Ryu

Street Fighter 2 came along, and he'd developed dark hair, and a new look. The original main character, a true fighter, always in search of a challenge, was back with Ken, and six other fighters, as people at arcades were treated to an extreme popularization of a genre which hadn't seen much light previously. People were invited to use their kung fu against each other, and Ryu had been there from the beginning.

Ryu has been in so many games (different incarnations of Capcom's big fat series) that it's almost not even funny. But it took until Super Street Fighter 2 for the programmers to finally differentiate Ken from Ryu. At this point, Ken received the flaming dragon punch, and Ryu received a fireball that could actually set people on fire. If you payed attention, Ken's whirlwind kick hit more times than Ryu's, which hit once, but for less damage with each strike. In the game that seemed like it would never be,Street Fighter 3, Ryu gained a new side kick move, and in Capcom vs. SNK, Ken received a really cute 'flip kick' move. But Ryu, the world warrior, the only character who has an 'evil' alternate from a bizarro dimension where he earned Akuma's power to have the Raging Demon Combo, is old school. He's so old school that it's amazing anyone would keep him around.

In every fighting game you play, there'll be a 'Ryu' clone. Trust me. Cyclops, Megaman, Morgan, Kyo, Ryo, the list goes on and on. Tekken players can shut up too, because F,D,DF coaxes a Dragon Punch out of Jin in Tekken 3, or Tag Tourney, and where do you think those quarter circle and half circle motions got their starts? Ryu from Street Fighter ONE! That's where.

I'm wondering if and when Capcom will retire Ryu to being the ass kicking old man character, but they probably never will. Ryu will stay the same age, from when I was 8, till I'm as old as him, and until I age far beyond him, continuing to play Ryu against young upstart arcade kids who think I'm being a cheap bitch, when in fact... I'm just a loyalist to this character.

This is an example of transliteration rearing its ugly head. Here is an attempt to set the record straight by using standardized romaji.

Ryu (りゅ the short u sound) is a reading for Chinese hanzi that sound like liu3 or long2 (pinyin). There are three kanji with this reading:

• ryu 嶐 shape of a mountain (rare)
• ryu 鉚 gold (deprecated, see kin)
• ryu 龍 dragon, imperial (out-dated but still fairly common for proper names of street fighters, mortal combatants, palaces, restaurants, and gaijin tattoos. See 竜 ryuu)

• ryuu 流 (style of, method of, manner of, current, flow) This kanji is used in any number of words that have a 'flowing' meme. For example ryuuboku (流 flow and 木 wood, driftwood); ryuuketsu (流 flow and 血 blood, bloodshed); ryuudoubutsu (流 flow, 動 self moving, and 物 matter, liquid); denryuu (電 warm 流 current, electricity); Also you'll see it in anything involving popularity: ryuukou- (流行 idiomatic for "going around" or fashionable). Combine it with the kanji for eye 目 you've got conjunctivitis, with speech 語 you've got buzzword, with song 歌 you've got pop song. Secondly, this kanji is used for words with the 'style' or 'school of thought or practice' meme. For example koryuu (古流 old school); and gojuryuu (剛柔流 literally "firm but gentle style", a school of karate).
• ryuu 留 (detain, fasten, halt) This common ryuu kanji is used for words that entail being detained, or being abroad (which must be kind of like imprisonment to a Japanese). For example ryuuchi (留 detain and 置 placement, imprisonment); ryuugakusei (留 exile, 学 learning, and 生 student, student studying abroad); rusuden (留守電 an abbreviation for rusuban-denwa which is literally "house-watching telephone").
• ryuu 硫 (sulphur) Coming from the Chinese word for sulfer it's used in compounds like sulphuric acid or hydrogen sulfide.
• ryuu 竜 (dragon, imperial) This is the common 'spelling' for dragon, or places with dragon in their names. It is used in a few cases like ryuukotsu (竜 dragon 骨 skeleton, keel e.g. of a boat); tatsumaki (竜 dragon 巻 coil, tornado or waterspout).
• ryuu 隆 (hump or bump, prosperous, also noble) This kanji is used in words for prosperity, swelling, and thriving (kouryuu, bouryuu, and ryuuryuu).
• ryuu 劉 (axe, kill) This rare kanji is used for the word ryuu meaning axe, however more commonly it's fukin. You might see this kanji in the spellings of Chinese names like Liu Fang or, Liu Bei.

Since the E2 Japanese conventions promote 'short vowels' in node titles (ryu, and not ryuu), nodes like Gikan Ryu, Goju-ryu, Gyokushin Ryu, Gyokko Ryu, Kukishinden Ryu, Kumogakure Ryu, Ni Ten Ichi Ryu, Ni To Ichi Ryu, Shindenfudo Ryu, Shito Ryu, Shuri Ryu, Takagi Yoshin Ryu, Takagiyoshin Ryu, and Togakure Ryu won't need title edits. Remember the 'long u' pronunciation though, or you'll end up like the folks who call it 'kah-rah-tea' and 'carie-oakie'.