Ganryu (Tekken)

Ganryu (巌竜) is a character from the Tekken fighting game series released by Namco Bandai Games. Ganryu was introduced in original Tekken and he has returned for every subsequent title with the exception of Tekken 3 and Tekken 4. In the storyline of Tekken, Ganryu is a world famous sumo wrestler who aims to become Yokozuna and own a sumo wrestling ring. Ganryu fell in love with Michelle Chang and later with her daughter Julia Chang, though he is rejected by both.

In video games
Ganryu is a sumo wrestler of great merit. He is also the youngest fighter ever to gain the "Ozeki" rank. Once this title was gained, many who watched the sport (including a certain bandit leader, Yoshimitsu) thought Ganryu would reap the rewards and challenge for the title of "Yokozuna", a title he was more than capable of winning. However, his immoral style (such as starting bouts with fire breathing and a fanfare whilst taunting his opponents, coupled with his bad gambling habit) lead to a dishonorable discharge and gave Ganryu the chance to join the crime world. This path of life led Ganryu into pursuing one overriding purpose: to become the world's strongest man in a move that he feels is just and honorable. Ganryu then turned to crime and Heihachi Mishima hired him as a henchman in Tekken. He faced off against Yoshimitsu in The King of Iron Fist Tournament, but the ninja won and stole his ill-gotten money. Noticing his skill, Kazuya Mishima hired Ganryu once the former retook the Mishima Zaibatsu, paying the sumo wrestler more than enough to feed his gambling addiction. Ganryu is participating in The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2 mainly as Kazuya's bodyguard, but he also has another motive: he hopes to build and own a sumo ring to impress his secret crush, Michelle Chang (whom he fell in love with after seeing her movements and physique), while gaining the Yokozuna title. Michelle, believing Ganryu to be a disgusting, woman-crazed madman, defeats him. After Michelle defeated him, and the disappearance of Kazuya, Ganryu returned to Japan. However, his ban from Sumo was lifted, and he became the youngest ever Rikishi. After the events of Tekken 2, 21 years later, Ganryu opened a sumo stable and worked as a trainer to other sumo wrestlers. He did this to finally forget about Michelle. One day, while watching a televised showing of The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4, he spotted Julia Chang as one of the competitors. Remarking how much she looked like his old crush, Michelle, Ganryu decided to enter The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, convinced that he would win Julia's heart if he recovered her lost Forest Rejuvenation Data. During the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, Ganryu lost his way. By accident, he entered the lab of the Mishima Zaibatsu and found the Forest Rejuvenation data—the very data that Julia Chang was searching for. With it in hand, he hoped to finally be able to propose to Julia and make her his wife. However, during their meeting, Julia received the disc and left before Ganryu got the chance to propose. Putting the episode behind him, Ganryu moved to Hawaii and opened a restaurant, Chanko Paradise. However, the management was poor and the restaurant was not getting anywhere. Knowing that The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 was being held, Ganryu decided to enter in hopes of advertising his restaurant.

Ganryu also appears in Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken 3D: Prime Edition and Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Ganryu made a cameo appearance in one of the stages in Street Fighter X Tekken. He was also referenced in one of Julia's winquotes while Hugo's Swap Costume is based on Ganryu's design. According to the download blurb, during a trip to Japan, Hugo becomes friends with the retired sumo wrestler Ganryu and decided to give sumo a try.

In other media
Ganryu appears in comics Tekken Saga (1997), Tekken 2 (1998), Tekken: Tatakai no Kanatani (2000), Tekken: Forever (2003) and Online Tekken Comic (2009). Ganryu was featured in Tekken: The Motion Picture, as Lee Chaolan's bodyguard. He is shown fighting and losing to Michelle Chang. Ganryu appeared in Tekken: Blood Vengeance where he is depicted as a PE teacher at the Mishima Polytechnic School and as Ling Xiaoyu's PE teacher. He is also more serious and strict unlike his depiction in the games.

Character design
Ganryu is depicted as a tall, fat, Japanese wrestler with black hair and a scar-like mark on his forehead. His Player 1 Costume always consists of purple Mawashi (loincloth) with golden plate design on the front, ankle straps and arm bands. His Player 2 Costume consists of a black sumo robe with grey shorts, wristbands and foot wraps.

Gameplay and fighting style
Ganryu fights using Sumo wrestling. Ganryu started out as a Jack "clone character", slow and powerful, with some moves of his own. Since his return in Tekken 5, his moveset has been expanded greatly. While not being the fastest of characters, Ganryu is balanced, flexible and surprisingly agile, allowing for some pretty deceptive low attacks and surprising tactics. His pokes hit hard and are pretty safe, and he's got several short string combo that can be used effectively. His speed, while not at Jack's level anymore, is still below average.

Reception
Around the time of Tekken 5 release, IGN commented "While he's a fairly big guy, Ganryu has a lot of speed going for him, and best of all, he has some good, damaging combos, unlike other big men." In 2011, Computer and Video Games placed Ganryu in their list "Tekken 's worst ever characters", adding "If losing some weight and not wearing a massive nappy all the time isn't the first thing you do to attract someone who's mother you've already failed to hit on, then you're doing something terribly, horribly wrong." In a GamesRadar article by Michael Grimm, a fight between Ganryu and E. Honda was written as one of the ones players wanted to see in Street Fighter X Tekken, calling it "The strangely similar supersized Sumo scuffle!" GameSpy named Ganryu as one of the "25 Extremely Rough Brawlers" in video gaming, commenting "Ganryu is more of a tragic character as his unrequited love for fellow fighter Julie fuels his brutality." In the official poll by Namco, Ganryu is ranked as the least wanted Tekken character to be playable in Tekken X Street Fighter, at 1.12% of votes.