Momiji (1.04) is a well-rounded character with solid speed, a nice set of crush and evasive moves, and exceptional mid and long range zoning and spacing options. She has good damage output off of a basic single stun launch game and can use the environment well to net additional damage. Momiji can also make great use of walls to compliment her already strong zoning and spacing game. Momiji's throw and hold game are average and she does not have much in the way of strings or string manipulation to open up her opponent in close quarter combat.
Table of contents
Section 1: Safety
Section 2: Speed
Section 3: Spacing and Zoning
Section 4: Tracking
Section 5: Crushes and Evasion
Section 6: Holds
Section 7: Throws
Section 8: Launchers
Section 9: Juggles
Section 10: Pseudo Force Techs
"Meeting challenges means making better decisions quickly while under competitive pressure. Success in competition goes not to the strongest or most aggressive but to those who best understand the situation and what their alternatives are." - Gary Gagliardi- Sun Tzu's The Art of War Plus It's Amazing Secrets
Section 1: Safety
Momiji has plenty of safe moves at her disposal to keep her opponent guessing. All moves listed in this section leave her at less than -i6 disadvantage and are listed from most safe to least safe. Some moves listed can also be spaced to "kill" frames and make her moves safer. An easy to space example would be her which is -i6 at point blank and can be spaced to leave you at -i4. Not all moves are easy to space and kill frames. Some moves cannot kill frames at all. @@MASTER covers killing frames or "frame manipulation" during his 2nd Educational Stream. His class can be found here...
Depending on the amount of frame advantage, leaving yourself safe gives you options to continue pressure, fuzzy guard, break a neutral throw attempt, back away, guess side step, guess crush, guess hold, use a "disrespectful" throw or strike, or my personal favorite...block.
(+6): Momiji spins and uses Red Ninja Magic to create frame advantage in a game where there is none! This move starts up slow at 27 frames. Forcing your opponent to block this move gives you the keys to the kingdom at +6 advantage. Your next button press will out speed every character and for this reason it makes it easy to scare your opponent into taking a throw. This move tracks, knocks back, wall bounces (no follow ups available), breaks walls, and can make use of interactable objects. You really have to use your nugget to set this move up.
Running (+1): Dragon Kick! A long range jumping High Kick, that avoids lows, and leaves you at +1. This move gives you a leg up on characters with speed equal to Momiji and is a party starter on those characters slower than Momiji. Momiji's Dragon Kick can be side stepped and ducked. On hit, the Dragon Kick will knock back, wall bounce, break walls, and can make use of interactables.
TENKU "STANCE": Momiji jumps into the air like the ninja that she is and can end her Tenku stance with her choice of a Punch, Kick, Throw, or a high flying Mid Punch elbow which doubles as a Power Blow. Momiji has several ways to transition into her Tenku stance, which I will not get into at this point. However, I will mention that Momiji can access her Tenku stance while her back is against a full wall by using . Maybe I'll add a Uzukaze/ Tenku section to the guide at a later date. Should your Tenku shenanigans actually be fully blocked instead of held or side-stepped you are left safe if you use...
Tenku (-1): Momiji drops straight down with a flipping fiery Mid Punch and if blocked, leaves you in a crouching state at -1. If this move hits it will cause a knockdown. This move can be side-stepped.
Tenku (-2): A hard hitting High Kick that leaves you at -2 if blocked. On hit, this move gives great stun and at max threshold is a Critical Burst. Tenku be side-stepped or ducked.
(-2): Momiji's standard i10 High Punch jab that can used for tick throwing (yeah!), gathering information on your opponent, setting up counter hits, and/or pestering your opponent in general. Her jab has several related strings and can also lead into her Uzukaze and Tenku stances.
(-3): A great move to use when zoning/ spacing. This Mid Kick move leaves Momiji back turned which gives her access to her BT options. This move is also discussed in Section 3.
SOSHO-DA: Momiji does a Mid Punch and looks little bit like she is doing a classic "Hadouken!". Sosho-Da is safe on block and leaves you at -3. On hit this move knocks back, wall bounces, breaks walls, and can make use of interactables. Sosho-Da can be side-stepped and punished. The following moves make use of her Sosho-Da.
BT (-3): The only way to use Sosho-Da as "stand alone" move is from her back turned stance. Give your opponent your back and surprise them with a "Hadouken!" to their chest!
