launch +16 The B version summons significantly slower, but does a lot more damage. Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block C 18 Mid 25 - - Launch +15 The slowest and most damaging of the three versions.

Throw

6D 6D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 12 Throw 7 - - Launch Throw Ichiro's throw. A very simple throw you can easily combo into a 2C dash cancel for a combo after.

Super Moves

236D 236D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 18,18,12 Mid 3 - - Launch -3 EX... X. A very high damage move in Ichiro's kit, nice to end 236C wallbounce loops.

214D 214D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 6,6,6, 6 High 7 - - Launch +8 EX board. A 4 hit overhead that can easily be combo'd off of.

[4]6D [4]6D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 18 Mid 7 - - Launch +21 EX summon. Deals the same damage as C version but much faster startup, great tool for zoning.

41236D 41236D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Adv on Hit Adv on Block 12,6,6,6,6,12 Mid 3 - - Launch -8, -2, 0, +2, +4 Ichiro's yo-yo tornado. Plenty of hits, and launches for a wallbounce combo afterwards. Can be hard for Ichiro to combo into, but not a bad super by any means.

Source

 
}}