The King of Fighters 2003 (manhua)

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The King of Fighters 2003
TheKingofFighterscomic.jpg
ComicsOne edition of The King of Fighters 2003 featuring K' (left), Whip (middle) and Maxima (right)
Genre
AuthorWing Yan
IllustratorKing Tung
PublisherSNK
English publisher
Volumes13 (original)
5 (English release)

The King of Fighters 2003 is a manhua by Wing Yan and King Tung. It is based on SNK's video game with the same title. Originally divided in two versions in China, ComicsOne published the two series combined in North America. The plot of the series follows a new fighting tournament whose sponsors appear to be related with the legendary creature known as Yamata no Orochi and multiple combatants are summoned to investigate it. The comics generally focus of the reluctant hero K' and the mysterious newcomer Ash Crimson.

Contents

Critical reception to the manhua has been mixed. While the art and translation were praised for the way fight scenes are drawn, the lack of backstories for most characters were criticized as casual readers would not understand who are they. Nevertheless, the final issues were well received for the way the plot was handled.

Plot

The plot begins with a fight between K', a teenager with pyrokinectic abilities facing a clone from the fighters Kyo Kusanagi. Following K'' victory, a woman named Chizuru Kagura revives the clone and renames him "Kusanagi". Shortly afterwards, Kagura is attacked by an unknown opponent and a new fighting tournament known as "The King of Fighters" is announced. A young man named Ash Crimson also capable of producing flame starts forming his own team with Shen Woo and Duo Lon, but forms multiple enemies in the process with another clone of Kyo attacking him in one moment. However, Ash defeats him. The original Kyo Kusanagi is summoned by Chizuru alongside his rival Iori Yagami for a mission: Chizuru senses the power of the legendary creature Yamata no Orochi stronger and requests their aid to oversee the tournament behind the shadows to learn if the sponsor is related to Orochi. While Kyo and Iori accept the mission, K' and his friends Maxima and Whip are requested by the elder Chin Gentsai to participate in the tournament for a similar mission with K' undergoing new training in the process.

As the tournament starts, Ash's and K''s teams become one of the leading competitors. The final is a fight between Ash's team and K''s. While Ash take the upperhand, K' wins the final battle due to a time limit. Shortly afterwards, K' is kidnapped by the sponsors Adelheid and Rose Bernstein. K' faces Adelheid but the two are separated in the area's destruction. Kyo and Iori are then betrayed by Chizuru who attacks them alongside her twin sister Maki Kagura. As Kyo and Iori defeat the Kagura sisters, it is revealed Maki is an undead fighter revived unintentionally Chizuru's power, the Yata Mirror. Chizuru had been brainwashed by Botan, a woman from an organization known as "Those From the Past". Kyo and Iori are then attacked by Botan's superior, Mukai, who also kills Kusanagi while the clone attempts to save Chizuru. K' faces Mukai and uses the power of Orochi to defeat him alongside Ash's help. Following Mukai's escape, Ash attacks Chizuru, and steals the Yata Mirror, promising Iori to be his next victim. A frustrated K' reunites with his friends as he remains taunted by Mukai.

Publication

In China the series was divided into two halves: The King of Fighters 2003 composed of five issues, and The King of Fighters 03: Xenon Zero (拳皇 XENON ZERO) composed of eight issues. The two series were combined for the North American release under the name of The King of Fighters 2003. [1] In July 2004, ComicsOne licensed the series with its first volume tying the release of a new video game and kept publishing it after their transition to DrMaster. [2] [3] They were published in five issues of 128 pages from May 25, 2005 to June 26, 2008. [4] [5]

