Gazan

Gazan, previously referred to as Down Swipe, is 's down special move in Super Smash Flash 2.

Overview
When performed, Ichigo brings his Zangetsu in front of him and plummets to the ground with it, slashing downwards. If performed on the ground, Ichigo first does a Flash Step jumping upward. When Ichigo does this while next to an opponent, the opponent will become paralyzed for a moment and take the full force of the attack. If the special button is held while performing the grounded version, the move will be delayed and Ichigo will jump higher before plummeting. If performed in the air, Ichigo also has the ability to veer slightly to the left or right while plummeting. The attack sends opponents hit downward as a meteor smash, and it deals more damage and knockback depending on how high he fell. At minimum, it deals 6% damage and decent knockback, while at maximum, it deals 50% damage and extremely high knockback, making for a one-hit KO to opponents hit (although the height required for this can only be achieved with certain conditions).

The move is dangerous to use off-stage because Ichigo cannot stop the move's animation until he lands or grabs a ledge, causing him to plummet into the bottom blast line if there are no platforms beneath him. This also can lead to a sacrificial KO if Ichigo hits an opponent on the way down. Aside from this, the move is risky to use in general due to how easily Ichigo can be punished for using it; not only is there considerable startup lag, but Ichigo is not invincible while using his Flash Step and can be attacked from the back, or even from the ground. When the attack itself is executed, he is also vulnerable from the back, or from the ground if an opponent has a big enough hitbox to hit Ichigo before his blade touches them. The move also has ending lag and travels somewhat slowly, making it easy for opponents to avoid and punish. However, if Ichigo does hit the opponent then he will be able to follow up with another attack almost instantly, making it useful for combos.

Origin
While the move didn't appear in the manga or anime specifically, the Gazan technique first appeared in the Nintendo DS title, Bleach: Blade of Fate. Gazan is one of the first moves listed on Ichigo's move list and was used in the game's tutorial sequences. The move functioned similarly to how it does in SSF2, however, in Blade of Fate, Ichigo performed an upward slash before plummeting down with it. They move never made an appearance in the manga or anime, but Gazan seemed to stay with Ichigo in many of his video game appearances, such as Bleach: Dark Souls, and Bleach: Shattered Blade.

Trivia

 * Prior to v0.2a of the SSF2 Demo, Ichigo's down special move was instead Stunning Slash. It was changed to Gazan due to Stunning Slash being abusable and lacking creativity.
 * Prior to v0.8a, Ichigo would not jump into the air when performing Gazan on the ground, instead simply performing the same attack used in the air.
 * Prior to Beta, there was no cap to how much damage and knockback this move would be able to deal. Thus, after falling for a certain time period, the move was capable of dealing more than 999% damage with so much knockback that it would cause the game to lag when trying to calculate it.