Mr. Karate

Mr. Karate (Mr. カラテ) is the alter ego of Takuma Sakazaki that has appeared in a handful of SNK games. His first appearances was in Art of Fighting  as the final boss. He wears a Tengu mask to hide his true identity. His name wasn't originally stated in-game, though the announcer did refer to him as "Mr. Karate" in versus mode. He was officially named as such in later games.

He is voiced by Eiji Tsuda.

Art of Fighting
When Takuma was forced to work as Geese Howard's henchman, he donned the Mr. Karate persona to protect the honor of his family and school. He was feared by many as an unbeatable and merciless opponent. Sometime during Yuri's kidnapping, he either told or left clues of his true identity to his daughter. Although he could have done the same for Ryo, Takuma decides to keep using his Mr. Karate persona when he faces his son. He was curious to see his son's true strength and didn't want their family ties to hold Ryo back. He is impressed by Ryo's progress and his real identity is revealed after his first defeat.

The King of Fighters
Mr. Karate was later used in The King of Fighters series as comical relief. He appeared in some of the Art of Fighting Team endings, claiming that he is the true master of Kyokugenryu Karate and that Ryo, Robert and Yuri have much to learn. When they tell Takuma to take off the mask, he replies he is not Takuma Sakazaki and does not know him. He eventually takes off the mask, revealing to them what they already knew. Later, when he is hospitalized due to poor health, he humorously uses the Mr. Karate mask to sporadically sneak out of the hospital to train. King reports the stories from the hospital staff to him, and Takuma claims his innocence as usual.

SVC Chaos
His appearance in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos is probably an amalgam of the two versions. His normal form is still used for comic relief, but he also has a form called Honki ni Natta Mr. Karate, which is more serious akin to his original appearance. Mr. Karate is used as a counterpart to Akuma, and Honki ni Natta Mr. Karate serves as a counterpart to Shin Akuma.

Personality
While in the Art of Fighting series, Mr. Karate was a serious fighter who did what he did for his family, he has been recently shown as a superhero role model for future karate apprentices who teaches the right way as a honorable fighter, but normally this is somewhat of a running gag where Takuma's always seen disguising himself as Mr. Karate to spy on Ryo and the others to see if they made progress, which usually annoys the fighters. When the persona returned in The King of Fighters XIII, it's implied that Mr. Karate has taken more of a serious moniker closer to the "Serious" Version in SVC. Although most the fighters know Takuma is the man under the mask, they can't help but notice the change in fighting aura and bloodlust found within; Shen Woo gets really excited, while Maxima cannot properly gauge him, and even his students notice that this version of Mr. Karate is not the comical individual they're used to seeing. Saiki even praises this persona, despite being human.

Whenever people refer to him as "Takuma Sakazaki", Mr. Karate will deny this and say that his name is not "Takuma" but "Mr. Karate", right down to insisting that everyone must call him by the latter name.

Powers

 * Sense - Mr. Karate can sense people nearby through their chi/ki.
 * Gather energy - Mr. Karate can gather up ki energy.
 * Energy Projectile - Mr. Karate can fire two projectiles of energy (Kohken and Haoh Shikou Ken).
 * Energy Attacks - Mr. Karate can infuse his attacks with energy.
 * Multiple Attacks - Mr. Karate can deliver several punches at almost the same time.

Fighting Style
He uses the Shoran principle of Kyokugenryu Karate.

Music

 * ザ・天狗ショー (The Tengu Show) - Art of Fighting
 * 師範 (Shihan, "teacher") - Takuma's theme from Art of Fighting 2, but used as Mr. Karate's theme in The King of Fighters XIII, where it is erroneously referred to as the above song.

Game Appearances

 * Art of Fighting - final boss
 * The King of Fighters '96 - Game Boy version only
 * SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom
 * The King of Fighters XIII - alternate color palette scheme for Takuma, "Honki ni Natta" Mr. Karate as separate DLC character

Cameo Appearances

 * The King of Fighters '96 - in Chizuru's stage and Art of Fighting team's ending
 * The King of Fighters '97 - during the Art of Fighting team's ending
 * The King of Fighters '98 and The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match - during Takuma's intro animation against the Art of Fighting Team (Takuma wears Mr. Karate's mask but without the extra hair on it)
 * The King of Fighters '99, 2000 and 2001 - Takuma wears the Mr. Karate mask when called as a Striker
 * The King of Fighters XI - during the Art of Fighting team's ending; also mentioned in Oswald's win quote against Sakazaki brothers
 * The King of Fighters XIV - mentioned by Gang-il in his intro against Yuri and in Oswald's win quotes against Ryo, Yuri & Gang-il; also in the gallery in promotional art and icons
 * The King of Fighters '94: Rebout - background cameo
 * Neo Geo Battle Coliseum - in Lee's ending
 * The King of Fighters (pachinko)
 * The King of Fighters: Battle de Paradise

Similar Characters

 * Takuma Sakazaki
 * Honki ni Natta Mr. Karate
 * Mr. Karate II

Gallery
Mr. Karate