Iori Yagami (Japanese: 八神 庵, Hepburn: Yagami Iori) is a 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" (血の暴走, Chi no Bōso) – 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" (月の夜大蛇の血に狂う庵, Tsuki no Yoru Orochi no Chi ni Kuruu Iori; lit. Insane Iori with Blood of Orochi Under the Night of the Moon). Aside from the main series, Iori appears in several other media series, including spin-offs, crossover video games and comic adaptations of the series. Iori was created as Kyo's rival; his name and abilities were designed to relate him with the legend of Yamata no Orochi. The designers ended up liking him so much they are careful of the character's development as the series expands. As a result, Iori sometimes helps Kyo to have the opportunity to fight him. Finding his design appealing, new outfits presented the SNK staff with difficulties as they devised new appearances for the character that would retain his popularity. Video game journalists have praised Iori Yagami as one of the most powerful characters in the series. Reviewers have also cited Iori as one of the best characters from the games, labeling him as a veteran character and praising his appearance as one of SNK's best creations. "Miss X", Iori's crossdressing form from SNK Gals' Fighters and the additional female one of SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, also received attention for its humor. A series of collectible items based on Iori's likeness, including key chains and figurines, have been manufactured.
Conception and creation Iori Yagami was created by Yuichiro Hiraki who aimed to create an ideal rival to Kyo Kusanagi's character; Since Kyo hot-blooded in some ways, the development team just assumed Iori would be the opposite, cool and blue-blooded. Iori's name is loosely based on the Japanese mythological creature Yamata no Orochi. In contrast to Kyo's life, SNK decided to keep Iori's life as private despite some related material mentioning the fact that Iori has relatives. Though Iori and Kyo first meet in KOF, writer Akihiko Ureshino decided to take freedom in his novelizations to foreshadow more their meetings in novels. After watching fan reactions at initial location testing for King of Fighters '95, several staff members predicted Iori would be popular. Iori was created not only to the yang to Kyo's ying but also inherit the popularity of the Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury series. In order to stand out besides being Kyo's rival, the plot of the Orochi arc would give Iori a unique Desperation Move that symbolizes his clan's past when being corrupted by Orochi: the Forbidden Method 1211: Eight Maidens. The King of Fighters '96 was created to explore more the Orochi lore through the new host Chizuru Kagura who wants help from the protagonist and his rival. Iori was originally introduced in The King of Fighters '95 as the leader of a team composed of Billy Kane, Eiji Kisaragi and himself. Each member shares a rivalry with another character in the game. Although the staff members worked hard to impress their superiors at SNK, Iori's characterization caused them to discard the team in the next game in the series. In the rival team's ending, Iori betrays Billy and Eiji, generating anger from the Art of Fighting developers for what Iori did to their character. Iori is a berserker due to the Orochi demon blood within him. This version of the character, officially named "Orochi Iori", is hinted to have existed before his debut in The King of Fighters '97 as one of the game's mid-bosses. This form of Iori was designed to easily overpower other characters. Series' flagship director Toyohisa Tanabe states that the staff were initially reluctant to add this version of Iori to the series' roster; they were worried about fans' reactions but did so to add more impact to the Orochi saga's climax. Tanabe was particularly pleased to see surprised reactions from female fans to this form during KOF '97's location testing. Another minor development of the character was his change of "most valued possession/valued treasure" information. A girlfriend was also listed in The King of Fighters '95, The King of Fighters '99, and The King of Fighters 2000. Starting with The King of Fighters 2001 and every entry after that, however, the space is listed as "None". The SNK staff commented that it is curious that he does not have a girlfriend anymore.
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