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I'm not gonna sugarcoat it: Forward-Down-Forward-Punch.
The Shoryuken (literally Rising Dragon Fist and also known as the Dragon Punch) is an attack that rises high off the ground, punching upwards. Bonus points for spinning. A staple for shotoclones, along with the Kamehame Hadoken and Hurricane Kick, and one of the most popular Anti-Air or launcher moves in fighting games. It looks cool, too.

True Shoryuken moves in fighting games tend to have very high priority, such as canceling out most of the opponent's attacks. In the early Street Fighter games, the move grants complete invulnerability until it reaches its apex.

Not to be confused with shuriken. Compare Megaton Punch and Roundhouse Kick.


Examples:

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    Video Games 
  • Advanced V.G. II:
    • Yuka and Tamao both use Soryu Gekki ("Shooting Star") as their anti-air. Between the two, Yuka's has more priority with the DM version inflicting far greater damage and has invincibility frames on start up.
    • Satomi's Kaenzan is a flaming circular punch that functions similarly to Kyo's "100 Oniyaki", being that it's near vertical. But unlike Oniyaki, Kaenzan lacks priority making it difficult to use reliably as anti-air.
  • ANNO: Mutationem: Ann's Jujutsu skill lets her perform an uppercut attack to send an enemy airborne followed by an additional punch to toss the target towards the ground for max damage.
  • ARMS: Spring Man and Springtron's grab move involves them launching their opponent with a shoryuken.
  • Asura from Asura's Wrath is a variation. He does the motion of the move in his Launching attack, but he doesn't do the full jump. In the Street Fighter crossover DLC, however, Asura shows Ryu how it's done — by Shoryukening the guy into the Moon! In the ensuing fight, he can do a hexa Shoryuken — that is, he Shoryukens with all six of his arms in rapid succession.
  • In the beat 'em up Battle Circuit, two of the playable characters have a variation of the Shoryuken. Cyber Blue has a corkscrew version called Hyper Tornado and Yellow Iris has a clawed version called Ariel Dance.
  • BlazBlue features Ragna's Inferno Divider, Tsubaki's Benedictus Rex, and Makoto's Corona Upper. Noel's Drive, Chain Revolver, creates a new set of normals and specials, one of which is called "Spring Raid", which functions like this. Since Noel's Drive is basically her combo button, and you have to use some form of the D-button before being able to do Spring Raid, it's usually used as a combo ender of some variety, but if your opponent is approaching through the air, and you have enough time to get off some variety of D, you can use it as anti-air. There are better options, however.
  • Petra from Brawlhalla has this as her gauntlets n-sig. It’s also known for being insanely fast, doing a lot of damage and knockback, and generally being one of the most broken sigs in the game.
  • Spider-Man (Spider Sting), Captain America (Stars & Stripes), Wolverine (Tornado Claw), Cyclops (Gene Splice), and Cable (Psimitar) all possess Shoryuken in the various Capcom vs. games. Stars & Stripes is unique in that if Captain America does it without his shield, it does multiple hits (except in Marvel vs. Capcom 3); Gene Splice and Tornado Claw function like Ken's Shinryuken super move (mash the buttons for more hits); Scimitar becomes a projectile once Cable hits the top of his jump; and Spider Sting is the same thing as Terry's Power Dunk (hit the attack button again to punch the opponent back into the ground).
    • Hayato from Star Gladiator has a variant that employs his Laser Blade.
    • Marvel vs. Capcom 3 adds in Deadpool with a Shoryuken, though it's used as a Launcher rather than an anti-air technique. Ryu is completely confused on how Deadpool learned itnote .
      Ryu: "You stole my Shoryuken?! When did you...?!"
    • Also in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, there's Zero's Ryuuenjin (from Mega Man X4; also appears to the below Tatsunoko vs. Capcom), She-Hulk's Somersault Kick (which isn't the same in execution, but it is in principle), and X-23's Crescent Scythe (same deal as She-Hulk). Viewtiful Joe's Groovy Uppercut may not be a straight example, since most versions of it go diagonally rather than vertically.
  • Castlevania:
    • In Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, Johnathan has this as one of his martial arts (it doesn't have the range of the Vampire Killer, but does 3x said whip's damage).
