So now were down to citing specific discrepancies and placing value on completely ridiculous things? Iori down c wont hit any range that kim st.b is effective from, I dont even have to boot up the game to see that. And I dont even know why youre trying to downplay air ex qcb+k. Your example with kyo is makes no sense because kyo, or anyone with an anti-air, when on the ground, is not in a vulnerable position that gives them offense when the opponent is passive. We're talking about a situation (jumping in) which is an action that carries risk normally, then having a move that can circumvent that risk, also (this is the important part) being an option that no other top tier has access to.
Hwajai yes has great short-term lock down mostly because of his jab. Still doesn't have the range of st.b, once he gets to that range he uses st.d, but then using st.d gives the opponent a chance to escape since its - and you won't catch a jump-out without waiting or guessing. He has cd which is + but slow start up. He has the burden of having to use more options than kim to keep you in place. kim can just hit d, if the opponent jumps or does nothing he has the advantage again, which is beat by mids, but this puts you at risk since you don't really want to hit those kinds of buttons in these situations in general. Hwa qcb+d is + but it can be rolled on reaction with no risk. In this area I think hwa is more dangerous but kim has better tools.
Shen I agree with, obviously since I think he is in the same tier as kim.
And lol ralf and leona? Yea they got their stuff, everyone in the game does, but if ralf and leona are better than kim in the ways he is strong, then where are all the ralfs and leonas? If you want to step into reality for a moment, kim is a proven tournament character. Even more proven than claw iori, especially after the first 9 months. Early on no one used kim and claw iori was very common, but as the game evolved, these characters went on opposite paths. Players got better at defense, controlling space defensively, air footsies and keeping iori out, and those skills made a character like kim better and better. Look at the finals for any hilevel tournament, evo, any majors with socal 4 kings or cafeid or top french, and count how many claw ioris you see in the top 8 or top 4 compared to kim. Kim is simply safer and more reliable, more able to control the match in every way.
1. Yes claw iori can hit st b with cr c because of the range and the speed... It's a 1 frame punish iori can also punish it with super or st b of his own. Don't tell me about a character that I main because you're definitely gonna lose this debate. Also you're nuts if you think the game has evolved to where claw iori is less of a threat. You can't out air footsie a character who has godlike air footsies like jump b, jump d literally arches his foot over other moves and he can bop other characters going into the air throwing out moves or he can arch his foot over some anti airs, he has a fast hop speed with a great angle on it.
Also that's cute that you think you can keep iori out with 1-2 bars claw iori can get into anywhere.lol
2. Kim is safer than iori when most of Iori's moves have more frame advantage or less disadvantage than Kim's lol
3. Claw iori is still making top 8 and wining tournaments look at bala, tc yoshi, lacid, and plenty of Japanese players nuff said. But what Kim's have you seen when a major lately? I believe the correct answer is none
4. Ralf... Bala (seconds), fixel (mains), and madkof seconds him. Ralf is played more than you think especially in japan but hey maybe I'm the only one who pays attention to ibg YouTube channel
5. Leona another character getting used more and more. Her normals have crazy advantage projectile game is amazing and once she has you in the corner he has a legit 50/50 at any time thanks to her instant overhead which is also cancelable for huge damage. You should learn about characters before you speak on them
6. Ralf better block strings, great meter building ability, air dive punch is safe at all times and is super cancelable, instant air overhead, great footsies, strong normals, ex's that make up for his weakness, ex super with armor and invincibility on it and about a 3-5 frame start up, stun combos that aren't difficult and amount to massive damage, moves with giant hitboxes that stop you from just randomly progressing forward, a sweep that lowers his hit box drastically, cancelable jump jab, cancelable air blow back, a blow back that moves him forward and is relatively fast.
7. No other top tier can reduce the risk of jumping? Lol
Benimaru can change his jump angle in 3 or 4 different ways whileeeee putting a hitbox on the screen that can make you hurt yourself for trying to AA him.lol
Hwa jai can also by air dping himself to the ground
8. Cafeid members play Kim for national pride... You'd know that if you watched their stream when that was explained.
But most also play claw or flame iori as well
