Kemonomichi 2 took place this past weekend in Japan, and it was undoubtedly one of the biggest talking points throughout the fighting game community. Any time Daigo Umehara or Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi are competing, there’s a certain buzz that follows them, and when they’re both competing, that buzz is amplified exponentially. But when they’re competing against each other, the energy is palpable, due to their long history as rivals, training partners, friends, and peers.
The first Kemonomichi was a three-game exhibition set between six high-level Japanese competitors playing first-to-ten matches in Guilty Gear XRD Rev2, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, and Street Fighter III: Third Strike. Noticeably missing, of course, was Daigo himself. Luckily, the second event more than made up for his absence the first time around.
The Battle of the Gods
The flames of battle were first stoked from this video from Daigo’s YouTube channel, showing interview footage of Tokido and Daigo discussing the impending match against one another. The feeling that Tokido shows Daigo can only be described as “slightly-fearful optimistic respect.” Umehara, on the other hand, wonders aloud how he can lose a long set, even against the reigning Evolution 2017 champion.
After tons of back and forth, it came time to finally put up, or shut up. Umehara and Tokido were finally face to face, ready to settle the score once and for all. This would be another first-to-ten set, and the victor would either receive redemption, or confirmation.
Right off the bat, it’s interesting to see the use of V-Trigger II for both combatants. These abilities are relatively new, and could be argued that they aren’t as strong as their original counterparts. Also immediately seen is Daigo’s patented “Ume-shoryu,” or Ume-sault in this case, as he hits Tokido with an almost-psychic Flash Kick to seal an early round.
Daigo quickly makes it 2-0 in his favor, and like the champion he is, Tokido battles back to even the score. With his back against the ropes, Tokido pulls off an incredible V-Trigger cancel, but his opponent manages to steal the round, and the all-important third game, to put the pressure on Tokido.
The Turning Point
Already possessing a 6-3 lead, Umehara continued to frustrate Tokido with his mind-games and patience, customary for Daigo’s opponents during long sets. Tokido seemingly had this match in hand - his opponent had about 10 percent health left and no resources, it has to be in the bag, right? Wrong. Watch Daigo throw Tokido three times in span of about 10 seconds and steal this round.
That point is where many, myself and fighting game video encyclopedia HiFight included, thought the match had completely turned in Umehara’s favor. Daigo’s gall to walk across the entire stage and throw Tokido without as much as a crouching jab in rebuttal was evidence that this was getting a bit out of hand for the EchoFox representative.
Twitch chat erupted as Daigo walked across the entire screen to, as fighting game staple Zhieep called it, “Dragon Suplex” Tokido’s Akuma. Walls of “LUL” emotes, “wwwws”, “LOLS” and more flooded the poor, poor chat client. One pro-Tokido user said, “hope is fading” as they watched their favorite player’s fiery red head slammed into the brick streets of the Hillside Plaza stage.
Going Down on His Shield
Not one to go down without a fight, Tokido continued to battle Umehara valiantly despite the tides of war turning Daigo’s 6-3 lead into a 9-3 lead. Tokido managed to pull off a similar feat to his opponent’s earlier full-screen walkup and throw, performing what I called a “3/4th screen walk” ending with a slam of his own.
In the end, The Beast, as is common in these marathon sets, defeated his opponent by a score of 10-5. A visibly distraught Tokido ceded victory to his longtime rival, and Daigo’s relief was able to be felt by the fans in attendance, and through the monitors, televisions, and cell phone screens of those viewing around the world.
On his loss, Tokido was brief, and said, "I wanted to at least win in the game, but I'll have to come back and try again." Daigo had much more to say to his opponent, and offered nothing but compliments as he spoke. “"I think you've won over me in everything but the game,” Daigo said through chuckles. "Last year, and really the year before that too, Tokido had some amazing results, and the perspective of him changed quite a bit, in comparison I felt like I wasn't really getting much done. Then after Capcom Cup, I watched and learned, and I got the will to want to play the game properly. The first part of that was seeing Tokido, and I felt that I wanted to take it seriously, too ...not to say that I wasn't taking the game seriously, but I wanted to raise the effort I put in even higher."What I felt was that, if I lose here... that would be so amazing by him, because this is the type of match I favor, and where I'm most comfortable... In the end, I did win it, but that's how I was feeling, and if Tokido hadn't come to me with this challenge, I don't think we could've had anything like this, so I'm very thankful for that." (Credit to EventHubs’ MajinTenshinhan for the translation.) You can see the absolutely heartbreaking video below:
A Community in Awe And Appreciation
The FGC was in awe of the performance its two champions put on display tonight, and they sure let everyone know. No matter where they were watching from, the FGC let these two titans know exactly how they felt about the incredible match they just completed.
And They Say Esports Isn’t Real Sports…
The entire buildup and culmination of this match mirrored, in my eyes, the second Jon Jones/Daniel Cormier fight (almost) to a tee. Daniel Cormier is a renowned mixed martial arts fighter who has beaten everyone in his path - except his foil, Jon “Bones” Jones. The only difference between the two instances is the nature of the rivalry - while Tokido and Daigo don’t hate each other, Cormier and Jones did, with the two constantly taking personal shots at each other any chance they got. This HIGHLY NSFW exchange between the two should give you an idea of how they really felt about one another.
After their fight (in which Jones won again,) Cormier was candid in his post-match interview, just like Tokido. Now, you can definitely argue head trauma played a part in the way DC reacted, but learning how much this fight meant to DC and his legacy, it’s hard to argue that his emotions took over. Similar to Daigo’s classy comments, the newly-crowned champ only offered compliments to his opponent.
Words of a true champion, in both Jones’ and Daigo’s cases.
In closing, I think if you’re a new member of the fighting game community, really take the time to watch this entire set between Daigo and Tokido. It will no doubt help you gain an understanding of the true emotion we feel as fighting game players and how much we love these games. It’s no secret how much respect I have for Daigo and Tokido as players and as people, as I’ve covered both of them in the past for Twin Galaxies. This match was challenging for me to watch, as it pitted my hero (Daigo) against the best player of my current main character (Tokido.) I wanted to see my character thrive, but it would be at the expense of seeing my favorite player lose, which started a major conflict of interest for yours truly.
In any case, major thanks and love go out to all the participants of Kemonomichi 2. Your passion and love for fighting games is not lost on me.
If you need more Daigo and Tokido, check out our article highlighting The Beast, or our look at character loyalty, featuring Tokido’s Akuma!
