First Aoi online experience....damn

Well, I got the chance to play online with Aoi today against jjcha. Nice guy, I wish i knew more with aoi cause yeah i got stomped lol. It was fun though as i got to test out somethings that i had learned. Cannot apply everything yet, But at somepoint down the line i will. I feel that aoi is alot slower than i had originally thought. I thought she was a pretty fast character(outside of G cancelling and the like) but Actually shes pretty slow imo. Makes for even more work to completely understand the character. I have so many Akira habits its kinda funny actually trying to do super dashing elbow with Aoi lol. I can tell that my fuzzy guarding has gotten alot better though as i have been implementing it in almost every match now as much as possible. Crouch dash fuzzy guarding is actually kinda fun, though that might sound weird. I think Aoi is going to be one of those characters were my movement skills will be needed the most and that is always a good thing.

Moves that I like with Aoi:
66p(normal and G cancelled
236 p+k
4k
3k(idk why i just love this move)
66k

There are probably more i just cant think of them off the top of my head. Ive been using ALOT of offensive stepping in my game along with my movement. Not exactly sure if its a good thing, but I gotta work on limiting it.

Aoi Basics

Quoted from Sebo from VFDC.


Aoi-pants

Aoi has a lot of options and tools that can meet any situation. The counter to her well roundedness is the fact she doesn't do very much damage in comparison to the majority of the cast.

Aoi and Combos: Damage? Where art thou?

A fair comparison is between her and Jeffry: in order to win a match with Aoi you need at least four good guesses, whereas Jeffry can end a match with two combos. Luckily for Aoi, unlike characters with damaging launchers (i.e. everyone else), making a bad guess isn't as bad as few moves are beyond jab on block.

Aoi: Un-Bigoted towards those of different weights and stances

Though a few of her combos are stance specific, they're generally easy to do, and though you sacrifice guaranteed damage by doing so, you can pretty much , , and + (lesser extent) on everyone, regardless of weight or stance. This is very easy to do, so if you every forget your best combo options, use the basics. *Remember that it is better to at least get damage off of your launcher than landing one and messing up entirely.

*I do not advise Aoi players to just stick with these combo enders as it is better to get the maximum damage, because with Aoi, taking every hit point really matters, unlike characters who can make up for it with a fast , more damaging throws, etc. They're just a safe option in case you just might F-up the combo. Practice, practice, practice; I know I still need to.

Aoi: the bulldog

Though Aoi has a slow , she is still very capable of a rush down, as she has several fast attacks, all with good properties:

A. is a powerful string if used correctly. The portion is all mid, combos to a knockdown, are both half-circs, and both can be -canceled.
B. + is a 12i half-circ, if the first hits, the rest are guaranteed. The damage isn't much to brag about, but realize: 12i half-circ. Not to mention it sobers the hell out of Shun.
C. [edit!!!] + is a 13i half-circ, combos on normal hit for a knockdown. The second hit is unsafe on block, but it can be -canceled. Use the -cancel even if the first hit connects sometimes and attempt a throw. This is an awesome and fast whiff punisher due to it's range. Check it out: look at her positioning in the ring, do + and "DID SHE JUST MOVE THAT FAR ON A 13i HALF-CIRC HIGH?!?!"
D. is a 13i MID (Ver. C) that ducks highs at disadvantage. If Eileen blocks your , will duck under and CH. Yes, you read that correctly, against 10i at -8, wins (-9 vs. 11i , -10 vs. 12i ). Another fucking awesome thing about this move is it is a double limb attack. This means it can't be sabaki'd, and only another Aoi can reverse it. A staggering (on CH) attakc, that is the fastest non--dependent mid attack in the game that also ducks high attacks large disadvantage. The crap range is negated by a million fold.
E. is a standard elbow attack except for two really good reasons: the second hit is half-cir and is a -cancel. However, being a high (the 2nd ), only do it if you're opponent is to dumb to duck it. Otherwise, learn to hit check with the first.
F. + is a 15i frame mid that knocks down on any hit as long as you don't delay it to long to where the opponent can just block it. It does decent damage and doing just + puts you in BT. From BT Aoi has some good options, i.e. the fastest true low in the came () and the evasive-throw-escape-simplifying _++. _++ will crumple any evaded attacks, as long as the opponent is still in recovery.
G. (CH)+ is a 52 damage (require CH) 15i attack that ducks a whole lot of attacks, even some mids (poor Jeffry). It's fast, does damage, puts people on the floor, and it looks awesome. What more could you ask for?
----arbitrary cut-off at 15i---- (you got the point though, I hope)


Aoi: "You have ? How adorable."

As the title suggests, most of the characters have a that can be canceled. Aoi lacks this (stupid!), but she makes up for having so many others:



_ (goes to BT)
_


(a good way to close distance too)
+
+ (evasive-vs-high-backdash-alternative, though you should have not canceled it)
+
_+ (goes to BT)
_+
+
+
BT +
BT +

Now there are many tricks behind a cancel, all requiring a fair amount of yomi. -cancel to BT is a good way to set up a BT or +. Once they start guarding low, you can go for a low throw, or +> low throw. If they try to attack use a sabaki or reversal (be creative).

-cancels are basically ways for Aoi to set up her throw game.

Aoi: "No Escape!"

Though her throw game isn't as damaging as the heavy hitters, she still has many directions. Mix it up.

Her chain throws may be her most damaging options, but realize that a smart opponent will just mash and and break that shit. (not sure what else I can add here...)

Aoi at disadvantage: Doing what she is designed to do

A number of her moves put her at disadvantage on normal hit, for most characters this would be a problem, but it is in this situation where a chunk of her movelist becomes viable.

Evasive attacks (crushers):
, crushes highs and some of those higher mids (not advisable to use at higher disadvantage... in fact, use it at advantage for the most part, if not always, lol)
/+, crushes highs even at large disadvantage (like )
+, will find out more
_+, will evade linear attacks or half-circs if you do it in the correct direction (will add props of and -cancel variants)
, as indicated earlier: it beats 10i at -8, 11i at -9, and 12i at -10
can be used to jump over lows, will update with the frame window (if I can figure out how to do it with a shit-dojo, probably only works at advantage anyway :P)

*note: BT , though the animation indicates it, cannot crush .

Sabaki:
+

+, though it only sabaki's sidekicks, in some match ups + doesn't require that much yomi (Jeffry at range, Vanessa, Kage, etc)

Inashi:
++, depending on what move gets inashi'd, Aoi will get a different guaranteed follow up (don't remember the chart )

Reversal:
__+

Aoi: In Conclusion

As we can see, Aoi can fit many roles, either as an all-out offensive character (due to her very good fast attacks), a character full of insane mind games (through -cancel usage), a grappler, and a defensive character.

Because of her damage output, the way to success is in mastering all of her facets.

Get to work.