Eiji Kisaragi

Eiji Kisaragi (如月 影二, Kisaragi Eiji) is a character in both the Art of Fighting and The King of Fighters series. He is the descendent of Zantetsu from Last Blade series of fighting games. SNK illustrator, Shiroi Eiji, takes his namesake from the white palette of Eiji in Art of Fighting 2.

In both The King of Fighters XI and the manga of The King of Fighters: Kyo, Eiji is portrayed as only semi-serious, and is often the butt of other characters' jokes. He is voiced by Yoshinori Shima.

Art of Fighting
Eiji is a ninja from the feared and respected Kisaragi clan. He was taught the killing arts of the Kisaragi since childhood and he became an expert in psychokinetic transportation. Sworn to be the strongest under the heavens, he made it his goal to defeat the one of the schools his clan had not yet surpassed: Kyokugenryu Karate. As a descendant of Zantetsu, he also wields the Nagare(流）and Kage(影) twin ninja daggers and uses them sparingly.

As with all of the characters from the previous two games except Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia, Eiji does not appear in Art of Fighting 3. However his former student, Jin Fu-Ha, is looking for him.

The King of Fighters
In The King of Fighters '95, Eiji was summoned by Billy Kane to enter a team with Iori Yagami and him. Although he seemed surprised to see his teammates for the first time, he agreed since it was a chance to continue his agenda against the Kyokugenryu practitioners. In their team's ending, Iori, seeing no further use for them, beats Eiji and Billy. Both men harbored a grudge against Iori ever since. However, the official KOF site states that the ninja instead suffered a humiliating loss from the Art of Fighting team.

Eiji returns in The King of Fighters XI as a member of the Anti Kyokugenryu team. In their team's back story, it is explained that he was extensively training in the mountains since his defeat in 1995. Summoned by Malin, he seemed intent on taking his revenge on Takuma and is surprised to hear the master of the style hospitalized. He instead shifts his target to Ryo, who is deemed to be the most proficient practitioner in the tournament by both him and his teammate, Kasumi. In their team's ending, they continue to spy on their rivals and prepare to ambush them at a fancy restaurant. At the same moment they strike, they are unintentionally yet humorously knocked out by an irritated King.

Personality
Eiji is a ruthless assassin, incapable of remorse or emotional attachment as he fights - human life appears to mean nothing to him. He is skilled at fighting multiple enemies at once. Eiji, possibly due to his few appearances, has been fleshed out very little beyond his hatred/rivalry of the Sakazaki family and his more recent vengeance against Iori. His past has yet to be revealed. Ironically, Eiji will often be played for comic relief, though this seems to be par for the course with Art of Fighting characters.

Many Western players believed Eiji to be secretly in love with popular character Mai Shiranui because the US version of his Art of Fighting 2 ending implies such a thing (despite the series being set 15 years before the Fatal Fury series) The Japanese version makes no such implication. Capitalizing on this fact, Eiji should be included in the cast of Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture taking the role at last assigned to Hauer.

Powers
Translocation: Eiji is able to move himself from one place to another nearby almost instantly.

Energy Projectile: Eiji can create a projectile of energy.

Cutting Energy: Eiji can envelop his hands with cutting energy.

Energy Reflector: Eiji can reflect projectiles with this.

Skills
All the skills a ninja must have, like hiding, climbing, swimming, ...

Fighting Style
Eiji uses the Kisaragiryuu Ninjutsu. Users of this style know how to fight unnarmed and with knives.

Music

 * Shinobi no Michi (Way of the Ninja) - Art of Fighting 2
 * Arashi no Saxophone - The King of Fighters '95
 * Triumphantly - The King of Fighters XI

Game Appearances

 * Art of Fighting 2
 * The King of Fighters '95
 * The King of Fighters 2000 - As a Striker for Lin
 * The King of Fighters XI
 * The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match