Do most fighting gamers even notice them? Most SNES fighters don't have them, right?Double thinking of making or scrapping them.
IIRC, they're mandatory since turning itself is hardcoded, although, you don't necessarily need the correct sprites for them. Just make a copy of the standing animation, set it as the turn animation and you'll be fine.
At first I don't think so, but I notice them now that I make mugen characters, and if you want to make a smooth good looking game, you shouldn't omit turning animations.