The King of Fighters: A New Beginning
The King of Fighters: A New Beginning | |
Genre | Martial arts[1] |
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Manga | |
Written by | Kyōtarō Azuma |
Published by | Kodansha |
English publisher | |
Magazine | Magazine Pocket |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Original run | January 1, 2018 – August 23, 2020 |
Volumes | 6 |
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,[2] ending in August 2020.[3] 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.
Plot
Years after the last fighting tournament known as "The King of Fighters", a man Antonov leads his own competition. This attracts returning fighters and most notably newcomers. The elder martial artist Tung Fu Rue wants to use this fight to test his student Shun'ei and Meitenkun's powers. Elsewhere almost nearby the stadium, an
For the next match, Shun'ei tries to show his powers in combat but is beat by
The tournament progresses with the K' Team composed of the former NESTS experiments,
With NESTS defeated, the tournament is interrupted by a supernatural creature who only yells the word Verse. A criminal fighter named
Publication
The series was first announced in November 2017 by Kodansha to be published in online Magazine Pocket for free.[2] Kyōtarō Azuma's work is being reviewed by Akihiko Ureshino, writer of most The King of Fighters works. The King of Fighters XIV producer Yasuyuki Oda noted that while the story might fit within the franchise's canon, it could greatly influence their latter works as they aim A New Beginning to stay true to the game's narrative.[4] Although the original The King of Fighters XIV game offered extra characters in the form of downloadable content, Azuma refrained from using them.[5]
The first tankōbon volume was released on August 9, 2018.[6] Sales of the series have been positive with Azuma noting that the third Japanese volume run out of print and due to fan demand, Kodansha re-print more copies of it.[7] However, Azuma stated the amount of releases for every volume was relatively low.[8] By the time the third volume was released, Oda stated the series is an entertaining fighting series, hoping it attracts more readers.[1] In January 2019, the series took a one-month hiatus due to issues with the editorial. However, Azuma said that there were no major issues so the manga will continue serialization without any problems.[9] According to Azuma the series is meant to conclude in September 2020 with the story having reached its climax by May of the same year.[3] The manga ended serialization on August 23, 2020 with Azuma thanking the fan response.[3]
In July 2019, Seven Seas Entertainment announced they licensed the manga for a North American release with the first volume aiming to be released in early 2020.[10] The first volume was released on March 10, 2020. The translation is being handled by Daniel Komen and J.P. Sullivan.[11]
Chapter list
No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN | |
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1 | August 9, 2018[12] | 978-4-06-512269-3 | March 10, 2020[11] | 978-1-64275-687-6 | |
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2 | January 1, 2019[13] | 978-4-06-514076-5 | April 28, 2020[14] | 978-1-64505-184-8 | |
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3 | May 9, 2019[15] | 978-4-06-515407-6 | July 28, 2020[16] | 978-1-64505-481-8 | |
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4 | November 8, 2019[17] | 978-4-06-517585-9 | November 24, 2020[18] | 978-1-64505-788-8 | |
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5 | April 9, 2020[19] | 978-4-06-519051-7 | May 18, 2021[20] | 978-1-64827-216-5 | |
6 | October 9, 2020[21] | 978-4-06-520854-0 | August 31, 2021[22] | 978-1-64827-280-6 |
Reception
Anime UK News scored the first volume a 8 out of 10, praising the adaptation to the game faithful as well as the illustrations of fight scenes, most notably Kyo Kusanagi's against Iori Yagami, whom the reviewer found enjoyable based on their popularity.[23] The OSAG scored it three starts out of five, criticizing the lack of narrative provided by the manga's introduction to the cast but praised the handling of battles of the tournament.[24] Anime News Network mixed thoughts about the handling of the artwork and panned the story for making its entire first volume only accessible to long time fans due to its heavy lack of introduction to the characters.[25]
References
- ^ a b @snk_oda (May 9, 2019). "Yasuyuki Oda 侍魂発売中!" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved November 25, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "King of Fighters Games Inspire 'New Beginning' Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ a b c Azuma, Kyōtarō [@az_ky_] (May 10, 2020). "KOF-ANB-本日最終話更新です。おおよそ2年半、ありがとうございました。" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved August 23, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Exclusive: We Talk To Oda San About SNK Heroines, KOF Manga and Anime and More". Neo Geo Now. September 6, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
- ^ Azuma, Kyōtarō [@az_ky_] (January 8, 2019). "あずま京太郎/KOF-A New Beginning-連載中" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved November 24, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ "The King of Fighters – A New Beginning". Kodansha (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ @shonen_sirius (July 24, 2019). "月刊少年シリウス編集部" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved November 24, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ @az_ky (May 9, 2019). "あずま京太郎/KOF-A New Beginning-連載中" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved November 24, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ Azuma, Kyōtarō [@az_ky_] (January 12, 2020). "KOF-ANB-休載のお知らせ 1月はKOF-ANB-休載となります。 原稿を管轄しているシリウス編集部内での日程調整があったためです。 作者の体調不良や原稿を落としたなどではありませんのでご心配なく。次の更新まで期間が空いてしまいますがお待ちいただければ幸いです。" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved January 12, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ "The King of Fighters: A New Beginning Manga Licensed For NA By Seven Seas". Siliconera. 8 July 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
- ^ a b "Book: The King of Fighters: A New Beginning Vol. 1". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ "The King of Fighters: A New Beginning (1)". Kodansha (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ "The King of Fighters: A New Beginning (2)". Kodansha (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ "Book: The King of Fighters: A New Beginning Vol. 2". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ "The King of Fighters: A New Beginning (3)". Kodansha (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ "Book: The King of Fighters: A New Beginning Vol. 3". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ "The King of Fighters: A New Beginning (4)". Kodansha (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- ^ "Book: The King of Fighters: A New Beginning Vol. 4". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ "The King of Fighters: A New Beginning (5)". Kodansha (in Japanese). Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- ^ "Book: The King of Fighters: A New Beginning Vol. 5". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ "The King of Fighters: A New Beginning (6)". Kodansha (in Japanese). Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ "Book: The King of Fighters: A New Beginning Vol. 6". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ "The King of Fighters – A New Beginning Volume 1". Anime Uk News. April 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "The King of Fighters – A New Beginning Volume 1". The OSAG. March 27, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
- ^ "The King of Fighters: A New Beginning". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 16, 2021.