Narukami
Protagonist privilege... kinda
Combo notes
Health: 9,500
Fuzzy target
Interacts strangely with the midscreen chain fatal route - it'll still work, but orb hits later than normal
Unique responses and punishes
5B
Chest attribute, can be swept
Roundstart 5C
8 j.A clashes, airdash j.B after clash. This is slightly less risky than roll, which also beats it.
DP
Run under 2B CH punish, which is safe against supers - this gets very tight if you're at max range, and make sure you're past him before doing 2B.
Lightning flash (issen)
Only 1f after flash, do not attempt to roll. Has no invuln, but can be OMC'd. Do not attempt to gears SB issen, you'll get pushed away from your gears and get hit anyway.
Ziodyne
Do not DP. IK beats all versions. C version, you can usually run up 2B if he's grounded or close to grounded, j.2B to punish otherwise. D version is plus, so you need to not block it, but you do have some time before it comes out. You can attempt to roll it or jump over it, just be careful not to move into it with any attacks.
Cross slash
Roll for a 5A FC. Is -20 on block, but decent pushback and can be OMC'd, so 2B punishes are shaky.
Raijin enbu (150sp super)
Roll or block for 2B CH punish. Cannot be OMC'd
Overview and tips
Dustloop page here
It's interesting how little there is to say about this MU. While Narukami is generally strong in a lot of areas, he's not that scary without being behind on resources. The major thing to consider is that his stagger pressure is relatively strong, and combined with some decent neutral tools like his j.2B, he can be difficult to escape from if he has a good pilot. That being said, to actually open you up and do damage, he does have to put himself at risk and spend resources, so if you're crafty, you can get away with a surprising amount.
What's very important to note here is that this is one of the few MUs where your opponent has to come to you, as Narukami doesn't really have good ranged threats, and giving you time to set up orb is very bad for him. Feel free to back off and punish him giving you space with an orb. They will absorb zio too once they're out, if they're at the right height.
Other than that, you can approach neutral pretty normally - the main buttons to watch out for are his 5B and j.2B, which are better buttons than yours, mostly due to their speed. 5B can be dealt with with sweep, or going above it, while j.2B you just need to play around via movement or prediction. His C buttons and projectile are solid, but have enough recovery that they're risky, and don't tend to lead to much in neutral anyway. While his 2B is a good anti air, it has weaknesses - it doesn't hit that far above him, or at all behind him, so if you keep your dashes high and look to crossup, you can sometimes get a nice CH, even if the 2B is timed well.
Some final quirks that you'll notice in Narukami players that you can exploit:
Raging lion is low reward without resources, so expect it more when they have the meter to convert (or you're low)
5D and D zio are somewhat reactable pressure resets - do not respect these. Also all versions of zio are chest.
Ziocar (swift strike) is also more common when far, or Narukami has a lot of meter. Expect OMC into 2A on block.
Main adjustments to make
Orb is very good here - Narukami doesn't really have good or fast answers to this, at least, nothing that will work on reaction outside of IAD j.2B. If you're outside of j.2B range, you should be sending one of these out.
The safejump works extremely well against Narukami, with full super-safe punishes available on DP. Nothing to note - except you could try fake setups where you force high block into spike midscreen for a midscreen fuzzy, as he's very weak to fuzzy.
Lab DP is weak as always, although can be used on reaction to some of his C moves, or the command grab/5D. Narukami DP is pretty weak, but is still fast, and covers above him decently - so try not to be directly above to bait, as it will likely clip you.
Spike and orb are both decent, and both will likely punish a DP by themselves. Also remember he's a fuzzy target.
j.B is fine here - Narukami 2B is good, but has a lot of recovery and a few deadspots (above/behind), so don't be too afraid. If he goes air to air, with either j.A or j.2B, you will lose, so still try to not be predictable.
Chain knuckle is ok here - it will beat grounded zios, but air zios it often just breaks the persona. It will often clash with 5C/2C, or break a card, neither of which you want. Either way, use to deal with excessive zios or grounded movement. Also note that ziocar low profiles this.
Gears has pretty simple metered and unmetered punish options from Narukami, so use with caution, especially if cross slash is available
j.D is pretty good here, it usually blocks zio, and may give you the space you need for an orb, just be careful of ziocars, which will go under it.
Last updated