DBFZ/Kid Buu

From Dustloop Wiki

Overview

Overview

Kid Buu is a dominating, brutal character, fitting of his status as the final villain of Dragon Ball Z. Kid Buu has lots of ways to not only pressure your opponent, but mix them up constantly, with a strong neutral to allow him to get in and begin making his opponent guess and block for a very, very long time. This allows Kid Buu to totally overwhelm entire teams, constantly keeping up pressure and forcing your opponent to guess where he's going to hit you. He can do this even when he's on the bench, as he brings 3 versatile assists with him (Assist A allowing him to enable almost the entire cast to have very strong mixups), making him a strong team member as well. It's no wonder Kid Buu has been good for almost the entire game's lifespan - fitting of a character who kept regenerating and refused to be taken down.

That being said, Kid Buu is not without some weaknesses. While it's true that he's incredibly strong at creating pressure and mixup scenarios, the damage he gets off of actual hits is not fantastic. Even if you do choose to burn the meter to go for a level 3, he does not have good okizeme afterwards. This means Kid Buu has to choose between damage or okizeme, as he cannot have both. Kid Buu players must be aware of this weakness, as his low damage means you must always have good pressure and mixups to try and kill characters reliably. Despite these weaknesses, Kid Buu is an incredibly brutal character, and is a go-to for players who want to overwhelm their opponents with pressure and mixups, both with Kid Buu himself and the rest of their team.
Kid Buu


DBFZ Kid Buu Portrait.png
Fastest Attacks
Reversals

 Kid Buu is a terrifying menace who forces his victim to block and take a brutal mix-up.

Pros
Cons
  • Extremely Solid Mix-ups: Kid Buu's mix-ups are monstrous. Mystic Ball is ridiculous on block and can set up 50/50s when paired with an assist, j.S creates extremely fast left-right mixups, and Arm Ball enables pure lockdown.
  • Ridiculous Pressure: Great reflect-proof strings combined with solid stagger pressure makes defending against him agonising.
  • Small: Kid Buu being small makes him difficult to hit compared to other more normal-sized characters.
  • Versatile Assist Selection: A has the highest blockstun in the game and can enable nearly every type of mix-up, B is a fast strike assist, and C is a beam.
  • Low Damage: Without the corner, Kid Buu is reliant on resources to extend his damage output, as most of his moves have below-average scaling.
  • Flawed Anti-Airs: Kid Buu's 2H has a comically small hitbox and Mystic Arm Swing is both more committal and less rewarding on hit.
  • Post-Super Okizeme: Ironically, Planet Burst does not have a good knockdown, contrary to the rest of his kit.
  • Unorthodox Normals: Almost every button you press takes commitment, as Kid Buu being able to have really long normals comes at the cost of really long recovery

Normal Moves

5L

Version Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
5L 400 All 6 3 12 -3
5LL 700 All 10 4 15 -3
5LLL 700 All U3+ 14 6 15 -5
5L

Pretty far range for a jab. Its frame advantage is perfect for stagger pressure.


5LL
  • Moves Kid Buu forwards

It's a standard 5LL with lots of forward momentum. However, Kid Buu's medium buttons both vastly outrange this, making this button only really good for strings and mashing.


5LLL
  • Mostly only good for vanish combos.

There's really not much more to be said about this button. It's situational in combos, and it has very limited cancel options on block.

That said, 5LLL is perfect after vanish thanks to its deceptively large hitbox. Mashing out autocombo afterwards (j.LL(1)L) will set up an escapable safejump, but it's fortunately not punishable either and spends the opponent's air options, making it still worth it.

5M

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
500, 700 All 10 7(14)2 19 -5
  • Pulls him forward about halfscreen.
  • Second hit ground bounces on airborne opponents.

This is Kid Buu's primary anti-reflect blockstring tool. It pulls him forward far enough to completely negate the effects of reflect, and it is also one of the more damaging combo starters.

5H

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
850 All U1 12 5 20 -9
  • Mostly useful for the optimal corner combos or blockstring filler.
  • Moves very far forwards, but still has less range than his medium buttons.
  • Considerably faster than the average 5H
  • Smash wallbounce can be linked off of in certain corner combos.

Midscreen, you're much better off going into an air combo with 2M > 5M, but it makes great blockstring filler as this is the move you're most likely to cancel into 214S.

5S

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
600 All 13 24 -3
  • Fires a single Ki Blast across the screen.
  • Pressing S again will make Kid Buu throw 2S afterwards.
  • Cancels into 5M.

Good for neutral and pressure resets. Because it's only -3, it's good up close for a stagger back to 5L. After 5H, the pushback means you can re-establish with 1M at a spacing that most characters can't challenge.

