The King of Fighters: Zillion (Chinese:拳皇ZILLION), also known as The King of Fighters Z (Chinese:拳皇Z), is a forty-five-volume manhua series illustrated and conceived by Andy Seto, which was officially sponsored by SNK Playmore from Hong Kong and published by NEOSUN. The story is an alternate retelling of The King of Fightersfighting games published by SNK, focused on Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami as they fight the remmnats of the Yamata no Orochi followers as well as the NESTS terrorist organization while also dealing on the two rivals' constant cycle of fights.
Plot
As the two firewielders Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami fight in a frozen mountain, the former's fiancé Yuki asks fellow fighter Chizuru Kagura to stop the deadly battle. The story then moves back to the ending of The King of Fighters '97 game narrative where Kyo and Iori join forces to defeat the demon Yamata no Orochi revived by the New Faces Team. In the aftermath, Kyo is kidnapped by the experimented by NESTS organization with Dr. Makishima using his body create an army of fighters capable of imitating them Kusanagi fire powers. Iori eventually attacks the base and starts destroying it, resulting in Kyo's awakening. Though both are weak, they manage to defeat the Kyo clone. As they escape, the two agree on a rematch in the mountains but are interrupted by the Orochi servants Vice and Mature. It is revealed that the Orochi servants managed to survive the events of 1996's and 1997's tournaments and seek to bring back their lord Orochi. Kyo and Iori eventually reach their fight where the former gets the upperhand only to suffer the effect of NESTS experiments which weaken his body and take back his powers. Iori prepares to finish Kyo only to disappear when the area is taken by the snow.
With NESTS facing Kyo's allies in The King of Fighters 1999, the head of the Kusanagi clan decides to remain hidden, leaving his friends Benimaru Nikaido and Shingo Yabuki now that he cannot fight together again. Meanwhile, the New Faces Teams are attacked by Orochi who is not fully revived. Orochi is defeated by a Kyo clone who escapes while kidnapping Chris. During the The King of Fighters 2000 part of the series, Yuiwa kidnaps King's younger brother Jean to hire her to kidnap Kyo and Yuki in exchange. Benimaru, Shingo and the members from the Kusanagi clan try to defeat King and the NESTS agents but are wounded Unable to fight back, Kyo allows himself to be kidnapped in exchange of his fiance's safety but Yuiwa also takes Yuki. Yuiwa aims to revive the will of Gaia, intending King's brother and Chris to be the next vessels. The appearance of the clone and Kyo's staying in the shadows to recover result in several fights caused by the misunderstanding. When his family is attacked by NESTS agents, Iori decides to fight against the group.
Shingo and the Fatal Fury team try to rescue Kyo and Yuki from the NESTS agents but fail to do so. When Shingo is about to be killed by Yuiwa, Kyo's flames revive him to protect his friend and defeats Yuiwa. Now back at his prime, Kyo confronts the New Faces Team. Fellow fighter Athena Asamiya has Kyo see the feud between his past self Kusanagi whose lover was nearly killed by Orochi until Kyo intervenes and saves her. Upon returning to his timeline, Kyo and Iori decide to spare differences for this tournament as they fight both Orochi's forces and other NESTS agents seeking to use the power of Kusanagi. With their combined efforts, Kyo and Iori defeat the Orochi Hakkeshu as well as reborn Orochi, rescuing Jean in the process.
In the aftermath, NESTS agent Zero revives another user of Orochi's power, Rugal Bersntein. Rugal seeks revenge against Kyo following the previous battles, taking Iori in the process. After facing Ling in a ship, Kyo meets a group of agents working for the Ikari Warriors who also are seeking NESTS. With Iori recovering thanks to a nightmare, Kyo finds the missing rebellious agents K' and Maxima who are being manipulated by Zero. Kyo pretends being kidnapped by NESTS to find Zero and enter their hideout alongside Iori. K' and Maxima then confront Rugal Kyo and Iori decide confront two other member from NESTS. Following NESTS' defeat, a new tournament starts but neither Kyo and Iori take place in it as their aim to continue their unfinished duel.
Publication
Author Andy Seto
In 1999, Chinese writer Andy Seto created his own company named NEOSON, and then started writing the comic The King of Fighter: Zillion as publisher friend who held the rights of the series suggested it to him. The developers of the original The King of Fightersfighting game series SNK provided Seto directions in the making of the comic.[1] In contrast to previous The King of Fighters comics, Zillion is mostly an original story. It is set 1998, which is somewhat "free" in terms of the official storyline.[2]
Andy Seto claims that given that it was 1998, the Japanese team at SNK required me to write a story about that period. When working with SNK he has have much less freedom in my choices and has to have to get their approval first before doing anything. In contrast Zillion gave Seto more freedom. In particular Seto's favorite characters are the two leads Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, though he also has preferences for the guest characters Mai Shiranui and Blue Mary who originate from Fatal Fury.[2]
The series was published in China for forty-five volumes all written by Andy Seto. The first volume was released on February 1, 1999. ComicsOne published some issues to Western regions alongside Seto's other work, Crouching Tiger & Hidden Dragon. In France, the comic was published by TONKAM.[3] An artbook titled The Illustrations Of The King Of Fighters Zillion was also released in 2000.[4]
Reception
The public praised the work which made the author glad for global audiences accepting his work for the first time in contrast to previous works that were only published in Hong Kong.[5] Atomix claims the comic helped to explore more the consequences of the Orochi story arc not seen in gaming.[6] Manga News said the aesthetically appealing despite relying on a very basic narrative. Nevertheless, Manga News enjoyed the fight sequences that represent the impact The King of Fighters marked on the world.[7]
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