    • This dates back to his debut game Portrait of Ruin, where the ability was granted by the Griffon Wing Relic. The same applies to the other uppercut-using characters in Harmony, Julius and Richter, although Richter didn't get his uppercut until his game's sequel. Soma is the only guy in Harmony who is left out, as the Weretiger soul in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow granted him a similar uppercut attack.
  • Eiji's special move from Crisis Beat is a rising uppercut accompanied by an orange aura of energy, very useful when he's surrounded by foes. The Final Boss, Whigen, uses a similar move like Eiji's in the penultimate battle.
  • Cyberbots has a few anti-air moves that function just like in Street Fighter. Blodia's anti-air is called Full Metal Charge, a literal rising tackle where Blodia boosts into the air with blue energy surrounding it. Gaits does a traditional Shoryuken with its large shield called Mondou Muyou. And Zero Gouki (aka Akuma as a mecha Guest Fighter) continues using his signature Go Shoryuken.
  • Demitri and Morrigan from Darkstalkers each have a variation of the Shoryuken (the Demon Cradle and the Shadow Blade, respectively — however, Demitri's doesn't go only in the vertical), as well as Lilith (Shining Blade), Bishamon (Kienzan), and Felicia (Cat Spike).
  • In Daemon Claw, this is the method you use for taking down enemies above you.
  • Kasumi from Dead or Alive has a variant of this. The only difference is that she bends her arm to strike with her elbow instead of her fist.
  • Deadpool: Wade can use the rising uppercut as a Street Fighter shout-out.
  • Adell of Disgaea 2 does one of these for the final hit of his Vulcan Blaze special. It makes the target explode in a fiery fashion a moment after it connects.
  • Markman's Upkick from Divekick, where he can perform this, but only if his KickBox is finished.
  • Goku has one in Super Dragon Ball Z. His Dragon Punch from the show, however, is not an example.
  • Rhino can pull one off Exit Limbo: Opening as one of his earlier power upgrades. Accomapnied by an aura of orange energy that reaches the ceiling of the stage he's in.
  • Kenshiro in Fist of the North Star: Twin Blue Stars of Judgment has a version of Hokuto Ujou Mou Shou Ha that has him jump, thus performing a Shoryuken.
  • Sash Lilac from Freedom Planet has a rising slash move. She even spins as she does it, á la Ryu and Ken.
  • In God Hand, Gene can do a move that looks pretty much exactly like the Street Fighter version. It's even called the Laughing Dragon Punch and is very handy for juggling Mooks.
  • In Guilty Gear, Sol Badguy has the Volcanic Viper, and an enhanced version of it that occurs during his Dragon Install Overdrive.
    • Similar moves include Ky's Vapor Thrust and Chipp's Beta Blade. Slayer's Eternal Wings also qualifies, but its range makes it more like a super-powered Koryuken than a Shoryuken.
    • Robo-Ky and Robo-Ky Mk. II also have it (both have Ky's Vapor Thrust and the latter copies his moves from other characters, meaning he can replace it with other moves like Sol's Volcanic Viper).
  • Gundam:
    • Gundam Breaker 2 allows players to perform the Souten Guren Ken if they're using Sekai's Build Burning Gundam; naturally, it's a Launcher Move.
    • Gundam Vs Series has a few Mobile Suit characters who do rising dragon punches. Yuu Kajima's Blue Destiny Unit 1 actualy does a Ryu-inspired Shin Shoryuken in EXAM System Mode since he fights barehanded in its duration. And with a spiked shield too, adding extra damage to the uppercut.
  • Hamsterdam: Pimm can do this to the gigantic rabbit Mooks if the QTE is pulled off properly.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
  • Fulgore and Jago both get one in the original Killer Instinct.
    • these return in the Xbox One version along with new users in the form of Orchid(notable in that she uses her knee), Shadow Jago who has a completely vertical one, and ARIA(though only in blade mode and using light punch). These all tend to be the character's most damaging combo finishers as well.
  • Fighter Kirby has Rising Break, which is one of the most powerful attacks in all games it appears in (generally second only to Hammer and Stone moves).
    • But don't try it on bosses in the original Kirby Super Star; its power comes from the multitude of weak hits it deals as it juggles the enemy, and as bosses don't flinch when struck, they only end up taking a single hit before Mercy Invincibility kicks in.
  • In Lightning Legend: Daigo no Daibouken, Konami's first 3D Fighting Game, Mayu Uzaka has one of these in her Special Moves repertoire, which she calls "Uzaka Upper." It can be used either as a single move, or as a finisher in a combo.
