Akuma

Story

Akuma and his brother Gouken were the disciples of Goutetsu who taught them his own hybrid martial art that combined existing styles with the dangerous power of Satsui no Hado (殺意の波動 Satsui no Hadō, "Surge of Murderous Intent" or "Surge of Killing Intent"). After some time, the two brothers went separate ways. Gouken was unable to accept the murderous nature of Goutetsu's martial art and went on to create his own version of it, with a focus on spirituality and self-defense. Unlike him, Akuma was eager to embrace Satsui no Hado and give up a piece of his humanity to grow stronger. His master, Goutetsu, knew the dangers of Satsui no Hado and used it with wisdom and moderation, but Akuma couldn't be satisfied with that. 

In pursuit of reaching his full potential, Akuma left to train by himself and embrace Satsui no Hado to the full extent, which led to him developing an intense desire to fight to the death. After finishing his training, Akuma went back to visit his master and engaged him in a fight to the death. Goutetsu died happy, knowing his student surpassed him, and Akuma now believed himself to be the true master of the art. Gouken, who was visiting his master, saw what had happened and was disgusted with his brother, but Akuma left without saying a word.

Since then, Akuma has lived a life of a warrior obsessed with power. He sought out strong opponents who would be able to put up a fight or even kill him. Despite his own violent drive, Akuma is known to spare opponents who he deems have the potential to become powerful adversaries in the future.

Personality

Despite the mean appearance and abandoning much of his humanity, Akuma is not a crazy, bloodthirsty killer as some might think. At his core, Akuma is a prideful martial artist who seeks nothing but battling tough opponents in a fair fight and expanding his own power. As such, he's not known to harm helpless or innocent people, and, if need be, he'll protect them instead. He also won't frown away from forming a temporary alliance, like in Tekken 7, where he fought alongside Heihachi to get rid of Jacks that interrupted their fight. 

Appearance

While Akuma took on a variety of forms across many different games, his iconic appearance is that of a tanned, muscular man with red eyes and bright red hair. He usually wears a deep blue gi with ripped-off sleeves, brown sandals, his master Goutetsu's prayer beads on his neck, and uses rope as his belt and wrappings for his hands.

Playstyle

In Street Fighter, Akuma is often a glass cannon with strong pressure, powerful mix-ups, and high damage but rather low health to compensate for it. In Tekken, much of his identity remained similar. Despite weaker long/mid-range options compared to Street Fighter, he remains a scary character to be up against when up close. Akuma's arsenal features fast lows, evasive jump-ins, powerful mix-ups, armored launchers, EX moves, and quick combo starters.