Why was Akuma made so paper-thin?

Just curious as to why Akuma in SF4 is so weak health-wise. What makes him so awesome that he required such heavy balancing?

Because he’s a shoto on steroids duh. I mean just look at him compared to every other shoto. He pretty much has everything they’ve got and then some. All of his moves are ugraded versions of theirs. Has the raging demon that can easily catch a blocking opponent by surprise, arguably the best teleport in the game to escape most bad situations. Air fireballs that make his zoning game deadly., a dive kick, demon flip. Dude just has so many effective tools. The low health and stun is the only thing that makes him fair. He’s still a bitch to deal with but atleast you don’t have to do as much damage to him as other characters and is easily stunned. So if you manage to punish a mistake or get in on him, you can easily capitalize.

His versatility, manoeuvrability and speed.

shitty active frames “upgraded version” my ass ?