Reception

The comic has received positive mixed critical responses. Atomicavanue enjoyed the way fights were displayed as due to how faithful they are to their video game incarnation citing Kyo Kusanagi's moves as an example. [9] Karl Lam from Comic Book Bin agreed, feeling the artwork was good in general and the translation from Chinese to English was well executed. Since the reviewed first issue was mostly centered around the characters' introduction, Lam noticed there was not many interactions. However, he gave the comic an overall score of 9 out of 10. [10] In a more critical review, IGN was bothered by the new main character, Ash Crimson, feeling he was not as appealing other characters based on his characterization and also found it issues in the lack of backstories of the cast. Nevertheless, IGN felt the comic might be suitable for The King of Fighters and agreed the fight scenes were also enjoyable. [11]

A similar response in regards to the storyline was given by Genji Press' Serdar Yegulalp in regards to whether fans of the franchise might enjoy the comic more than casual readers. While praising the fight scenes, Yegulalp felt Ash would not come as very likable and that the relationships between characters like K' and Maxima were left in mystery to casuals. [12] In contrast to the negative review from the initial review, IGN found the fourth issue of the story more enjoyable based on the characters' fight scenes, as well as the fact that the story's tournament is not the end of the story because of the sponsor hiding something which might surprise the readers. IGN also enjoyed how the characters were given their unique traits such as Ash's "jerkass" attitude or K''s heroic personality. In general, IGN found the manhua more enjoyable than the adaptation of the game SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom. [13] In a review of the final volume, Ben Leary from Mania Entertainment said that while the battle sequences were appealing, some of them did not have a satisfying conclusion or were not elaborated well such as the final fight between K' and Mukai due to how the former is found in a conflict related to Japanese mythology while some scenes felt repetitive. Giving the final issue a C+, Leary that while the comic tried giving coherency to the plot, it failed to do it. [14]

Related Research Articles

The King of Fighters (KOF) is a series of fighting games by SNK that began with the release of The King of Fighters '94 in 1994. The series was developed originally for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware. This served as the main platform for the series until 2004 when SNK retired it in favor of the Atomiswave arcade board. Two King of Fighters games were produced for the Atomiswave platform (The King of Fighters Neowave and The King of Fighters XI) before SNK decided to discontinue using it for the series. The series' most recent arcade hardware is the Taito Type X2, first used with the release of The King of Fighters XII. Ports of the arcade games and the original The King of Fighters games have been released for several video game consoles. The latest entry in the series, The King of Fighters XV, was released in February 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iori Yagami</span> Fictional character

Iori Yagami is a fictional character from SNK's The King of Fighters video game series. The character first appeared in The King of Fighters '95 as the leader of the Rivals Team, as the initial enemy and later rival of Kyo Kusanagi. Iori is the heir of the Yagami clan, who use pyrokinetic powers and sealed the Orochi devil along with the Kusanagi and Yata clans. Iori suffers from a curse – "The Riot of the Blood" – under which he becomes faster, stronger and wilder, exhibiting a deadly tendency to indiscriminately attack everyone in close proximity. In this state, Iori is commonly called "Wild Iori" or "Orochi Iori". Aside from the main series, Iori appears in several other media series, including spin-offs, crossover video games and comic adaptations of the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyo Kusanagi</span> Fictional character

Kyo Kusanagi is a fictional character in SNK's The King of Fighters series of fighting games. The character was first introduced in the 1994 video game The King of Fighters '94 as the leader of the Japan team from the series' title tournament. Kyo, heir to the Kusanagi clan, is first introduced as a cocky, delinquent high-school student who has pyrokinetic powers. His clan is one of three who banished the legendary snake demon entity Yamata no Orochi. During the series' story, Kyo meets rivals and enemies who seek to take his flame abilities. Aside from the main series, Kyo appears in several crossovers and spinoffs with other games. He is also the central title character of the manga The King of Fighters: Kyo and video game adaptation with the same name which center around his daily life.

<i>The King of Fighters 95</i> 1995 video game

The King of Fighters '95(KOF '95) is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1995. It is the sequel to The King of Fighters '94 and the second game in The King of Fighters series. It is also the first game in the series to be ported to other home consoles besides the Neo Geo AES and Neo-Geo CD thus making SNK a second-party developer, with versions released for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Game Boy. It was also rereleased in The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga in 2008 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Wii.

