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Ryu (Street Fighter)

Ryu (リュウ or 隆 Ryū) is a video game character created by Capcom, and is the main character of the Street Fighter series. He has brown hair and wears a red headband and a white gi. He is voiced by Katashi Ishizuka or Toshiyuki Morikawa in many of the games he appears in. He is given the surname Hoshi in the 1994 live-action motion picture Street Fighter, although Capcom does not officially recognize that name.

According to his official biography, Ryu was born in Japan on July 21, 1964. He stands 175 cm (just under 5' 9") and weighs 68 kg. His blood type is O. He can sleep anywhere (handy for a nomad), and hates spiders (he woke up with one in his mouth).

Both Ryu and Ken are practitioners of an extremely violent martial art called Ansatsuken, incorporating the most violent techniques from a blend of 4 martial arts alongside a dark technique called Shun Goku Satsu. Both Ryu and Ken learned Ansatsuken from Gouken, who vowed to teach a less violent variation of Ansatsuken which does not include the Shun Goku Satsu technique and the discipline's life-threatening techniques (such as Akuma's Side Stance Death Fist).

Ryu's techniques consists of the Hadoken, Shoryuken, and Tatsumakisenpukyaku. His super moves consists of the Shinku Hadoken, Shinku Tatsumakisenpukyaku (which Ryu probably ceased to used when Street Fighter III was first released), Denjin Hadoken (which he used only in the Street Fighter III series), and his most powerful move, the Shin Shoryuken.

The difference between Ryu's and Ken's moves are as follows: Ryu has the ability to use the Shakunetsu Hadoken (Scorching Surge Fist), his Shoryuken does only one hit, but can knock the opponent out (literally the Shoryuken does the most damage while the fist is still rising up), and his Tatsumakisenpukyaku can knock down an opponent.

Ryu as he appeared in the Street Fighter II series.

Background

Ryu's mother gave him to Master Gouken as an infant. As a student of Gouken, Ryu gained notoriety by winning the first ever World Warrior tournament by defeating its host, Sagat, in a surprise upset. During the battle, a Dragon Punch (Shoryuken) from Ryu is said to have given Sagat his famous scar, while a Hadoken was responsible for ending the fight. This is the version of events as represented in the canon of the Street Fighter series (including the very first arcade game), and as portrayed in the animated movie co-produced by Capcom in the '90s.

Ryu fought Akuma (Gouki in the Japanese version) somewhere in a secluded island and eventually won against Akuma. Akuma sensed that Ryu had the same powers as he did. Ryu didn't know what Akuma was talking about but Akuma made Ryu aware of the Satsui No Hadou--the forbidden power that had Ryu's strength match Akuma's, was strong within him and told him to come back and re-fight Akuma again once Ryu awoke the Satsui No Hadou within him to see whether Ryu or Akuma was stronger. The Satsui No Hadou was the same murderous power that awoke in Ryu when he delivered the cheap shot to Sagat, threatening to consume him when Ryu indulges in the desire to win at any cost, even if it means death to his opponent. The island blew up, but Ryu escaped. This horrendous turn of events distracted Ryu since Akuma lost for the first time and prevented him from performing his best during a match with his childhood friend Ken. Realizing that Ryu wasn't himself all over the place, Ken tied a red cord at the back of Ryu's hair after he (Ryu) lost. While Ken used the red cord as a gesture of his friendship with Ryu, Ryu used this red cord to symbolize his commitment of rejecting the Satsui No Hadou.

His fighting abilities also gained him the attention of M. Bison (Vega in the Japanese version), leader of Shadoloo, who wanted to use him as a vessel for his tremendous energies. He captured Ryu and subverted his mind and body, presenting him to Sagat for a rematch. Sagat, along with Ken and Ryu's longtime admirer Sakura, fought Ryu and Bison, broke Ryu free, and Ryu delivered a blow that forced Bison to retreat. To Ryu, this only meant that he was weak and he still needed training. Ryu has since then embarked on a quest for purity and to transcend Gouken's school of Ansatsuken to a level that would become fully developed (even without the murderous touch), following the footsteps of Gouken to use Ansatsuken as a basis of self-improvement.

Some years later, in the third World Warrior tournament, he fought and lost to Oro, who saw Ryu as a potential successor to his style.

Ryu is a person whose life is entirely devoted to spiritual perfection through the art of the fist, so much that some fans refer to him as a "one-dimensional character." Some assume he does not care about winning or losing, just the moment of the fight and the opportunity for spiritual advancement ("The fight is all").

Some fans believe that he and Chun-Li would make a good couple, but this is mainly speculation.

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