Auto-canceling

Auto-canceling, also known as smooth landing, auto L-cancelling, and aerial lag redution, is the act of landing during the beginning or ending frames of an aerial attack and shortening the ending lag of the move. Auto-canceling an attack sometimes produces less landing lag than a regular landing, while landing during the middle of an aerial attack almost always results in a significant delay.

Most aerial attacks can be auto-cancelled both during the first few frames or the last few frames, though some cannot be auto-cancelled at the start, at the end, or even both; every character has a specific auto-canceling window. Auto-canceling can be used in canceling the ending lag of using the Dimensional Cape or using Quick Attack into the ground to perform Quick Attack canceling.

Some special moves, such as 's instantly go to land animation upon touching the ground. This is called land-cancelling.