(-3): Speaking of Sosho-Da out of BT stance... the first hit of this double Mid Punch string will leave you BT and ends in her Sosho-Da.
(-3): A Mid Punch followed by Sosho-Da. is a safe string and its variants can lead to some serious shenanigans! This move is also discussed in Section 2.
(-3): Go on autopilot, mash this string, and be safe. Momiji is great! This string begins with 2 High Punches followed by a Mid Punch and ends with, you got it...Sosho-Da! This move can be used in juggles to set up a Pseudo Force Tech against full walls (see Section 10).
TENMA-MEIDA-HA: During her apprenticeship under Ryu, Momiji stole his elbow. This High Punch move gives you a nasty stun if it hits and leaves you safe at -3 on block. Tenma-Meida-Ha can be ducked and side stepped. You can low profile SOME characters Highs with this move but it is not a true crush.
(-3): Momiji's stand-alone Tenma-Meida-Ha. Use this move to set up some educated guessery when it is blocked
(-3): Two quick High Punches that lead to her Tenma-Meida-Ha. Use this string instead of tick throwing after or High Punches...Nah, just tick throw!
SS (-3): Not much to say about this move that hasn't been stated above. Momiji does a universal side step and uses her Tenma-Meida-Ha. (You know, maybe one day I will pretend that I am not American and actually make use of side step..Nah!)
(-5): A quick Low Punch that crushes High's. has great utility to reset the neutral game, interrupt, and/ or chip at your opponent’s health.
BT (-5): Momiji's Back Turned Low Punch, tracks, crushes Highs, and causes a small stun on hit for frame advantage.
(-5): A safe, quick, long range, Mid Punch. A great spacing tool which is discussed in more detail below. You will probably be using this a lot This move causes a small stun on neutral hit and a great mix-up potential stun on counter hit. Can be side-stepped.
(-5): A mid-range tracking High Kick that goes over lows and leaves your opponent back turned. has no guaranteed follow-ups if your opponent slow escapes on fastest. evades Lows and leaves your opponent back turned.
Ibuki: Momiji performs a straight Mid Kick with great range which is useful for.zoning and spacing. Ibuki can be side-stepped and on hit you get a small stun for your troubles.
(-5): Momiji performs her linear Mid Kick Ibuki to keep you at bay and check your forward advances.
SS (-5): Momiji's Ibuki from side-step. Same as above only Momiji deftly dodges prior to her Ibuki. Maybe use this for movement trickery and deception or when you are too far for your SS to reach and you MUST hit a button.
(-6): Momiji does a quick High Kick then follows with a Mid Kick. The first kick does 24 damage, which is very respectable for a i12 move. This string also has a follow up High Punch option after the first kick which leaves you at a whopping +28 if it hits and is unsafe if blocked.
Section 2: Speed
Momiji's overall speed is above average. At point blank Round One Fight, she can out speed approximately 2/3 of the cast. Pretty good! This doesn't account for crushes, evasion, or other R1F trickery. It's just a measurement of blow for blow sheer speed and damage. A speed chart is included for your reference. The moves listed in this section are i15 or less.
Speed Chart here gaiz...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2nCGkibr9QSSG92ckt4SmtUN2c/view?usp=sharing
(Historical note: Legend has it that this "Speed" document was originally started by a gentleman named "Blakula" and handed to @coffeedad by @iHajinShinobi. Blakula, as the story goes, painstakingly mined the information for the original DOA5 characters and @coffeedad added the data for the new characters from DOA5U to present. Thank you Blakula, wherever you may be.)
(Punches)
(i10), 10 damage: Her i10 High Punch that is safe on its own and leads into her strings or...tick throw!
(i12), 17 damage: An average speed Mid Punch that is unsafe but has Mid Punch and Mid Kick follow-ups that your opponent must take into consideration.
(i12), 5 damage: Momiji is in good company with other characters that share the fastest low move in the game at i12. Her is a High Crush, safe on block, and leaves her at neutral on hit.
is a very good tool for interruption and resetting the neutral game. Hand this out like candy on Halloween!
(i13), 14 damage: A fairly quick yet unsafe Mid Punch that has a safe Mid Punch follow up as well as other unsafe punch follow-ups. This move really shows its value on Counter Hit and in Stun where you can get "guaranteed" follow-ups if you land it. Here’s a video of that rascal, @iHajinShinobi, having fun with…
(i14), 20 damage: A tracking Mid Punch move with good range. Unsafe on block, but great if you catch those would be slippery side-steppers because on counter hit you get a good "Gut" stun where you opponent must guess a hold or take the next hit.
