Min Min became available as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's 81st character during an era where the world was essentially on lockdown due to the COVID-19 global pandemic of 2020. Offline tournaments around the world were suspended with the hopes of curving the spread. As such, players were relegated to playing online for the foreseeable future.
It's often argued that playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate online offers a completely different experience compared to playing offline. This means that some characters might come across as being less effective than normal while others benefit from a reduced reaction speed in an "online meta." With Japan now transitioning back to offline tournaments, it's starting to look like Min Min might might be a fair bit stronger offline. Funnily enough, this is resulting in the character acquiring a lot of hate in the Japanese region.
It seems that a Min Min user that can react properly is able to create situations against the opponent where it is impossible for them to not get hit. She's able to do this thanks to the range of her ARMS attacks and the ability to chain one forward smash into another.
This comes on top of an already strong set of combo options. If Min Min ever catches a player asleep at the wheel, she can instantly perform a simple 0-to-death sequence.
Once Min Min is able to assert stage control, it can be extremely difficult to reset things back to a neutral state. It can be argued that Min Min has the best edge guarding tools in the game.
Could it be that Min Min is stronger than most players' initial impressions? Is Min Min destined to be the "Bayonetta of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate"?
Larry Lurr has recently uploaded a couple of videos that showcase how Min Min's meta is developing in Japan's offline scene and how players are reacting.
Fans not only dislike playing against Min Min, but it seems that many are also not a fan of watching her. Matches that showcase Min Min losing tend to hear louder cheers from the crowd in video uploads. Meanwhile, videos that have Min Min winning the set are seeing more dislikes than likes.
Some Japanese players have begun taking tournaments with the noodle aficionado of the Mintendo Noodle House. Even top tier competitors like GW|Zackray are having difficulties beating her consistently.
Just observing the facial reactions of certain individuals as they get hit with Min Min's developing bread and butter setups is also quite telling. This is all resulting in Min Min becoming very hated in the Japanese scene. Are Smash scenes in North America and Europe next?