I was hoping I could add something more to this...but I gotta agree with HeartNana's sentiment...
RTSD & airthrow.
I've been playing this matchup every time I play since it's come out against a Arakune who gets better every session...
But all it falls to is...Rush down...and airthrow. When you have the oppurtunity.
Anyway, here are a few of the things I've picked up that work and don't work.
1. He beats you clean in the air if you're going for trades, regardless of what normal you use.
2. You'll trade a lot on the ground, which is supposed to be his one weak spot.
3. IAD is your best bet at getting in imo which is just horrible. Ground dash can be anticipated with the one bug/stupid plant looking thing that comes out of the ground... And IAD is pretty hard to halt/not get air thrown/get AA even with his supposedly "bad" ground normals.
4. Like the rest of the cast random Drive is not advisable in any situation. It will lead to free curse into knockdown must likely.
5. If you play too cautious you end up in negative penalty. Much faster then in any other battle I've found. What makes this stupid is...he can run away the entire match, and force you to chase him...but a lot of the time he's good to go and if you stay back and let him do his thing you end up negative...It's pretty dumb.
Arakune is easily the hardest character for Noel to get in on...you'll no doubt get at most two chances per round, and if you can't make them count his stupid easy damage will be enough to kill you regardless of how well you block...since he has unblockables...
Good stuff though...
1. your 6 normals destroy him. 6A beats out all his air moves if timed right. It's a nice move to toss out under pressure after an IB and if you're quick enough it links into 5B>6C>whatever you want.
6B is KEY for your mixup once you get the opportunity on the ground. I don't think most Arakunes are good blockers...because they rarely ever have to (hence why the all bitch about v-13...but I guess that's another story) anyway, 6B is PERFECT for this matchup. And once you've trained them to block 6B they aren't even thinking about 2B, so either which way you've got guaranteed damage once you get the timing of those normal links.
6C is good in both the canceled version and the full version. It's a slightly better ranged, harder to hit with 6A, but it can work.
2. revolver blast can be great in the air if used intelligently. You can even tiger knee it at times to get results, since he has to commit a lot to punish you.
3. Air super. Air super is great in this matchup because Arakune's are always doing something. You can IAD>super. Single jump>super. double jump > super. Tiger Knee super...And it's basically completely safe even on block...plus it has an added mental benefit. The instinct if you're blocking that super is to run TOWARDS not only to dodge the missile, but to set her up for some big damage...but right on top of you is right where you want him.
4. 2D is great, but we should all know this already. Use it on the very few chances you ever have oki. Don't try to use it to knock him out of the air though...it trades with just about everything.
The main thing I try to go for in this matchup is to appear scarier and more menacing then I actually am. Because once the Arakune realizes he holds all the cards in this matchup...you can't win. This matchup is horrible imo. One of the worst. You have to play perfect to win, guess properlly take the proper curse trades or whatever else...And they have to play...mediocre.
