Garou: Mark of the Wolves/Hotaru

Overview

Combos

Matchups

Strategy

Misc.

Introduction

Hotaru is the daughter of a family of martial artists, but is not very fond of violence. She never wants to hurt others, which is the probable reason why her father taught her the lighter side of Chinese kenpo; the Juu-kei style, which suits her easygoing personality. However, after her mother's death, both her father and her older brother were missing from her home. She enters the "King of Fighters: Maximum Mayhem" tournament based on rumors that her brother is there.

Gameplay

Hotaru's Main objective is something.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Really good hit & run play. Good air to air. Has an air throw.	Barely any damage after a low. Not the best normal moves. Not the greatest damage on supers.

Character Colors

Move List

Frame Data Source: https://w.atwiki.jp/garoumow/pages/23.html

Data Help
Disclaimer: This is meant to teach basic terminology used when describing moves.
HitBox:	A predefined area (usually a group of rectangles or circles) that tell the game how any given attack can come in contact with a character. Hitboxes are invisible to the player when normally playing.
HurtBox:	A predefined area (usually a group of rectangles or circles) that tell the game how your character is allowed to get hit by any incoming attack. Specifically, you'll get hit by (or block) an attack if that attack's hitbox ever overlaps your hurtbox.
Throw Box/Range:	Active throw frames and range. Your opponent will be thrown in this field if not in block or hit stun.
Projectile Box:	Hit box on a projectile attack.
Guard/Counter Box:	The Guard Box or Counter Box. This appears when blocking or using a counter move.
Push Box:	Has no bearing on hurt/hit boxes. Just allows characters to not pass through each other. (Also known as "Collision Box".)
Command	the input for the attack.
Start Up	The number of frames that initiate at the beginning of an attack after the input. And when the first hitbox is present. The first active frame is after the last startup frame.
Guard	The way this move must be blocked. High or H or Overhead (especially when from the ground) -- must be blocked standing. High-Low or HL or Mid -- can be blocked either standing or crouching. Low or L -- must be blocked crouching.
Damage	"basic" damage -- unmodified damage values "correct" damage -- damage values modified for damage scaling, TOP multiplier, and defense rate
Guard Crush Value	Decrease your guard durability gauge/meter by that value/s
+	signifies how many advantage frames the attacker has.
-	signifies how many disadvantage frames the attacker has.
KD	means the attack will knock the opponent down.
◯	circle means cancelable on both hit/block.
∞	infinity means chain cancelable with the same button (renda cancel).
※	means cancelable on the first hit/part only.
《 》OR « » OR << >> OR ( )	The numbers in the brackets are the startup frames until the next stage (the gap until the next hit's first active frame).
△	up triangle means only cancelable on block.
▽	down triangle means only cancelable on hit.
× OR X	means not cancelable.

Close Standing Normals

St.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
4	Mid	3	3	7	13
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
+5	+5	◯	◯	◯	4
Hotaru's fastest close normal, with good advantage on block.

St.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
6	Mid	4	3	11	18
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
+1	+1	◯	◯	◯	4

St.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
9	Mid	7	1	21	29
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-1	-1	◯	◯	◯	5
In case the Throw fails, a 'cl. C' will come out instead. On hit/guard it can combo (via Cancel). However clC doesn't have vertical hitbox, a neutral jump to escape the tick throw will leave Hotaru vulnerable.

St.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
9	Mid	6	1	28	35
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-8	-8	◯	◯	◯	5
Hotaru's close D has a decent vertical hitbox, used as a frametrap it can prevent people from jumping out. Feint cancel it to avoid punishes.

Far Standing Normals

Far

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
4	Mid	5	3	10	18
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
+2	+2	◯	◯	◯	4
Unlike most characters, Hotaru's far A is quite weak, it extends her hurtbox a lot. Prefer far B to poke on the ground.

