Month: October 2017

Left: Wongnation|LostSoul Center: r/Kappa|Taka Right: r/Kappa|Kedako

CEOtaku 2017 was invaded by a number of strong Japanese players. The anime-centric tournament in Florida proved to be a magnet for talent from all over the world. Taka, sponsored by r/Kappa, is one such player; the reddit subforum helped the famous Slayer player travel to the United States. You can regularly see him on Japanese channels like Joniosan’s.

Taka triumphed in Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2. He also did extremely well in Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R, losing only to fellow Japanese player Kedako. We caught up with Taka right after the Guilty Gear Grand Finals at CEOtaku 2017.

Thanks to Aksys Games for providing a translator for the interview. Edited for clarity.

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Woocash: How was fighting LostSoul in the Grand Finals? You played him twice, actually.

Taka: I’ve been keeping an eye on LostSoul for a while because he’s famous. One of the known points about him is that he learns fast. During the Grand Finals, I was scared that he came up with some way to defeat me. During Winners Finals, I had a plan… I was expecting Kedako to emerge from Losers, but he didn’t. When I first beat LostSoul, he told me “I’ll be back.”

Woocash: How were your other matches with American players? Who were you worried about?

Taka: Aahh.. Foo, MarlinPie, KidViper, Zidane. I lost to MarlinPie last year during Evo’s pools.

Woocash: If you could make any changes in the next version of Guilty Gear, what changes would you make?

Taka: Right now, my playstyle is very aggressive. I’m trying to be more calm and defensive, but not too much, for more of a hybrid style. As for the game, the balance is good enough right now. There are just a few skills that I’d like to iron out that are sort of incomplete. There are things with hitboxes and interactions that are a little weird, sometimes.

Woocash: How much do you play Accent Core still? Thoughts on the tournament?

Taka: There’s a tournament every week at Mikado, I’m there every Friday. I use Anji. I try to stay good with both. As for fighting Kedako, I haven’t played him outside of Japan except for Evo last year. Kedako was much better than me and beat me down that time, but this time, it was much better.

Woocash: Why won’t use you Slayer in Accent Core?

Taka: I’m an old-guard Anji player, but he’s not in Xrd, so I use Slayer.

Woocash: So you prefer Anji over Slayer?

Taka: Currently, Slayer really suits my playstyle. I can’t say who’s better, but my playstyle really matches with his aggressive moves.

Woocash: In the future, do you want to come to more US tournaments?

Taka: I will definitely want to come to Evo next year and to other tournaments if it’s financially feasible.

Woocash: Any other comments, or things you’d like to say?

Taka: I’ve known CEOtaku for a while, and I’m very happy to have finally come and won the GG championship. My next step is Toushinsai in Japan. I’m partnering with T5M7 (Tomo) and Issamu. I also want to do my best there!

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Take a look at our CEOtaku 2017 results page for more information about the tournament, and you can also read our interview with Dora_Bang.