<i>The King of Fighters 97</i> 1997 video game

The King of Fighters '97(KOF '97) is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console in 1997. It is the fourth game in The King of Fighters series. It was ported to the Neo-Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn in Japan only. An updated version titled Global Match featuring online multiplayer was released in 2018 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Steam.

<i>The King of Fighters 98</i> 1998 video game

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<i>The King of Fighters 99</i> 1999 fighting video game

The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle is a 1999 fighting game developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1999. It is the sixth installment in The King of Fighters series, introducing a new story arc known as the "NESTS Chronicles" which is centered around a young man named K', who is formerly associated with a mysterious yet threatening organization known only as NESTS. The game introduces several changes to the established KOF format, most notably an assisting character labeled "Striker". The game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD and the PlayStation. Dreamcast and Microsoft Windows versions were also released under the title The King of Fighters' 99: Evolution whose stages were remodeled in 3D.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ash Crimson</span> Fictional character from The King of Fighters

Ash Crimson is a video game character in The King of Fighters fighting game series developed by SNK Playmore. His first appearance was in The King of Fighters 2003 as leader of its Hero Team. Ash, a teenager, participates in the series' fighting tournaments. He employs a personal fighting style that involves pyrokinesis with green flames. Despite being the series' protagonist since its third story arc, Ash's behavior is generally antagonistic and he tries to steal powers from several recurring characters, leaving them powerless. His identity and intentions are further explored in the 2011 title, The King of Fighters XIII, and he has been featured in print adaptations and a drama CD based on the games.

<i>The King of Fighters XI</i> 2005 video game

The King of Fighters XI(KOF XI) is a 2D fighting game produced by SNK Playmore. It is the eleventh installment in The King of Fighters series following The King of Fighters 2003. It was originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform in 2005. A home version for the PlayStation 2 was released in Japan in 2006, followed by releases in the PAL region and North America in 2007. It is the first The King of Fighters game to not run on the Neo Geo and also the first one to not be named after its year of release.

<i>King of Fighters R-2</i> 1999 video game

King of Fighters R-2 is a fighting game released by SNK in 1999 for the Neo-Geo Pocket Color handheld system, part of The King of Fighters series. It is the sequel to King of Fighters R-1 for the Neo-Geo Pocket, the previous generation of the handheld. A port for Nintendo Switch was released on August 7, 2020.

<i>The King of Fighters 96</i> 1996 video game

The King of Fighters '96(KOF '96) is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1996. It is the third game in The King of Fighters series, following The King of Fighters '95. Like its predecessor, the game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Unlike the previous game, the PlayStation and Saturn versions were released only in Japan, with a language setting allowing the player to set the game to English. It is also part of the compilation The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Wii. It was also released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on February 15, 2011, in North America on July 12, 2012 and in the PAL region on November 22, 2012.

<i>The King of Fighters 2002</i> 2002 video game

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<i>The King of Fighters 2003</i> 2003 video game

The King of Fighters 2003(KOF 2003, or KOF '03), also known by fans as The King of Fighters X, is a fighting game produced by SNK Playmore for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms in 2003. It is the tenth game in The King of Fighters series and the last one released for the Neo Geo, which served as the primary platform for the series since The King of Fighters '94. It was ported to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and was released in North America as a two-in-one bundle with the preceding game in the series, The King of Fighters 2002.

<i>The King of Fighters Neowave</i> 2004 video game

The King of Fighters Neowave(KOF Neowave, or KOF NW) is a 2D fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and released as a coin-operated arcade game for Sammy's Atomiswave hardware in 2004. It was the first game SNK Playmore produced for the Atomiswave. An offshoot of The King of Fighters series, it is not counted in the main series numbering. The game was also made on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The PS2 version was released only in Japan and the PAL region, the Xbox version was released both in Japan and North America. The North American version was released on April 18, 2006. In 2020, a Dreamcast homebrew adaptation of the arcade version was also made possible due to the Dreamcast sharing almost identical hardware with its Atomiswave cousin. The character artwork was done by Tomokazu Nakano. In Japan, it was the last game to be released for the Xbox.