Far

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
7	Mid	6	2	11	19
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
+2	+2	◯	◯	◯	4
3F full invulnerability for the second half of the attack Her best ground poke, with decent speed/distance/hitbox. If it whiffs be ready to anti-air. Cancel it into fireball for a frametrap. Or forward feint cancel it to start an offense once they respect the fireball frametrap.

Far

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
12	Mid	9	1	19	29
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
+1	+1	◯	X	◯	5

Far

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
13	Mid	11	1	22	34
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-2	-2	X	X	X	5
Hotaru's far D is too slow to be used efficiently in the neutral game. Since it has a good range, it can be used as a frametrap, for example with 2C xx 6AC(feint) > far D; but the risk/reward is not really worth it.

Crouching Normals

Cr.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
4	Low	4	4	9	17
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
+2	+2	◯	◯	◯	4
When used as meaty it prevents jumps as well as low profile attempts with 2AB.

Cr.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
7	Low	4	4	9	17
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
+2	+2	X	X	X	4
Hotaru is known for having no decent BNB starting with lows. Use this to remind your opponent that he has to block low, even if it doesn't deal much. Follow up with a frametrap for example. It can be combo'ed from if it hits meaty enough, with 2B(meaty)>2A xx reflect break fireball ... Keep in mind that, in MOTW, a meaty 2B can be escaped via wake-up jump.

Cr.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
9	Low	5	1	25	31
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-5	-5	◯	◯	◯	5
Amazing startup and range, allowing certain punishes from ranges other characters have trouble with. far B xx 6AC > 2C is a frametrap that prevents jumping.

Cr.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
13	Low	7	3	32	42
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
KD	-14	X	X	X	5

Jumping Normals

Jump

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
6	High	4	8	-	-
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-	-	X	◯	◯	4
Has long active frames, can target combo with jA>B or jA>C (whiff on crouchers).

Jump

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
6	High	3	5	-	-
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-	-	X	◯	◯	4
Has the best horizontal reach out of all her air moves, however it doesn't stay active for long.

Jump

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
9	High	4	4	-	-
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-	-	X	◯	◯	5
This is what comes out if you miss your air throw. It whiffs on crouching opponent.

Jump

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
8	High	5	6	-	-
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-	-	X	◯	◯	5
When used deep enough, it can hit people trying to 2AB anti-air.

Command Normals

St.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
10	Overhead	23	4	16	43
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-1	+5	X	X	X	6
Like about any other AB, way too slow to be efficient. It is +5 on guard so you can blockstring or frametrap for it.

Cr.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
10	Mid	8	3	19	30
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-3	+3	X	◯	X	6
1~6F Upper body invincibility Not a very good 2AB, can be used to anti-air people landing not too close in front of you. Can be used to low profile frametraps, or as a frametrap to fish for counterhits since it is positive on guard and cancellable on hit.

T.O.P Attack

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
-	Mid	9	6	-	-
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
KD	-24	X	X	X	25
Very unsafe on block, and if you guardcrush with it you can't combo.

Kou-shuu Da(Needle Kick)
Air +

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
10	Overhead	5	-	-	-
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-	-	X	X	X	9
Stays active for the full duration of the jump. A very annoying tool (unsafe but hard to punish). Once Hotaru "step" on her opponent, she jumps again, and she is allowed to perform another air attack (or spin with CD before attacking). However she loses the ability to air JD, making her vulnerable to anti-airs.

Kuuchuu Furi Muki
Jump

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
-	-	9	-	-	-
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-	-	X	X	X	-

Throws

Tenraku Nage
Close /+

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
14	-	1	-	-	9
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-	-	-	-	-	-
Hotaru's ground throw.

Hantentou
Jump Cl. /+

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
14	-	1	-	-	-
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-	-	-	-	-	-
Hotaru's air throw.

Feint Cancels

++

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
-	-	-	-	-	10
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-	-	-	-	-	-

++

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
-	-	-	-	-	14
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
-	-	-	-	-	-

Special Moves

Hakki-shou
+ /

+	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
	14	-	10	-	-	-
	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
	-5	-5	-	-	-	7
+	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
	16	-	10	-	-	-
	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
	-5	-5	-	-	-	8
Hotaru has a good fireball game, the startup is good and the speed is not bad either. Just don't throw them from full screen, that's a free JD for your opponent. Like any fireball, a jump in can lead to big punish. However Hotaru has her forward feint that does the same motion as her fireball startup, she can mess with her opponent's reflexes. The C version has more damage so use C for combos.

