Hotaru Futaba

Hotaru Futaba is a character who was introduced in Garou: Mark of the Wolves. She also makes an appearance in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and in the PlayStation 2 version of The King of Fighters XI.

In Garou: Mark of the Wolves, The King of Fighters series and Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, she is voiced by Yuki Horie.

Development
Around the time Garou was in development, the term "moe" started to be used. Some of the staff members were familiar with the term and with the teachings of those staff members, Hotaru was created.

Personality
Hotaru is a calm and joyful girl, who was shaken by being abandoned by her family. She still has high hopes that her family will be united again.

Although it is highly implied that Gato is possibly her missing brother, nothing officially states that this claim is true. Itokatsu seems to warm up to him and Hotaru declares that he is based on woman's intuition. However, if this scenario is true, then Hotaru knows nothing about why Gato left their home or the real reason behind her mother's death.

Abilities

 * Sense - Hotaru can sense the presence of others.
 * Gather Energy - Hotaru can gather energy from Gaia, the Mother Earth.
 * Energy Projectile - Hotaru can create a ball of energy and send it flying towards her enemy.
 * Energy Attacks - Hotaru's kicks can be infused with energy.
 * Energy Reflector - Hotaru can create a bubble of energy that reflects projectiles.
 * Energy Explosion - Hotaru can create a big explosion of energy with effort.
 * Acrobatics - Both as a fighting ability and as a hobby, Hotaru has shown her athletic flexibility and skills in fighting and sports.

Fighting style
Hotaru fights using internal Chinese martial arts, known for their soft motions. Many of her movements are graceful and she relies much more on ki-based attacks. She uses the styles of Taijiquan, Baguazhang and others, especially in later games where she gains a variety of different stances.

Music

 * Fullmoon: Heartful - Garou: Mark of the Wolves
 * Flower Bell - Days of Memories ~Sekai de Ichiban Atsui Fuyu~
 * Kiss of Poison - The King of Fighters All Star

Appearances
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Games

 * Garou: Mark of the Wolves
 * Neo Geo Battle Coliseum
 * The King of Fighters XI (PlayStation 2 only)

Mobile

 * Days of Memories (second and ninth titles) - non-playable
 * SNK Gals Island Candy Puzzle Hajimemashita
 * SNK Gals Island Jintori Puzzle Miseteagemasu
 * SNK Gals Rhythm Combo Yudanshinaide!
 * SNK Dream Battle
 * SNK High School Collection
 * KOF x Fatal Fury
 * Kimi wa Hero
 * The King of Fighters All Star

Cameos
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 * The King of Fighters 2003 - mentioned in Team Outlaw's backstory
 * The King of Fighters '94 Re-Bout - background in Japan and Korea stages
 * The King of Fighters XI - in Team Mark of the Wolves' ending
 * KOF: Maximum Impact 2 - background
 * The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match - background in Kyokugenryu Gym stage, from fourth round
 * The King of Fighters XIII - in cinematics and in Team Women Fighters' ending
 * The King of Fighters XIV - in Team Women Fighters' ending
 * The King of Fighters XV - in Garou Team Ending
 * SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy - in Luong's ending

Etymology

 * The name Hotaru is written in hiragana (ほたる), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (蛍), it could possibly mean "firefly".
 * Hotaru's surname Futaba means "pair, set" (双) (futa) and "leaf, plane, lobe, needle, blade, spear, counter for flat things, fragment, piece" (葉) (ha/ba), which literally means "bud, sprout, two leaf/twin leaf" altogether.

Trivia

 * Hotaru, Tizoc, B. Jenet, Gato and Rock Howard are the only original characters of Garou: MOTW who makes one or more appearances in The King of Fighters series.


 * At the time of Garou: Mark of the Wolves' ' release, Hotaru was voted as the fourth favorite character at the time of debut with a total of 105 votes.


 * Because of the movements in her Sper Special Move Tenshou Ranki, particularly at the landing part, Hotaru became a subject of memes and artworks that persists to this day.


 * Hotaru is currently the only KOF character (aside from characters from the KOF EX series) to not get an entry on the KOF Character Portal.