(i14), 13 damage: A High Punch move that crushes highs, gives a great stun on normal hit, and will launch on counter hit or in stun. Unsafe if blocked. Often used in juggles for "re-launching" as they say.
(i15), 20 damage: A tracking Mid Punch that is unsafe, but leads into her Tenku stance and its related options. Also used in juggles for re-launching.
(i15), 20 damage: A safe, quick, long range, Mid Punch. As stated previously, this move causes a small stun on neutral hit and a great mix-up potential stun on counter hit.
(Kicks)
(i12), 24 damage: One of Momiji's i12 moves. This one is particularly interesting due to it doing 24 points of damage, having a safe follow-up Mid Kick (), and a High Punch follow up that does massive stun( ).
(i12), 38 damage: Although this move is highly unsafe on block, it remains a key move to Momiji's ability to keep out and "get offa me!" game. At 38 damage this move will beat out a ton of same speed moves. This is a great move and very annoying to your opponent if used appropriately. also crushes/ evades lows.
(i12), 28 damage: Maybe her best move and probably one of the best single strike moves in the game. This move does great damage, tracks, and is the cornerstone to her zoning/ keep away game. This is move is discussed further in Section 3.
(i14), 22 damage: A Mid Kick with good range.
can be used for spacing, zoning, and/or just checking your opponent on their forward movement.
has a tracking Mid Punch follow-up, which gives a very small stun and can be used to transition into her Uzukaze and Tenku stances.
(i14), 10 damage: Momiji remains standing and does a little kick to her opponents ankles. This move has better range than it probably should, hits low, and is used for spacing. On counter hit on slippery surfaces you get a guaranteed or juggle.
(i15), 20 damage: Momiji's Ibuki move as discussed above. Yet another Momiji Mid Kick with good range. This is a stand-alone move, and safe on block.
(i15), 23 damage: Momiji does a hop kick that avoids Lows and launches on counter hit or in stun. If you manage to hit someone on normal hit this moves gives a great stun (+24).
Section 3: Spacing and Zoning
"Conflict takes place only when two opponents both think that they have a superior position. Conflict is the test that proves which is right. Since these confrontations are inherently costly (and unpredictably so) they are always undesirable. Good strategists seek positions that are so powerful that no one challenges them. Strategy identifies opportunities that we can control inexpensively with a minimum of challenges from others." - Gary Gagliardi- Sun Tzu's The Art of War Plus Its Amazing Secrets
@iHajinShinobi has published a Momiji tutorial that covers Momiji's primary normals and much more. Vid can be found here...
@iHajinShinobi has also published a vid on Momiji's most recent changes (1.04)…
Momiji is a great spacing/ zoning character that is sure to leave your opponent "feeling some typa way". Play Momiji as a spacing/ zoning character and watch your friends list peel away like autumn leaves in November. Many characters and more importantly, players, have a hard time dealing with Momiji when she holds her mid/ long range position. The bracket with 3 numbers is frame advantage on block, hit, and counter hit.
(i12), (-6, +3, +16) 28 damage: Do you want to get more hate-mail then you ever thought possible? Do you want to leave people mystified as to how they lost? Do you want your opponent to tell you what a horrible player you are and that you should learn to play? Do you want your opponent to resort to personal insults and avoid you altogether? All you have to do is learn how to use this move. deals great damage, has excellent range, is super-fast for a move of this category of move, and on counter hit sets "safe" mix-up opportunities. Learn the max range of this move and keep your opponent at that distance. Hold that space by using her numerous zoning/spacing moves to compliment and this move becomes a solid obstacle for your opponent to navigate. Did I mention that during stun can wall bounce, break walls, and can make use of interactables? Yeah, it does that as well. Effective use of can weed out A LOT of strategies and keep your opponent honest (Yeah, I realize that I talk about this move like it's the best thing since sliced bread lol!)
