Yatagarasu/Shimo

Shimo

Introduction

Shimo is a soft-spoken swordswoman, and Hina's younger sister. Like Hina, she uses quick-drawing techniques and dashing strikes to attack the opponent. However, in terms of execution, Shimo focuses more on using her attacks during command dashes, and her combination strikes tend to get her more damage than her single strikes do. Her normals are also a bit different in behavior than Hina's are.

Move List

Normal Moves

LP Overall fairly useless. Won't combo when chained into from cr.LK and is negative on block and hit. One esoteric use may be to buffer into a Shinenzan or super in footsies, as it is slightly faster to start up than HK and the active hitbox extends quite a bit farther out compared to the hurtbox.

cr.LP Amazing range. Combined with its 5f startup it makes for an excellent poke. Despite its appearance it can be blocked standing. Can be super-canceled for an easy 3-hit confirm off cr.LK.

j.LP 5f startup and good horizontal range makes it a decent air-to-air when other buttons would be too slow.

LK Notable mostly due to the LK,HP target combo, but otherwise outshined by Shimo's cr.LK.

cr.LK Standard crouching light kick that is easily hit-confirmable into her basic combos. +2 on block.

j.LK This low-angled kick is Shimo's best jump-in attack due to its fast startup (6f), long active frames and most importantly the ability to special cancel into a Shinkoenzan giving way to her infamous "Eight Ways to Hell" mixup. Some of the options off j.LK include: j.214LP (tight string, natural combo) j.214HP (varies attack timing against parry attempts) EX j.214P (2 hits) (land), Throw (land), cr.LK

HP This move's excellent hitbox allows it to easily catch jump attempts and blow up moves aiming to counter Shimo's HK, though its quite a bit slower so don't throw it out too carelessly. Can be super-canceled.

cr.HP Shimo's hurtbox expands above her head a frame earlier than the attacking hitbox making it somewhat difficult to anti-air with on reaction. Best used as a preemptive anti-air. Can be high jump-canceled on hit, block and parry, allowing you to keep pressure after a successful anti-air, do surprise crossups or escape punishment after an opponent's successful parry.

j.HP The hitbox is quite a bit smaller than it would appear, making it impractical as a crossup attack. Use it as a jump-in when you're sure it's going to hit.

HK Great footsie and pressure normal. Easily stuffs low attacks. A common strategy is to buffer this move into her command run to start damaging combos or establish her great run stop pressure. The upper-body hurtbox lingers for quite a bit making it susceptible to high-hitting counterpokes. Mix up between HK and HP to deal with both high and low pokes.

cr.HK A sliding kick. Lots of active frames and at worst even on block. Its somewhat low profile hurtbox makes it another option in footsies against moves that would beat a HK and can be special-canceled just the same.

j.HK A slow horizontal kick. Could technically be used as an air-to-air but a Shinkoenzan or j.LP is usually more suited for that purpose. Used in combos off EX Retsugizan or on reaction to an aerial BLC.

Command Normals

3HP Universal sweep. Starts up slightly faster than cr.HK, but is unsafe when blocked. Don't use it.

8LP (in mid-air) Air-to-air normal which launches the opponent for a juggle. Its slow startup and weird angle make it hard to use. Special-cancelable.

2HP (in mid-air) Mean crossup that has enough range to hit a crouching opponent even when done instantly upon jumping. Mixing up with her other jump-in normals allows her to hit either in front or in the back from certain ranges.

LP+HP (Overhead) Slower to start up than most other UOHs in the game, but leaves Shimo at +5 against a standing opponent on block and hit. Links into cr.LK against crouching characters.

HP+HK (Unblockable) From max range, her unblockable can be confirmed into either super when blocked.

Target Combos

LK, HP Neat special-cancelable target combo which can be confirmed into from HK xx EX 236P~HK, and offers a simple 2-hit confirm by itself.

