Akuma

Akuma (in Japanese, "devil") known in Japan as , is a video game character from the Street Fighter series of fighting game. Akuma made his debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a secret character and hidden boss. In the storyline of the Street Fighter video games, he is the younger brother of Gouken, Ryu and Ken's sensei. In some games he also has an enhanced version named Shin Akuma, or in Japanese.

Akuma has red hair, wears prayer beads around his neck, a charcoal gray dōgi and a piece of twine around his waist in lieu of an obi. The kanji 'ten' (天) - meaning "sky/heaven", (all in the spiritual sense) - can be seen on his back when it appears during certain win animations. Shin Akuma's appearance is very similar to Akuma's; for example, in the Street Fighter Alpha series, Shin Akuma had a purple gi instead of a gray one and marginally lighter tone.

In spite of his appearance and his antagonistic roles in Street Fighter media, Akuma is generally not considered evil. His sole reason for living is to challenge great fighters from around the world and improve upon his skills. The deaths of his challengers come as a result of testing their abilities as well as his own; therefore, he would not fight (much less kill) anyone he doesn't consider a fair match. His personal nature fits more for the profile of an anti-hero.

Akuma's play style incorporates the trademark techniques of Ryu and Ken, the series' protagonists, only noticeably stronger in comparison along with additional techniques. As the franchise expanded, the three characters have been differentiated somewhat while still retaining their common techniques (e.g. different regular attacks, throws, Super moves).