(i15) (-5, +3, +19) 20 damage: If is the sliced bread, then this is the butter. The gatekeeper to Momiji's . This move can be used to pester your opponent from mid-range, is safe on block (can be used to set-up guesses and general shenanigans), and on counter hit gives excellent mix-up opportunities. This move also has an unsafe follow-up Mid Punch option () that tracks and launches on normal and counter hit. Use the second for a whiff punish or if you guess that your opponent will side-step or hit buttons. is an essential move to making Momiji's exceptional mid-range game potent.
(i18), (-3, +26, +26) 25 damage: A Mid Kick with long range. This move is safe on block, puts you in back turned stance, and on hit, gives you a great stun. Hitting the opponent with this move makes Momiji’s BT options very strong and puts your opponent in a situation where they must guess hold or they take damage. On counter hit and in stun this move breaks walls, makes use of interactables, and wall bounces. Surprising no one, this move is great for...zoning and spacing.
(i14) (-8, 0, +16) 22 damage: Another great long reaching Mid Kick for Momiji's arsenal. This move, as discussed in section 2, has a tracking Mid Punch follow-up, which produces a small stun on hit, is unsafe on block but can transition into her Uzukaze and Tenku stances on hit or block. can be used for spacing and zoning (are you seeing a trend here?)
(i23), (-13, +5, +10 Trip Stun on C, Knockdown on HC) 24 damage: Yeah, this move is slow as molasses and totally seeable. What makes this move good is not the actual move itself, but how good your other normals are. Ideally your opponent will be looking for , , or one of her long reaching Mid Kicks. This will give you opportunities to chip and annoy your opponent with. You can Pseudo Force Tech with this move on High Counter (see section 10).
(i12) (-5, 0, +1) 5 damage: Should your opponent break your zoning barrier, you have ol' faithful . A very quick Low Punch that crushes highs. More importantly this move can be used to interrupt your opponent and reset the neutral game. On hit this move leaves you at neutral frames. Being at neutral gives you the choice of pressuring with Momiji's ninja like speed, fishing for a counter hit, or moving to your cozy spacing/ zoning position and continuing your obstacle course of excellent normals to frustrate your opponent into overcommitting/ guessing.
(i12) (-11, +1, +15) 24 damage: As discussed in Sections 1 and 2. This is one of Momiji's many i12 moves. Momiji does a quick, excellent damage, High Kick with a safe follow-up (-6) and a slightly unsafe (-8, 10 frame delayable) follow-up High Punch that gives great stun if it hits. This move also has good range for zoning and spacing your opponent out (imagine that).
(i17) (-10, -7, +7) 18 damage: This is a tracking move can be used to stop your opponents’ telegraphed approach, it crushes High's, and can be used determine how your opponent handles lows. The range is not great, but you can create a 50/50 situation on counter hit as has Low Kick follow-up () and a Mid Punch follow-up ().
(i12), (-25, +25, +27) 38 damage: A member of Momiji's i12 arsenal. evades/ crushes lows but is highly unsafe on block. Use this move when an opponent tries to dash in with a move or in close quarters to out prioritize (38 damage!) many other i12 and slower moves.
(i14) (-9, -3, +18) 10 damage: I have to admit that I'm not familiar with the using this move and I should put more time into it. I've seen others get mileage out of it by using it in her keep out game to keep the opponent from running in and also in stun as a surprise stun extender. As stated above on counter hit on slippery surfaces you get a guaranteed or juggle.
Movement: In addition to her great repertoire of long reaching normals for spacing and zoning, Momiji has several movement options. She may not have as many options for movement as some of the cast members, but she has decent options. Movement should not be overlooked in the ground game.
Korean Back Dash: Momiji has a great KBD for spacing moves out, making opponents whiff, positioning, and turtling tactics. KBD really compliments Momiji's ground game. The how to KBD thread can be found here…
http://www.freestepdodge.com/threads/how-do-you-korean-back-dash-in-this-game.5563/
/ : Momiji's ninja flips. I'm not really sure how to articulate the importance of this, but, being a moving target can be very frustrating to your opponent. In order for your opponent to execute his game plan, you must be in a certain space, at a certain distance, etc. Using and can make your opponent work harder to put you where he needs you. Both moves are great for spacing/ positioning. being the more defensive option (flips back in the air) and being the more offensive option (jumps forward in the air). Both moves evade lows and can transition into her Uzukaze and Tenku air stances. can be used for knockdown trickery like jumping over low wake up kicks or even "corpse hopping" after a knockdown under the right circumstances (I have yet to understand the circumstances around this, but looks fun!). and have many applications.
