Daigo plays characters he believes are straightforward.
Akuma is not straightforward.
He will not main Akuma.
Odd. Quite often I read how ‘brainless’ and ‘cheap’ and ‘easy to win with’ Akuma is. You think it’d be a perfect fit.
If only bro, if ONLY! 
St.hpxxHK Tatsu FADC stands the opponent up though while the fireball does not. It’s the better option against crouchers, especially if they can be tatsu swept.
He def plays Akuma like it’s Ryu right now. Reminds me of when John Choi tested out Akuma for a couple months. Great ground and fb game… little to no setups.
He needs moar DEMON
There can only be one DEMON. :badboy:
Ding. It has a very practical use in this sense. Akuma’s damage output is cut back significantly if opponents are crouching.
I don’t think it’ll be long at all before he learns more mixups. I’m sure it’s hard for him not to go into a Ryu mindset whenever he’s playing a shoto in SF4 after playing Ryu for so long.
Yyup, I agree. I was starting to mess around with it a month ago and found that it is not universal on crouchers though, since cl.s.HP pushes some chrouching too far away. Thats when you use cl.sMP. -20 damage, but moves Akuma closer and has less pushback. Cl.s.MPxxHK tatsu works on all characters and it is a 3fr move. My preferred combo on crouchers.
Well, going for a standard st.HP xx fireball FADC st.HP xx fierce DP punisher will deal 24 less damage than st.MP xx HK Tatsu, st.HP etc, I don’t think it cuts “significantly” the damage output. The first combo also deals +60 stun.
I think it’s all about recognizing whether or not the opponent is in range and standing/crouching. I mean you don’t always have the time to do it, and I’d much rather land the standing fierce, we can always cr.HP after FADC to pick them up, providing they are not that far.
IIRC st.MP was 70 damage.
How’s st.MP reach bytw? I always thought it had lesser range than st.HP.
Proof that Akuma is top tier:
Diago only uses top tier.
Daigo is using Akuma.
Therefore Akuma should be top tier.
because ryu was top tier
Vanilla…yeah.
Super…maybe not TOP, but almost.
Ryu has some of the best normals in the game both on the ground and in the air. Good AA. Good Zoning. Combo’able Ultras. He does decent damage and stun. He may not have been “top” tier in many character listings, but on paper… Why do you think so many people mained Ryu in Vanilla? You couldn’t play 5 games online without going against AT LEAST 3 Ryus…
Ryu was top 3 in vanilla but was mid tier in most released tier lists for SSFIV IIRC, Daigo won with him so I don’t think he really only focuses on TOP TIER only, solid yes, but doesn’t have to be considered top tier.
His answer to this question more or less confirms what I had said previously, he’s playing Gouki not because he wants to main him but because he wants an “advantage” in the character he’s playing in 2012, which probably will be Evil Ryu.
Dan is already a Solid Character.
Dan is supposed to be the opposite shoto of Gouki/Akuma:
[LIST]
[]Fun+Goofy vs Serious+&Badass.
[]Fast vs Slow,
[]Normal Damage/health vs contrasting health/amage
[]Basic vs Versatile
[*]Unsafe vs Safe
[/LIST]
Most people take Dan’s appearance to seriously and overlooked his capability’s entirely.
‘Dan’ literally means bullet. Dan has a faster version of what other shoto’s have:
Chip damage(hadouken)
Dragon Punch
Kick/Kyaku
But his moves are all nerfed because they are faster than the others.
Why not just play evil ryu then :V
Dan’s Gadouken is not only slower than other shotos, but lacks the range
The DP is solid, but its still a 4 frame DP and isnt as invincible as other shoto’s DPs. It trades a decent amount anti airing and vs other reversals. It also has some frames where it can be grabbed.
As well as his normals, So pretty much everything is slower with Dan 
Dan’s kicks function differently than other shotos, it doesnt make them better or worse. Dan’s kicks are frame traps and spacing tools while other shotos use theirs for combos and for cross ups/ getting around fireballs. Still, Dan’s Dankukyaku and his knee in paticular are his only real saving graces.
I main Dan and have since Vanilla, so you’re preaching to the choir…and as a Dan main, I understand he is still too weak and needs buffs. And believe me, I’ve played and beaten good people with Dan. Hes decent, not to be looked down upon, but outclassed. this is for sure Dan’s best iteration since Alpha 2 though.