Gen Fu
| Gen Fu | |
|---|---|
| Dead or Alive character | |
| 225 px
Gen Fu in Dead or Alive 4 (2005)
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| First game | Dead or Alive (1996) |
| Created by | Tomonobu Itagaki |
| Voiced by (English) | Paul Nakauchi (Dimensions), Kirk Thornton (DOA5) |
| Voiced by (Japanese) | Takeshi Aono (DOA–DOA4), Chikao Ōtsuka (Dimensions-5) |
| Portrayed by | Fang Hue |
| Fictional profile | |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Fighting style | Xing Yi Quan |
| Occupation | Bookstore owner |
Gen Fu (ゲン･フー Gen Fū?, derived from Chinese: 元夫 Pinyin: Yuán Fū) is a fictional Chinese character in the video game series Dead or Alive. One of the original characters in the DOA series, he is an old martial arts master who specializes in the Xinyi Liuhe Quan fighting style. He fights in the DOA tournaments to obtain money to cure his sick granddaughter, Mei Lin. In the second tournament, he wanted to defeat Gohyakumine Bankotsubo because the nose of a Tengu can cure any disease. However, after the events of Dead or Alive 2, he still needed money for the operation (the nose was only a temporary cure), so he joins again in Dead or Alive 3. His task fulfilled at the end, he no longer joins the DOA tournaments, though he still remains a playable character in later games. In Dead or Alive 4, he is revealed to be Eliot's teacher, and is the final boss for the latter's story mode. He is only seen at the end of Eliot's chapter in Dead or Alive 5's story mode, and he is ready to teach Eliot a more advanced kung-fu.
From the series' inception up to Dead or Alive 4, Gen Fu was voiced by Takeshi Aono. After his voice acting career ended in 2010 due to an illness, which he later died of in 2012, his role was taken up by Chikao Ohtsuka, who voiced him in Dead or Alive: Dimensions and Dead or Alive 5. Ohtsuka passed away in January 2015, and subsequently, Gen Fu does not appear at all in Dead or Alive 6, with his entire moveset being given to Eliot instead. In the English dubbed games, he was voiced by Timothy Enos in Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore, Paul Nakauchi in Dead or Alive: Dimensions, and Kirk Thornton in Dead or Alive 5.
History
Dead or Alive 1
Gen Fu was a humble book store owner and master of Xingyi Liuhe Quan, a powerful and dangerous martial art involving the use of the hands and upper body. He lived out his days in solitude and peaceful tranquility. But when he found out his granddaughter Mei Lin (美琳 Měilín) had contracted a terrible disease (it is never stated exactly what she is suffering from), he entered the DoA tournament, intending to use the prize money to pay for her costly treatment.
Dead or Alive 2
Requiring the nose of Tengu so that a medicinal cure for his grand-daughter can be made, Gen Fu enters the tournament again.
Dead or Alive 3
Gen Fu ranks in the second tournament, and thanks to the prize money Mei Lin is making a steady recovery. However, to complete the surgery and pay for a full revalidation, Gen Fu again needs a vast sum of money. For this reason, Gen Fu fights yet again. It is implied that Gen Fu ranked second place in the third DoA tournament.
Dead or Alive 4
As Mei Lin has fully recovered from her disease, Gen Fu no longer enters the Dead or Alive tournament, though he is shown as being the master of Eliot. Gen Fu is seen in his apprentice's CG movie, sparring with him. He is also the one that Eliot faces in the final match during Eliot's Story Mode.
While not canonically involved in the game, he can be unlocked as a secret character.
Dead or Alive 5
In Dead or Alive 5, Gen Fu briefly appears as a background character during some of Brad Wong and Eliot's scenes in the game's story mode. He is also an unlockable character in the original 2012 release of the game, however himself, Alpha-152 and the three Virtua Fighter characters (Akira Yuki, Pai Chan and Sarah Bryant) are all unlocked by default in the game's re-releases Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate and Dead or Alive 5 Last Round instead of being unlockable characters like they are in the original version of the game.
Personality
Gen Fu is very much an honorable man, as well as a model martial artist. He is wise and kind-hearted, but somewhat gruff and closed to other fighters in the tournament. Gen Fu also has a slight case of tunnel vision, in that he seems to put the prospect of his granddaughter's recovery above all else. Much like Ryu Hayabusa, he adopts a tranquil nature, much akin to water; free flowing most of the time, but unforgiving and crushing when roused. Furthermore, Gen Fu is very articulate. He paints, writes poems and ponders on the philoshophical aspects of his martial art as well as on that of the world around him.
Gameplay
Gen Fu, although slow, is very powerful. His single strikes alone can do massive damage (such as his Tanpa). His gameplay could be compared to Bayman's, although unlike Bayman, Gen Fu's throws are less powerul but create more opportunities (his Unpei-Nichigetsu-Ha is an excellent tiger knee for air-juggles for example, though the timing required to execute these combos can be quite strict). His forward+P esque attacks result in massive damage, but his attacks rely on timing and presentation due to his slow recovery time and execution. Despite his age and lack of speed, he is highly considered to be one of the best characters in the classic DOA games, and is also generally considered to be one of the more beginner-friendly characters.
Trivia
In DOA 3 Gen Fu could be friends with Bass Armstrong as he is seen talking with Gen Fu about his concerns for Tina. Gen Fu looks at Tina as she passes by.
In the DOA Movie, Gen Fu can be seen Fighting Lei Fang. He also has a brief fight with Kasumi, but the scene was left out of the film. It is featured amongst the deleted scenes on the DVD. Portrayed by Fang Liu.
Gen Fu's default tag partner in DOA 2 is Helena Douglas; in DOA 3 his default tag partner is Brad Wong (although Helena is still his secondary tag partner). In DOA4, his main tag partner is Eliot, however both Helena and Brad Wong can also be used as primary tag partners. Eliot is also his default tag partner in DOA5. However, for unknown reasons, his unique tag intros and outros with both Helena and Brad Wong were removed from DOA5.