<i>The King of Fighters</i> (film) 2010 film directed by Gordon Chan

The King of Fighters is a 2010 science fiction martial arts film directed by Gordon Chan from a screenplay by Rita Augustine and Matthew Ryan Fischer, based on the video game series of the same name published by SNK Playmore. The film stars Maggie Q, Sean Faris, Ray Park, David Leitch, and Will Yun Lee. In the plot, the last surviving descendants of three legendary clans are continuously transported to other dimensions to test their martial arts skills during the King of Fighters tournament against an evil force that seeks to invade and infect the real world.

<i>King of Fighters R-1</i> 1998 video game

King of Fighters R-1 is a fighting game developed and released by SNK in 1998 for the Neo-Geo Pocket handheld system. It is based on The King of Fighters '97, sharing the same storyline. A sequel, King of Fighters R-2, was released the following year.

<i>The King of Fighters XIII</i> 2010 video game

The King of Fighters XIII (Japanese: ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ XIII)(KOF XIII) is a fighting game in The King of Fighters series, developed and published by SNK Playmore originally in 2010. King of Fighters XIII was released for Japanese arcades on July 14, 2010, while ports for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were released during late 2011 in Japanese and English regions, with Atlus USA and Rising Star Games being in charge of releasing them in the United States and Europe respectively. Versions for iOS and Android followed in 2011 and 2012. A PC version was released on Steam on September 13, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K'</span> Video game character from The King of Fighters fighting game series

K Dash, is a video game character from The King of Fighters fighting game series developed by SNK. He debuted as the leader of the Hero Team in The King of Fighters '99, released in 1999. He often stars as the reluctant hero. K′ is a young man who lost all his memories when the NESTS syndicate captured him and injected the DNA of Kyo Kusanagi to replicate his pyrokinetic abilities. While rebelling against organization, K' forms multiple bonds with other NESTS agents. Aside from the main series, K' also appears in several other media series, such as spin-offs and crossover video games, as well as printed adaptations of the series.

<i>The King of Fighters: A New Beginning</i> Japanese manga series

The King of Fighters: A New Beginning is a Japanese shōnen manga authored by Kyōtarō Azuma. The series has been serialized in Kodansha's Magazine Pocket since January 2018, ending in August 2020. Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the manga for a North American release with the first volume released in March 2020. The manga is an adaptation of SNK's 2016 fighting game The King of Fighters XIV and follows multiple characters who get involved in a new worldwide tournament led by a man known as Antonov.

References

  1. ↑ "このページの商品は全て です。". Hong Kong Manga. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  2. ↑ "THE KING OF FIGHTERS COMES TO COMICS". ICv2. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  3. ↑ "San Jose, CA – July 28, 2004". Comics One. Archived from the original on February 4, 2005. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "The King of Fighters 2003 volume 1". Dr. Master Books. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  5. 1 2 "The King of Fighters 2003 volume 5". Dr. Master Books. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  6. ↑ "The King of Fighters 2003 volume 2". Dr. Master Books. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  7. ↑ "The King of Fighters 2003 volume 3". Dr. Master Books. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  8. ↑ "The King of Fighters 2003 volume 4". Dr. Master Books. Archived from the original on August 15, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  9. ↑ "The King of Fighters 2003". AtomicVanue. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  10. ↑ "The King of Fighters 2003". Comic Book Bin. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  11. ↑ Thomas, Lucas M. (March 8, 2008). "The King of Fighters 2003 Vol. 1 Review". IGN. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
  12. ↑ "External Book Reviews: The King of Fighters 2003: The Comic, Volume 1". Genji Press. April 4, 2007. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  13. ↑ Sparrow, A.E. (May 27, 2008). "King of Fighters 2003: Volume 4 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
  14. ↑ Leary, Ben (October 15, 2008). "King of Fighters 2003 Vol. #05". Mania. Demand Media. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
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