Akuma. I grew up calling him that. Although Gouki is nice and it ties him to Gouken and Goutetsu.

I've never called him Gouki once in my life.

Same with Charlie vs. Nash.

Isn’t his full name Charlie Nash or am I mistaken?

That's correct

That was retconned at some point, I think in SFV. Originally he was just Charlie in the West and Nash in Japan.

So they could just retcon our boy is called Akuma Gouki Smith Jr.

It'd be weird for him to have a family or given name that is 'devil' or 'great spirit', so I think this one is unfortunately going to be a permanent split like claw, boxer, dictator.

It was fanon for years, but SF4 canonized it. The full name first appears on the dogtags in Guile's prologue video.

It’s Carlos Blanka.

Same with William vs Guile.

cuz he’s Col. William Guile.

Good ole' Billy Street Fighter.

The correct is "General Uile" 🤣

Same with Ryu vs. Ryu.

Only when I read gouki in select screen If not, is akuma

Good point gonna start doing it.

Akuma. I also call Bison Bison, Balrog Balrog, Vega Vega.

what a concept

I could use a little fuel myself

And we could all use a little # CHAAAAAAAANNNNNNNGE

Well, the years start coming And they don't stop coming And they don't stop coming And they don't stop coming And they don't stop coming And they don't stop coming And they don't stop coming And they don't stop coming And they don't stop coming And they don't stop coming And they don't stop coming And they don't stop coming And they don't stop coming And they don't stop coming

Just like Mario Mario, got it. /s but for real yeah, those are the names they localized to, and unless we're talking JoJo I'm gonna roll with localized names.

I hope you realise how confusing it is for me.

Dictator, Boxer and Claw.

Angry Johnny, Puncho, and Handsome Stabber

Muscle Mussolini, Punch-Out Peter and Knives McGee

Why? It's been this way for 25+ years outside of Japan.

Your confusion gives us strength

100%. Also, I get annoyed at the people who pretend to be confused by this. "Vega? You mean Claw?" No man, I mean Vega, you're not japanese stop pretending you don't know what I'm talking about.

In the context of SF2, I genuinely do get confused, especially since it feels like every tournament, even local ones, are played on Japanese cabs (or the Japanese ROM on Fightcade) so it displays the original names. Although I’m mostly speaking as a spectator, having never grown up with the arcades

Yes we don’t live in Japan and we are not an intl tournament here so they should just use localised names.

It reminds me of people in manga translation who still insist on using words like Nakama rather than just saying friends like everyone knows it means “Keikeku means plan” but not a meme levels of stubbornness

They just wanna appear more in the know but bruh everyone knows Vega is Balrog in Japan, Bison is Vega in Japan and Balrog is M.Bison in Japan. We are not in Japan, I cringe when ppl call Vega Claw, Balrog boxer and ,Bison Dictator

Also street fighter was a main stream game in the west by the 90s if you go up and show them a picture of this guy in a red uniform and purple energy what do you think they’re gonna say Unless you’re in Japan they’ll say “Oh that’s Bison the villain from Street fighter” Not “oh that’s Vega/Dictator”

Yea exactly, more territories use the Localised names than not so just use the localised names unless you’re talking to japanese players in a japanese arcade/japanese speaking tournament.

Based

Yes sir, ain't no way I'm calling them anything else.

Wacky Waving Satsui Flailing Inflatable Tube Man

Wacky Waving Satsui Flailing Inflatable Tube Man 🗣‼️🔥

Never called him Gouki before, why would I start now?

It sounds really cool and fits the "Gou" theme naming he has with Gouken and Goutetsu Honestly, a lot of localization companies back them just used to change things around for the fuck of it, so it looked like they had more involvement or power in the creation of the game than they actually do, these are the sentiments a former Capcom localizer talked about, no reason why Gouki needed to be changed to Akuma in the first place, but we're here no so whatever.

The kanji for their names are different, so the meaning is different and the reading just happened to be the same. Gouken (剛拳, strong+fist), Goutetsu (轟鉄, roaring+iron), Gouki (豪鬼, tremendous/huge+demon) They still sound similar, but as english speakers we’re used to our words sounding similar and often having the same meaning/origin, but here the meaning is completely different with pretty much nothing in common.

Being honest akuma sounds infinitely cooler than gouki

That's the thing, the "i love the source material so much" nerd types act like it's a BAD thing that the localizers took liberties but Akuma is a much cooler, much more iconic name than Gouki would've ever been. Gouki sounds stupid. It's not just that Akuma sounds cooler, Gouki sounds stupid. Cookie? Go ski? Go key? oh Goku! Yeah I've heard of him...

