Benimaru Nikaido

Benimaru
Profile
Full name	Benimaru Nikaido
Birthdate	June 6; 20 years old (KOF '94), 21 years old (KOF '95~)
Birthplace	Japan
Height	181 cm (5’11”) (KOF '94~'98) 180 cm (5'11") (KOF '99~)
Weight	70 kg (152 lbs) (KOF '94~XI) 68 kg (150 lbs) (KOF XII~)
Blood type	O+
Family/Relatives	Japanese father, American mother
Job/Occupation	Model
Likes	Himself, pierce earrings, being the center of the attentions
Dislikes	Otakus, nerds, regrets
Hobbies	Sky cruising, cooking
Fighting style	Shoot boxing (with his inborn electrical power); Muai Thay kickboxing (KOF '94~2002)

Benimaru Nikaido in The King of Fighters XIV render

Name: Benimaru Nikaido

Height: Large

Age: 21

Birth of Place: Japan

Blood Type: O

Benimaru Nikaido is a The King of Fighters character and one of Kyo Kusanagi's friends. His straight hair stays up during fights due to a rather exaggerated case of electrostatics. His official nickname is The Shooting Star.

Development

Benimaru's appearance was loosely based on Jean Pierre Polnareff from the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, right down to his outfit in The King of Fighters '94 and The King of Fighters '95. Even after Benimaru's name was decided, the game developers continued to refer to him as Polnareff. Additionally, his taunt in The King of Fighters XI mirrors Polnareff's stature from the manga. His vocal performance was initially deemed by his original designer to have nothing to do with the character's original image.

The idea for his electric powers -as well as the other elemental powers for the rest of the Japan team- was derived from the anime Getter Robe. In the show, there were three featured heroes who served as the inspiration for the KOF trio: the protagonist had a "fiery" persona, his friend was "edgy and daring", and the third hero was the "down-to-earth giant". It is also a homage to a Japanese phrase of giving birth to fire (roughly translated: lightning strikes the earth which sparks the flame).

Due to the particular pitch in his voice, some fans have voiced question to Benimaru's sexuality to developers, to which they respond, "It's not what you think. (Not that there's anything wrong with that)." A developer also responds that he's a man's man who loves women. In Gamest's 1997 Heroes Collection, Benimaru was voted as the staff's thirteenth favorite character. He tied the spot with Samurai Shodown character, Shizumaru Hisame. In the character popularity poll on Neo Geo Freak's website, he was voted as the sixth favorite character with a total of 1,269 votes.

Sprites