User blog:Monkey Doctor 33/Hey Baby, Another Masterful Battle! Gouken vs William A. Zeppeli

First of all, no, I'm not apologizing for the battle's title. I have fallen in love with the quote and there's nothing you can do to change it. Since when did I like JoJo? Hey, no one knows. You gotta think like those two guys above.

Okay then, let's jump in to the intro. Greetings folks, it's MD 33 with another battle comin' up for Season Four. Quite unexpected huh? Even though I asked many things in Discord, suddenly it all comes down to another battle of masters. This battle actually came up pretty recently thanks to my new interest in JoJo's Bizarre Adventures. I know that there are lots and lots of JoJo warriors here but one man just took my attention from his mannerisms. By now, you know who and why I pit him against the old man. Anyways, let's get straight into the battle. Kinda goofy doin' these intros.

Gouken, the adoptive father and mentor of legendary warriors Ryu and Ken, older brother to the demonic Akuma, but most of all, a wise and powerful practitioner of the Ansatsuken style!

VS

William A. Zeppeli, a competent warrior who utilizes the powers of sunlight through his unorthodox techniques, trainer to Jonathan Joestar and the first Hamon user in the series!

In this (second) battle of masters...

Who is Deadliest?

Gouken


"Concentrate not on destroying your foe, but on attaining your own victory."

- Gouken

Gouken is a character from the Street Fighter series, debuting in Street Fighter IV. He is Ryu and Ken's master and Akuma's older brother. In the past, he and his brother was trained by Master Goutetsu who taught them in the arts of Ansatsuken. Despite the same training they received, Gouken and Akuma's paths diverged and the latter became an evil person. Akuma succumbed to the Satsui no Hado while Gouken retooled the assassination techniques as means of self-defense. After adopting Ryu and training him and Ken for years, Akuma suddenly reappeared and seemingly killed him. Luckily, with the Power of Nothingness he survived his onslaught though his students thought of his death. He soon returned to his consciousness and begins life anew.

William A. Zeppeli


"What is "Courage"? "Courage" is knowing fear and making that fear your own!"

- William A. Zeppeli

William A. Zeppeli is a core ally in the first arc of JoJo's Bizzare Adventure, Phantom Blood. Zeppeli was born into a scholarly family and was intrested in researchring the unkown since a young age. When he became an adult, Zeppeli joined the archaeological group at his father's university and travled to various places in the world. One night, one of the crew members put on a mask they found in a Aztec ruin, wich turned him into a vampire, he began to slaughter the crew, with Zeppeli escaping by jumping into the water. When the sun came up, the vampire died and was revealed to be Zeppeli's father.

Two years after this event Zeppeli made his way to India where he met a strange man who was able to heal the most impossible injuries and sicknesses. The man directs Zeppeli to his master, Tonpetty, who teaches him to use the Ripple. Years later Zeppeli met Jonathan Joestar, a young man who's adopted brother, Dio Brando, used the stone mask to become an vampire and conquer the world. In order to save the world Zeppeli thaught Jonathan how to use Ripple and accompanied him in his travels.

Fighting Styles
Ansatsuken (Gouken)= Just like his pupils and brother, Gouken practices the martial art Ansatsuken to waylay his opponent. It is an art rooted within assassination, but Gouken made it into a more generous self-defense method. At least for himself. Although his fighting style is basically the same as his apprentices, Gouken's remade moves are more unorthodox. He is indeed the originator of the very style that defeated many warriors in the Street Fighter world, but that doesn't mean he can give it his own twists.

With the Power of Nothingness in mind, Gouken's moves focus on effective and powerful defenses which makes him quite defensive. He can be as damaging as any rushers but none of his moves are that aggressive. His Hadokens are a small exception, but the rest of his moves never aim to kill or heavily wound a person; he simply knocks someone out. Nothing more, nothing less.

Unlike Ryu's totally balanced moves, Ken's focused close range potential and Akuma's destructive capability, Gouken focuses on counter-attacks and punishments. If someone makes a mistake, Gouken will gladly use it to his advantage. If someone misses an attack, Gouken's Hadoken and its stronger version will outright demolish him/her. If there's anything weak about his moves, it's their lack of chaining capability. Don't worry though, that only in terms of gameplay which doesn't apply here. However, there's no denying that Gouken can't chain the end of his Tatsumaki Gorasen right to a mid-air Shoryuken.

