Aviv Hadar

After exchanging the names of my dogs with a friendly neighbor at the park, I was once again asked what my Australian Shepherd’s name stood for. “Ryu” is what I call him, and it actually means quite a few things. Allow me to share:

Ryu is probably most popular as being the lead street fighter video game character. He was widely chosen by many people because of his magical “Hadouken” power spheres. As he was the lead character ever since the first Street Fighter, those familiar with the video game should recall that not many characters could overpower Ryu, if any at all.

Image via flickr user oliverbarret

The image above is called “Concentric Hadouken” and showcases how magically fantastic the “essence” of Ryu is. Besides being an incredibly iconic video game character, the name and energy span deep into Japanese sub culture, including early graphic design and digital art.

Image via flickr user kumachii

There’s also a cuddly little huge panda bar that was born in a zoo in Wakayama, Japan. “Ryu-Hin and Shu-Hin are the first twins of great mom Mei Mei.” The image above was taken on Ryu and Shu’s first birthday.

Image via flickr user JustinfromGeorgia

What is shown above is an incredibly done conceptual piece depicting a fight between Ryu (on the left forming a Hadouken), and an alternate Street Fighter character named E.Honda. Each character in the game had a special power, and E.Honda’s was called the Hyaku Retsu Harite, which stands for “Hundred Violent Sumo Hands” or “Hundred Hand Slap.” The photograph above is done with some light manipulation to show what looks like E.Honda’s “Hundred Hand Slap.”

Image via flickr user 091

And just an old Japanese tribute to Ryu the character, as an adorable action figure (above). A sketched depiction of Ryu and his brother Ken (below).

Image via flickr user Gam Hoyo

Ryu also means a school of thought or discipline, a manga artist and can also be translated into “dragon.” Here’s my Ryu…