  • Mad Stalker: Full Metal Force has Hound Dog and Rising Dog, two mechas capable of a rising uppercut attack much like Ryu and Ken. Despite their similar appearance, though, their shoryuken move is done differently; Hound Dog perform its uppercut by rising into the air and slashing its enemies with its sword, whereas Rising Dog uses is claws to perform a uppercut.
  • Mega Man:
    • X gets one as a secret move in Mega Man X2 and Mega Man X8 (the latter as part of the Ultimate Armor's moveset).
    • In X and Zero, Zero has the sword variant.
    • And yet another X series example: in Mega Man X4, Magma Dragoon uses this as an attack, even yelling "Shoryuken!" while doing it. If you have collected the appropriate armor pieces, you can charge Dragoon's weapon and do a (rather impressive) Shoryuken, complete with Rising Fire's upward flame projectile at the end. This also happens to be the weakness of Sigma's first form in the final battle (although the normal version of Rising Fire actually deals more damage to Sigma).
    • In Mega Man X5, Zero gets E-Blade (Denjin), a thunder-based jumping attack.
  • Mortal Kombat:
  • One Must Fall had the Jaguar with its Jaguar Leap, a rising move that came out more towards 45 degrees of horizontal, but was notable for having insane priority, and would often go straight through projectiles. The Katana has a multi-hit variant that includes spinning and enormous guillotine blades for hands, also with anti-projectile priority.
  • Doomfist from Overwatch has a Rising Uppercut. No guesses as to what this does. What makes this example stand out from the other games is that Overwatch is a competitive FPS rather than a fighting game.
  • Bun-Chan and Ryuchiro's special attack in Pocket Arcade Story.
  • The Pokémon move Sky Uppercut is described as a punch thrown skyward and is able to not just hit but deal extra damage to Pokémon in the middle of using Fly or Bounce, which otherwise render the user invulnerable due to being high in the air.
  • You can buy this move in [PROTOTYPE]. It even does multiple hits! You can gib an opponent with this, if you have the enhanced Musclemass power.
  • Punch-Out!!: Little Mac's full-power Star Punch is a rising uppercut that straight up knocks down most of the early opponents outright. The three-stars version in Punch-Out!! Wii is identical to the last hit of Dudley's Rocket Upper Super Art.
  • Roy and Hideo in Rival Schools. Both of them even use it in their team up attacks, with Roy's having his partner do the move with him, trapping the unfortunate opponent in a double-sided whirlwind of Shoryuken pain.
  • Scott's normal combo ends in a grounded Shoryuken in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game. This is mainly because, as a slacker, Scott's fighting style is copied from fighting games. It is especially awesome because, even as a normal person, his Shoryuken still envelops his hand in flames.
  • Most characters in SNK games have a variant of the Forward, Down, Crouch Forward, Punch:
    • K' and Kula Diamond (Crow Bite), Robert Garcia (Ryuga), Ryo Sakazaki (Kohou), Iori Yagami and Kyo Kusanagi (Style #100: Oniyaki). Andy Bogard has the Shoryudan, a whirling uppercut. Terry Bogard also had the SRK input for the Rising Tackle in some versions of KOF before it went back to a down, up charge motion.
    • Samurai Shodown has these. The second game, of course, had ones that set you on fire, but Ryu and Ken style Haohmaru (Kogetsuzan) and Genjuro (Touhakoyokujin) (as well as Wan-Fu's Kikou Senpuugeki) get these.
      • Confusingly, in Samurai Shodown 2, Charlotte's uppercut uses a quarter circle motion while her projectile uses the classic dragon punch motion.
    • World Heroes: Also accounted for with Hanzo's Koryuha and Fuuma's Enryuha. By the time of World Heroes 2: Jet, Hanzo gains an HDM variant that hits 3-times and drains over half his opponent's energy; which predated Ryu's Shin Shoryuken by 3 yearsnote . Whereas Fuuma gained the ability to perform his Enryuha in mid-jump.
  • Filia from Skullgirls has a move called Updo that functions like this.
    • Her rival Squigly has a bit of fun with this trope: her parasite, Leviathan, is supposed to be like a dragon in certain aspects, and she has a move where she performs a Shoryuken while Leviathan is riding on her fist in a coat of fire on the way up. Put in Layman's Terms, it's a literal Rising Dragon Fist.
    • Other characters with Shoryuken-style moves include Ms. Fortune, who has a kick-based variation called Fiber Uppercut, and Big Band, with Beat Extend.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog has two of these moves as the Werehog in the Play Station 3/Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed. The moves are even called the "Sho-Hog-ken", and the "Sho-Claw-Ken."
