Kanji
Pain
Combo notes
Drops out of things very easily due to large size, keep him as high off the ground as possible, doing stuff earlier than you think you need to.
Unique responses and punishes
| Move | Response/notes |
|---|---|
Round start A cruel | 9 j.A on roundstart (4 frame window). 2B/5B can work, but bigger committment. Backdash and roll will not work as it recovers too fast. |
Primal force/5D/gotcha | Chain knuckle to take a persona card/hit him. Note that 5D can be chain knuckled even from full screen. This is punishable if done carelessly (by SB shitlord) so be prepared to adjust. |
DP (whiff) | 2B into full fatal punish On block, same but watch his meter for a super cancel |
Whiffed command grab (normal/super) | Jump > dl CH j.2B > 5DD full punish |
Ass whoopin', Tatsumi-style | Roll > 5A/2B (not CH) On normal block, microdash 2B, (not CH) On IB, microdash 5A for a CH, or 2B (not CH) |
Overview and tips
Dustloop page here
Kanji is a strong character in grapppler's clothing that will definitely give you a lot of trouble. Not only because grapplers are universally difficult and you have to win rock paper scissors, but because Kanji's tools are very good at dealing with Labrys' usual ways of dealing with slower and shorter range characters, and he's just strong in general. For example - his DP doesn't care about your range - if you touch him with anything (including chain knuckle), you will get shocked, so no safejumps either. His D grab will grab you out of almost any grounded pressure/baits, and also functions as a way to punish both DP and gears. His high health (10,500) also means that you'll need at least one extra hit to kill him in most situations. Kanji's long combos also mean you'll be spending time at lower axe levels for getting hit even by smaller damage routes.
Fighting Kanji is always a bit of a rock-paper-scissors affair, so it's all about learning which options your opponent enjoys using and punishing them, as although his options are strong, with good play you can get around them and punish. You need to be agressive, as strangely his zoning tools are much better than yours, and primal force (charge attack) will destroy any attempt at using orb or j.D due to the projectile invuln. Equally, you cannot use 5C to destroy his persona or make space due to this. His 2B has a massive payoff, but is head invuln from frame 9 and has 18 frames of startup, so isn't the best at dealing with Labrys j.B. It also has 31 frames of recovery, therefore baiting it will give you some time to punish.
Also this is one of the few matchups where you're the mobile one - so use your movement tools to outmanoeuvre Kanji, just don't jump into the anti-air trap he can set, or his lighting strikes if you can help it, and be aware if he has SB shitlord available. Also the one ranged option you have is SB spike, so use it if Kanji is getting too happy sending out his persona or jumping around.
Also be aware when attempting to 2B him - his j.C will bait this out and you'll take more than half your health. It's also faster than it used to be and has persona invuln - consider going air to air if he gets too trigger-happy with this move.
Remember that his DP only triggers on physical strikes, so you can 5C/2C/5D and follow up if he DPs, just don't to 5C too close or you'll get D grabbed, and be aware of the physical hitbox it has if you stand too close. His command grabs and awakening super also encourage use of jump cancels and aerial options, just don't be too obvious as his 2B does hit behind him, and gotcha/upback grab are still options for him.
As Kanji's hurtbox is so big, you both can and must sweep earlier than normal in combos with 5D, otherwise he'll reach the floor and tech earlier than other characters.
Some final quirks that you'll notice in Kanji players that you can exploit:
Some Kanji players will assume that you won't press anything while shocked - if they don't lock you down with lightning before approaching, remind them that you can still press 5B, 2AB or hop j.2B to keep them at bay
Fully ranged 5B > 5C will beat D grab and DP, as will a fully spaced 5B or 5B > bashdash cancel to stop disrespect (except his 236236A super, which will hit you anyway, as will his sweep)
Chain knuckle is very good at dealing with overuse of primal force as it will destroy the persona, so make sure to use it if he sends it out too freely and get a free persona card. Just be aware this is punishable so don't do it literally every time
When persona broken, they are much more likely to SB shitlord as it'll combo you long enough for their cards to come back.
Main adjustments to make
Orb has very little use due to it losing to primal force, will likely get you hit or lose you a persona card. You can attempt to send one out, then deal with the incoming primal force (via chain/attacks), but this carries risks
Safejump doesn't work due to how Kanji's DP works, consider going for left/right setups instead due to his slightly worse 2B.
DP'ing on defence is generally risky as Kanji can cancel into either DP or D grab, and both can be done very late and still work. You can charge DP to bait this out, but that opens Labrys up to even bigger punishes. If you get rolled or dodged, he gets a fatal 2C for meterless 8k.
Kanji's DP can be dealt with either by using a persona to hit him instead (although this makes punishes harder) or by blocking/making it whiff (harder to do without letting him out, but gives full punish). It has fatal recovery too, meaning good damage as you have plenty of time to run up 2B after blocking, just don't press too early on whiff. Your fatal route midscreen is the yellow punish route, and in the corner is the red fatal punish route!
You can run normal Oki on Kanji, just remember that both his DP and D grab will beat any option that includes hitting him, and you will have to punish him yourself if he DP's through spike's hit (with a strange delay, don't be too quick). Be ready to jump away if you need to, as this is one of the few ways to bait all his reversals. You may need to backdash instead if they choose to Gotcha on wakeup. IABD j.D works against almost all options (just not awakening super grab)
j.B is fairly solid in this matchup if you're not too obvious, just watch out for the anti-air persona trap, and don't get 2B'd. Also be aware that for some reason Kanji now has a 7 frame j.A that is both fast enough to hit you if close, and can be done infinitely on block to jail you to the ground then mix you. His j.B also outranges yours horizontally for only being 1 frame slower, and his j.C outranges you in all regards and retreats him.
Chain knuckle is good for breaking primal force/5D, but as always be aware that it has a lot of recovery. Also Kanji's sweep now beats it due to it gaining chest invuln. SB chain kunckle will allow you to ignore 5D if you can get it out in time.
Gears is just generally a bad idea in this matchup due to his many answers, including D grab, his awakening super, and even his IK.
j.D is generally not worth using unless expecting an air approach, as it'll get ignored by primal force.
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