Eiji Kisaragi

General CVG character
name=Eiji Kisaragi


caption= Official "The King of Fighters '95" artwork for Eiji Kisaragi.
firstgame="Art of Fighting 2"
series="Art of Fighting" series
"King of Fighters" series
artist=
voiceactor=Yoshinori Shima
inuniverse=SNK character
birthdate=
age= 28 years old ('95)
height=172 cm (5'8")
weight=70 kg (154 lb)
fightingstyle=Kisaragi-Ryu Ninjutsu| nihongo|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 the "Last Blade" series of fighting games. SNK illustrator, Shiroi Eiji, takes his namesake the white palette of Eiji from 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.

History

Art of Fighting

Eiji is a Japanese assassin from the feared and respected Kisaragi clan. He had been taught the killing arts of the Kisaragi since childhood, and he also became an expert in psychokinetic transportation, as a descendant of Zantetsu he also uses the Nagare(流）and Kage(影) twin ninja daggers. His school is the sworn enemy of both the Sakazaki clan and Kyokugenryu Karate. Eiji is a mercenary, willing to kill for anyone so long as they pay well. However though he was a villain in "AOF2", there was no indication he was ever a member of Mr. Big's syndicate.

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 Jin Fuha is looking for him.

The King of Fighters

In "The King of Fighters '95" Eiji decided to end the rivalry between his and the Sakazaki families by killing the Sakazaki Family (Ryo, Yuri and Takuma). Having traveled to Southtown to perform this task, he found no one in their dojo, instead there he learned of the King of Fighters tournament, in which the Sakazaki clan was participating. After hearing rumours spread town wide that Billy Kane, Geese Howard's former personal bodyguard was looking for some team-mates for his team for the next tournament. Eiji saw in this a perfect opportunity to fulfill his desire and joined Kane's team for the tournament.

Eiji's team failed to reach the finals of the 1995 tournament and he was unable to get a 'clear shot' at the Sakazaki family. While about to escape and go search for them on his own, Iori Yagami appeared in front of Eiji and Billy Kane and brutally beat them, nearly killing them both.

Eiji did not appear as a playable, or story, character in King of Fighters game again until The King of Fighters XI. He did not even appear in "KOF 1998", which included almost everyone from '94 to '97 in a 'dream team' style line-up. This has been explained by stating that while trying to join the tournaments in the ten years between appearances, he was repeatedly rejected due to his extremely violent actions. However, he does appear in Billy Kane's pre-fight taunt animation against Yagami, clenching his fist and saying "I wish I could tear him apart!".

Eiji returned in "The King of Fighters XI" continuing his vendetta against Kyokugenryu practitioners and the Sakazaki family in particular, and now seeking additional vengeance against Iori. He is joined by Kasumi Todoh (another rival of Kyokugenryu Karate, but not to the extreme of Eiji), and Malin (who appears to have some hostility towards Yuri Sakazaki due to her remarks about Malin's fighting style). It is unclear if Eiji wanted to enter to kill the Sakazaki family or Iori in this tournament.

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 [http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/neogeo/a/aof2eiji.htm ending] implies such a thing (despite the series being set 15 years before the "Fatal Fury" series) The Japanese version makes no such implication. The King of Fighters XI pokes fun at this belief by including an artwork of Mai posing with Eiji embarrassed in the background.

Game appearances

*"Art of Fighting 2" (1992)
*"The King of Fighters '95" (1995)
*"" (1999)
*"" (2000)
*"The King of Fighters XI" (2005)
*"The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match" (2008)

External links

* [http://www.kof10th.com/english/character/index.php?num=eiji Profile page on "The King of Fighters" 10th anniversary website]