  • The SpongeBob Movie Game gives SpongeBob one, fitting with his karate training, and adds an upgrade where his safety gear is replaced with an iron gauntlet with spiked knuckles. And it explodes. The uppercut however doesn't give much horizontal distance so it's not very useful when platforming. You do need it though against floating foes.
  • The MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic gives this to Bounty Hunters pretty early on. With ROCKETS.
  • Trope Namers: Ryu and Ken from the Street Fighter games. Note that it can also be subjected to misspelling, with it also being written/typed out as "Shōryūken" or more simply as "Shouryuuken".
    • Also Sagat (Tiger Uppercut/Tiger Blow), Akuma (Gou Shoryuken), Sakura (Shou-ouken), Dan (Koryuken), Sean (Dragon Smash), Dudley (Jet Upper and Rocket Uppercut), Gouken (Shin/Kinjite Shoryuken), Seth (Shoryuken), Luke (Rising Uppercut), etc, etc.
    • Cammy's Cannon Spike acts more like a Shoryuken than other kicks.
      • Yun and Yang have a handplant rising kick that also functions the same. At least until 3rd Strike, where Yang started to roll before unleashing the move so it became a ranged attack. For Yun's version, it's the Nishoukyaku (Two Soaring Legs), and for Yang onwards and for only him, it's the Senkyuutai (Drilling Bow Thigh), which is one of many other martial arts moves used by other fighting game characters.
      • Chun-Li's Tenshoukyaku (Ascension Legs) works like that as well, except it goes up sweeping the opponent with a series of upward spinning kicks.
    • Cody has his own uppercut called Criminal Upper that creates a vortex of wind; while he can be hit out of it, once the vortex is out, nothing can get past it until it dissipates. He also doesn't leave the ground for his version.
    • There also exists the Metsu Shoryuken (Destroying Rising Dragon Fist). It is the reason Sagat sports that scar on his chest, as Ryu, during the finals of the First World Warrior Tournament, succumbed to his desire to win and was overcome by the Satsui no Hadou, resulting in him rising up to strike Sagat as the Thai warrior was in the process of helping Ryu up after pinning him. The move is available to Ryu in both Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Super Street Fighter IV as a weaker/stronger version of the Shin Shoryuken.
    • Capcom loves to Homage this move in their own games as well:
      • In the hidden fighting minigame in Mega Man 7, Mega Man has a Shoryuken as a special movenote , which filtered to later appearances in Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters and the Marvel vs. Capcom series.
      • Dante from Devil May Cry has the Rising Dragon as part of his Bare-Fisted Monk moveset starting with Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening. Devil May Cry 5 adds in a charged-up version based off of Ken's Shinryuken — which doubles as an Actor Allusion, since Reuben Langdon voices both Ken and Dante. Vergil also has his Beast Uppercut which can be charged to become Dragon Breaker, which acts as Ken's Shoryureppa.
      • Monster Hunter Generations gives the Sword and Shield a Hunter Arts attack called "Shoryugeki" (Rising Dragon Attack), which performs a leaping uppercut using their shield, causing a good bit of stun damage. Monster Hunter: World added the classic Shoryuken as a purchasable Emote as part of a Street Fighter V collaboration; while it can be used in battle (and has minor invincibility frames), it does trivial damage. The Iceborne expansion gives Sword and Shield a Claw Uppercut using the new Clutch Claw weapon, which is far more useful. The Shoryugeki returns in Monster Hunter: Rise as the Metsu Shoryugeki, gaining a guard point on startup that can counter a monster's attack and increase the damage and amount of hits on the way up.
      • Warriors of Fate has this as a hidden manoeuvre for Zhao Yun/Subutai.
  • In Streets of Rage 2 and 3, Axel ends his Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs style forward-special, the Dragon Smash, with one of these. His "Bare Knuckle"/"Grand Upper" blitz attack is another rising uppercut, but doesn't have a jump component to it. In the beta version of the second game, he had a Shoryuken and a Hurricane Kick as standalone moves.
  • From Super Robot Wars: Original Generation, the final part of Soulgain's Code Kirin is this. With Blade Below the Shoulder.
  • Super Smash Bros.:
    • Moves of this sort are a vital mechanic throughout the series, almost always placed on the Up-B input. Not only do they serve as rising anti-air or surprise options as in traditional fighting games, they also serve as a makeshift triple jump to gain more vertical distance should their double jump be used up. The series calls this maneuver "recovering."
    • Mario and Luigi (fittingly the Ryu/Ken equivalents of the series) have a move called the Super Jump Punch, a move described as a mix of the air-punching jump in the 2D Mario games and the traditional Shoryuken. Their variations on the move are even equated to those of Ryu and Ken. Mario's is a mid-power, all-purpose anti-air move that hits multiple times and gains him some forward distance as well. Luigi's is primarily offensive, strictly vertical, hits only once with incredible power, and sets the target on fire, but unfortunately it requires perfect timing and extremely close proximity for this effect, otherwise it basically does nothing and leaves him highly vulnerable.
    • Dr. Mario in Melee, as a clone of Mario, had a Super Jump Punch equal in function to Mario's. When he returned in Wii U/3DS, his Super Jump Punch was made into a hybrid of Mario and Luigi's, being an anti-air, combo finisher, and KO move all in one.
    • Mega Man also has one in the fourth title with his up tilt, which was explicitly designed off of his Mega Upper mentioned in the Marvel vs. Capcom section.
    • Ganondorf's Dark Dive is a leaping grab that ends in an uppercut regardless of whether it landed. One of its custom move variations, Dark Fists, is a more archetypical example; it purely consists of two much more powerful uppercuts.
    • Zero Suit Samus' Boost Kick in the fourth game is a kick-based variation of this type of move.
    • And then after a long time of Suspiciously Specific Denial, Ryu himself shows up as a DLC character in the fourth game. In addition to having the Shoryuken proper as a special move fittingly (and which can be executed with the SRK motion for increased damage) his Final Smash is the Shin Shoryuken if triggered right up against an opponent. Ryu's "Congratulations" screen for finishing Classic Mode even shows himself and other Smash characters Dragon Punching.
    • And in Ultimate, Ken was added to the game as Ryu's Echo Fighter. He has a flaming Shoryuken a la Marvel vs. Capcom (And just like Ryu, he can use the command input for greater damage), and, if his Final Smash is triggered when not right next to an opponent, it becomes his signature Shinryuken.
    • Terry Bogard also comes to Ultimate, using the Rising Tackle as his Up Special. Like Ryu and Ken, you can use the command imput(down-up) for greater damage and invincibility frames. He also has the Power Dunk for his Down Special, which uses the Shoryuken command input.
  • In addition to canon examples, Super Smash Bros. fan works tend to have their own versions.
  • T'ai Fu: Wrath of the Tiger has T'ai Fu learn from the ghost of his father, the Fist of the Tiger. This is a near-vertical, multi-hit shoryuken that does a ton of damage from all the hits it can usually land.
  • Tatsunoko vs. Capcom has Ippatsuman's Quick Stance, a Shoryuken version of his Justice Liner dash attack, which has little vertical range but has large horizontal range. If he performs Quick Stance while dashing, it gains further horizontal reach. Karas has Narukami, which is a Shoryuken with a sword (he does it in his OVA too).
  • Aska in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, and Michelangelo, Amaggon, Shredder, and War have variations.
  • Various members of the Mishima clan in the Tekken games have variants of this. One version is actually called the Dragon Uppercut.
    • Bruce has this as well. It's called "Tornado Uppercut," though unlike most examples it's not a standalone move, but done as a followup to a low sweep kick. Then there are Alex/Roger Jr. and Bob, who also have a similar move.
  • Marisa's Miasma Sweep in the Touhou Project fighting games. Her version of the rising uppercut is supplemented with her Flying Broomstick for added oomph.
  • In The World Ends with You, this is an entire category of attacks: Vulcan Uppercut. The first one most to all players get is Murasame.
    • And Shiki's ground finisher, which even has the invincibility frames the original is famous for.
  • In the Worms games, one of the attacks commonly featured is the Fire Punch, a jumping rising flaming punch. The default sound set has "Shoryuken!" as the attack quote.
    • A similar Freeware game, Hedgewars, keeps the tradition, even using the original name.
  • The Create-A-Wrestler modes in most of THQ's WWE games has a version of the Dragon Punch available as a finisher (usually called the Rising Uppercut).

