Sie Kensou

In this Chinese name, the family name is Sie.

Sie Kensou (Hànzì:, Shī Kensū; Pinyin: Chuí Quánchóng) is a character who first appeared in the SNK video game Psycho Soldier. He appears in The King of Fighters series as an active member of the Psycho Soldiers Team. Ever since his first appearance, he has always served as a comic relief character. At one point, developers described his psychic powers being similar to Koichi's powers in Babel II. His official nickname is The Young Rising Dragon.

Story
He is one of the young disciples of Chin Gentsai who wields psychic powers - dubbed by SNK as Psycho Powers. Both he and Athena are trained by Chin to prepare for "the worst case scenario of oncoming evil" and use the tournaments as a method of training for such an event. Plans go awry when Kensou loses his powers in The King of Fighters '99 yet saves Athena with a previously unknown latent energy.

It is later revealed to be the Dragon Spirit (の, Ryū no ki), a power he somehow shares with younger teammate, Bao. He regains his powers and masters this newer power in The King of Fighters XI, much to the satisfaction of former NESTS member, Ron. The deeper meaning of the Dragon Spirit's importance has yet to be revealed. It's probable that the Dragon Spirit is a reference to Kensou's ability to morph into a dragon from Psycho Soldier.

Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life
Kensou remains relatively the same as his other incarnations. The main difference from this Kensou is that he doesn't exhibit psychic powers during the majority of the story. He declares himself to be "Athena's knight" and often rushes to her aid when she is in danger. He recklessly runs into one of her teleportations and joins her search in Tantauls' headquarters. While she is battling the Tantauls system, he temporarily shields her by using his previously latent psychic powers. During the ending, he comforts her brooding by trying to not over think things and repeats some of his kenpo teacher's advice. He also tries to confess his feelings for her but is interrupted when Athena spots a healthy Rika.

Personality
Goofy, outgoing and jovial, Kensou wants to live his young years to their fullest. He has a crush on Athena, but she chooses to ignore it and when every time he gathers the courage to confess his feelings to her, he is often cut off or interrupted. He sometimes gets too excited over trivial events, such as mistaking Chin for cheating on his wife (his master was really talking to Kula over the phone).

He is sometimes known to be lazy as he shows his dislike for training, alongside with being very passionate about his favorite food (baozi/meatbuns) which he often consumes before, during or after matches (though there are also times where he's choked on them comically).

Powers

 * Telepathy - Kensou can project his thoughts to other minds.
 * Psychic Projectile - Kensou can fire a ball of psychic energy.
 * Psychic Aura - Kensou can attack enemies with a psychic aura around his hands to increase punching damage.
 * Psychic Dragon - Kensou can create a giant dragon of psychic energy. Also, by merging with it, he can increase his overall power and strength.
 * Dragon Spirit - Kensou has a mysterious power that is shared with Bao and seems to be the source of his power. During the 99-2001 KOF Tournaments, the power can be switched between Kensou and Bao if one of them is gravely injured.

Fighting Style
Kensou learned Kung Fu from Chin Gentsai, especially the particularly more acrobatic styles such as Northern Shaolin.

Though holding such level of power like that of the said Dragon Spirit, he doesn't seem to use too much psychic powers while fighting, and mostly relies on his fighting style (though the opposite often is sometimes said to occur nodding to Kensou's distaste for training). Though during the period he has lost access to the Dragon Spirit however, he was forced to switch up his style to focus more on his kung fu.

That said, many of his signature special moves feature a dragon motif, with two of his DM's in particular being named after the Shenlong/Shinryuu (God/Divine Dragon) of Chinese mythology.

Music

 * Psycho Soldier "K.O.F. Version" - The King of Fighters '94
 * Senritsu no Dora - The King of Fighters '95, '98, '98: UM (console versions only)
 * Psycho Soldier Remix 96 - The King of Fighters '96
 * Shin! Senritsu no Dora - The King of Fighters '98, '98: UM (arcade version only)
 * Psyco Sonic Trip ~Dance at the Paddy Field~ - The King of Fighters '99
 * Will - The King of Fighters 2000, EX, EX2
 * Psychic Guys - The King of Fighters 2001
 * Red Wind - The King of Fighters 2002
 * Pure ~At Good Old Days~ - The King of Fighters XI, XIII (when the music is set to "Type B", console version only, shared with Athena Asamiya and Chin Gentsai)
 * Purity Soldiers - The King of Fighters XIII
 * Tachi bou ke -Instrumental- - The King of Fighters XIV
 * Tachi bou ke - The King of Fighters XIV (as Athena's opponent)
 * Psycho Soldier ~Super Chinese Remix~ - The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match
 * Theme "Kensou" - Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life
 * Nikuman - Athena On Stage