Naked Side Step: Naked side step is a universal movement option and can be used to give the appearance of being active or signal to your opponent that long range linear strikes have a chance of being side stepped.
Power Blow Fake: cancel charge with side step: Much like naked side stepping, use it to appear that you are active. Both naked side stepping and PB fake are good to throw out here and there, if not just to take up space in your opponents working memory to give them more to process
@iHajinShinobi puts Momiji’s movement and strikes together like no other. Here is an example of @iHajinShinobi and @Rikuto going at it. Excellent spacing by both players. There are actually 4 videos in the set, here are two of them…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D76zIibRcls
What you see in this set...tons of activity by @iHajinShinobi, jumping around with /, KBDing, easing back and forward, side to side, and just being an evasive target without committing to a move and putting himself at risk. @Rikuto doing a great job adjusting to @iHajinShinobi 's posturing/spacing/zoning antics. Oh yeah! A healthy dose of spacing and zoning. What you don't see...@iHajinShinobi OR @Rikuto "goin' ham" as you kids say. Take note.
Section 4: Tracking
The following moves will track your opponent if they try to move into the mysterious 3rd dimension of space-time. Use these moves to keep side steppers and those who would otherwise dare to venture into the 3rd dimension in check.
"Sun Tzu’s recipe for success is to avoid unnecessary conflict. He sees such conflict as inherently costly. He teaches us how to handle direct, hostile confrontations when they cannot be avoided, but his basic approach is to defuse these situations before they occur." - Gary Gagliardi- Sun Tzu's The Art of War Plus It's Amazing Secrets
(i12): God's gift to Momiji. The go to move for putting an end to side stepping shenanigans. It hits high so it may be able to be low profiled by some side steps. Not quite sure. See Sections 2 and 3 for more details regarding this move.
(i13): The second and third ’s in this string track. This move is also discussed in Section 1 and 2.
/ (i14): and the within the string "gut" stuns on counter hit, which puts your opponent in a "must hold" situation. Also discussed in Section 2.
(i12): This move is primarily used in zoning and spacing and the follow up , which tracks, can tag those over eager beavers trying to lay hands on you. This move is discussed in Sections 2 and 3 as well.
(i15): I actually didn't know this move was this fast until I wrote this guide! Tag a side stepper and you can actually make her Tenku stance a legit mix up, forcing your opponent to guess. Not hit comfirmable as a stand-alone move, so you would have to commit to the Tenku hop after the. Also discussed in Section 2.
(i15): The 2nd is an unsafe, launching, tracking ender to a safe initial Mid Punch. I suppose that you can use this if you guess that your opponent will try to side step or flinch after your or if your opponent miss times a guess to side step to avoid your . The initial is a great move and discussed throughout this guide.
(i17): As discussed above, this is a tracking move that has some use in zoning and spacing. This move has Mid Punch and Low Kick follow ups that your opponent must take into account. Of course it stops side steppers too!
(i23): A High crushing, long range sweeping kick that tracks. A good move if used sporadically and mix ups with her other ranged moves. You get a PFT opportunity on High Counter hit.
(i17): A double Low move that combines the two moves listed above (creative huh?). Naturally both parts of this string track.
(i18): As described in Section 1, this High Kick tracks, evades lows, and leaves your opponent back turned if it hits.
(i27): A really nice move if you can plan it out correctly. This move has many perks, but its speed makes it challenging to set-up. Buff Momiji plz! This move is discussed in detail in Section 1.
(i20): Momiji's Mid Punch launcher also tracks. Show your opponent that you are the master of guessing by hitting them with this as they try to side-step your annoying linear strikes. To be fair, this move makes for a decent whiff punisher. See Section 8 for more on this move.
BT (i12): This move is identical to her which is discussed in Sections 2, 3, and above in this Section. Good stuff from BT stance.
BT (i13): A Mid Punch the gives you +5 frame advantage on normal hit. On counter hit or in stun, BT gives you a nice +18 sit down stun. This guarantees any move i16 or less. Yeah.
BT (i13): A Low Punch that tracks, crushes Highs, and gives you a little bit of frame advantage on hit for creating offense or establishing your desired position. Safe on block and also discussed in Section 1.
BT (i23): This gives her access to her neutral stance from back turned stance. This move crushes High moves and tracks your opponent.
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