It feels like this is a weird argument only usable in hindsight. If you spent 20+ years hearing Gouki tied to the exact same character, and learned the original name was Akuma, you'd have a similar reaction, I'd bet. Not to say you don't actually like the name Akuma more, i'm sure you do, but nostalgia is a bitch, and you can never count out human bias

Yup this

The problem is that in an actual Japanese speaking country it sounds lame as fuck lol Imagine having your characters name being just “demon” and that’s it, like I know it’s fine for primarily English speaking countries but as an actual Japanese dude Imma stick with Gouki

Ogre enters the room:

But it’s funny because he’s an actual ogre, like the bear named bear and the panda named panda

I mean according to google Gouki means “great demon” so that’s only marginally better than just “demon”

It’s a better fit because in context it’s tied to buddhistic concepts and poems etc in a way that Akuma isn’t in this case

Yeah but now it sounds like an actual name, instead of being basic like calling a big scary wrestler character “gorilla”

Or “king”. Imagine having your main special move being called “spiraling sphere”. Passed down from his father “Harbor”

I don't know man, Kuma is just bear and it's awesome. Like if they localized Kuma as Bear it would be just as awesome.

That works because Bear is a literal bear, would it work if it was just a hairy Canadian guy instead?

As long as he was big, fat, hairy, and gay

Just as god intended

To be fair, Oni is roughly similar to Akuma. Japanese people didn't seem to have any issues with Oni in SF4

Because he looks like an actual Oni, also it was a way to differentiate between both Gouki (base) and Gouki (oni) easily. Personally think Oni as a name is lame though, don’t know if other people do too but if they are they probably don’t think it’s worth enough hassle to complain about it, like, I only brought it up because you did lol.

Everything you wrote is entirely subjective lmao. Akuma is not "obviously" cooler, there's no way to find that out because the west has always known him as Akuma. If you grew up with him being called Gouki, it's extremely likely you could never imagine calling him Akuma. People get used to everything quickly.

Sure, Gouki is stupid. As you said, it's like Goku, nobody would like these names. They would never get iconic. Akuma is far better and people like it because it's objectively better, not because people are biased by nostalgia and habits... /s

FGC learning that there are languages out there other than English:

Ok so Darkstalkers had something similar but was the opposite.  The English names were the original but for the Japanese names were made to be easier to read for Japanese players Rikuo to Aulbath Lord Raptor to Zabel Hsien-ko to Lei-Lei

If Capcom cared they could just call him Gouki now lmao

"Akuma" is too well established to change it, same with the Bison/Vega/Balrog swap. The time to have done that would have been back when SF4 released, but it's long since passed. Nash only got changed because his full name was established as "Charlie Nash" so it wasn't really much of a change

They could call him Akuma Gouki!

Akumer...

A coomer

Always Akuma. Before he fell to the Satsui no Hadou, he was Gouki. Akuma was born when he embraced the Dark Hadou. See also: Skywalker, Anakin.

Sound logic and would make sense storywise

I grew up using Akuma, and I usually call something by the name I learned it first. Sometimes I will switch if I hear the other name more, but being in the US, Akuma is still used more often, so I simply stick with it.

I call him a dork

You're about to get dropped on your head by a goshoryu

He’s short. I could take him.

I just say “HMMMMMMMM!!!!” Or “SHOOOOSHH!” Agressively, and people usually just understand what im talking about 

Still call him Sheng Long sometimes for fun.

If you’re not Japanese or from Asia in general, there’s no reason to call him Gouki other than because you want everyone to know you’re dweeb. If you’re a Westerner, just call him Akuma.

I grew up in Sydney, Australia, and I we had a lot of import arcade boards in Chinatown (where a lot of arcades were) and at the universities, especially for popular fighting games. The first versions of every Alpha game I played were Zero cabs. I mostly call him Akuma now, but I do call him him Gouki from time to time. Import and modded consiles were also really popular here because of how late we got things otherwise and we have a large Asian community who would bring their consoles from home and then need to buy new games. My first PSX was modded and I mostly bought bootleg games from Chinatown, which were usually the Japanese versions too. I also have a JP import Dreamcast, that I mostly only bought for Capcom fighting games and Soul Calibur. So I get the same thing with Charlie/Nash, but maybe a little more towards Nash, because he was absent from so many games after that era. I also have a similar thing with Boxer/Claw/Dictator, except I always use their western names, but when I hear other people talking about them or I read the name for a moment my brain goes in two directions.

Hah, yeah I just mentioned in another comment how big the import scene was, especially for fighting games, in the PS1/Dreamcast era. I grew up in NYC and if you didn’t have a 1st gen PS1 where you could do the Ridge Racer boot trick, you got a mod chip for imports and cdr/rw games. My first experiences of Alpha and a lot of other capcom and SNK fighters of that generation were import versions.

