This is part 2 in our continuing efforts to drop science about who's who in the glorious Tatsunoko Vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, this time featuring Batsu and Casshern.  Check out part 1 with Ryu and Ken (Ken the Eagle, not Ken Masters) here.

Batsu:

Bio:
The “Ryu” of Rival Schools, Batsu Ichimonji  is the new kid on the block at Taiyo High, a Japanese high school mysteriously filled with a superpowered student body.  High school is kind of a big deal in Japan, and Batsu is the heart-throbby mysterious loner transfer student (his in-game subtitle is the totally subtle “Hot-blooded transfer student”), on a quest to find his disappeared mom. 

Dragging cutie Hinata (not Sakura!) along in his quest, as well as the double triple agent, Kyosuke (who returned as a low-tier superstar in Capcom Vs SNK 2, and looks suspiciously like Stargate’s Dr. Daniel Jackson) Batsu lives out the oedipal fantasy of saving mom AND beating the tar out of dad at the same time. Both Hinata and Kyosuke have cameos in Batsu’s TvC ending, and Batsu’s story continued in Project Justice (aka Rival Schools 2), where he’s (falsely? No spoilers!) accused of attacking other high schools and must fight to clear his name.

Where You Know Him From:

Batsu was pretty much the man in Rival Schools: United by Fate.  Though it came to US arcades during a weird time in fighting game history, it had a lot of fun, over-the-top gameplay, with hilarious tag-team supers, as well as some of the worst English voiceover in recent memory.  For the record, being united by fate is way, way better than being united by glue, or gravity, or cell-mate assignment.

Signature Moves:

Kiai Dan aka “Guts Bullet”: a giant fireball-style attack, presumably harnessing all of Batsu’s pent up high-school angst into a mighty projectile.

Double Ryuusei Kick (w/Casshern): Rival Schools is all about teamwork, so of course Batsu’s ultimate technique is bringing in his partner to open up a can of whupass.  The precise technique he’ll do depends on which teammate you’ve picked (which is rad), but the most devastating of them all is the Double Ryuusei Kick, which does massive damage as Batsu and his teammate take to the air before spinning earthward in a flurry of baffling damage. 

First Appearance:  Rival Schools: United by Fate. 

Last Appearance:  Street Fighter Online: Mouse Generation, and Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars


Casshern

Bio: 

(From Wikipedia) Tetsuya Azuma, also known as Casshern, is a cybernetic neoroider (aka "neo-human"). Tetsuya turned himself into a cyborg for the purpose of hunting down and destroying robots that have taken over the world. His late biological father, Dr. Azuma, was the inventor of the robots that were originally intended to serve humankind. However the robots mutinied en masse when their cold logic concluded that the good of the Earth Ecosystem required the destruction of the human race. 

In addition to super-human strength and agility, his solar-powered body features a number of unique android functions, including an opening and closing facemask and waist-mounted pulsar propellers. Casshern and his robotic dog, Friender, join forces with a beautiful girl named Luna to battle the robots led by their brutal boss known as the Blackking Boss.

Where you know him from:  You probably don’t, unless you are a fan of Japanese anime, or are just cool enough to know when movies this rad are coming out. 

Signature Moves: 

Friender Summon
Casshern calls Friender, his robot dog, to help out.  There are three versions of the attack. 

Light attack gets you a flying Friender tackle. 

Medium Attack gets Friender to run in and bite the opponent's leg, immobilizing them for a second.  Yes, this works even on the giant Gold Lightan, and yes, it is hilarious. 

For Hard Attack, Friender busts out his trademark fire breath.  Dog that shoots fire when he barks > dog that shoots bees. 

Brutal Axe: 
The super-ified version of Casshern’s famous flying chop, known to cut giant robots cleanly in two.  This chop is so juicy that an epic pillar of devastation arises after it hits the ground. 

First Seen:  Casshan, Tatsunoko Production, 1973

Last Appearance:  Casshern Sins 2008, Tatsunoko Vs Capcom, 2009