2L

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
400 Low 7 3 13 -4
  • Kid Buu's primary mixup tool.
  • Less range than 5L.
  • Doesn't directly combos into 2M. The viable combo route is 2L > 5LL > 2M or 2L > 1M.

Behold: the low. An integral part of Kid Buu's pressure and mixups, but suffers from lackluster range.

1M / 2M / 3M

Version Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
1M 500 Low 10 [15] 5 21 -10
2M 500 Low 17 [15] 5 21 -10

A disgusting poke perfectly engineered to be your opponent's worst nightmare. Uncontestable as the leg has completely disjointed hitbox, great tracking, and can easily be confirmed into a combo regardless of where it hits on the screen.

Kid Buu can aim this with 1M, 2M or 3M, and all versions will track within their designated zones. 1M is the fastest version that hits from directly in front of Buu to almost half screen. 2M and 3M are slower and have extra combo proration, with 2M tracking from Buu to just over half screen while 3M tracks from half screen to about 3/4 of the screen. Since 1M has the best frame data, it will be your go-to for common usage like combos or round start poke.

Each version also counts as a separate normal, so Buu can use them as multiple lows per string. On hit, they can cancel into themselves to bring the opponent closer to Buu. On block, these can set up for corner-stealing cross-ups with IAD j.S.

The default order of versions used is 3M2M1M. Inputting a version that has already been used will perform the next available one in line, e.g. inputting 3MMM will give 3M > 2M > 1M.

  • Values in [ ] are for on hit self cancels (when used as 2MM, 3MMM, etc.)
  • Vacuums on block or hit
  • Launches on hit

2H

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
850 All U1+ 13 3 28 -15 4-15 Head
  • Very bad horizontal hitbox, basically have to be touching the opponent if they are grounded.
  • Vertical hitbox is pretty good, hits above Buu rather than in front.

This move looks a little better than it really is. It is a grounded 2H, so you can cancel it into specials, but there really aren't any good options. Everything you can cancel into either has a big gap or is punishable.

2S

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
700 All 13 19+7L +1 6-32 Airborne
  • Jumps up and throws a Ki blast in an upward arc.
  • At close range, will throw the Ki blast downward.
  • 5SS will also execute this attack.
  • Recovery can be cancelled with an airdash.
  • Has stored landing recovery.
  • Can cancel into j.M

Extremely useful neutral and blockstring tool, but not that good for mixups thanks to the landing recovery. Against opponents who like to jump to avoid playing the ground game against Kid Buu, it's often ideal to huck a 2S their way rather than attempt to contest them in the air, where Kid Buu isn't nearly as powerful. In blockstrings, it works as a decent pressure reset with an IAD. Opponents can disrespect the reset with an anti-air, setting up a small game of RPS.

6M

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
850 High 24 6 10 0
  • Universal overhead.

Another mix-up tool for a character brimming with them. Depending on how you use your L buttons during your pressure, you can make this hit meaty mid-blockstring. It makes a decent pressure reset if you can make it plus, and Kid Buu has access to 4LL on clash if it stays 0 on block.

j.L

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
400 High 6 3 20
  • Hits crouchers more often than its animation would suggest.

Because of its speed and how j.M messes with your air momentum, this is usually the other part of your high-low mixups.

j.M

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
500, 700 All, High 10 7(14)2 22
  • Pulls him forward about half-screen. An excellent air-to-air attack.
  • First hit has a normal launch angle, second hit knocks the opponent down at a 60 degree angle.
  • The first hit can reverse Gatling into j.L, the second can only chain into Heavies/Ki blasts.

This move takes forever to whiff. Do not use this as a neutral tool. It's far better off once you get your opponent blocking and is one of the few airborne anti-reflect tools in the game.

j.H

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
850 / 1000 High D1+ [D3+] 11 3 21
  • Useful in mixups after j.M.
  • Sometimes whiffs after j.M if it's used too close to the ground.

Kid Buu's biggest jump-in and standard combo ender. j.M changes his momentum which lets him sneak this in for an extra overhead.

j.S

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
600 All 10 24+7L
  • Halts Kid Buu's air momentum, useful for cross-ups.
  • Has enough hitstun to combo into any of Kid Buu's aerial special moves or supers.
  • Can cancel into j.M.

Horrifying crossup and scramble button since it will beat many anti-airs. Secretly one of Kid Buu's dumbest, most abuseable buttons. Most opponents are forced to gamble on a backdash or superdash to try and contest this. On hit, converts easily into j.236H and even superdash in some situations.

j.2S

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
700 All 14 Total 32+7L

Kid Buu advances forward and throws a Ki Blast in a downward arc.

j.2H

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
850 All U1+ 14 4 25
  • Carries a lot of momentum.
  • If smash hasn't been used, by delaying the super dash, Buu can switch sides with this move.
  • Useful in non-Smash combos due to its jump cancel properties.

