GGACR/Anji Mito/Starter

Anji is a character that wields a large suite of highly specialized tools alongside a handful of strong jack-of-all-trades master-of-none options. He boasts extremely potent defensive options that can rapidly steal turns from the opponent, alongside simple but suffocating okizeme.

This starter guide will walk you through his guardpoint mechanic, key buttons, combos, meter use, okizeme, and pressure.

Key Moves

Normals

5KGuardMidStartup5Recovery6Advantage-1 and 5SGuardMidStartup7Recovery13Advantage0 are both safe and versatile general-purpose pokes for close-to-mid range
6SGuardMidStartup13Recovery17Advantage-7 is a far poke that boasts a high/mid guard point alongside excellent vertical and horizontal reach, at the cost of a dead zone close to Anji
2PGuardMidStartup5Recovery6Advantage0 and 2KGuardLowStartup8Recovery6Advantage+6 are both potent close-range pressuring tools, with 2K being a whopping +6 on block
5PGuardMidStartup4Recovery8Advantage+3 (4f, whiffs on crouchers), 2PGuardMidStartup5Recovery6Advantage0 (5f), and 5KGuardMidStartup5Recovery6Advantage-1 (5f) are Anji's fastest options
2SGuardLowStartup8Recovery14Advantage-6 is a solid low profile and low-hitting poke
5HGuardMidStartup15Recovery21Advantage-6 is a high-level attack with decent range and superb conversion potential, alongside knocking down for okizeme on airborne opponents. Always combos into H Fuujin
2DGuardLowStartup7Recovery25Advantage-11 has less poking potential but sports a strong low profile and leads directly into Anji's strong okizeme
Specials
ShitsuGuardAllStartup21RecoveryTotal 48Advantage-7 is the backbone of Anji's okizeme against most characters, alongside a potent (if committal) zoning tool
H FuujinGuardMidStartup20Recovery27Advantage-16 is an advancing attack with partial strike invincibility that opens up Anji's superb conversion potential and can blow through some offensive options
(Please note that while Fuujin does have followups that hit high and low, and allow for throws, Fuujin is not a mixup engine and should not be the backbone of your pressure)
P KaiGuardHigh/AirStartup28Recovery9Advantage+2 and K KaiGuardHigh/AirStartup32Recovery8 after landingAdvantage+1 are a pair of advancing hops that can be used to reset pressure with an interruptible gap, or cross up opponents in certain situations
K Kai covers a lot of horizontal and vertical space, meaning it can be used to try and bypass committal horizontal options
OnGuardUnblockableStartup11Recovery20+6 after landingAdvantage- is one of Anji's best combo enders on airborne opponents, guaranteeing an advantaged knockdown at an ideal range for Shitsu oki on nearly the entire cast
While On can in theory anti-air opponents, keep in mind that is a highly committal option and Anji already has a suite of great anti-airs; consider On to be primarily a combo ender, lest you risk letting go of good situations or getting hit

Anti-Airs

5PGuardMidStartup4Recovery8Advantage+3 is a godlike jab that pulls double duty as a strong anti-air, prone to favorable trades with great combo options
6PGuardMidStartup18Recovery16Advantage-1 is a somewhat slow but massively disjointed anti-air with superb conversion potential
5DGuardHighStartup27Recovery26Advantage-18 into KouGuardMidStartup4Recovery11+8 after landingAdvantage-41 works beautifully for vertical, highly disjointed jump-ins, and projectile-covered air approaches
While Anji has many excellent anti-airs, his air throwGuard88 pixelsStartupRecoveryAdvantage- is highly rewarding because of its consistent conversion into OnGuardUnblockableStartup11Recovery20+6 after landingAdvantage-

Guardpoints

Guardpoint Mechanic

Several of Anji's moves are endowed with a guardpoint property, which allows them to block and 'catch' certain types of moves (either mid/high moves or lows) during specific windows, and cancel into special followups during that catch.

Anji has at least one frame one autoguard for both mid/high and low moves, meaning they (with their followups) can be used as reversals, provided you read...or guess... how your opponent will hit you correctly.