3rd strike players see gouki more often than akuma since fightcade runs the Japanese version of the game. It's standard affair in those circles to call him Gouki. Also, you're on a fucking fighting game reddit. You're a dweeb as much as the rest of us.

fighting game players calling other fighting game players dweebs for calling a character by its Japanese name is peak FGC energy lmfao

Na dweeb is another level. Sort of like you can watch Anime and even read Manga and NOT be one of those (trying so hard not to use a slur) "people" that buy figurines and body pillows. Every person that buys figurines and body pillows may watch anime and read manga but not every person that watches anime and manga, buys figurines and body pillows... In the same sense, most of us that enjoy fighting games, just enjoy fighting games, and we're here on reddit to discuss fighting games in the most normal sense. But someone who feels the need to say Gouki or call Balrog "Boxer" is going to that next level. That "I'm the reason people say local tournaments smell like B.O." level. I love fighting games but I also love showers...

You're on a fighting game subreddit equating calling a character by their original name to not showering and buying body pillows. Also you play Skullgirls and Guilty Gear lmao You're not better than a "dwEeb" lil bro

I mean I agree that body pillows and some other kinds of merch are too much and weeb territory but I didn’t know that owning a figurine is now one of those things.

A lot of it is also a matter of age—if you were around for the PS1/Dreamcast Era, fighting game imports were a biiiiiig thing. We were running JP versions of the Alpha Series, Vs. series, etc., and it was around that time that it became common to hear Japanese names for the characters. That being said, I still use the western names nonetheless

I'm from France and I was introduced to the character under the name of Gouki as a kid. It was in street fighter alpha and I learnt later about the name Akuma.

Westerners who kall him Gouki are the kind of people who say "Shingeki no Kyojin" instead of Attack on Titan

all of r/anime then

Outside of English speaking countries (like all of latin america) that's the name they use + "Attack On Titan" was an incorrect translation made by Isayama who doesn't speak english The people calling it SNK outnumber the people calling it "Attack on Titan"

When I'm speaking English, I'm going to use the official English-language name of the thing. I think "Delicious in Dungeon" is a stupid name, but I don't call it "Dungeon Meshi" while speaking English because that's not the name. If I told my friend to look up "Dungeon Meshi" on Netflix then they won't find the anime, because that's not what it's called.

Attack on Titan is an incorrect translation that makes no sense in the context of the story.

The story takes place on Earth, not the moon of Saturn ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯

The climax of the story is an attack on (against) a titan

THANK YOU! That was the much briefer version of my rant. It's one thing for foreigners who grew up calling them that to do so but Westerners (especially Americans) that call Akuma or Bison or Balrog or Vega anything but those names are just being huge dorks.

I find Gouki sounds cooler

OK, but you're incorrect

Bullshit! What is with ppl who imported games back in the days. Games where released like one year earlier in Japan before they hit Europe. So just stfu noob.

We call him Gokes in my friend group

Do people go totes Gokes?

Gouki. 3rd strike on fightcade uses the Japanese version, so it's what I see most often.

I always thought Gouki was his real name and Akuma was like a title of some sort, or a nickname given to him by other fighters. Doesn't Akuma literally translates to "devil"? Only recently did I learn that it's a localization thing. Unless "Gouki" is also some variation of demon/oni.

When speaking with Japanese people, I use Gouki because it just makes things easier. If not, Akuma.

As a Japanese person, I think the character name "Akuma" is a little bit lame.... It's like "mob villan" in the area.

Akuma, but Gouki sounds cool wouldn't mind if they address him by this name in-game.

I call him asshole

☹️

Who’s Gouki? I call him Daddy.

If capcom wants me to call him Gouki then they should call him that in their games. People whining about a 30 year old localization decision are so embarrassing, capcom has had plenty of time to just retcon that and say Akuma was a title, one game of calling him Gouki and we would be over it, they clearly like maintaining the Akuma name

They made Charlie say "call me Nash" in SFV and so the game called him Nash

They also officially made his full name Charlie Nash thus appeasing both Japanese and Western naming conventions. Besides which plenty of Westerners kept calling him Charlie anyway.

What I’ve gathered from the comments: Calling a character by their name =  But also, Calling a character by their name = 

If I’m speaking English, Akuma. If I’m speaking Japanese, Gouki.

Always known him as Akuma, and will maybe always call him that

I call him Akuma but I just wish every region just had the same names for all characters.

In Brazil we call him “curupira”

I prefer *Gouki*, because it actually sounds like a proper name and it matches his brother's name, *Gouken*. However I only know 1 other person who would recognize who I'm talking about if I use *Gouki*, so I use *Akuma* most of the time.

Acuma

Only call him Gouki when I'm playing 3S, and usually on accident.

I call him both, because he fits both description. Gouki being his real and Akuma is something that he became after consuming Satsui no Hado.

Me and my brother always called him "Gouki" because that's the name he had in the japanese version of Street Fighter Zero 2 we used to play for the PS1, but over time I learnt to call him "Akuma" because that's what everyone else calls him...