Special Moves

Mystic Ball Attack

236L/M/H (Air OK)

Version Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
236L 1100 All 14 4 21 -4
236M 1100, 1100 All U1+ 17 4(6)2 11 -5 (in air)
236H 1100, 600 All U1+ 16 4(5)2 13 -2 (in air)
j.236L 1100 All 13 Until Landing 21 -1 to -5
j.236M 1100, 1100 All U1+ 13 Until Landing (7) 2 11 -4 to -8 (in air), +3 (2nd hit only)
j.236H 1100, 600 All U1+ 9 Until Landing (6) 5 13 -2 (in air)
All
  • Hitbox completely surrounds Kid Buu.

All versions are extremely useful for Kid Buu one way or another. Used in combos, confirms, blockstrings, mixups, and more.


236L
  • Lands close to start point.
  • Recovers very quickly on the ground.
  • Can be used like a divekick in neutral

236L can be used along with 236M for gimmicky high/low resets, but it's generally not worth it due to the tech options your opponent has.


236M
  • Ends further horizontally from the light version.
  • Recovers in the air
  • If the first hit whiffs, there's a second hit that comes out once Kid Buu bounces back up.
  • Second hit is plus on block and uses Smash on hit, granting SKD.

This move is a staple in setting up mixups for Kid Buu since he recovers in the air. With a decent blockstun assist you can set up simple unreactable 50/50s, the only problem is the gap.


236H
  • Similar to 236M, except the second hit always comes out.
  • j.236H is ridiculously fast.
  • Hits twice during the fall, but only once when he bounces up.
  • Retains smash when used.

j.236H is quite possibly one of the best moves in the entire game. Outside of giving Kid Buu confirms off of any air hit along with Smash allowing him to SKD later in the combo, it's shockingly safe on block since Kid Buu can set up RPS situations afterwards. Has a huge hitbox covering Kid Buu's entire body to boot, this move plays a large part in Kid Buu's bunga shenanigans.

2S 236H is a truestring that sets up mixups even easier than 236M does. The first hit of 236H is reflectable after 2S, but it comes out so fast nearly nobody is going to react to it, and the second hit will truestring again from there.

Mystic Arm Swing

214L/M/H

Version Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
214L 1400 Airthrow D2 13 5 24 1-13 Head
214M 1500 Airthrow U1+ → D2 21 8 22 1-21 Head
214H 1500 Airthrow U1+ → D2 13 5 24 1-13 Head
All
  • Immune to air attacks from frame 1.
  • A better move to anti-air than 2H, although it has significantly worse scaling.

214L
  • Gives slide knockdown.
  • Combos from 5LLL and Stomps.

A decent tool for grabbing opponents out of the air, but it's a bit niche and inconsistent. You'll end up wishing the hitbox was larger than it actually is most of the time. Otherwise you'll be using this for SKD after certain combos.


214M
  • Gives a ground bounce that can be comboed after.
  • Too slow to combo into.

Almost worthless. You'll only be using this on the hardest of Superdash reads, or after Dragon Rush in the corner.


214H
  • Results in a ground bounce that can be comboed after.
  • Often leads to more damage than Vanish in triple stomp confirms.

This is a better tool to catch people with than 214L thanks to the damage. Good for just about everything, including beating out Superdash. If your opponent likes to vanish after M/H buttons, this will punish it every time.

Candy Beam

236S

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
850
[0, 800, 225×3, 1]
All U2+ 13 50 -8
  • Teleports to the opponent's position on hit, allowing you to easily combo into your Level 1 or Level 3 Super.
  • Heals 400 blue health on Smash hit.
  • Kid Buu is stuck until the beam hits something or the other side of the screen, extremely punishable on whiff.

Never use Candy Beam. A Tiger-Knee'd Kamehameha is better than this move in nearly every situation, and the reward is a menial amount of blue health. For ending combos, 214L has the same startup, deals more damage and gets a slide knockdown while 214M is better post-Dragon Rush for the same reason.

This is probably Kid Buu's only move that's considered terrible. With a hard read and an assist you can give this some decent reward, otherwise your opponent will probably think you just messed up your tiger knee input and take the opportunity to blow you up.

Kamehameha

j.236S

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
262×5 All 17 25 30
  • Using a Tiger Knee motion (2369) will allow you to use this move while close to the ground.
  • Cancels into SD.

Quicker than most beams by 1 frame. If you want to use a beam while close to the ground, use a Tiger Knee input for Kamehameha instead of risking Candy Beam.

