Shingo Yabuki

Shingo Yabuki is a character from The King of Fighters series. He made his debut in The King of Fighters '97 as a single entry character, but slowly became a reoccuring member of the Hero Team and Japan Team (and its variants) in many installments. His official nickname is Straight as an Arrow.

He is voiced by Takehito Koyasu.

Development
The developers at the time wanted a character to add levity to the dark storyline of '97, which lead to Shingo's creation. His design and personality is influenced by common anime tropes such as school rivalries.

The creators of the series explain that Shingo is designed to be the comic foil to KOF main character Kyo Kusanagi. While Kyo was a hero, Shingo is meant to be a "simple and plain, everyday guy". To follow this character persona, he was also meant to be marketed on a lesser scale of importance as part of his introduction to the series. But in spite of their intention to promote him simply and plainly, he was splashed all over the place with his silhouette appearing in pre-promotion campaigns in magazines, which lead to Shingo being a hyped up character.

Personality
He is one of the more lighthearted and silly characters in the series, a "goof". He considers every fighter his friend, making them consider him to be a "weird, but good" kid. Shingo admires Kyo like an idol, and often dedicates his victories to him. He dreams of being able to wield flames like Kyo, which is stressed to the point of comic relief throughout the series.

However, he has his own moments of cockiness, sometimes thinking of himself surpassing Kyo, to which the latter will remind him brutally of reality. Still, while Kyo doesn't take Shingo seriously at first or thinks of him as an eyesore at worst, he begins trusting him and seeing him more than as a student or an errand boy. This becomes more apparent when Saisyu starts training him formally, and getting moderately involved in the affairs of the Kusanagi and the 3 Sacred Treasures, through Chizuru's intervention.

Powers

 * Pyrokinesis (temporarily) - Shortly during his time-displacement on stopping a recently Orochi-corrupted Magai, Shingo temporarily awakened his own fire, albeit blue colored still a small portion, and currently can only be utilize to boost his physical attacks in The King of Fighters Side Story: The Origin of Flame - Shingo Travels Through Time! Let's Go!. This power is meant to temporarily purify half of Magai Yasakani from the Orochi's curse.

Skills

 * Indomitable Spirit - Shingo is highly optimistic he will overcome inadequacy through hard work. However, because he isn't a member of the Kusanagi bloodline, he does not have the ability to intentionally create fire out of thin air. Despite knowing he lacks the ability to create his own flames, he continues training and sees Kyo as his inspiration to improve, with very few things able to douse his spirits.
 * Quick Hand - Shingo can quickly jot down notes of any ability he sees.
 * Quick Recall - Shingo is able to quickly re-perform techniques he's seen only once by referring to his notebook. Through constant training, he starts to rely less on his notebook and begin memorizing techniques internally.

Fighting Style
He replicates several of Kyo's moves without flames. He isn't perfect though as he always takes out his handbook if he seems to forget a move.

He also "messes up" certain moves — such as the 101 Shiki Mikansei: Oboro Guruma (Incomplete Method 101: Hazy Wheel), Shingo Kinsei Ore Mu Shiki (Shingo's Humbly Own Made No Style) and Shingo Kinsei Oreshiki: Rouka Guruma (Shingo's Humbly Made Own Style: Hazy Fire Wheel) — where he falls or collapses during or after their executions.

Music

 * Still Green - The King of Fighters '97, '98, '98: UM, R-1, R-2, XI (Shingo goes first, console version)
 * KD-0079 - The King of Fighters '99
 * Inner Shade - The King of Fighters 2000
 * The Invincible Flame - The King of Fighters 2001
 * Tears - The King of Fighters 2002 (console version only)
 * Joyrider - The King of Fighters 2003
 * New Order - The King of Fighters XI
 * Asia Sangokudomei (Triple Alliance of Asia) - The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match
 * Still Green -KOF XV ver. - The King of Fighters XV

Image Song

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

Appearances
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Games

 * The King of Fighters '97
 * The King of Fighters: Kyo
 * The King of Fighters '98 - potential mid-boss
 * The King of Fighters R-1
 * The King of Fighters R-2
 * The King of Fighters '99
 * The King of Fighters 2000
 * The King of Fighters 2001
 * The King of Fighters EX: Neo Blood - as a Striker for the Hero Team
 * The King of Fighters 2002 - potential mid-boss & unlockable in console versions only
 * The King of Fighters Neowave
 * The King of Fighters 2003
 * The King of Fighters XI
 * The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match - potential mid-boss
 * The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match
 * The King of Fighters XV - DLC character (also in his classic '98 costume)