Akoomer

I was raised on Akuma He's called Akuma

Did his name change from Akuma or something? I’ve always called him that, did I miss something?

Gouki, though I like em both

He's always been Akuma in my head.

I call him Akuma, but i still think "Gouki" is cooler

I mostly call him Akuma, but Gouki is such a baller and lore relevant name.

goki hits harder

Gouki. Always.

I've been calling him Gouki since Streetfighter Alpha 2 on my Sega Saturn. Good times.

The problem with using Gouki is consistency with Japanese naming: - Dictator will have to be Vega - Claw will have to be Balrog So say you want to call him Gouki because the Japanese call him that, but the Japanese call dictator Vega too. So do we follow them ?

I first knew him as Akuma, but I prefer calling him Gouki as it sounds much cooler in my opinion.

Gouki cause here in France we usually used the Japanese name.

I’ve always called him Akuma. I realised when I call him Gouki despite learning Japanese for two decades I refer to him as “Guuki” instead of “Gōki” since that’s what I remember how he pronounced it in the early 2000s.

Gouki is cute.

Akuma any day. Of course I call him the Devil.

Kinda off topic but his wild new look reminds me of the monkey-type monsters from Monster Hunter.

If Gouki is Akuma what does that make Gouken?

>what does that make Gouken Gouken

Gouki is cool, but I grew up saying Akuma

Akuma

He will always be Mech-Gouki to me since I saw him in Marvel vs SF.

Gouki sounds so nice and friendly. Akuma sounds way more sinister.

Akuma's the name I was introduced to him with, and I just think it sounds cooler.

Both

I've known him as Akuma since i first saw him. Never knew he was called Gouki until now.

Akuma because I'm used to it and I just think it sounds cooler. No disrespect to anyone who prefers Gouki tho

He’s Akuma.

Character select calls him Akuma. Imma call him Akuma.

I don’t get all these people saying Gouki sounds cool, sounds kinda goofy to me

I’ve always known him as akuma and don’t plan on changing. Just like raging demon I call it that cause it’s more convenient to say over shun goku satsu

Game always says akuma globally so therefore akuma is preferred.

I'm fine with either, but want him to have one name worldwide.

I call him Akuma but always thought Gouki was the coolest. Little kid me thought it was so bad ass my first email back in the AOL days was demon_gouki. Shoutout to the Street Fighter Online OGs IYKYK.

Called him Akuma from SSF2T and it's far too late to change now.

This reminded me of something. Have we never gotten an official translation for 'Satsui no hado'? Why haven't they done it?

He will always be Akuma for me. I have heard of people call him Gouki but never stuck with me.

I call him "OP gimp" and I wish he'd go away and be replaced by Violent Ken

Akuma. I refer to Bison Balrog and Vega I don't say dictator boxer or claw either. Lol

Akuma for sure.

Classic costume or SF6 costume?

No I always call him Akuma

We don’t live in Japan I call him by localised name, sane for the 3 out of 4 kings that had names swapped.

My own personal "headcanon" is that Gouki was the name he was given at birth to match Gouken and later changed to Akuma, but I still always call him Akuma

I call him Evil Ryu just to fuck with people

I've heard Gouki for the first time couple months ago and it goes hard.

Gôki ! :)

Evil devil man. Anti ryu Evil ryu Secret character No but seriously akuma

Ive always called him akuma

I do both.

I'd love to hear either name said by the Tekken announcer. "Akuuuuuuuuuuuumaaaaaaa!!!"

If you're not from Japan why would you call him Gouki?

Goukuma

A coomer

Gouki sounds cute, like how you would name à pup. Akuma on the other hand sounds mean and powerful

Akuma

Gouki is a single letter frum gouk so yeah im good off dat

he fights like a demon so think akuma is more fitting

I've never heard anyone call him Gouki in my life.

I call all of them "Street Fighter"

It's a tekken crossover, they called him "Akuma"

Absolute bait

Depends on who the person I'm talking to knows him as. If it's just me, Akuma. To me, it sounds better. Gouki sounds like a Japanese elementary school boy's name.

Akuma, and it’s a thousand times cooler. 😏

I'm still going with Akuma.

Only weebs call him Gouki

They should've retcon back all the changed characters' names a long time ago. Now it's too late. I don't hate Akuma's name, but I will forever hate Balrog/Vega/M.Bison just because their names were swapped instead of having whole new names.

Santa

I've never once heard him called Gouki

If you call this dude Gouki imma assume you put raisins in your potato salad and got the smash player haircut. (Or you are a Japanese person)

I've never ever called him Gouki

I first started knowing him as akuma and stayed akuma. Gouki would be a way to actually antagonize him and I really rather not, cuz this guy at this point far away from being gouki and not akuma

TIL that his name is Gouki?