5S and 2S are still far better than this move for poking and space control, however 236S works as a great compliment to them. If you expect someone superdashing preemptively to stop your 2S, you can buffer 236S and catch their superdash. Otherwise, 2S recovers so fast you can just 2H superdashes done on reaction.

Arm Ball

214S

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
250×4 All 36 14 5 +40
  • On hit or block, holds the opponent in place for a ridiculous amount of time.
  • 5H > 214S when covered by an assist is usually how this is utilized on block.

Powerful setplay and pressure reset tool, allowing for a mix-heavy character practically the ocean in terms of its stupendous mélange of mix-up capabilities. Assists with 21 frames or more are required for this to be a true blockstring, but more is better as it becomes easier to time.

Despite that, if you're in the corner you're usually better off using 236M/H mixups than this. Midscreen this gives you 4-way mixups with a delayed SJ IAD float, but in the corner you can only go high/low so you might as well just use 236M/H instead.

Z Assists

Assist A

Arm Ball

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
200×4 All 57 14 +58
  • Elite for pressure and lockdown, but piss-poor in neutral.
  • Single-handedly enables a large portion of the cast.

Considerable amount of start-up and must be timed correctly for blockstrings. Nonetheless, Kid Buu's Arm Ball assist is outstanding for pressure because it enables nearly every character to go for any high/low mix as well as left/right and even both if the point character has a low 2L.

Assist B

Mystic Ball Attack

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
400×2 All 22 +32
  • 30-32 frames of blockstun ranging on how far the assist is if both hits connect on block.
  • 20 frames if only the second hit connects.

Primarily just used for combos and as a better neutral assist than Assist A. Very good for characters that don't need the lockdown that Assist A provides. It also is excellent for Superdash + Assist, as its angle will also catch an opponent trying to jump out.

Assist C

Kamehameha

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
200×5, 400 All 33 [20] 25 +30
  • Fires a beam, then follows up with a j.H on hit for an easy pickup.

Kid Buu has a beam assist. Use it for beam assist things: controlling space, blockstrings, and combos. Being a C Assist, its combo usage is even easier than normal. Keep in mind that if this assist whiffs its cooldown is much longer than normal, which can hurt your team in neutral a lot more than a traditional beam assist.

Super Moves

Human Extinction Attack

236L+M or 236H+S

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
300, 100×17, 500×11 All UDV 5+4 -33 ~ -32 4-15 All
  • Minimum damage: 90, 35*17, 100*11 (700)
  • Fires a volley of beams into the air that fall down after a delay.
  • At close range will pull the opponent up into the air and drop them down right next to Buu.
    • 5 beams fall in front and 5 in the back, these will never hit the opponent if they were caught during the liftoff.
    • 1 extra beam (the second to fall) tracks the opponent.
  • Immediate DHC (before the attack itself starts) or delay DHC (once the opponent is knocked back to the ground) is necessary for horizontal supers.

Good for DHC oki into fast recovery supers, such as with Adult Gohan's Potential Unleashed or Vegito's Spirit Excalibur. Also interesting to note that during non-cinematic supers, the projectiles will continue to fall which can potentially add more damage. An easy super to demonstrate this would be Final Flash.

Pearl Flash

j.236L+M or j.236H+S

Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
2300 All UDV 6+4 -21 ~ -18 6-Until ground All
  • Minimum damage: 805
  • Buu travels down to the ground before curving up, starting and ending in the air.
  • If the opponent is hit in the first part of the arc, the hitstun is increased. Additionally, if the opponent is hit in midair, Buu will carry them to the ground, allowing for grounded DHCs to connect.

At certain heights, connecting this super after Smash j.H > j.2H (whiff) can set up a pseudo-hard knockdown with fast supers or Big Bang Attack-style supers. This super is generally preferred over his ground level 1 because of its higher and more consistent damage.

Planet Burst

214L+M (Air OK) or 214H+S (Air OK)

Version Damage Guard Smash Startup Active Recovery On-Block Invuln
214L+M 300, 4000 All UDV 8+3 -31 1-18 All
j.214L+M 300, 4000 All UDV 8+3 Until L 1-18 All
  • Minimum damage: 180, 1520 (1700).
  • Freezes sparking recovery, good burst damage.
  • Advantage on hit is fixed at +32.
  • Does not hit assist characters.

Kid Buu's level 3 does not have as good of frame advantage as most others, as +32 is a weird number to work with. The best you get is a Superjump IAD, as a normal jump won't be safe and an IAD is too fast.

Colors

1Seasonal colors that can be unlocked at different times of the year.

External References

Navigation

 Kid Buu
To edit frame data, edit values in DBFZ/Kid Buu/Data.
Systems Pages
Mechanics
Application & Advanced Information
Archived Information