Mobile

 * Days of Memories (second and fourth titles) - unplayable
 * SNK Dream Battle
 * The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match Online
 * Kimi wa Hero
 * The King of Fighters: World - NPC
 * The King of Fighters All Star
 * The King of Fighters Destiny (Game)
 * The King of Fighters: Orochi Go
 * The King of Fighters M: Fighting Stars Assembly
 * The King of Fighters for Girls
 * SNK Fighting Age

Cameos
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 * The King of Fighters XII - talks with Kyo in his sidestory
 * The King of Fighters XIII - talks with Benimaru and Chizuru in Ash's backstory; also seen in Japan and Esaka stages
 * The King of Fighters '94 Re-Bout - background cameo
 * Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001 - mentioned in Kyo's ending text
 * The King of Fighters (pachinko)
 * The King of Fighters 2
 * The King of Fighters XIV - in the Japan Team Story, visits the Japan Team and got beaten by Daimon in a "friendly" challenge
 * The King of Fighters XV - in the Sacred Treasures Team ending

Etymology

 * The name Shingo means "real, genuine" (真) (shin) and "I, me" (吾) (go).
 * Shingo's surname Yabuki means "arrow" (矢) (ya) and "blow, breathe, puff, emit, smoke" (吹) (fuki/buki).

Trivia

 * Most of Shingo's animations are shared with Saisyu Kusanagi, as both use the more basic principles of the Kusanagi style. Saisyu even tutors Shingo himself at some point to further hone the style.
 * In The King of Fighters 2003, Shingo can randomly produce a small flame spark when performing his 115 Shiki: Dokugami Mikansei (Unfinished Method 115: Poison Bite) attack. However, it is reveled in the Japan Team ending that he somehow did "produce" a fire of sorts.
 * Shingo shares his birthday with King and Mature.
 * In Neo-Geo Freak 1998, the characters in KOF '98 have their own interviews. Here are Shingo's response to the questions.
 * What is your aspiration in this competition? - "Ahem! My aspiration is to fight fiercely while assuring myself of the many skills that Kusanagi-san has learned one by one! It may be fast, but it will be satisfying if it's a game without regret so that what I learned so far is not in vain."
 * Who would you like to fight the most? - "Well Well, maybe Kusanagi-san. It seems you're cheeky, but..."
 * Who would you like to team up with? / Who would you not like to team up with? - "Well, I don't know many fighters, so I don't want to feel bad when teaming up... Kusanagi-san, in the end. I can't fight well, but if I have the opportunity to see his fights up close, I wonder if it's good. And those who I don't want to team with is Iori! The enemy of Kusanagi is my enemy too!"
 * What is "KOF" for you? - "The electricity of life that I found in destiny … Is it too big? Hehehe, but without KOF, I wouldn't be here now … Wouldn't it be good if life changed in good or bad way?"
 * Finally, please give a word to your fans. - "Fan? Is there something …? Well, good. Then Ahem! I Report Yabuki! He is a student of Kusanagi! I took part in KOF to get a step closer to Kusanagi-san one more time! Thank you for your support, I'll be strong!"
 * Shingo is one of the few KOF characters who has never changed his voice actors since debut.
 * The other characters in the series with the same voice actors since their first appearance are King, Benimaru Nikaido, Choi Bounge, Kula Diamond, Whip, Ash Crimson, Maxima and Oswald.
 * Shingo and Alice Nakata are the only characters of the series who are fans of other characters (in this case, the idols are protagonists of their respective series).
 * Both the characters also try to imitate his idols in their fighting styles.
 * Other similar characters from Capcom are Sakura Kasugano and Sean Matsuda from the Street Fighter series.
 * Due to being voiced by Takehito Koyasu, who would later on earn fame for being the voice of Dio Brando in the anime JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, some memes put elements and famous quotes of Dio into Shingo.
 * A similar occurrence happens to Nameless and his voice actor, Daisuke Ono, the voice of Jotaro Kujo, in the same anime aforementioned.

Gallery
Shingo Yabuki