    Anime & Manga 
  • Daimos had it as his finishing move, using his wind generator to launch the enemy mecha into the air and then jumping to meet him half way through the fall and punch right through him. Hilariously, that attack is not named Shoryuken... but he HAS a weapon named Shoryuken that has nothing to do with the move. note 
  • Dragon Ball:
    • Goku does this against King Piccolo, Hildegarn and Super Android 17.
    • Gohan uses one on Perfect Cell; when it shows up in video games, it's even named "Ryushouken", using the exact same kanji as "Shoryuken" but swapped around (the English name is "Soaring Dragon Strike").
  • Sousuke in Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu pulls one off against a thug, complete with spinning.
  • In Gundam Build Fighters Try, Sekai's Jigen Haoh Martial Arts has the Souten Guren Ken (Soaring Crimson Fist). Episode 10 sees an especially effective usage: Sekai's Cool Big Sis Mirai, who "took a few lessons" in Jigen Haoh when she was younger, uses it against a Jerkass pop idol; since her Gunpla is much smaller than his, it turns into a Groin Attack.
  • Hajime no Ippo:
  • Spoofed on Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens: When Jin was a little kid he tried it fell into a swamp.
  • Keijo!!!!!!!! has an instance of this being performed with breasts; the attack is called "Shoryupai"note  in Japanese and "Shoryucans" in English.
  • In the D of D Tournament of Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple, the boxer Takeda uses a variation of this, called "the frog punch", to knock out the opponent with his first punch.
  • Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid: Having a Shotoclone moveset, Vivio Takamachi's Accel Smash is her version of the Shoryuken and it's her own Signature Move. Similar like Ken, Vivio is more of a Shoryuken-based character and has several variations of it, including Accel Smash W and Exceed Smash. The names of her Accel Smash and Exceed Smash are a homage to her mother's Device's Axel Mode and Exceed Mode.
  • Martian Successor Nadesico has Gai Daigouji's Gai Super Upper, in which he does it in a Humongous Mecha.
  • Naruto uses a similar move to finish Neji off in the Chunin Exams, which he used after burrowing underground. Kakashi does the same thing in Part II when fighting a duplicate of Itachi.
  • Nagi of Negima! Magister Negi Magi literally punches out The Mage Of Beginnings with one at the end of the Ala Rubra movie that Jack Rakan showed. Considering all the Fighting Game references in the series, it may be a Shout-Out to Street Fighter.
    • Later on, Negi hits Goedel with one that looks exactly the same.
  • The Hiryuu Shouten Ha, an ancient Joketsuzoku technique in Ranma ½, is basically a spinning uppercut that rises from a very low crouch (which doesn't actually hit the opponent). It's characterized by creating a temperature clash between hot and cold Battle Auras that, using the uppercut as a vector, creates wind blasts of varying intensity (from "flinging the enemy off his feet" to "raging tornado that sticks around for several minutes.") Usually, the intent is threefold: first, to smack the opponent(s) with a blast of the user's freezing-cold Battle Aura (once described by a victim as "An icy wall of power rising at me"), then, pick them up in the ensuing tornado, disorienting them and dizzying them, and finally, depending on how high up they were flung into the air, finishing them off with the ensuing crash into the ground. Ranma, martial arts savant that he is, has repurposed the technique into multiple specialized variants and has even learned to "fly" within the tornado himself with considerable skill, riding the air currents to no ill effect.
  • Probably one of the original users of this move, if not THE originator, is Dragon Shiryu from Saint Seiya, with his Rozan Shoryuha.
  • Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie: Used by the Trope Codifiers themselves. First seen at the beginning of the film, during the flashback of Ryu's fateful bout with Sagat. Ken administers his against T. Hawk, when he makes the mistake of picking a fight with Ken and wouldn't take "no" for answer.
  • In the first episode of Tora Dora. Taiga knocks out the considerably taller Ryuuji with one powerful uppercut.
  • Variable Geo: In the final episode, Yuka is forced to use her Soryu Gekki to stop Damian's alter ego from killing Siritahi (seen at 4:28-4:59). Though it ends up killing him outright, which wasn't her intention; making it a case of Doesn't Know Her Own Strength.
  • A couple of guards block the hallway. Yuugi or Juudai would challenge them to a duel in order to earn the right to pass. Yuusei, on the other hand, just charges in with one of these on one guard, followed quickly by a Hurricane Kick to the other. What you would expect to take an entire episode is wrapped up in about 2 seconds.