Nevertheless, versatility is still within his reach as he has a balanced mix of close and long-ranged attacks. Sendo (William A. Zeppeli)= Using the power of human breathing and Hamon (or the Ripple), the Sendo is an ancient martial art capable of busting through undead creatures. Well, Hamon is the one doing that and Sendo is the name of the martial art so, yeah. Despite so, Sendo's details are sparse so we will delve into Hamon itself now.
 * Gohadoken: Every shoto warriors' projectile attack, Gouken possesses a stronger version of this move due to his life-long mastery. Thanks to his strength, he can casually fire off these fireballs with one hand while his brother has to use both his hands to fire it off. He can fire it straight like a normal projectile or 45 degrees upwards as an anti-air option. As of its strength, canonically it is known to harm peak humans and even superhumans alike as well as shatter stone. In addition, it can be charged for several seconds to add up to its already impressive power.
 * Denjin Hadoken: What happens when Gouken uses both his hands to do a Hadoken? The Denjin Hadoken is the result. While it looks like an electric attack, it absolutely does no shock damage. Well, if you consider shock as in hurting the opponent's nerves so painful it feels like you've been electrocuted by an eel, then yes. Like its regular counterpart, it can be charged for more damage. It is powerful, and as a matter of fact it is the strongest projectile attack in the game he debuted in, capable of cutting down health bars of even the strongest of characters to pieces. It can't be shot as an anti-air attack though.
 * Tatsumaki Gorasen: Essentially, this move is an air-launching version of the famous Tatsumaki Senpukyaku move. For unfamiliar ones, it's that one move where a guy wearing a white gi and red headband spins his leg around while looking like a helicopter. Gouken's Tatsumaki Gorasen however, takes away such concept and turns it into a defensive version. If the initial kick connects, it will send the enemy upwards where Gouken will unleash a standard spin kick for three times the most and once the least before kicking him/her down.
 * Airborne Tatsumaki Senpukyaku: It sucks that Gouken can do an airborne version of the iconic move but can't do a normal version of it. Still, when Gouken is mid-air he can perform Ryu's (not Ken's) Tatsumaki Senpukyaku with the same exact properties which means it'll dodge incoming projectiles (unless they actually hit his legs) and deal heavy knockdown damage to anyone who's hit by it. If anything differs visually from the ground version, it's simply the fact that this move floats a little higher than its normal version.
 * Shin Shoryuken: Gouken is so badass he doesn't have a Shoryuken in his basic moveset. To compensate, he has the stronger version of it available to be used to mow down opponents. A regular Shoryuken can cleave through a waterfall's stream just as the Stormbreaker cleaved through the Infinity Stones. A Shin Shoryuken can outright knock out weakened opponents the moment they connect. The initial punch will hit the opponent's midsection, usually between the chest and stomache, before launching him/her skyward with two uppercuts. This is the second best move to use in punishing reckless opponents due to its sheer damage and destructive capability, even with restraint.
 * Forbidden Shoryuken: If the Shin Shoryuken misses, a multi-hitting version of the regular Shoryuken will be done, still stronger than a regular dragon punch. If the Forbidden Shoryuken is truly used, Gouken will utilize his left hand instead to deliver the same thing as a missed Shin Shoryuken. What's the purpose of this move, then? If Gouken's Shin Shoryuken isn't ready yet, this move will do. It is quite punishable itself, though, as Gouken will leave himself exposed for a few seconds if this move misses or gets blocked.
 * Kongoshin: Gouken's one true counter move. The move itself is a dedicated parry that greatly benefits of Gouken's defensive style. No matter what attack opponents throw at him, from projectiles to Ultra Combos powerful blows, Gouken can parry any of them in the right direction and counter him/her with a powerful punch that sends the enemy a great distance away.
 * Senkugoshoha: Remember Akuma's teleporting move where he floats through projectiles? Senkugoshoha is basically that, but instead of passing through the enemy it strikes the enemy with an underhand palm. Nothing much to say here. But if one wants to know Gouken's way of countering other projectiles aside from his own Gohadoken, this is.
 * Fudoshin: A stomp move that damages the opponent with a powerful shockwave. If Gouken spends more energy on this, the opponent will crumple as a result, slowly falling down without any help of recovery during the period.
 * The Power of Nothingness: Not exactly a move counted among the options screen, but it's there. The principle of Gouken's might, the Power of Nothingness is a state of consciousness born of spiritual and mental refinement. Basically in this mode, Gouken will be invincible physically and mentally for a period of time. Of course, this mode's usage only comes when Gouken is on the losing side of the battle. No, this isn't for narrative feature but truly, this mode enhances Gouken's strength as a warrior and he needs that the most when he's going to lose.

Through self-controlled respiration, certain people like William Anthonio Zeppeli can exert energies resembling the Sun's rays to utilize them in a multitude of different ways. From healing to disintegrating undead creatures, the Hamon is quite effective in fighting dark forces. What of its utilization against the living? That, is when Hamon falters. Although not utterly useless against normal humans, the Hamon's effects on living targets are somewhat delayed. Add the fact that Hamon users have to constantly breathe (well, we do always breathe but this is a different case) and you have a recipe of disaster. If the breathing is stopped due to weakening or injuries, the Hamon user will grow gradually weaker to the point of disability.

Nevertheless, William is a proficient Hamon user himself and can use it to break rocks and bricks. Combined with his phenomenal strength, surprising mobility, and valiance, Zeppeli is a warrior to behold with. With the Hamon, he can mend wounds, enhancing his jumps, standing on water, and even receiving a brief vision of the future. Oh, and don't forget that frog feat. Don't even know how he did that...
 * Zoom Punch: By dislocating and stretching an arm's joints, William can propel his arm forward to perform a mid-ranged punch. Pain doesn't matter since the Hamon will take care of the discomfort. And while Hamon isn't effective against living beings, this sure as hell still hurts. How do I know? Ask JoJo.
 * Ripple Cutter: Spitting globs of wine infused with Hamon, Zeppeli shoots out what's basically a stream of sharp knives at his opponent. Only difference is that these globs are sharper than normal knives (scalpels, specifically) and have awesome accuracy thanks to its showing with Jack the Ripper. As usual, delays are expected but so are major bleed wounds.
 * Sendo Wave Kick: William imbues his knee strike with Hamon, tearing apart undead creatures upon contact. A powerful move, even against living beings unarguably. It won't instantly tear apart Zeppeli's opponent, but it will be very painful and damaging.
 * Sunlight Yellow Overdrive: William transfers the solar energies of the Hamon to another being, dealing burn damage. A simple jab can blow away and melt a group of vampires and zombies.
 * Tornado Overdrive: Zeppeli leaps to the air and points his legs towards the enemy, channeling Hamon to his lower body to perform a drill-like motion that damages the enemy via a dive bomb-like move.
 * Ultimate Deep Pass Overdrive: It may not be a prominent ability in his career, but it still counts among his moves. In the Phantom Blood, William uses this move as his last and strongest move. He transfers all his life energy to Jonathan Joestar, dramatically increasing all his stats. This should mean that this ability is useless, but for this battle he can use it on himself if he is considerably weakened. Quite a bastardization, yes. But Gouken's Power of Nothingness also exists for a reason.

X-Factor
Physicality

Zeppeli's feats of strength may be more noticeable than his opponent, but that doesn't mean Gouken's weak. Problem is, we can't determine how strong Gouken is due to his lack of feats. Still, despite his age Gouken is still strong enough to keep up with stronger warriors in the Street Fighter universe from Bison to Akuma himself. In fact, when him and Akuma met the first time in years he defeated him. Well, he kind of ringed him out but it's still a win. Zeppeli's Hamon-oriented fist can split a rock in half while leaving a frog undisturbed while his wrist can cave in a zombie's face. Aside from that, he can knock away peak humans using a simple Zoom Punch.

Mobility

Not to say Gouken is slow, but once again Zeppeli's speed feats are more noticeable. Like the previous factor, Gouken's speed scales from other fighters in-game as he can react to the fast kicks of Chun-Li with precision. Zeppeli on the other hand, can suddenly pop out of plain sight as if he's teleporting.

Experience

Tangling with undead creatures and a vampire overlord versus fighting against one's own demonic brother and a variety of unique (and some superhuman) fighters from around the world? Your call. One can say that Gouken's older age can give him an advantage and that's not wrong. Though what was stated the first time is more of the deciding factor here.

Training

Now this is interesting. Background-wise, these guys' trainings were similar. The only difference lies in what they're trained in. William was trained in a specialized solar-based martial arts connected to breathing techniques that's clearly different from other martial arts of the time. Gouken was trained by Goutetsu in an art of fighting rooted in assassination which later gave birth to the vicious style Akuma has and the shotokan-like skill Ryu and Ken have. In terms of duration, there's a distinction in the two. Tonpetty trained Zeppeli for an unknown amount of time, but it resulted in his full mastery of the art. Gouken's case is similar, but he was also trained mentally in his training which resulted in a more grueling and intensive training. Even he was once subjected to a meditation process so long (it's "only" two weeks, actually) other trainees died of it. The only survivors were him and Akuma.