While I would also disagree to the statement
@Force_of_Nature did when saying Christie is harder to use as Hitomi, I also think you guys should not make that much comparisions to a character who is (almost) indisputable one of the best in the game when talking about Hitomis strengths and weaknesses. Im pretty sure that everyone here knows that the list of characters that top 8 matches and (especially) finals of tournaments were won with would look significantly different if Christie wouldn't be in the game. She might be harder to use when it comes to execution and combos, but surely not when it comes to mind game, offensive and defensive.
Anyway, what I want to point out is that just because Christie is being used by many top players while Hitomi isn't does not mean that she's not a viable tournament character as someone stated above. As comparison, Kasumi is placed in the top 5 or top 10 in the tier list of most players as well, way higher as Hitomi, though the total count of them being used in tournaments is certainly almost the same. There might not be many players using her, but some of them can still reach top 8 with her convincingly and also did so in the past. That means, just because you've seen Hitomi at the lower end of some tier list or being conspicious by her absence in tournaments you've watched doesn't mean you cannot do great with her.
Are you sure that you know her toolset? I already pointed that out in my last posts: she has a couple of moves that are faster than that, therefore no, you don't need to answer with 16 frame attacks or slower. If you're using the wrong things in the wrong situation, then you won't get anywhere, as you might agree.
Therefore, I think it's pretty obvious and easy to understand that you cannot and should not use attacks with a speed of 16 frames or above for retaliation or counter-hit attempts when being in the defense. If you do so, you will get beaten out easily indeed, especially online.
Hitomi has 6P as mid punch and 6K as mid kick, both are 13 frames. She has a 10 frame high punch and a 14 frame high kick. She has a 14 frame low punch that will evade highs and even give her +1 advantage on normal hit, making her speeds equal to the fastest characters in the game. Beside those attacks, she can make use of her parry as well as of normal holds.
6K2K is 13 -> 20 frames. Her 2H+K is 18 frames and grants advantage on normal hit due to causing a light stun. These two are equally fast as Kasumi's low openers or pressure tools, and this character is one of the fastest in the game (Hitomis 2H+K is even faster as all of them). So I don't see where she is slow af,
@Kirito. You guys should simply stop complaining about speed.
And these things are everything she needs at close range. Having 13 frame mids is not "averagely slow" and becomes equally dangeous to other strikers if you consider how easy she can get (minor) advantage by using her lows. Thereby, it doesn't matter how most of her xxx tools are. You could have 100 or more additional moves that would hit the on the same level but are slower or more unsafe, you are supposed to use the one that serves your purpose best. And if you only got one, then you're gonna use this one. Don't try to be a fancy mix up master by thinking you need to use every single entry of your move list in one match. The only thing you need to is being effective.
Asking if you would get away with those against mid hold mashers is kinda superflous because your opponent has to make the same guess on the hit level and hit type as you do when going for the strike. Hitomi has it actually pretty good in this situation since both of her preferred mid counter hit tools are the same speed (see above). And if you lose to mid hold mashers, then you obviously did not make enough use of Hitomis large high strike arsenal, which you mentioned by yourself.
. But yeah, it's still an amazing low. Eh, that is kinda what I meant. Execution-wise Hitomi is miles easier than Christie, but Hitomi needs to use her tools smarter. But when people talked about "who's harder". Execution of moves is generally the focus. Almost every character on the roster needs to be played smart to win at a high level. Kasumi also does perfectly fine in tournaments all things considered. Ayane's considered "Top Tier" too and she commonly gets wrecked at higher levels of play.