    Comic Books 

    Fan Works 

    Film - Animated 
  • In the opening of Shrek 2, while fighting off an angry mob, Princess Fiona delivers a Shoryuken, immediately following up with Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick.
  • Turning Red: Tae Young breaks out of his cage with a Shoryuken in 4*Town's introduction at the concert.

    Film Live-Action 
  • The grandma in Aliens in the Attic pulls this off while under Mind Control.
  • During Civil War's massive airport battle sequence, Iron Man and War Machine resort to using a double Shoryuken against Giant-Man, whose legs had been bound together by Spiderman, to knock him out of the fight.

    Professional Wrestling 
  • WWE wrestler Christian is taken to at times perform a flying European uppercut from the top rope. While not an explicit example of a Shoryuken, commentator Matt Striker has on at least one occasion called out "SHORYUKEN!!!" in classic Street Fighter Style, after the move has been performed.
  • Independent wrestler Craig "Human Tornado" Williams also uses a Shoryuken on an opponent rebounding from the ropes.
  • Antonio Cesaro has a move called the Very European Uppercut which is essentially a standing Shoryuken, complete with 360 spin. He also has a jumping variation done from the middle rope that looks similar to Sol Badguy's Volcanic Viper.
  • King of the Goths and otherwise played straight hardcore/deathmatch wrestler Jimmy Havoc does one as a signature move, even shouting "SHORYUKEN!" while doing so, making for quite a shocking contrast between chair shots and giving people papercuts.

    Web Comics 
  • 8-Bit Theater In one of the gag strips, Fighter accidentally stumbles across this, while trying to learn Black Mage's Hadoken. Naturally Black Mage was the recipient of the attack. Bonus Points for having Fighter say that he thinks he pushed the incorrect buttons.
  • Ctrl+Alt+Del's Ethan does this to The Grinch when he catches him trying to steal his presents. And then threatens to "perform The Nutcracker, and I'm not talking about the ballet" if he bleeds on any of them.

    Web Original 
  • The Angry Video Game Nerd uses one against Bugs Bunny during his review of Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout.
  • Burnt Face Man performs this on Bastard Man in an episode, complete with the audio clip from Street Fighter.
  • Dragon Ball Z Abridged:
    • Referenced when Frieza kills King Vegeta with an uppercut punch; he shouts "Shoryuken", followed by the game announcer congratulating him and Frieza giving a flat "Yatta".
    • Referenced again after Vegeta badly winds second-form Cell.
      Cell: Just...can I..have a minute?
      Vegeta: Sure you can.
      Cell: Well, thank you. That's appreci — (Vegeta punches him into the air)
  • Dr. Insano uses one against The Nostalgia Critic during the attempt to overthrow the latter after the take over of Molossia.
    • This was a reference to the Brawl the previous year, where Spoony pulled one off on Little Miss Gamer.
  • In the Flash game Toss the Turtle, one of the aides to maximize your distance is a happy-go-lucky banana... that uppercuts you sky high without skipping a beat if you so much as touch it. Complete with "SHORYUKEN!" sound effect.

    Western Animation 
  • In My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, The season four episode, 'Daring Don't' features Daring Do nailing more than one of Ahuizotl's cats with this move!
  • Teen Titans (2003): In "Winner Takes All", Robin's last hit that knocks out Hot Spot has him performing a skyward spinning punch based off this move.

    Real Life 

    Other 

Alternative Title(s): Rising Uppercut, Dragon Punch

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Roy uppercut

Roy performs an uppercut after two punches.

How well does it match the trope?

4 (9 votes)

Example of:

Main / Shoryuken

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