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Casuals: Tokido, Looking Beyond the Raging Demon
We sat down with Tokido at Tokyo Game Show to talk being the Murderface and evolving as a pro gamer.
Mad Catz Tokido striking a fearsome pose at TGS
© Michael Martin
Hajime Taniguchi is one of the most recognized and accomplished professional gamers in the world. A trophy case in the basement of a building where Topanga TV broadcasts is a literal history of Taniguchi’s exploits in tournaments throughout the years. Street Fighter fans have been watching him compete professionally for the last five years, with Mad Catz as his sponsor for the majority of that time. He revolutionized his chosen Street Fighter character Gouki, or Akuma as we know him in the west. He’s a cold-hearted, calculated, Street Fighter killer, but there’s more to him than meets the eye. At Tokyo Game Show, we got to see the true depth of character of Tokido, the Murderface.
King of Many Fighters
At 30 years old, Tokido looks and acts like he’s blessed with the fountain of youth. One might not believe that he’s been playing fighting games for more than half of his life. Like nearly every Asian gamer from his generation, he started with King of Fighters. SNK’s Neo Geo MVS, a swappable cartridge system, was so ubiquitous in Asia you could find a machine literally anywhere. But Street Fighter would always rule over all fighting games and Tokido’s first exposure to the series was Street Fighter 2 on Super Famicom (Super Nintendo in the West).
Few can rival Tokido’s acumen for fighting games. He’s a master at nearly everything he picks up. Natural talent plays a large part in fighting games. His reactions and reads are inhuman, as if he were some kind of machine plugged into the opponents mind, reading their thoughts. The trophies, medals, plaques, and collectibles of all kinds adorn that previously mentioned trophy case speak to his uncanny ability to excel at everything, including Capcom vs. SNK 2, Street Fighter 2, 3, and 4, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Persona 4, Dead or Alive 5, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and many more. That’s an incredible array of fighting games - and he dominated them all.
Mad Catz teammates Tokido (left) and Mago (right)
© Michael Martin
Tokido Vortex
When Tokido got into Street Fighter 4, he was a little late in the game. It was suggested by his Mad Catz teammate and good friend Daigo Umehara that he pick up Akuma due to the character's strength in the earliest version of the game. He felt a character like Ryu wasn’t suggested because Ryu was too difficult for him. That showed a tremendous amount of respect by the both players and gave Tokido the opportunity to do something wholly original with Street Fighter 4.
Not many Street Fighter players can claim to have originated their own brand of play style that would change the how Street Fighter 4 would be played. Enter the Tokido Vortex: an Okizeme style causing an opponent to be caught in a trap, which guarantees they take damage. Okizeme has traditionally referred to 3D fighting games and the damage players could cause an opponent while on the ground, but Tokido took the concept and applied it Street Fighter and Akuma.
“I created [Akuma’s] technique. I made him my Okizeme style. His fireball and ground game is very good but I’m not so good at the fireball and ground game,” Tokido said.
I Body Him
Tokido’s success in fighting games put him on the big stage and live streams frequently. As a result, he developed the type of persona that provided entertainment outside of the games and is something we don’t often see from Japanese-born players, who tend to be more reserved during competitions.
Video footage can be found of Tokido imitating Akuma’s Raging Demon or Demon Armageddon poses on stage after a victory. Arguably one of his most memorable moments just took place earlier this year at Red Bull Kumite. In a pre-match interview, Tokido gave the most meme-worthy response in his career. When asked about Bonchan in a series of pre-match interviews, Tokido did not hold back.
“If he uses Ryu, I body him. If he uses Sagat, I body him,” he said. “I know every tournament, he gets second place. I know he wants to really be champion. But I’m sorry, your opponent is Tokido,” he said in a later interview.
The live stream commentators and viewers, as well as the Internet blew up with excitement and dismay at such bold trash talk. As one of the current greatest Street Fighter players, you can do those things if you can back it up with your play. But that day would belong to Bonchan, who reset the bracket and won two sets against Tokido.
Bonchan’s Red Bull Kumite trophy sits on the top shelf of a trophy case, overshadowing Tokido’s smaller second place trophy next to it. When asked if Bonchan how much of the trash talk was serious versus a joke, he replied, “50/50.” Tokido thought the difference was a bit more disparate.
“It was about 80/20 real. I could do that because it was Bonchan and we know each other,” Tokido said.
Time to Evolve
Just as Daigo has been influential on Tokido and Bonchan, Tokido has influenced Bonchan as a professional. The two spend countless hours training in Ultra Street Fighter 4 in the basement of a building in Tokyo, where Topanga TV is broadcast weekly. Tokido also urged Bonchan to take better physical care of himself because he knew that in order to be a sponsored top player in eSports, presentation was part of the professional package.
Tokido also realizes he must evolve as a professional gamer. The trash-talking, Raging Demon posing Tokido you’ve seen might be something he’s leaving behind as he focuses more on his responsibilities.
“I think it’s important that the audience think I’m cool to get their attention so I did things like Murderface or “I body you” a lot. Recently, I haven’t been doing those things because if I’m a pro gamer, I want to show that entertainment in game, not out of it,” Tokido said, laughing as he added he heard this from a higher power.
“I want to show the entertainment side and the competitive side of Street Fighter in my play so that more people will watch.”
Winning Isn't Everything
He feels he has a duty to help the growth of the fighting game community and change the perception of professional gamers. Tokido comes from a generation of competitors who largely helped shape the FGC and Street Fighter into the eSport we know it as now. So much has changed within the industry in the last few years, and as eSports expands online and in television, he seems to have a sentiment that watching the same old players do the same old thing might not be as appealing to the audience.
“Winning is self-satisfactory. It’s not productive for the industry,” Tokido said, adding that he realized winning wasn’t everything.
“In order for the industry to grow properly, the people who have been in the FGC need to understand how it can grow. If a player is only focused on winning and he would do anything to win, the people of the FGC would not approve of that. I want more sophisticated play from players.”
Tokido is all business when it comes to competition and his job as a professional gamer. But there is a side to the Murderface many people rarely get to see. He’s more than happy to chat with fans, sign autographs, and take pictures with them. He can be seen regularly joking and laughing with friends at events or on the weekly Topanga TV live streams. He knows that as Street Fighter as an eSport evolves, he and other pro gamers must evolve with it, and he’s willing to put in the work, just like he has in most areas of his life.
“A lot of things I said are things people don’t know about me. I think my fans like me because I’m strong and I’ve won a lot of tournaments. I’m trying to change that. I’m not going to deny that liking a player that’s winning is bad. I want to change my style and I hope everyone likes the new Tokido,” he said.
Tokido shares a laugh with Bonchan and Itazan
© Michael Martin
What those changes are remains to be seen as we near the end of the Capcom Pro Tour and Capcom Cup, where Tokido has a guaranteed spot to compete. He hasn’t even considered Street Fighter 5 yet, which will be the marquee game in next year’s Capcom Pro Tour. His focus has been strictly on Ultra Street Fighter 4 in order to win at Capcom Cup.
“It’s not like I’ve given up on winning or that it isn’t important. I want people to understand my style might change but I will always try to win.”
Check back next Thursday for another installment of Casuals and follow @RedBullESPORTS on Twitter for more Street Fighter coverage.
