The Ashura Senku (阿修羅閃空, Ashura Senkuu, "Asura/Fighting Demon Flashing Air") is a special attack used by Akuma and Evil Ryu, introduced to Akuma in Super Street Fighter II Turbo.
Other appearances | + (long distance forward) + (medium-short distance forward) + (long distance backward) + (medium-short distance backward) |
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Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike | + (long distance forward) + (medium-short distance forward) + (long distance backward) |
Description
Executed by performing either a "Shoryuken" (forward, down, then down-forward) or "Reverse Shoryuken" (backward, down, then down-backward) motion and then pressing either all three punches or all three kicks, the user widens his stance, glows red, then lifts one knee and "glides" along the ground to another location with his eyes aglow. He cannot be hit while gliding, essentially making the move a teleport (and implying it to be a form of projection that causes the body to act similar to a phantasm). The distance and direction glided depends on whether the player uses the forward or backward motions and presses the three punches or the three kicks, as seen above.
The teleport can be used to get away from an opponent bearing down on him, to suddenly launch an attack (often from behind), or perhaps to simply psych out the opponent and keep them guessing. It also serves to help fill the Super Combo Gauge. However, most later games tend to have a weakness in this ability in that other kinds of teleports tend to be faster and less visible, while the user of the Ashura Senku can be seen clearly along with a notable startup and possible vulnerability at the end of the move.
In X-Men: Children of the Atom, this is Akuma's X-Ability. In later Marvel crossovers, the animation for this becomes Akuma's normal dash.
In the EX series, the move is shown as a glide that literally circles around the opponent (along with other similar moves). Evil Ryu in EX3 uses this ability in the more normal "phantom-phase" fashion.
Akuma's most famous attack, the Shun Goku Satsu, begins with an Ashura Senku, though its properties differ in that Akuma is vulnerable during the teleport.