King

King (キング) is a character in both Art of Fighting and The King of Fighters series. She debuted in the original Art of Fighting as the sole playable female character.

Art of Fighting
King is a skilled fighter who earned fame early in her career by defeating a famous Muay Thai champ. For various reasons -such as to hide her true identity, to present herself as a reliable fighter, and other issues with her gender- she made efforts to portray herself as a man to defend herself from the dangers of Southtown. Five years before Art of Fighting takes place, she suffers a humiliating defeat when she is found by Jack Turner and his gang. Finding herself poor and patronized by her tormentors, she was forced to work for Mr. Big as a bouncer. When she is defeated by Ryo, King agrees to help him save his sister. She guides Ryo and Robert to Mr. Big's hideout and is freed from her servitude once he is defeated.

In the following game, she continues her passion for street fighting until her younger brother, Jan, needs an operation to regain the use of his legs. She enters the King of Fighters tournament with hopes to win the prize money. In her ending, she is surprised to see Jan walking on his own two feet. Both Ryo and Robert paid for the operation in gratitude for her help in finding Yuri.

The King of Fighters
Like all of the Art of Fighting characters to appear in King of Fighters, King's history is largely unchanged, only moved a number of years forward in time (Art of Fighting appears to take place in 1978-1979).

King had moved to England by 1994 and was running a bar there called L'amor. This is the reason it's The Woman's Fighters Team's country of origin in The King of Fighters '94, although none of the characters were from England (King herself was supposedly born in France). Her formation of the women's team (then called Team England) would suggest she is less at odds with her womanhood as she had been in Art Of Fighting. Throughout the course of the series, King has been the leader of this team. She has entered with the likes of Blue Mary, Kasumi Todoh, and Mai Shiranui. She was keen to demonstrate 'the strength of women'. The Woman's Fighters Team (sometimes called the 'Gorgeous Team') has been a mainstay in the character line-up ever since KOF '94 and has been in almost every single game.

However, King has not appeared in every King of fighters game nor has she always been with the women's team. She was absent from the team in The King of Fighters 2000. Instead, she joined her old friend Ryo in the Kyokugenryu team. Ryo had invited his love King to join the Art of Fighting team. Robert Garcia was furious that she had taken Yuri's place on the team. Robert initially had a low opinion on King. He simply refused to let Ryo fill Yuri's spot with some weird lady who dressed like a guy. He believed her Muay Thai style to be inferior to Kyokugenryu Karate. Concerned that King would disgrace the team, he challenged King to a match. She accepted and pushed Robert to his limits. With a bruised ego, he reluctantly accepted King on to the team. In King Of Fighters 2002, her place was taken in the team by May Lee. This proved unpopular and she was included in the home console version of the game. As if to undo their wrong, SNK removed May Lee from The King of Fighters: Neowave in favor of King. May Lee was included in the console versions of the game.

Despite the constant presence of King's team, their role in the games rarely has any real impact on the overall story. Their largest role thus far is arguably 'adopting' Chizuru Kagura and introducing her to normal life after years of servitude in The King of Fighters '97. This was in fact largely the work of King's little brother Jan using some emotional blackmail. Jan had been ill during previous games, but was reunited with King by Mai Shiranui and Kasumi Todoh (her teammates for that tournament) in the Women's Fighters Team's ending for the game and King shed a tear of joy when she was reunited with her brother.

In KOF 2000, it is mentioned that King may be pregnant, though this was most likely scrapped and has not been mentioned since (it might have been just a quip made by Takuma Sakazaki about her relationship with Ryo ). Recently, King teamed up with Kyokugenryu Karate disciples Ryo Sakazaki and Yuri Sakazaki to form the "Art of Fighting/Kyokugen Team". Problems with her sex also seem to have diminished throughout the years; she is even seen wearing a dress during the ending of Kyoukugen Team in The King of Fighters XI, in spite of her snapping at Yuri, Robert and Takuma (and, inadvertently, the undercover Eiji, Kasumi and Malin as well) for nosing in her date with Ryo.

Personality
King is a kind, trustworthy but violent woman. She is unquestionably loyal to her friends, but relentlessly unforgiving towards her enemies. Although King is a passionate woman, she rarely shows a sensitive side to her friends (and when she does, things just seem to go wrong). She loves to dress in men's clothing and has a great affinity for fine wine. She also enjoys playing billiards. Her favorite food is vegetables. Though King is often at war with her own sex, she appears to not be so with her sexuality and she seems to be attracted to Ryo Sakazaki. They even have special starting poses to imply this.

Although King acts very masculine at the best of times, traces of femininity can't help but show themselves every now and then. For, King assumes a very feminine pose during her taunt in which she says C'mon Baby!

Powers

 * Energy Projectile: King can launch a projectile of energy with her kicks.

Fighting Style
King uses a very distinct Muay Thai kickboxing. She employs several acrobatic and jumping kicks which are not used as much by Thai kickboxers.

Music

 * Michiya Iya - Art of Fighting
 * Ne? (Isn't it?) - The King of Fighters 94
 * Kabocha to Piero (Pumpkin & Piero) - Art of Fighting 2
 * The Base Crawls on the Earth - The King of Fighters 95
 * Get'n Up - The King of Fighters 96
 * Fairy - The King of Fighters 98
 * Sha-La-La - The King of Fighters 99
 * Beauty and the Beast - The King of Fighters 2000
 * The Queen of Fighters - The King of Fighters 2001
 * I'm hot for you - The King of Fighters 2003
 * After a Long Absence - The King of Fighters XI

Image Song

 * The Song of Fighters II - Shared image song with other King of Fighters characters

Voice Actors

 * Harumi Ikoma - since her debut
 * Yumi Tōma - The King of Fighters '94 Dengeki Bunko drama CD
 * Masako Katsuki - Art of Fighting anime
 * Sharon Becker - Art of Fighting anime (English voice)

Game Appearances



 * Art of Fighting
 * The King of Fighters 94
 * Art of Fighting 2
 * The King of Fighters 95
 * The King of Fighters 96
 * The King of Fighters 97
 * The King of Fighters 98
 * The King of Fighters 99
 * Capcom vs SNK
 * Capcom vs SNK Pro
 * The King of Fighters 2000
 * The King of Fighters 2001
 * The King of Fighters 2002 - unlockable only in console versions
 * The King of Fighters Neowave
 * The King of Fighters 2003
 * The King of Fighters XI
 * The King of Fighters 98: Ultimate Match

Anime Appearances

 * Art of Fighting (anime)