Sakura Otoshi

The Sakura Otoshi (さくら落とし, Sakura Otoshi^?, "Sakura Drop") is one of Sakura's special attacks, introduced in Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold.

Input (all appearances)

Initial: Sakura Otoshi	+ +
Followup	(up to 3 times)
Cancel (Capcom vs. SNK 2 only)

Description

"Here I come!"

Executed by performing a Shoryuken motion^? and pressing kick, Sakura will leap forward with her fists held over her head (and slightly behind). How far she jumps is determined by the kick button pressed, although the difference between the 3 normal versions is minimal. The EX Special version introduced in the Street Fighter IV series takes her exactly to her opponent.

When she lands, she loses her balance. This leaves her extremely vulnerable, and should be avoided by completing the rest of the move: during the jump, if punch is pressed, Sakura will bring her fists downward in a hammer strike that can send a foe flying. If successful, Sakura can follow up with two more mid-air hammer strikes to the opponent by continuing to press punch.

Tactics

Even if the initial hammer strike misses, Sakura will not lose her balance on landing, which is a good technique to avoid punishes, especially if the opponent dodges quickly.

Trivia

• Ibuki in Street Fighter X Tekken comes down in a pose similar to how Sakura hits her opponent with Sakura Otoshi after the smoke bomb as part of her generic entrance.

Gallery

Sakura Otoshi in Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold against Nash

Sakura Otoshi in Street Fighter V against Zeku

Sakura smashing Ling Xiaoyu with Sakura Otoshi in Street Fighter X Tekken.

Sakura utilizing Sakura Otoshi as part of her V-Skill in Street Fighter V.

Street Fighter IV series

Sakura Otoshi about to be performed against Zangief in Street Fighter IV.

Sakura Otoshi (presumably whiffed) against Ryu in the same game.

"Whoopsie!"

Video

SF4 Combo Challenge 08 Variance Sakura response

A combo against Gouken, started with a jump-in fierce punch and finished with a full Otoshi.