Masami Obari From the Fatal Fury Anime is Tapped to Direct
This week has been one KOF reveal after another. You’d think we’d be all out of hype, but as it turns out, not so much. There are few things more exciting than a great series being adapted into another medium, and we’re incredibly happy to hear that KOF is getting the anime treatment again (we’re still sore about the apparent cancellation of The King of Fighters: Destiny. The movie better be amazing, Joy Pictures). Masami Obari is one of Japan’s most prolific animators–and, more importantly, he was the man behind the wheel of the three Fatal Fury anime films, which ranged from actually pretty good (Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf) to deliciously over-the-top nonsense (Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture). Whichever way the wind blows, we can guarantee Obari’s work won’t be boring, so the announcement that he’ll be working with SNK again is a dream come true.
Soon after the KOF XV trailer dropped, Obari left this comment on Twitter (translated from Japanese): “I’m making a special short movie for KOF XV! This is my first time working officially with SNK in a long time. I’m very happy. Look forward to it!”
『KOF XV』スペシャルショートムービーを担当させていただくことになりました！
久しぶりになるSNK様とのオフィシャルなお仕事、嬉しいです。
皆さま、宜しくお願い致します！ https://t.co/UiFDN2yooS— 大張正己 Masami Obari (@G1_BARI) January 8, 2021
Trust us, Obari, we are. We can’t wait to see Kyo Kusanagi in 2D animation for the first time since the Another Day series of shorts, which were basically just an excuse for confusing fight scenes anyway. Fingers crossed that Iori Yagami is there, too. Please. We need something to fill the void left by Destiny season 2 and The King of Fighters: Awaken isn’t expected to drop until 2022.
The King of Fighters XV is expected to come out in 2021 on undisclosed platforms.
Who are you looking forward to seeing in the KOF XV anime short? Let us know down in the comments, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook.