Meet Your Mod Episode 25: Mr. Kimura

This week: Mr. Kimura

- Why did you choose that particular handle, is there a story or reference you'd like to explain?

Well my original name on SRK was Joe-oh-ken, which was a mix of my name and Sakura's Shouoken in Street Fighter. Then I changed it to Saikyo Joe cause I main Dan. When I joined Dustloop I was for a very short time called ViewtifulJoe, but I felt that was too much of a ripoff. Which lead to me naming (and ripping off another name) myself Mr. Kimura from Azumanga Daioh, since I love that show and wish to become a teacher when I can finally afford college. Thinking of changing it to Saikyo Joe for consistency... but you can call me Joe.

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- What is your background with fighting games...Did you start with BB or are your OG like SFII?

The very first fighter I ever touched was Art of Fighting, and King was my favorite character. Then it was SFII Turbo (not Super). After that when I got a little older, I'd say about 11 or 12 I rented SFA2, SFA3, and CvS2 every weekend with my dad and playing my brother. Nothing spectacular.

I didn't get in touch with the fighting game community til the day SFIV came out, and a few months later found a link to Shoryuken.com in a SFIV guide on GameFAQs. During my tenure with SFIV I came across someone who would become a good friend of mine, LunaKage, and in playing SFIV he turned me to BlazBlue. I didn't stick with it, I struggled to do Bang's BnB in CT! A year and a day after joining SRK, and after my EVO trip and the coming release of CS I got into BlazBlue for real. Unfortunately I flip flopped with that as well a few months later... but I lingered on Dustloop and tried other games on the side of BlazBlue and met some cool people along the way.

- What competitive scene are you involved with? (Ranbats, Arcades, XBL, PSN, Reload Online etc.) Would you elaborate the benefits of this particular scene?

I have a notorious reputation with representing the SoVA scene on SRK's front page once... without actually making it out to casuals beforehand. Lets say I was very shy. But I do not "represent" a BlazBlue scene at all, my scene back in Virgina was all Street Fighter IV and Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Now I'm trying to get in touch with my North Carolina scene, but not having a car anymore due to an accident in a tunnel on the way home one night from casuals, or a job due to moving is making it hard. When I do I'll be sure to be show up and grow with the scene, that is, assuming I can stay due to "family troubles".

But my scene back in Virginia was all about tough love. Even if you were bad, they guys would at least acknowledge your heart and see you as "one of the guys". Indirectly they continued to foster my interest in fighters in general.

In terms of online, I don't play much, but I do consider myself and Xbox gamer for the most part.

- How strong do you feel your nation is as a whole, what is the next step to strengthening it?

America is competent despite everyone being so spread apart and having to rely on flimsy internet connections. I don't belive the Japanese are freaks of natures, they make mistakes too when they play and get frauded out as well. What makes them so good is consistent play. America has troubles with the "consistent play" due to the culture itself. Not everyone is within a short busride or walking distance, and the fact that arcades are no longer around to form a hub for people poses problems. Couple that with the tough economy not giving us money needed to do nice things... just is a shame.

The only way we can compensate is to look at what we have instead of what we could have. Take advantage of what we have despite Japan's options being superior. Use this site and others for your own betterment. Play when you can, and take each match as a learning experience. Make friends, and play as much as you wish to.

- Which player(s) give you the most trouble and why?

To be general I could just say the good players. But if we're talking about the character/player archetype that I struggle with most are zoners. Too much patience required. I just wanna be in there. But any player can give me trouble, especially those who feed off of my bad habits. Did I tell you how much I hate frame traps?

- What has been the most helpful tool while growing stronger in BB?

When I was playing BlazBlue, I loved videos that showed examples and explained things. I remember this one Bang video back when I picked up CT that I loved, and more recently pulsr's Mu-12 video (and now lots of others have come up). I think in general the internet has helped, cause I can find anything I want and ask questions at my leisure. With sites like Dustloop, Melty Bread, HomingCancel, DreamCancel, Mayonaka Midnight , and Shoryuken you really have no excuse for not knowing things. It really brings the community to your fingertips. Want to a ask a question? Want to find a match? Need a guide for frame data? Need match videos? Its all here on sites like these. And now you can access the internet on your smartphone? No time is better than now to be in competitive gaming.

- Is there anything you'd like to share regarding your respective character or Dustloop in general?

Well I have lots of characters that I like, and I'll claim Ms. Fortune as another. Just don't be daunted by her, and take her at your own pace. Don't get too caught up with her head, it'll be the death of you if thats all you focus on. That, and try to find a good partner in crime for her. Don't give up on her or Skullgirls (or any game for that matter) if you're having trouble. Have heart and keep at it.

As far as Dustloop, I'm gald to see this site is still going, and hope it expands. Remember the "anime" scene is small in comparsion to the Street Fighter and Marvel scenes here in the US. We need to stick together and make a name for our games. The cool thing about Skullgirls is that I see it brings both the scenes together for the most part, maybe we'll see the day Dacidbro and Ultradavid rub shoulders in a match!