Gen Fu

Gen Fu (ゲン・フー, Gen Fū) is a bookstore owner and a master of Xinyi Liuhe Quan from the Dead or Alive series, who first debuted in the first Dead or Alive. He joined the Dead or Alive Tournaments to help his sick granddaughter, Mei Lin, but as of Dead or Alive 4, he no longer needs to join the tournaments, since Mei Lin is back to full health and the doctor's bills are paid off. He is also the mentor of eighteen-year-old Eliot.

At the age of 67, he is the oldest playable character in the series thus far.

History
Gen Fu was a humble book store owner and master of Xinyi Liuhe Quan; a powerful and dangerous martial art involving the use of the hands and upper body. He lived out his days in solitude and peaceful tranquility, looking after his young grandaughter, Mei Lin. At some point during the years, he took on Eliot as an apprentice; why he chose Eliot is a mystery, even to the boy himself.

The First Tournament
When Mei Lin contracts a terrible disease, Gen Fu enters himself into the first Dead or Alive Tournament, intending to use the prize money to pay for her costly treatment.

The Second Tournament
When normal medical care didn't seem to help Mei Lin's illness, Gen Fu enters the second tournament to aquire the nose of Gohyakumine Bankotsubo, since the noses of Tengu's cure all sicknesses.

During the tournament, Gen Fu has to fight Helena Douglas, who asks why he's in the tournament. Gen Fu tells Helena that he wants to win the prize money to save Mei Lin, and Helena decides not to interfere with that. However, when Gen Fu asks why she's in the tournament, she tells him it's none of his business, which leads to their battle. Gen Fu loses to Helena but heads to defeat the Tengu anyway. In his ending he is shown defeating the Tengu and taking its nose, hoping it will save Mei Lin.

The Third Tournament
Thanks to the prize money that Gen Fu won in the second tournament, Mei Lin is making a steady recovery. However, to complete the surgery and pay for a full revalidation, Gen Fu again needs a vast sum of money. For this reason, Gen Fu fights yet again. It is implied that Gen Fu ranked second place in the third tournament.

During the tournament, Gen Fu trains Eliot in China to hone his fighting skills. They encounter Hayate and Ayane and he asks them for a tag duel, wanting Eliot to have experience with fighters with different techniques.

The Fourth Tournament
Since Mei Lin is fully recovered, Gen Fu has no reason to compete in the fourth tournament. Eliot, now sixteen years old, goes on to fight in the tournament to prove himself worthy as Gen Fu's apprentice. When the boy returns he asks for a fight against Gen Fu himself. Eliot wins, proving to himself that he is worthy.

The Fifth Tournament
Once again, Gen Fu does not compete in the fifth tournament. However, in China, he appears before Eliot after the tournament. Gen Fu tells his apprentice that he has mastered Xing Yi Quan and that he'll teach him his own technique: Xinyi Liuhe Quan. Gen Fu warns Eliot that the training will be harder, but the young apprentice happily accepts the challenge.

Helena Douglas
Gen Fu and Helena were partners in Dead or Alive 2 and worked together. Gen Fu asked Helena why she joined the second tournament and instead of replying to the question, Helena said it was none of his business. However, Helena seems to like Gen Fu; even offering to pay for his granddaughter, Mei Lin's operation.

Eliot
Gen Fu and Eliot have a Master/Apprentice relationship; Eliot has a great deal of respect for his master and always wanted to prove himself worthy to him.

Bass Armstrong
Gen Fu and Bass may be friends. In Dead or Alive 3, Bass is shown to be talking to Gen Fu about his problems with Tina.

Brad Wong
In the third tournament Gen Fu meets Brad Wong. Brad had heard about the master possessing the "Iron Fist" through word-of-mouth stories, although Gen Fu asures him that his power is not fairytales. In Dead or Alive 4, Brad tells Eliot that he should pity Gen Fu because he had been "lonely" all his life. Brad possibly has respect for the old master.

Appearance
Also see: Gen Fu's Outfit Catalogues

Personality
Gen Fu is very much an honorable man, as well as a model martial artist. He is wise and kind-hearted, but somewhat gruff and closed compared to other fighters in the tournament. Much like Ryu Hayabusa, he adopts a tranquil nature, much akin to water; free flowing most of the time, but unforgiving and crushing when roused. Furthermore, Gen Fu is very articulate. He paints, writes poems and ponders on the philoshophical aspects of his martial art as well as on that of the world around him.

Etymology
Gen-Fu's name is written in his native language as "元福" (Yuan Fu). In Chinese his name means "old good luck". This seems fitting as he luckily managed to save his granddaughter from illness and his advanced age gives him much knowledge in Xinyi Liuhe Quan.

Gameplay
Gen Fu, although slow, is very powerful. His single strikes alone can do massive damage (such as his Tanpa). His gameplay could be compared to Bayman's, although unlike Bayman, Gen Fu's throws are less powerul but create more opportunities (his Unpei-Nichigetsu-Ha is an excellent tiger knee for air-juggles, for example). His forward+P esque attacks result in massive damage, but his attacks rely on timing and presentation due to his slow recovery time and execution. He is quite compatible with Kasumi, Ayane and especially Helena, for she is the only one out of the three that he has a distinct tag-team attack with.

Musical Themes

 * The Secret Fist of Legend - Dead or Alive (Ultimate 1)
 * Fastbreak - Dead or Alive (1998)
 * Break The Age - Dead or Alive 2 (Ultimate 2) and Dead or Alive: Dimensions
 * Four Thousand - Dead or Alive 3
 * Gen-fu's Treasure - Dead or Alive 3 Ending Theme
 * Mentor - Dead or Alive 4

Dead or Alive Series

 * Dead or Alive (1996 - 1998)
 * Dead or Alive 2 (1999 - 2000)
 * Dead or Alive 3 (2001 - 2002)
 * Dead or Alive Ultimate (2004 - 2005)
 * Dead or Alive 4 (Unlockable character, 2005 - 2006)
 * Dead or Alive: Dimensions (2011)
 * Dead or Alive 5 (Unlockable character, 2012)

DOA: Dead or Alive
Gen Fu appears in DOA: Dead or Alive, portrayed by Fang Liu. In the movie, Gen Fu can be seen fighting Leifang. He also has a brief fight with Kasumi where she paralyzes Gen Fu, but the scene was left out of the film. It is featured amongst the deleted scenes on the DVD.

Trivia

 * Gen Fu also shares many personality traits with Gen from the Street Fighter series and Wang Jinrei from the Tekken series, as they are Chinese kung fu masters, wear tradional clothing with long white beards, the oldest characters in ther respective series (with the exception of Gen, since Oro is the oldest Street Fighter character at 141 years old), and are wise.
 * In both Dead or Alive 4 and 5, Gen Fu is unlockable by playing as Eliot in Story Mode.