Shujinko

"I am worthy of a Lin Kuei I have been personally trained bah Master Borracho and have a warrior madallion ta prove it!"

- Shujinko

Shujinko is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat game series. He made his debut in Mortal Kombat: Return of The Dragon King as the main character and protagonist of Konquest Mode.

About Shujinko
Shujinko made his debut in Mortal Kombat: Deception as the game's rogue protagonist. He is an adventurer who, as a boy, dreamed of fighting Shang Tsung. He has traveled the planets and learned the kombat skills of many warriors. Without knowledge, Shujinko has done many evil deeds such as: offering Edenia to Shao Kahn, acting like a criminal of some sort, using Bo' Rai Cho's warrior medallion to gain such credibility to join the Lin Kuei, being deceived by Damashi and challenging the Elder Gods for powers. His old age has made him wise, but at a cost: he bears an immense guilt for releasing Onaga into the planets again, and now that he is discarded by the Dragon King, has vowed to make up for this mistake. A member of the White Lotus, he shares traits with the games' Shaolin monk characters, such as his great receptiveness, deliberation and ability to meditate for weeks. Nevertheless, before all other things, he has always been a traveler and a student at heart.

Info
Years ago, Shujinko as a young man, was approached by an ethereal spirit entity that called itself Damashi. Damashi claimed to be the agent of the Elder Gods who was tasked with finding a mortal who had the courage and potential strength to undertake a quest for the Elder Gods. Shujinko, then only as a child, eagerly accepted and Damashi charged him with gathering the six Kamidogu of Earth, Noland, Chaosworld, Outworld, Orderworld, and Edenia. To aid Shujinko in the quest, Damashi mystically instilled in Shujinko an enhanced ability to observe and then wield the Kombat abilities of warriors that he came across.

It took Shujinko decades to gather the Kamidogu. But in that time, he traveled widely through the planets and his innate kombat talent grew dramatically. Shujinko faced danger and adventure at every turn. Early in the quest, he fought briefly alongside the Lin Kuei during which time he learned the clan's cryomancery secrets.

Later, he would literally journey into the dark and hoary Noland, where he would bear witness to a rivalry forming between Ashrah and Ermac.

In the Planet of Chaos, he fought alongside Havik the Grim of Chaos, thus repelling an invasion by the Seidan Guards to control the Planet's water stores.

In Outworld, Shujinko faced off against Baraka and the Tarkatan hoard then on the verge of murdering an entire city whose prefect had defied Shao Kahn. Determined to prevent an unimaginable massacre, he then journeyed to Seido, the Planet of Order.

There, after helping to quell a civil uprising instigated by Darrius and the resistance movement, Shujinko enlisted the aid of Hotaru and the Seidan Guards. They then journeyed to Outworld. The Seidan guard proved to be more than a match for the Tarkatan horde, and Shujinko thus liberated the city and its people.

Fighting Style
Copies of Other fighters

Signature moves

 * Spear Throw: Sending out a rope with a tipped Kunai at the end it impales itself in its victims allowing Shujinko to pull them through the air towards him for a free hit, as well as causing a small bit of damage. This move is borrowed from Scorpion: Shujinko even goes as far as saying "Get over here!" when using it (MK:A)
 * Icy Freeze: Shujinko can send a blast of ice towards the opponent to freeze them in place for a free hit. This move is borrowed from Sub-Zero. (MK:A)
 * Flaming Fist: He dashes forward with his fist (on fire) extended forward, which knocks his opponents down. This move is borrowed from Kobra. (MK:D, MK:A)
 * Flip Scissor Kick: Shujinko flips forwards in a circular motion, bringing his feet over his head and kicking the opponent and then landing back on his feet. Supposedly learned from Bo' Rai Cho and then taught to Li Mei. (MK:D, MK:A)
 * Flying/Flyin' Jinko: This move is a variation of Raven's Flying Thunder God move in which he flies toward the opponent while emitting small shockwaves from his body and shoving the opponent for a distance. If the opponent blocks the move, Shujinko is set up for a Juggling combo. (MK:D, MK:A)
 * Bicycle Kicks: Shujinko would fly across the screen with a series of multiple kicks to the opponent's torso. This move is borrowed from Liu Kang. (MK:A)

Fatalities

 * Sword Plant: Shujinko decapitates the victim with a quick slash from one of his swords. As the headless victim falls to their elbows, he unsheathes both swords and plants them in the opponent's shoulders before they crumple unto the ground. (MK:D)
 * For the Shaolin! Sik!: Shujinko unsheathes his weapons as he promptly slices the opponent's limbs and head in quick succession before kicking them, causing the body to fall apart at the seams. (MK:D)
 * Gime the head! Gime, gime!: Shujinko turns the opponet backside and stomps on their elbows makin' 'em hurt, then he torns off the victim's head. (MK:A)

Other finishers

 * Suicide: Arm Slice and Dice: Shujinko throws both of his swords in da air, outstretches his arms, as they are amputated upon falling down upon them. Shujinko reels in pain as he quickly collapses to the floor in a puddle of blood. (MK:D)

Insults to the character
In Japanese, "shujinkō" (主人公) translates to "protagonist." But many of fans calls him "Old Fart"!

According to Mortal Kombat: RoTDK, Ed Boon labels Shujinko to be the "next generation Onaga."

Game information
While playing through Konquest Mode in Mortal Kombat: Deception, local villagers say to Shujinko "May Lord Raiden watch ova you!" The irony in that statement is that in Raiden's ending, he kills Shujinko as a punishment for what he had done. Other villagers would shout him "you are being deceived!" in backward speech, alluding to Onaga's deception while posing as Damashi.

During his travels in Konquest Mode, Shujinko can interact with almost every major character of the franchise, either during the Konquest' linear story, as fight challenges or as side-missions. The only characters he never met during Konquest are Chameleon and Fat Boner... Wait, Fat Bone- Oh right wrong game sorry. Additionally, he sees Cyrax, Goro, Kintaro, and Sheeva, but does not interact with them at all. Worth noting is his brief encounter with the rarely seen Mortal Kombat 4 character Meat, whose canonicity within the story was heavily debated before his inclusion in Armageddon.

Trivia

 * Shujinko is one of the five main protagonists in the Mortal Kombat series, alongside Liu Kang, Sub-Zero (Kua Lai), Steven, and Raiden.
 * However only in Mortal Kombat: Return of The Dragon King.
 * Shujinko was not the only person to know that he was a fool. Raiden's ending also rendered him as a 'fool' before killing Shujinko. Interestingly, he calls Onaga a 'fool' in Sindel's ending because he made a bad decision getting Kitana to attack Sindel and Jade when he could have done the job himself, though that ending is non-canonical.