Voice Actors

 * Eiji Yano - The King of Fighters '94~XIII
 * Yuto Kaname - The King of Fighters XIV~Present
 * Josh Keller - The King of Fighters XII (English Voice)
 * Yuki Ishii - Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life
 * Kengo Kawanishi - The King of Fighters for Girls

Game Appearances

 * Psycho Soldier
 * Crystalis - As "Kensu"
 * The King of Fighters '94
 * The King of Fighters '95
 * The King of Fighters '96
 * The King of Fighters '97
 * The King of Fighters '98
 * The King of Fighters: Kyo
 * The King of Fighters '99
 * Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life
 * SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash
 * The King of Fighters 2000 - "Psycho Soldier" Kensou is Kensou's Striker
 * The King of Fighters '99: Evolution
 * SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters 2 Expand Edition
 * The King of Fighters EX: Neo Blood
 * The King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood
 * The King of Fighters 2001
 * The King of Fighters 2002
 * The King of Fighters: Neowave
 * The King of Fighters '94 Rebout
 * The King of Fighters XI
 * The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match
 * The King of Fighters XII
 * The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match
 * The King of Fighters XIII
 * The King of Fighters Online
 * The King of Fighters XIV
 * CR The King of Fighters

Mobile Appearances

 * Athena On Stage - As an event character
 * The King of Fighters: Extreme
 * The King of Fighters: Battle Festa
 * KOF × Garou Densetsu
 * The King of Fighters-i 2012
 * The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match Online - '98 and XII-XIII variants
 * Metal Slug Defense - As an unlockable character
 * Crusaders Quest - As an event character
 * The King of Fighters: World
 * The King of Fighters: Destiny (Game)
 * The King of Fighters: All Star - '94~'97 and '99 variants
 * The King of Fighters: Orochi Go
 * The King of Fighters M: Fighting Stars Assembly
 * KOF: Chronicle
 * The King of Fighters for Girls
 * SNK Fighting Age

Cameo Appearances

 * Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory - In Bob Wilson's stage
 * Days of Memories - As a NPC in the second and fifth titles
 * KOF: Maximum Impact 2 & Regulation “A” - Background cameo
 * The King of Fighters (Pachinko)
 * The King of Fighters: Chapter of NESTS
 * SNK Gals' Fighters - As a human shield for Athena
 * SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy - Mentioned by Athena in the Story mode, mentioned in Luong's winquote vs. Athena, during Athena's ending
 * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Represented by Richter Belmont in Athena's Spirit Battle

Anime Appearances

 * The King of Fighters: Destiny

Comic Appearances

 * Neo Geo Gals Comic Anthology (Manga)
 * The King of Fighters: Kyo (Manga)
 * The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle (Manhua)
 * The King of Fighters 2000 (Manhua)
 * The King of Fighters RemiX: The Beginning of NESTS EPISODE (Manhua)
 * The King of Fighters RemiX: NESTS EPISODE PROJECT '00 (Manhua)
 * The King of Fighters 2001 (Manhua)
 * The King of Fighters 2002: Challenge to Ultimate Battle (Manhua)
 * Nariyuki Quest (Web Manga)
 * The King of Fighters XIV: Original Comic (Web Manhua)
 * The King of Fighters: A New Beginning (Manga)

Novel Appearances

 * The King of Fighters '98 ~Nokosareta Monotachi~
 * The King of Fighters 2000: Strikers Strike Back

Trivia

 * Despite the fact that he is from China, his name is rendered commonly in Japanese on'yomi, as he in fact should be named as "Chui Quanchong".
 * In earlier incarnations, his victory poses often had "wardrobe malfunctions" with over-exaggerated poses.
 * Since they both share the same accent, Kensou will sometimes have a special intro with Robert.
 * His story mode intro with Maxima in KOF XIII makes a reference to the "Over 9000" meme from Dragon Ball Z.
 * In Gamest's 1997 Heroes Collection, Kensou was voted as the staff's twenty-fourth favorite character. He shared the spot with Ryo Sakazaki and Toru Kurosawa, a character from Sega's Last Bronx.

Gallery
Sie Kensou