Iori Yagami

Iori Yagami (八神 庵, Yagami Iori) is a video game character who made his first appearance in the Neo Geo fighting game, The King of Fighters '95. He is a central recurring character and the initial enemy (and eventual rival) of Kyo Kusanagi. He wears an instantly recognizable outfit of a black jacket (slightly cut off above the waist with a white crescent moon on the back) over a long white button-down shirt with the sleeves open, red pants that are tied together just below the knees with a red belt, and a black leather collar around his neck. He also wears a plain silver ring around his left middle finger. The significance of the ring (if any) is unknown.

He is the heir to one of the three clans that sealed the legendary snake entity, Orochi, 1,800 years ago. His clan, formerly known as the Yasakani (八尺瓊, Yasakani), wields pyrokinetic powers. They keep the seal over Orochi intact with help from the Kusanagi and Yata clans using three ancient artifacts. His family's treasure is the Yasakani no Magatama (八尺瓊曲玉, Yasakani no Magatama) and his family crest is the crescent moon, which he wears on the back of his jacket.

Aside from the main body of the King of Fighters series, Iori features his own drama CD and character image album. His character is also a member of SNK's character image band, Band of Fighters and he also appears as a regular antagonist in the spin-off manga, The King of Fighters: Kyo.

Devlopment
One of the main objectives planned for The King of Fighters '95 was to properly introduce Iori as Kyo's rival. Creators have stated Iori's personality and other aspects to his character "broke the mold for characters in fighting games at that time". In several interviews for their official anniversary site for the series, several creators and developers -such as C.A.C Yamasaki and Mr. Marito- predicted that Iori would be popular on his release -which they admit happened during their observations of initial location testing for King of Fighters '95.

Because of his popularity amongst fans, some of the main designers for the series have stated that he is "difficult to draw for". Illustrator Shinkiro thought Iori as one of the series' most wild characters because of his hairstyle with similar sentiments being made by Last Blade illustrator, TONKO. Additionally, KOF Maximum Impact producer, Falcoon, stated that attempting to change an "untouchable" design such as Iori's put him under severe pressure. He stated that designing Iori's alternate (or Another as it is stated in the Maximum Impact games) outfit almost felt "unforgivable", unsure of fans' reaction to the change. In an interview with a group of the series' voice actors, Yasui explains that the staff for the games treat their characters as normal people and are constantly changing their character line-up to reflect this. He adds that he feels responsible as a voice actor for his performances as Iori, taking care to sound different in each installment as a means of developing as well as "protecting" his character's humanity.

Another minor development to his character was his ever changing "most valued possession/valued treasure" information. His '95~'98 bios listed various items such as a vintage guitar and chains. A girlfriend was also listed more than once, specifically in '95, '99, and 2000. However, starting in KOF 2001 and every entry onwards, the space is listed as "None". This has lead to several fan theories as to why this is, many of which surrounds his girlfriend's possible death or disappearance. The issue is briefly touched upon years before in Iori's drama CD, The Sun and The Moon ~ Prologue, though a concise answer concerning this shade to his profile hasn't been made by SNK.

In Gamest's 1997 Heroes Collection, Iori was voted as the staff's favorite character, claiming 1st place out of fifty other characters. In a 2005 poll made by SNK-Playmore USA, he was voted as the eighth fan favorite character with 145 votes.

Legend of Yasakani
In ancient times, the Yagami clan was once known as the Yasakani; were allied with the Kusanagi clan. In 1200 CE, with the help of the Yata clan (now known as the house of Kagura), keepers of the sacred mirror, the two clans sealed Orochi away, placing him in an eternal slumber. They accomplished this by giving Orochi eight cups of wine. When he was drunk, he was weakened with the sword of Kusanagi, and sealed by the Yasakani's Magatama, their mystical and spiritual flame. He was then imprisoned within the sacred mirror of the Yata. Uniting the power of both clans, and using the crimson flames, the two blood lines managed to seal away the Orochi's power. They assigned the Clan of the Yata to look over the seal, and both clans retired to their respective villages.

As time passed, the Yasakani, tired of living in the shadow of the Kusanagi, fell to the temptation of the power of Orochi and made a blood pact with him. This gave them greater powers, but in return, they and their descendants were forever cursed. They renamed their clan the Yagami and set out to destroy the Kusanagi with their new flames, the Magatama no Orochi. The Kusanagi declared war on the Yagami in response for this treachery, a war that has killed many clan members on both sides - much to the glee of the Orochi clan.



As a side-effect of the Orochi's curse, the flames of the Yagami have a bluish tint (more purple in color). The curse also causes each heir to die young and each mother to die in childbirth.

Rugal Saga
Iori is the current descendant of the Yagami clan. Kyo and Iori continue the ancient feud, though fate would (somewhat) steer them off the footsteps of their ancestors.

