Mr. Karate

Mr. Karate 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.

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.

Voice Actors

 * Eiji Tsuda - Art of Fighting, SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom, The King of Fighters XIII
 * Takeshi Maruyama - The King of Fighters All Star

Music

 * ザ・ショー (The Tengu Show) - Art of Fighting
 *  (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.

Appearances
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Games

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

Mobile

 * Kimi wa Hero
 * The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match Online
 * The King of Fighters All Star

Cameos
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 * The King of Fighters '96 - in Chizuru's stage and Art of Fighting Team ending
 * The King of Fighters '97 - during the Art of Fighting Team 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 siblings
 * The King of Fighters XIV - mentioned by Gang-il in his intro against Yuri and in Oswald's win quotes against Yuri & Gang-il; also in the gallery in promotional art and icons; his Tengu mask can be seen in the Neo Esaka stage and in a plaque in a version of Yamazaki's Climax Move
 * 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
 * SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy - his Tengu mask appears in Yuri's Super Special Move "Haoh Shoukou Ken" and in Yuri's costumes

Similar Characters

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

Trivia

 * In Capcom's Street Fighter V, one of Dan Hibiki's alternative costumes includes a Tengu mask. This outfit is very likely inspired on Mr. Karate and his true persona in the two Art of Fighting series' games.

Gallery
Mr. Karate