Special Moves

236P Shingetsu Command run. Shimo charges forward for a set distance depending on the strength of the button used. If no followup is used, the run recovers instantly upon stopping. LP: slow speed, travels halfscreen HP: high speed, travels nearly fullscreen EX: moderate speed, improves the properties of all followups. Holding forward allows Shimo to keep running indefinitely.

LP (during Shingetsu) Yugizan A quick mid-hitting slash. Long range and fast startup. Useful as a poke in footsies, but can easily be blown up by neutral jumps if used too liberally. Using it in conjunction with run stop enables a strong pressure game. Yugizan may be parried both high and low, making it somewhat easier to parry than other moves. LP: -3 on block/-1 on hit. A few characters can punish this from certain ranges. EX: +0 on block/+6 on hit. Links into cr.LP or cr.LK on hit.

HP (during Shingetsu) Shinenzan A vertical uppercut with an intimidating secondary hitbox. HP: despite its appearance, the normal version has no invincibility whatsoever. Use it as an early anti-air or as a combo finisher. EX: has some invincibility, but due to the fact that it needs to be canceled into from a run it cannot be used as a reversal. Additionally, the invincibility only covers the first hit making it a less effective anti-air than one might think.

LK (during Shingetsu) Retsugizan Slower than Yugizan, but its longer range and low-hitting property more than make up for it. May be high jump-canceled on hit. LK: high jump-canceling this doesn't lead into any further combo potential but allows Shimo to maintain pressure. EX: gives a juggle opportunity on hit enabling some of Shimo's strongest combos for half a bar.

HK (during Shingetsu) Stop Shimo stops her run after a short recovery time. The recovery is shorter after an EX run, enabling Shimo's run stop pressure and new combo opportunities.

214P (in mid-air) Shinkoenzan A unique move with a stupidly large hitbox which is very effective in both the neutral game and pressure situations. Expect to be using this move a lot. The different versions are used to mess with parry timings and anti-airs (see the j.LK section for further info). Needs to be blocked standing.

Supers

236236P Kantanenzan Single-hit sword slash. 7f startup, invulnerable only starting from the 5th frame. Used as a combo ender against airborne opponents, a situational anti-air or as a favorable trade against most fireballs. Deals 2000 extra damage when connecting with the tip of the hitbox.

236236K Issenkousa Highly damaging ranbu. 8f startup. Unreliable reversal as it has some invincibility, but not enough to cover all of the startup frames, which may cause it to get counter-hit by some meaty attacks. Used as a combo ender against grounded opponents, especially when option selecting from standing HP.

Combos

0 bars:

• cr.LK, cr.LK xx 236P~LP/HP
• HK/LK,HP/cr.HK/cr.HP xx 236P~LP/HP/LK
• (air-to-air) j.8LP, jump forward, j.214LP, 236LP~HP
• (aerial BLC), high jump forward, j.214LP, 236LP~HP
• (aerial BLC), j.HK xx 214LP

0.5 bars:

• HK/LK,HP/cr.HK/cr.HP xx EX 236P~LK xx high jump forward, j.214LP, cr.HP
• (vs Aja) HK/LK,HP/cr.HK/cr.HP xx EX 236P~LK xx high jump forward, j.HK xx j.214LP, cr.HP
• HK xx EX 236P~HK, LK,HP xx 236P~HP
• HK/LK,HP/cr.HK/cr.HP xx EX 236P~LP, cr.LK xx 236P~LP/HP
• cr.HP xx EX 236P~LK, cr.HP xx 236P~HP, 236HP~HP
  • high damage punish

1 bar:

• HK/LK,HP/cr.HK/cr.HP xx 236P~LP xx 236236K
• cr.LK, cr.LK, cr.LP xx 236236K
• j.214P, 236236P

1.5 bars:

• HK/LK,HP/cr.HK/cr.HP xx EX 236P~LK xx high jump forward, j.HK xx j.214LP, 236236P
• HK/LK,HP/cr.HK/cr.HP xx EX 236P~LP, cr.LP xx 236236K