While Iori was training, he heard of numerous exploits by the current heir to the Kusanagi throne, Kyo. One of them was his entrance into the King of Fighters tournament, which Iori perceived as an excellent chance to kill Kyo. To accomplish this, he entered the tournament with Billy Kane and Eiji Kisaragi, forming the Rival Team. Unfortunately, the Rival Team failed to defeat (or, by some accounts, to even fight) the Heroes Team. Iori subsequently became extremely angry (and additionally was perhaps momentarily affected by the Riot of the Blood due to such intense anger in connection with his extreme hatred for Kusanagi combined with exposure to the looming presence of Orochi power within Rugal) and beat both Billy and Eiji within an inch of their lives before angrily marching off to find Kyo. He then arrived at the secret underground base where Kyo was fighting the host, Rugal Bernstein, and recognized the presence of Orochi blood within Rugal. This made Rugal very formidable, but as he was not born with the power, he could not contain it. Iori said the classic phrase: "Only those of the bloodline can control such power. You didn't have a chance!" as he saw Rugal wondering why his own power was consuming him. Iori's phrase gave birth to the Orochi saga in The King Of Fighters.

Orochi Saga
The next year, Iori trained strenuously, practicing nearly to unconsciousness, convinced he would triumph in the next tournament. While training, Iori was confronted by two women. Iori recognized Mature as one of the secretaries that was with Rugal. Both then revealed to him that they were servants of the Orochi. Vice, the other woman began attacking him when he demanded that they get lost. While Iori was enjoying the ferocious attacks of the strange and elegant woman, Mature told Iori that they had been observing him, and that he would be perfect as their teammate in the next King of Fighters tournament, as they all were genius and sadistic fighters.

In the course of the competition, he eventually faced the "Heroes Team", composed of Kyo Kusanagi, Benimaru Nikaido and Goro Daimon. However, the ensuing fight was brief; Chizuru Kagura of the Yata clan quickly took his rival away to confront the threat of the impending Orochi.

Iori immediately sought out Kyo again, and found his rival fighting against Goenitz. Iori recognized the power as the same that had destroyed Rugal, and he knew it had to be related to the Orochi. Iori then joined in Kyo's attack on Goenitz. With a double blow of crimson flames, Kyo and Iori defeated Goenitz. As he was standing bleeding, he told the two men that he had underestimated the power of the Yagami, and that Yagami was a dangerous man. So long as he possesses the Orochi power, Goenitz would have power. Iori, not amused by this at all, started to make fun of Goenitz, but saying his final words, he disappeared. Still deeply disgusted, Iori walked away. His teammates, Mature and Vice, talk amongst themselves behind his back. "That Yagami guy is one scary dude" and "He's really tough". At this time, Iori stopped and hunched over feeling sick. His eyes glazed over, and he began coughing blood - symptoms of the "Riot of the Blood". Unable to control this surge of Orochi power, Iori killed his companions violently and we see him roaring and going crazy before the screen fades.

After the two murders, Iori disappeared for a year, continuing to suffer from multiple outbreaks of the Riot of Blood (resulting in a number of fatalities). Iori learned he had been entered by Chizuru in the next King of Fighters 1997 tournament as a single entry. However, not much later, Iori once again entered the Riot of Blood, and went into a berserk rampage that grew and grew with the presence of Orochi. With much difficulty, the other fighters were able to calm him down through force.

Immediately after gaining consciousness again, Iori finds himself along with Chizuru and Kyo confronted by the New Face Team, composed of Yashiro Nanakase, Shermie and Chris. Revealing their Orochi forms, they proclaim themselves to be the three last and most important servants of Orochi, meant to revive him once and for all. Before the fight, Orochi Yashiro tells them "Even if you win, a living hell awaits you!", hinting that Orochi's resurrection is irreversible now. When the three servants are defeated, Chris starts to levitate and Orochi himself awakes in him. Saying "Even with your power, you are too late!" Orochi threatens them, and the fated battle of 1800 years ago begins. Through the combined efforts of Kyo, Iori and Chizuru, they eventually are able to turn the tide against the resurrected demon. In a desperate gambit, Orochi caused Iori to snap and revert to the Riot of Blood state, expecting that he would turn on his allies. Supposedly under Orochi's control, Iori jumps towards Kyo, but later we see that he actually jumps over him and grabs Orochi by the neck. With a saddened look in his face, offers his own life to give his rival the chance to defeat the God. Kyo doesn't hesitate. Thereafter, with Orochi is weakened by the efforts of Kyo and Iori. Chizuru enters to the action and seals Orochi again.

NESTS Saga
Shortly after discovering the creation of clones of Kyo, Iori gained word of another King of Fighters tournament, and he began to suspect that the person responsible for cloning Kyo might be there. Iori followed the battles from the shadows, and eventually found an abandoned warehouse where Krizalid had fought the New Hero Team and Kyo.

