The King of Fighters: Kyo

The King of Fighters: Kyo
Cover of the third Japanese volume of The King of Fighters: Kyo
ザ·キング·オブ·ファイターズ: 京 (Za Kingu obu Faitāzu Kyo)
Genre	Martial arts
Manga
The King of Fighters: Kyo
Written by	SNK
Illustrated by	Masato Natsumoto
Published by	Kodansha
Magazine	HaohKC
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	1997 – 1999
Volumes	3

The King of Fighters: Kyo (ザ·キング·オブ·ファイターズ: 京, Za Kingu obu Faitāzu Kyo) is Japanese manga written and illustrated by Masato Natsumoto and published by Kodansha in 1997. The manga follows the life of the martial artist Kyo Kusanagi since the climax of The King of Fighters '95 as well as his daily life as he attacked by his rival Iori Yagami who seeks his death. It is inspired by the fighting game series The King of Fighters developed by SNK.

The manga inspired a visual novel video game of the same name, set before The King of Fighters '97, developed by Yumekobo and SNK released on August 27, 1998 as a Japan-exclusive for the PlayStation, with fights arranged in a similar fashion to turn-based role-playing games.^[1]

During the climax of The King of Fighters '95, Kyo's Esaka Team composed of Kyo and his teammates electric fighter Benimaru Nikaido and Judo user Goro Daimon wins the tournament by defeating Iori Yagami's team by time. The Japanese team is then attacked by Kyo's missing father Saisyu revived and brainwashed by the host after the events of The King of Fighters '94. After helping his father regain his senses, Kyo faces the host Rugal Bernstein who seeks revenge for his previous death. After a long match, an overwhelmed Rugal dies as he is unable to control his the new power he obtained which Iori calls Orochi behind the arena. Kyo then returns to his home town and lazes around his school life while dating fellow student Yuki.

After the previous tournament, Athena Asamiya from the Psycho Soldier Team appears in the school in order to understand Kyo's lineage which causes her teammate Sie Kensou to rush in jealousy. The argument stops when Iori also appears and threatens Kyo with hurting Yuki if he does not accept their rematch. As the two fighters are equally matched, Athena fears things might escalate and deflects one of Iori's attacks. This causes a confuse Iori to leave with Athena sensing a sadness in Iori's mind. In the aftermath, Kyo is altered by Iori's attack and starts losing his aura as called out by his father and later loses his flames when chased by Iori's former teammate Billy Kane. Believing he can help his son, Saisyu stages a fight to recover Kyo's power and kidnap Yuki. As this happens Athena and Sie confront Iori again to learn about his lineage but he ignores them and attacks them. After this, Iori ambushes Kyo and tries to kill him again. Before being finished, Kyo's flames become blue like Iori's and takes the upperhand. The battle is interrupted by Saisyu who distracts his son to recover Yuki as well as his original powers.

While resting from the previous fights, Iori meets Rugal's servants Vice and Mature who are interested in serving him. Meanwhile, Saisyu tells Kyo and his friends the origins behind their lineage. In the past, the two martial artists Kusanagi and Yasakani managed create a fighting style involving the use of fire. However, Yasakani sold his soul to the demon Orochi, and was sentenced by Kusanagi. This led to the feud between Kusanagi clan and the now renamed Yagami. However, Athena still sense humanity within Iori's mind and arranges a karaoke between Kyo and Iori to solve their differences. Despite being tricked into this, Kyo and Iori decide to agree into this and start practising.

As the match comes close, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Orochi Goenitz appears in the town and attacks Iori's team. Goenitz easily kills Vice and Mature and knocks out Iori. A fighter named known as Chizuru Kagura, who tracked the Kusanagi family down under the guise of a sports reporter, confronts Kyo. She brings him to his family's marker, which revitalizes his ancestor's memories. Together, they face Goenitz to save Iori, who is kept as his personal trophy on a cricked cross. Kyo manages to save Iori, and together they vanquish Goenitz. Kyo and Iori decide to solve their differences in their next fight. A side story focuses on the Ikari Team as their youngest member, Leona Heidern, was cursed by Goenitz and is trying to control her Orochi curse.

The manga was published by HaohKC in 1996. The manga is three volumes long, the last one being printed in 1999. Masato Natsumoto said he struggled to write the first half of the manga more than the second. He recalled having requests by the fans to include more characters from the game but he could not appeal to their responses.^[2]

A game with the same title was developed by Yumekobo and SNK was released on August 27, 1998 in Japan for the Sony PlayStation. The game is presented as a visual novel set before The King of Fighters '97 with fights arranged in a similar fashion to turn-based role-playing games. The character primarily confronts Kyo since he meets his fan Shingo Yabuki and prepares for the next tournament. Besides Goro and Benimaru, Kyo can recruit alternate teammates by travelling around the world and socializing with them. However, constant lack of activities can result in Iori Yagami attacking Kyo's friends and they losing interest in Kyo.

Besides the common gameplay, there is a story mode where Chizuru Kagura helps Kyo learn about the heritage and tests him to develop his power to prepare for the impending battle against Orochi's servants in 1997 tournament. This ends with Kyo mastering his strongest move, the Saihsuu Kessen Ougi: Mushiki" (最終決戦奥義・無式, lit. "Final Showdown Ultimate Technique: No style). Besides the characters from the games, the visual novel introduces more people related to Kyo including his cousin Souji and Souji's wife Aoi as the former entrusted the protagonist the future of the Kusanagi after being corrupted with Orochi's power.^[6]

In the eventual 1997 tournament, the player can choose the Kyo's two teammates based on his work across the game. The game then emulates the The King of Fighters '97 as the team New Faces are revealed to be related with Goenitz and plan to sacrifice Yuki to awaken the demon Orochi. Although Kyo's team manages to defeat the New Faces, Orochi is still revived through their member Chris and faces the player as the game's final boss.