Annotated Appendix: Q

I couldn't wait to make this one.

Like the Urien episode, I have been bottling up some wild speculation for over a year before I finally sat down and made the thing. I've stockpiled rare art, went through old magazines and strategy guides, and watched lots (and lots) of high-level Q footage to be as prepared as I will ever be to produce this. I mean, it kind of sucks that Capcom finally did something with the character in the form of G, but still, after looking all over the internet to find any more weird explainers for this character and his backstory, I'm confident in the conclusions I've come up, even if they're total bullshit. I really hope you enjoy this one!

Things I should have brought up in this episode: his outfit colors. As Capcom is not shy about their comic book inspirations, Q definitely has some trench coat-sporting antecedents that are called out by whichever button is pressed when selecting him, but these, of course, have never been confirmed. The yellow is certainly Dick Tracy, a 1930s comic strip crime fighter. The others are more open to interpretation. I think the hidden color (big butter Q) is basically the primordial representation, just like how Twelve looks. The white is likely a shout out to the original appearances of DC/ Charleton character The Question, mentioned early in the video. (sadly, there's no blue color scheme to make reference to the 1980s, and by extension, phenomenal 2004 Justice League Unlimited Question) The red? I don't know, Carmen Sandiego? Happy to hear other thoughts on this.

Screw ups: I actually had footage of the kara throw that, for whatever reason, didn't make it into this video. Since I mentioned it prominently, it should have been there. There's also some awkwardness in the clips of his UO after bringing up the dashing overhead punch, but whatever. Sorry, that's never getting fixed.

But that's only the first half. The back half talks briefly at the end about some of the Japanese gods and how they've grokked Q, but only in passing. I've actually done this before in other episodes; some characters have specific names attached to them, but I don't bring them up very often. This is the episode that illustrates why I don't.

By that, I mean that we need to talk about Kuroda.

For those not familiar, perhaps the greatest living 3rd Strike player is a Japanese man named Kenji Kuroda. If you think that that last sentence is hyperbole, trust me when I tell you that he can more than effectively use every character on the roster, has been a mainstay of the game's tournament life since it began, understood its engine so well that whole play styles and setups are named after him, and has had many, many DVDs produced of his play for students of the game to buy. Several of them were officially sanctioned by Gamest magazine. While most people consider Daigo Umehara to be the face of this game after he basically saved mainstream FGs, its Kuroda's influence that largely hangs over 3rd Strike. It's impossible to overstate Kuroda's importance in its continued maturation and legacy.

But Kuroda is also quite possibly a sexual predator. Last year, he was arrested for sexual misconduct with an underage girl. Twice. Other young women seem to have come forward with allegations of wrongdoing, and since there haven't been any updates to these stories in the Western gaming press, it's impossible to know what's really going on or his, perhaps probable, convictions. He has been largely and conspicuously absent from high profile tournaments over the last year, including Cooperation Cup, which is telling. In a time where important fight game players are under scrutiny for horrific behavior, Kuroda is a name that is becoming hushed within 3rd Strike circles after many years of adoration. He's also one of the main reasons Q is a viable tournament pick, even if he's low tier.

While there are certainly other great former and current 3S players that use Q (again I'm going to direct you to one of FrankieBFG's 3S Film Room videos of the inimitable TM), Kuroda basically put this character on the map. Because of what he may be involved with --or perhaps in spite of which-- I have a hard time showing any of his footage or mentioning him by name as opposed to someone like Sugiyama's bonkers Necro play. This may be a situation of me passing sentence before judgment and probably is, but since I'm making these videos, it's for me to decide. I can't tell you not to go looking around YouTube for Kuroda match footage, but I'll never send any your way.

I'm in the writing phase for Chun Li's script, and I might take a quick break for a moment after that's finished. Then again, I might just finish the column of characters with Yang and take a break after that. Either way, a short break is likely coming, and probably to work on this incubating Tekken idea I want to get across. All the same, thanks again for watching, and Happy Holidays!