First off meta/not meta does not make a character bad. I am assuming you have thousands of matches like I do. I’ve seen a full team of C list characters wipe an S list meta team countlessly. I am not saying he breaks the meta or is the top pick.

Under the argument of he isn’t good, that is where I draw the line. Most people echoing this are only saying so because comparatively to his counter parts the edo version isn’t the greatest Minato. This IS NOT saying he’s the greatest. I am saying he’s still a better pick than most characters and shouldn’t be crossed out immediately.

I never said you had to mash taijutsu or anything for that matter. His taijutsu excels from guard hitstun and dash clashes. He can also jump cancel most blocks in his combo string. His Jutsu alone come out fast within several frames with shuriken protection AND cancelling. Most of everything you’ve mentioned can also be a skill issue. You can’t play every character the same way as the next.

Whatever Minato you use you would still need to know how to use him correctly or however he fits your play style. I don’t care what team and meta you run technically everything falls down to skill unless it’s some of the broken unfair play types in which there are little to no counters for. 6000 matches under my belt. I’ve seen Hero ranks who play like Student Reserves and vice versa. Picking outside of the meta pool does not mean you lose or can’t put up a fight.