Below is a gallery of all of Anji's mid/high and low autoguards, as well as his autoguard followups:

6K, 1~7F High Guardpoint
6S, 7~12F High Guardpoint
6H, 12~19F High Guardpoint
5D, 4~18F High Guardpoint
236H~H, 8~26F High Guardpoint
236H~D, 2~20F High Guardpoint

3K, 1~5F Low Guardpoint
3S, 1~27F Low Guardpoint
2H, 10~19F Low Guardpoint

Kou, P during Guardpoint
Sou, K during Guardpoint
FB Kou, D during Guardpoint
Kachoufuugetsu, 63214S during Guardpoint

Key Guardpoints

6KGuardMidStartup11Recovery18Advantage-10 is a frame-one guardpoint against mid and high attacks
3KGuardLowStartup19Recovery14Advantage-1 and 3SGuardMidStartup28Recovery10Advantage+1 are frame-one guardpoints against low attacks
5DGuardHighStartup27Recovery26Advantage-18 boasts a wide catch window against mid and high attacks, making it excellent for catching jump-ins
KouGuardMidStartup4Recovery11+8 after landingAdvantage-41 is a lightning fast (but wildly unsafe) rising guardpoint followup
SouGuardMidStartup11Recovery14Advantage+4 is a highly invincible, advancing, and advantaged autoguard followup

Combos

Generally, Anji is blessed with fairly universal routing. The routes shown here will only be the fully or nearly universal combos that work on the vast majority of the cast with little to no modification. The majority of the time, you want to route into sweep, 5H, or On, for knockdowns that reliably set up Anji's okizeme.

Gatlings > 2D > Delay 236P Very basic setup for butterfly oki
Gatlings > 5H / 2D > 236S~S Simple Nagiha knockdown
Gatlings > 5H > 236H~Delay K > 5P > 5H / 623H Midscreen-to-near corner H Fuujin combo

There are a few notable sequences that are important to know for gluing Anji's combo game together. They are as follows:

5S > 5H Provided 5S connects, 5H will also combo after and force crouch. Essential for converting into H Fuujin combos.
6S > 5H Crouching/counterhit only, but a great conversion opportunity from one of Anji's larger pokes
6S / 2S > 236S Crouching/counterhit only, but allows reliable conversions into Nagiha at all ranges except the absolute tip of 6S
2D > 236S This will always connect, giving you corner carry and- depending on the opposing character- a conversion with meter. Use K (hop) to close space, S (Nagiha) for a knockodown if the range is appropriate, or or D (FB Rin) for conversions on certain charactersEveryone except A.B.A., Johnny, Order-Sol, Potemkin, and Robo-Ky

Anji has lots of ways to end combos, and almost all of them will end in a knockdown and okizeme.

vs. Grounded

2D Staple grounded ender for Anji. Delay cancel into Shitsu for okizeme

vs. Airborne

5P > 623H On ender for when you are basically directly underneath the opponent, and they are relatively high up. Use 2P as needed before 5P to add height
2P / 5K > 5S > 623H On ender for building a little more height and horizontal space
(5P) > 5H 5H knockdown on airborne opponents, delay cancel 5H into Shitsu for good oki. 5P pushes lanky characters too high, so just use 5H

vs. Any

236S~(Delayed) S Delay the Nagiha in the corner and on airborne opponents
236H~Delayed S Corner-exclusive; heavily delay Nagiha, as you want it to hit as late as possible

Okizeme

Anji's okizeme generally focuses on meatying the opponent with ShitsuGuardAllStartup21RecoveryTotal 48Advantage-7. Shitsu will hit once on initial contact, travel upwards without a hitbox, and then descend with two more hits. Generally, your goal is to apply the mixup between Shitsu's hits, such that the descending hits will enable you to pick up off your mixup.

Generally, you'll be running Anji's okizeme from:

OnGuardUnblockableStartup11Recovery20+6 after landingAdvantage- - Automatically spaces and times Shitsu against almost the entire cast
Low-hitting NagihaGuardLowStartup10Recovery27Advantage-19 - Not as watertight as On, but usually quite tight
Airborne-hitting 5HGuardMidStartup15Recovery21Advantage-6 - Generally requires a delayed cancel for Shitsu to be properly meaty
Ground ThrowGuard43 pixelsStartupRecoveryAdvantage- - Slightly less advantaged than other knockdowns, but common
2DGuardLowStartup7Recovery25Advantage-11 - Generally requires a delayed cancel and some distance for Shitsu to be properly meaty

All of these knockdowns are highly advantaged, and will let you set up a properly spaced and timed Shitsu hit.

As for your actual pressure sequences, the following are good to start:

236P > Dash 2P > 2K Great 'starting' sequence. Good for holding down squirrely opponents and conditioning people to block
236P > Dash 5K > 3P Overhead mixup with a mashable gap. Pick up with 5S or 2D. You can use 5S > 3P for a tighter- but more difficult to execute- mixup that also raises the guard bar more
236P > Dash 5K > Delay 2S Low mixup to pair with 3P. Unprorated and frame traps. Pick up with 5H
236P > 3K Immediate long-ranged low. Pick up with dash 5S

Once you have some respect, you can go for more ambitious mixups:

236P > Dash 3P Less watertight than 5K > 3P, but way more rewarding. Pick up with dash 5S
236P > Dash RespectAnji's Respect (NOT TAUNT) resembles the startup of 3P, but can be canceled into other options > 2S Feint overhead into low. Pick up with 5H
236P > Dash Throw Throw mixup. Generally you want to throw away from the butterfly, as it can hit your opponent and let them tech

These mixups can also be applied after the butterfly hits, although they will generally be less rewarding without a counterhit or meter invested.

