The character is envisioned as a "jack of all trades" in a vein similar to Link while skewing more towards offense than the defensive Link. While his blade has noticeably less range than other sword fighters (Katanas are shorter than the European broadswords and rapiers which inspire the swords used by Link and Marth; at most he has Marth's vBrawl range), this is made up for by the speed of his attacks as well as his projectiles.
The character base for Takamaru would actually be Link. On top of providing the necessary articles to be referenced for his projectiles, the relationship between the two brother series cannot be understated. Whereas Johnny was the biggest influence on my ideas for Lyn,
Baiken, another Guilty Gear character, and Kenshin Himura of the Rurouni Kenshin anime series served as the greatest inspirations for my ideas for Takamaru.
Running speed: Between Marth and PM Pit (Closer to Marth)
Wall Jump: Yes
Wall Cling: No
Tether: No
Reflector: Yes (First draw of Forward Smash)
Fall Speed: Fast
Weight Class: Lightweight
Jump heights: Average (think Fox)
Jab: Takamaru swings his sheathed sword once from left to right. Pressing jab again has him do it again from right to left. The third jab has Takamaru draw his sword, thrusting it by the hilt forward at an opponent's midsection before deftly sheathing it again.
F-Tilt: Takamaru turns his back on an opponent before thrusting his sword forward at them.
Think of Baiken's S guard cancel attack from Guilty Gear. This attack can also be angled.
D-Tilt:
Takamaru sweeps his sheathed blade forward along the ground to hit his opponent's ankle with the lowest part of the scabbard. Can be rapid fired.
U-Tilt:
Takamaru flicks/draws his sword hilt out and upward near himself hitting an opponent with the butt of the blade. This launches opponents for juggles. "...I wasn't finished speaking."
F-Smash:
Takamaru does a two step Battoujutsu styled draw similar in style to Himura Kenshin's final attack in the Rurouni Kenshin series. The second swing is generated with a second press of the A button.
D-Smash: Takamaru unsheathes his sword and drops on one knee stabbing the ground in front of himself. A quake is then generated in a small area on both sides of himself launching opponents upward somewhat. (Think PM Wario's down smash)
U-Smash: Takamaru does a short hop knee kick that launches upward before drawing his sword in a solid attack arc above himself then sheathing his sword before landing. This attack arc is similar to Meta Knight's Up Smash.
N-Air: Takamaru performs a single hit spinning draw slash from left to right with great force. The momentum of this draw spins Takamaru around allowing the attack to create a ring around himself. (Think of Dante's jumping heavy attack in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 or Roy's N-Air performed by Takamaru unsheathing his sword with the momentum from the draw spinning him around once before he re-sheathes the sword.)
F-Air:
Takamaru slashes a straight horizontal arc in front of himself before quickly sheathing his sword. (Note: Moves referenced in links are not an indication of how I perceive their actual distances.) Can be used for carry combos but does not have a lot of active frames.
B-Air: Takamaru performs a somersault in the air slashing from under to behind himself in a manner similar to
Baiken's H guard cancel attack from Guilty Gear.
U-Air: Takamaru sweeps his katana above his head after a draw. This is similar in nature to
Baiken's Youzansen.
D-Air: (
Ryu Tsui Sen) Takamaru draws his sword straight downward in a power streaking movement then re-sheathes it. The attack has a very small range and active time but is a true spike.
Neutral B:
Fireballs: Takamaru can launch will-o-wisp style fireballs that travel straight forward with this move. Holding B generates a larger wisp made of multiple fireballs (reflecting the Pawn, Knight, Rook and Bishop power ups in Mysterious Murasame Castle) that moves forward in a coil motion before exploding or scattering in different directions. You cannot store this charge however.
Forward B:
Windmill Shuriken: Throws a shuriken projectile forward that generates a wall of wind before dissipating completely. Holding the B button (again, referencing the power ups in Mysterious Murasame Castle) charges this move allowing it to go farther and generate even greater winds. These winds push people out while dealing damage. (Think of Link's vBrawl Gale Boomerang except it does damage as it pushes and doesn't come back to Takamaru)
Down B:
Empty Step: Takamaru throws a cloak over himself briefly rendering him invisible and intangible save for the cartoonish circular shadow under himself denoting his position on stage. Holding the B button and tilting in a certain direction allows him to move in that direction about for a short amount of time (a quick count to three) before he has to unveil himself (this has a decent cool down animation). As he moves about, this shadow moves along the ground he occupies. Takamaru can only move along the ground forward or backward while he is using this ability. Pressing A during this time allows him to do a sweeping swing of his sword from under himself forward and upward a la Marth's forward tilt. This move has next to no knock back and deals light damage. On block, it can be grab punished.
Upward B:
Whirling Draw: Takamaru rises in a somersault while drawing his blade. The initial draw on the ground launches opponent upward into a series of smaller slashes as he spins and slashes a set height above the ground in a manner similar to Samus' screw attack.
Spot Dodge: Takamaru leans to the side hand on his hilt looking attentively at whatever just passed him by.
Air Dodge: Takamaru is wrapped into his invisibility cloak as Sakura petals show where he is headed before the cloak is cast off.
Grab: Takamaru reaches out for the opponent with one hand outstretched.
Pummel: Takamaru jabs the butt end of his katana at the character's midsection.
Forward throw: Takamaru does a turn around back kick hitting the opponent square in their jaw launching them forward.
Back throw: Takamaru performs a turn around sword draw slice after positioning himself behind the opponent's back.
Up throw: Takamaru throws an clay bomb explosive downward that launches the opponent into the air.
Down Throw: Takamaru jumps on top, stomps once (think Kirby's down throw with a single kick down) and jumps off landing on the other side of the now downed opponent.
Final Smash:
Inazuma Lightning: Takamaru stabs his katana into the air where it is struck by lightning. After this, he then directs the lightning bolts to strike near him on screen before the storm passes.
