[P4AU] Ken Amada vs Kanji Tatsumi

[VR-Raiden]

 

• Use this thread to discuss the Kanji Tatsumi matchup.
• Please focus more heavily on discussing how to play the matchup properly as Ken rather than who is at advantage/disadvantage.
• This post will be updated as info arises.

 

Round Start:

• Use Koro 5C/2C to to force Kanji to move in some way.

 

 

 

Neutral:

• 5B/5C/214C are good for when Kanji is on the ground, in the air you have no fear of DP so take to the skies and use j.A or j.B to beat him up, force him to the ground and lame him out.
• Beware of where you stand! D button can stop you in your tracks and if you are forced to block you can't use dog.
• J.214 series will keep you honest but if you call it you can 5A/5B/2B punish it easy.
• IB j.236A/B and pummel him, if you choose not to pummel him then back dash or jump out, don't play guessing games with Kanji.

 

 

 

Offense:

• If your pressure is solid and you keep him at max range with your normals there's very little Kanji can do.
• Keep your pressure tight and varied you want to keep Kanji guessing on defense.
• DP beats any attempt at mix up but if read gives you 4-5k damage punish.
• Kanji can DP anything into 236A/B without the dog to tighten it up.

 

 

 

Defense:

• Make a read on what Kanji is going to do when he's in your face and if you can use meter to Guard cancel.
• IBing Kanji makes it easier to escape him since IB increases throw invulnerability.

 

 

 

Punishes:

On Block:

• Kanji DP (must be punished as soon as you block the hit) - 2A+B, forward jump j.B (if kanji has meter this will bait his super cancel)
• AoA - 2A+B

On Reaction:

• Any air Normal - B+D
• stuff into 236B should be DP'd

 

 

 

Character Specific Notes:

Combos:

• CH B+D > 2A+B fails midscreen, use dash 2B(1) instead.

Mixups:

• If pressure is not airtight Kanji can invul through it with 214D, command grab super, AoA, etc.

 

[Agito]

Some things that I've noticed when playing this matchup is that Kanji can't really do too many normals with the persona thanks to 5C. However once Kanji get's in it's going to be really hard to get away from him, especially with all the meter he builds with his new autocombo. When their DP's clash nothing happens and Kanji can fatal with 2C. 2C fatal isn't fun, he can do 6.2k from almost no meter thanks to the meter he builds during the combo. When applying pressure with Ken sweep is a really bad idea unless you have Koro already doing something, Kanji can use chair super and get out.

 

But once you establish pressure things aren't so bad especially now that Kanji's DP puts him in Fatal recovery. It's possible to use 5A and jump cancel to bait something but since he can command grab it's pretty risky.

 

Overall this matchup is going to require you to play safe a majority of the time and not take too many risks.

[mixedmethods]

The MU is easily in Ken's favour, just don't get grabbed. Not with your HP.

Safe-jump his DP on wake-up, then teach him that using it will lead to a punish combo. You can have Koromaru take the hit in neutral to start offence with 5B > Charge Thrust (or your preferred punish, depending on distance). Watch out when at range, as the lightening will tag Koromaru while he's idle; if the Kanji isn't varying his spacing on the lightening, you can sneak in a 5C or 2C to get Koromaru running out of danger and to interrupt Kanji.

Once you have him under pressure, don't let up unless it's to bait a Guard Cancel, Burst, or super. If you're under pressure, you don't have many reversal options, so be patient and spend resources if you need to. You risk being command thrown out of a roll, so I'd go for Guard Cancel instead of Guard Cancel Roll. If he's throwing his persona around recklessly, you have easy ways to break it, so always take that advantage.

Because of his HP, it's going to be a long fight. If you get thrown, Kanji can end you quickly, so avoid risks and play safe until you get a good read on the player. He can't do much once you're applying pressure -- go slow until you've got him locked down, then don't let up. Desummon Koromaru if he gets lightening happy; you do not want to eat a counter grab after Mediarama. Removing Koromaru at the start of the MU is one way to deny Kanji his lightening zoning -- know your Kanji, and if you don't, safe over sorry.

Gigantic Impact SB is great for crippling Kanji's mobility even further and reminding him that both of you can play the Shock card.

While your airdash is fantastic, don't get reckless on approach or you'll eat a grab for your mistake. Kanji's jump arc is much weaker than yours, even if you don't use dash for added distance, so you can use that against him air-to-air.