Anji has a force break variation of ShitsuGuardAll, High/Air×2Startup21RecoveryTotal 50Advantage-9 that travels slightly faster and- more importantly- hits overhead during the descending hits, meaning it can be used to set up unblockables. Owing to FB Shitsu's faster travel time, unblockables are easiest from On, at least starting out.

Some basic unblockables are as follows:

236D > Dash 5S > 2S > Delay 5H Traditional unblockable, allows H Fuujin conversions
236D > 6S > 3K > 236S~S Less rewarding but more spaced-out unblockable

Future Growth

Once you have some of these things down and have played some matches, it will naturally be time to try and push Anji further. Here are some mid-level things to try out, or think about trying out.

FRCs

Anji has a lot of moves and a lot of FRCs. Not all of them are equally relevant, so here are two that are probably his best and most useful:

On FRC - On's FRC allows for a potent option select when finishing combos, which will allow you to recover if On misses (because of burst or an outright whiff) while also not expending any meter if they simply get hit
Nagiha FRC - Nagiha's FRC allows for a safe recovery if blocked, and more potent combos and okizeme on hit, depending on your spacing and screen position

3S Canceling

Anji's 3S has a unique property- from frames 7 to 9, it can be canceled into 5S or 5H. This is called a '3S cancel,' and opens up some great combo and pressure opportunities (3S cancel notated as 3Sc):

5S > 3Sc > 5S Can be looped two to four times on characters on hit to massively boost Anji's damage output. Also lets Anji mix up his pressure disengagements on block, since 5S is 0 on block
5H > 3Sc > 5S > 5H String for adding massive damage to Anji's combos, and properly spacing opponents for a late H Fuujin hit
2S > 3Sc > 5S Allows for Anji to meterlessly score big conversions from 2S, his unprorated low

Pressure Beyond Fuujin

While it can be tempting to use Fuujin in pressure (especially against inexperienced opponents), be aware that it presents a massive bottleneck in Anji's pressure. Every followup is reactable and readily punishable by savvy opponents, leaving you reliant on the opponent's inaction to keep your pressure going, or liberal meter use. Here are some alternate pressure considerations:

2K - While a very early gatling, its +6 on block status will help you keep people pinned down and maintain your pressure safely
Delayed cancels from 5S - Between 5S's high attack level and myriad of cancel options, delaying your cancels (including 3S cancels) is a great way to catch squirrely opponents and keep people guessing on when they can act
Shitsu - While not always a good idea, depending on the player and matchup, it can be worthwhile to use Shitsu to force your opponent to scramble against a pressure reset

These are just some ideas, so experiment, watch footage, and talk to strong players!

Optimized Combos

Anji has a relatively low execution floor, but don't confuse that for a low ceiling - there are tons of ways to flex your execution, be creative, and optimize. Here are just a few places you can optimize:

Enhanced midscreen combos - Adding 5S and 5H loops midscreen via 3S cancels (such as 5S > 5H > 3Sc > 5S > 5H at close range) can rack up damage fast
Enhanced corner combos - Finding ways to loop S Fuujin, especially with high-damage buttons like 5S, can generate massive amounts of meter and damage (and can fund unblockable loops on Potemkin and Testament!)
Counterhit combos - Anji has some bombastic counterhits, especially on 3P (floorbounce), 3K (wallbounce), and 5H (ten years of hitstun) - making the most of these can send your meter gain and damage through the roof
Jump installs - Anji's fast and horizontal superjump lets him cash out on air hits that most other characters simply cannot, especially with jump install. Converting an air hit into a sequence like sj.KSPS > dj.PKSD can take your opponent nearly corner-to-corner (albeit usually without a knockdown) and do serious damage. Jump install combos are also useful in matchups and situations where you simply lack reliable ways to bring opponents low enough to get hit by Fuujin

5S > 3Sc > 5S > 3Sc > 5S > 3Sc > 5S > 6S > 5H > 236H~D > 5P > 623H
Sample combo that liberally uses 3S cancels; highly impractical and character-specific, but good practice!
CH 3P > Dash 5S > 236S~K > 5K > 5S > 236S~K > 5K > 5S > 623H
Sample combo from CH 3P that also makes use of S Fuujin loops in the corner
214K > 5S > JI 6S > sj.SPS > dj.PSD
Sample jump install combo that also makes use of a glitch with Anji's dj.P not removing any horizontal momentum