The whereabouts of Iori were unknown after KoF '99, and it is assumed he cared little about Southtown and the events of KoF 2000, instead focusing on the opportunity for a fight against his rival (which came to pass during Southtown's destruction).

The next year, an agent named Seth invited Iori to join his team for the next King of Fighters tournament, under the presumption that he would get his shot against Kyo if he entered. Iori made it clear from the beginning of the tournament that teamwork was irrelevant, as he could take on whole teams by himself. However, near the climax of the tournament, he assisted K' and Kyo in besting Igniz aboard a massive space station. He later escaped the destruction of the station before its impact with Earth.

Tales of Ash Saga
In The King of Fighters 2003, Iori reluctantly teamed up again with Kyo and Chizuru Kagura at the latter's request, as it seemed that the current tournament might be linked to the Orochi. After their battle with Mukai, Ash Crimson stole Chizuru's powers. He then made an offer of servitude to Iori, who answered with a fiery attack. Ash then disappeared while Kyo swore revenge. With the defeat of Chizuru and the crippled Orochi seal spelling possible catastrophe, it seemed that the Yagami clan would soon be changed forever.



In KOF XI, Iori teamed up with Kyo and Shingo Yabuki in hopes of opposing Ash. At the end of the tournament, the strengthening presence of Orochi caused Iori to enter the Riot of Blood, in which he trashed Kyo and Shingo before Ash Crimson appeared and stole Iori's sacred treasure, the Yasakani no Magatama, and his power.

In the anime The King of Fighters: Another Day Iori is seen wandering searching for Ash to regain his powers.

Personality
Creators have stated Iori's personality and other aspects to his character "broke the mold for characters in fighting games at that time" as he starkly contrasted other characters in KOF as well as other fighting games. Iori is very serious, rude and direct-to-the-point character. He seems to want kill his rival at every opportunity they meet, but deep down inside he doesn't want to.

Powers

 * Slashing Hands: Iori can use his hands as cutting weapons.
 * Pyrokinesis: Due to his Yagami heritage, Iori can control fire. He can create a bright purple fire from thin air, create fire balls, deliver punches of fire, create pillars of fire and put his own body on fire. His fire also has the sacred ability to put enemies in a stasis-like state. He is not immune to other types of fire. He cannot control other fires that he didn't create.
 * Riot of the Blood: Thanks to the pact his clan made with Orochi, Iori goes into this state whenever Orochi's presence is strong. While in this form, his eyes are dilated, his back is hunched, and his skin adopts a shade of violet. He is mostly incoherent but frequently screams, "Kyooo!", during fights. He becomes stronger and faster in exchange for his sanity.

Skills

 * Musical Instrument: Iori plays the guitar very well.

Fighting Style
Iori fights with the Yasakani style of ancient martial arts. He uses his instincts to fight as well.

Music

 * Arashi no Saxophone - The King of Fighters 95
 * Arashi no Saxophone 2 - The King of Fighters 96, 98, 2002
 * Cool Jam - The King of Fighters 97
 * Sadistic Eyes ~Arashi no Saxophone 3~ - The King of Fighters 99
 * Stormy Scream - The King of Fighters 2000
 * The Immortal Mirror of The Sun - The King of Fighters 2001
 * Cool Jam 2 - The King of Fighters 2003
 * New Age - The King of Fighters XI

Image Songs

 * Moon of Crazy Flame - 1996
 * Monochrome - SNK Character Sounds Collection
 * The Sun & The Moon - Duet image song with Kyo
 * Allegory of the Wind - 1997
 * Never Lose My Way - 1998

Game Appearances

 * The King of Fighters '95 - playable character
 * The King of Fighters '96 - playable character
 * The King of Fighters '97 - playable character
 * The King of Fighters '98 - playable character
 * SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium - playable character
 * The King of Fighters '99 - hidden character
 * Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 - playable character
 * Capcom VS SNK: Pro - playable character
 * The King of Fighters 2000 - playable character
 * Capcom vs. SNK 2 - playable character
 * The King of Fighters 2001 - playable character
 * The King of Fighters EX: Neo Blood - boss character
 * The King of Fighters 2002 - playable character
 * SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom - playable character
 * The King of Fighters EX2 - playable character
 * The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact - playable character
 * The King of Fighters Neowave - playable character
 * The King of Fighters XI - playable character
 * Neo Geo Battle Coliseum - playable character
 * The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2 - playable character
 * The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact Regulation A - playable character
 * Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits: Bushidou Retsuden (Neo-Geo CD version only; cameo)

Anime Appearances

 * The King of Fighters: Another Day

Similar Characters

 * Wild Iori
 * Miss X
 * Another Iori