Daigo on stream talking about Kemonomichi. He says he seriously planned on retiring if he lost to Mena. The reason being that since SF6 release he has not felt “strong” or the motivation to improve like in his youth in the arcade days. But after 3 months of training, in the final week before the match he thought, “Wait a minute. Am I strong again? This is what it felt like back in the day.” He was incredibly stressed the day before the match and couldn’t eat, and said just walking outside felt like he was already in the fight. He thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep due to stress, but surprisingly fell asleep easily - however when he woke up he had tears in his eyes. He doesn’t know why, but he thinks it’s because he had a dream where he quit Fighting Games. After he lost to Mena, he still thought it was time to retire. But in the taxi ride back to Tokyo, Eita kept bothering him and begging him not to. Daigo agreed just to shut him up, but then he thought back on that feeling of being strong in the last week and thought if he could keep that same motivation and approach he had for Kemonomichi, he could become strong again. For now he has decided to continue competing, but is taking a short rest after the set.