Sou-shou Shin
+ /

+	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
	14	-	10	-	-	-
	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
	KD	-11	-	-	-	-
Unsafe on block. If you combo into this you can probably combo into reflect>fireball for more damage; making this a pretty useless move.
+	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
	21	-	18	-	-	-
	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
	KD	-1	-	-	-	-
This one is -1 on block, so it is somewhat safe, since only punishable with 0F Supers if you try to block but there is a trick to escape this punish explained here Being multi-hit, it can prevent random guardcancels on wakeup, but the startup is so slow that good players will react to it with a full JD + GC at the end.

Kobi-Kyaku
Reflect
+

+	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
	15	-	13	-	-	-
	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
	KD	-19	-	-	-	-
+ Break	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
	15	-	13	-	-	-
	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
	KD	12	-	-	-	-
Hotaru's breakable move (always break it). Use the B version whenever you are doing a combo or need the hitbox, because the B version has a greater hitbox. It gives a huge +12 frame advantage on block, allowing to reapply pressure after a blocked reflect.

Kobi-Kyaku
Reflect
+

+	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
	15	-	13	-	-	-
	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
	KD	-19	-	-	-	-
+ Break	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
	15	-	13	-	-	-
	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
	KD	12	-	-	-	-
This D version is used to reflect fireballs; it has a shorter hitbox, but a greater reflect box. Great meter building tool, use the D version as it gives slightly more meter than the B version. There is a bug with the reflected fireball, if you input a fireball motion it will lose its hurtbox and goes through the opponent (not a very useful bug).

Rengeki-shuu
Divekick
Air + /

Air +	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
	15	-	10	-	-	-
	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
	KD	>=-8	-	-	-	-
Air +	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
	15	-	13	-	-	-
	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
	KD	>=-9	-	-	-	-
Almost always unsafe on block... Can be used as a nige-tatsu (to run away) via jump CD (spin in the air) > divekick in the opposite direction. Used in optimised corner combos, after reflect break. You can use the tigerknee motion 2149B to perform a divekick low to the ground.

Tenshin-shuu
DP B
+

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
13	-	2	-	-	-
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
KD	-12	-	-	-	-
Can be used as an anti-air but is risky against a full air Just Defend. A much safer but harder version of this anti-air would be a 623 4 B/D motion, timed so that if they hit you will JD and guard cancel with your DP, but if they try to air JD, your DP will hits them at an height low enough where the JD won't proc. It has invincible frames so it can be used as a risky "get off me" tool.

Tenshin-shuu
DP D
+

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
22	-	2	-	-	-
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
KD	-31	-	-	-	-
Similar to DP B with more hits and a better anti-air hitbox.

Command Grab
+

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
14	-	9	-	-	-
Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
KD	-	-	-	-	-
Doesn't lead to big damage, but it scores a hard knockdown, allowing for mix-ups. Corner setup showcase : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eycf9BhE0xw

Super Moves

Ten-shou Range
,+/

,+	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
	35	-	0	-	-	-
	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
	KD	-33	-	-	-	-
,+	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
	49	-	0	-	-	-
	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
	KD	-32	-	-	-	-
2 3 4 5

Sou-shou Ten Renge
,+/

,+	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
	37	-	6	-	-	-
	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
	KD	-51	-	-	-	-
,+	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total
	52	-	6	-	-	-
	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Feint Cancel	Cancel on Hit	Cancel on Block	Guard Crush Value
	KD	-14	-	-	-	-
2 3 4 5 Ender Ender

T.O.P. Notes

To come.

Overall Strategy

In-depth video lecture on Hotaru. Check the timestamps for topics

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Matchup Notes

To come.