Ichirin Kumoi & Unzan/RicePigeon's version

''Ichirin may canonically be nothing more than Unzan's hitbox, but this sturdy youkai ascetic is capable of holding her own. Of course Unzan, being the old man that he is, tends to get tired after taking some punishment, which leaves Ichirin nearly defenseless. If Ichirin is going to call herself a "Stardust Crusader", she's going to need to know when to go solo and when to call Unzan into the fray.''

Gameplay


Ichirin is technically a six-button character, but plays like a standard three-button character, using the extra buttons for shortcut;, when used combined with or  acts as a shortcut for the character's   and   dash commands. is used as a shortcut for +, while is used as a shortcut for, used in the Level 3 Hypers. At the beginning of the match, Ichirin must select from one of two mutually-exclusive Level 3 Hypers; "King Kraken Strike" has Unzan deliver a flurry of punches with projectile properties that expand across the screen, while "Thunderous Rage of an Angry Old Man" provides Ichirin with a command grab. Both Level 3 Hypers will automatically cause Unzan to become active if Unzan is inactive at the time the moves are used.

Borrowing from a similar mechanic from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future, Ichirin is able to summon and desummon her nyuudou partner Unzan with. While Unzan is active, many of Ichirin's attacks will change properties; many of her moves gain increased damage, while Ichirin gains an entirely new set of Normal attacks. For instance, Raging Running Fist and North Mountain Wind of Mercy while Unzan is inactive will cause Unzan to attack the opponent as a projectile, whilst performing the same moves while Unzan is active will cause Ichirin to attack with Unzan as a melee attack with drastically increased damage. It should also be noted that some of Ichirin's Specials and Hypers can only be performed while Unzan is active.

Ichirin is not without her flaws, however. Like the stands in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Unzan has his own gauge that will deplete as Ichirin takes damage; once this gauge reaches 0, Unzan will become unavailable until the gauge fully recharges, leaving Ichirin without access to any of her Specials or Hypers. While Ichirin is quite sturdy with her above average Life value, she also suffers from reduced mobility compared to most characters, and is unable to chain her Normals into her  Normals. In addition to this, many of her Unzan-active moves greatly increase the size of her hurtbox, making her a larger target.

General
"Repent!"

"Huh? What's that, Unzan? You hate bullying the weak? You sure are lenient..."

"...Poppopoppopopo."

"...Popoppopoppo. That folks, was my pigeon impression!"

"...whats that? Unzan tells me you're not behind this."

"Unzan, what do you make of all this?"

Character-specific
"Now, count the number of youkai you defeated! That's how deep you'll be going in hell!"

- vs. Reimu Hakurei

"Unzan says you're still quite popular, huh?"

- vs. Reimu Hakurei

"You can also enter Buddhism as a layperson."

- vs. Marisa Kirisame

"Okay, now I'll tell you how to join the priesthood."

- vs. Marisa Kirisame

"I'm living in peace, so can't you leave me alone?"

- vs. Sanae Kochiya

"My word, to think that there were humans who won't run away at the sight of this fist."

- vs. Sanae Kochiya

"Thank you for reciting the scriptures, Mistress."

- vs. Byakuren Hijiri

"Mistress, may I ask for your opinion on something?"

- vs. Byakuren Hijiri

"Unzan tells me this is all your doing. Wait, whats that Unzan? What do you mean 'not yet'? How can it be both?"

- vs. Yukari Yakumo

"Unzan wouldn't lie to me about your involvement. Why do you keep persisting on innocence?"

- vs. Yukari Yakumo

"This must be the work of an enemy nyuuudou!"

- vs. herself

"...... Is this a transformed tanuki or fox?"

- vs. herself

Trivia

 * Due to the nature of Ichirin's relationship with Unzan, as well as the character's unique mechanic, Ichirin contains numerous references to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure;
 * Palettes 7, 8, and 9 all correspond to Jotaro Kujo's colors throughout JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Coincidentally, if these palettes are selected, Unzan's colors will change to a blueish purple that resembles Star Platinum's colors, the stand used by Jotaro.
 * Ichirin's 1st victory quote against herself is yet another reference to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
 * The voice clips used by Unzan are pitch-shifted versions of Star Platinum's voice clips from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future.
 * If M.U.G.E.N's debug mode and hitbox viewers are turned on during "King Kraken Strike", Unzan's fists will display the internal name of "Is this a Jojo reference?".
 * Comments in the character's files contain other lines, such as "Its not a Jojo meme you dip!"