| Billy Kane | Story | Move List | Gallery | Quotes |
- "He'll bash anyone who gets in the way of his leader! Also known as The Emperor's Right-Hand Man! BILLY KANE."
- —The King of Fighters XV
- "It's not your lucky day. I'm in a rotten mood."
- —Billy Kane (Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves)
Billy Kane (ビリー・カーン) is a character in both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series. His official nickname is "The Emperor's Right-Hand Man" (
Personality
Though Billy Kane operates within the criminal underworld, he isn’t inherently evil. His motivations lean more toward loyalty, ambition, and respect—particularly for his fallen boss, Geese Howard—than cruelty or malice. Much of his criminal activity stems from a desire for quick financial gain and his unwavering loyalty to Geese, rather than a desire to hurt others.
Billy’s more human side is often seen through his protective nature toward his sister, Lilly, and his camaraderie with fighters like Eiji Kisaragi and Blue Mary. His long-standing enmity with Terry Bogard has cooled over the years, evolving into more of a begrudging rivalry than true hatred.
However, his contempt for Iori Yagami remains intense. During the events of The King of Fighters '95, Iori brutally defeated and abandoned both Billy and Eiji, an act that left deep scars—both physical and emotional. Billy also harbors resentment toward Joe Higashi, who showed interest in his sister, sparking Billy’s overprotective instincts.
In the aftermath of Geese’s death, Billy began managing the remnants of his former boss's empire. As he stepped into this leadership role, his determination to avenge Geese's downfall rekindled his grudge against Terry. However, the bitterness is no longer personal—especially after discovering that Terry raised Rock Howard, Geese’s son.
With time, Billy has come to respect Rock and has even forged an alliance with the Heinleins, balancing his criminal ambitions with a newfound sense of responsibility and connection. Though still a tough and dangerous man, Billy Kane is no longer driven solely by vengeance—but by legacy, loyalty, and the future of the Howard name.
Abilities
- Peak Strength - Billy Kane is stronger than he looks, capable of carrying very heavy weapons like his three-part staff.
- Weapon of Fire - Billy can set his staff on fire to cause strong fire damage. He can spin his staff to create a powerful ring of fire and throw the ring within a small range. The staff cannot control other fires it didn't create and is not immune to other types of fire.
- Copy Weapon - Billy can create copies of his staff as seen in his supers.
- Hide Weapon - Billy has another staff that he hides underneath his jacket as seen in his KOF 2002 MAX2DM.
Skills
- Pole Vaulting - Billy excels in pole vaulting, making use of such a sport as part of his combat techniques.
- Musical Instrument - Billy plays the electric guitar very well and has a Heavy Metal band back in the UK.
- Doing Laundry - Billy loves to do laundry, often helping his sister with the washing and expertly arranging items for the best wash and lasting freshness - something he picked up as an orphan fending for himself and his sister, Lilly.
- Administration - Billy was left in charge of Howard Connection after Geese died.
- Bo Staff Tricking - Billy is an expert with both the pole-staff and a three-section-staff, he is able to display amazing control and perform many tricks involved.
Fighting style
Billy fights with a three sectional staff that he somehow can ignite with fire and can be split into three parts connected with a chain. He uses bōjutsu as his primary art, but he may also know some Kung Fu moves in order to use his three section staff.
In Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, Billy can lose his staff by hurling it at the opponent after executing his Senpuu Kon. Once he does this, he will cower in fear before the player character leaving him vulnerable until he is thrown another staff by one of Geese's henchmen in the background. The player can prevent them from assisting him. In KOF '95, he drops his staff only when knocked out. He enters the same stance in KOF 2002 for his MAX2DM/HSDM, where it is named Liar Elemental (as it is meant to be a counterattack that takes advantage of such a state).
Music
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Voice actors
- Katsuhisa Namase - Fatal Fury II~Special, The King of Fighters '95
- Keiichi Nanba - Fatal Fury 3, Fatal Fury Dengeki Bunko drama CD
- Atsushi Yamanishi - Real Bout Fatal Fury~Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, The King of Fighters '97~2002/UM, KOF: Maximum Impact 2
- Seijirou - The King of Fighters 2003~XIII, The King of Fighters: Another Day
- Masaki Masaki - The King of Fighters XIV~present
- Chris Sharpes - Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (English voice)
- Haruki Ishiya - The King of Fighters for Girls
- Shizuka Ito - The King of Fighters All Star (as the Female Version)
- Marc Donovan - Maximum Impact series (English voice)
- Daiki Nakamura - Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf
- Tomohiro Nishimura - Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture
- Paul Dobson - Animated films (English voice)
Appearances
Trivia
- Billy, Ryo Sakazaki, Terry Bogard and Rock Howard are the only characters to win a KOF tournament outside the KOF universe.
- Billy, Terry and Rock are the only Fatal Fury series characters to win a KOF tournament.
- Billy's family name, Kane, is meant to be pronounced like "Kon" or "Kaan" (as in James Caan, an American actor), rather than the word "cane".
- In an interview for Real Bout Fatal Fury, the staff comments on the "NO SMOKING" print on the back of his jumper. It's not to say Billy doesn't smoke, it's just something he found randomly in the city. He did not pay for it either.[5]
- There are times where Billy has his head completely shaven, though in some forms of media after that period he lets it gradually to grow back per installment. In some games like KOF 2003, his hair is shown to be very long and stick out of his bandana which gives him an appearance similar to a rock star.
- His appearance in Fatal Fury 2 seems to be modelled after the former English pro-wrestler, Dynamite Kid. In every other game, his overall character takes inspiration from both musicians Billy Idol and later on Axl Rose.
- Axl Low from the Guilty Gear series, whose character also takes inspiration from Guns N’ Roses shares many similar character traits with Billy:
- They both hail from London.
- They both share the same birthday (December 25th), same blood type (B) and are also the same exact height and weight: 179 cm (5’10”) and 78kg (172 lbs).
- They both have blonde hair and blue eyes.
- They both also utilize a fighting style revolving around a long ranged weapon that they’re able to ignite with fire, and primarily have their moves written in Japanese.
- Both of their designs are heavily influence by the grunge aesthetic, which was extremely popular during the 90’s.
- Axl’s seiyuu, Keiichi Nanba, also voiced Billy in Fatal Fury 3 and Fatal Fury Dengeki Bunko drama CD. Though primarily in the SNK games, he was originally the voice for Andy Bogard (until KOF XIII).
- In Gamest's 1997 Heroes Collection, Billy was voted as the staff's fourth favorite character. In the Neo Geo Freak's 1997 Volume 8 character poll, he was voted as the twentieth favourite character with a total of 493 votes. Also, In the character popularity poll on Neo Geo Freak's website, he was voted as the seventeenth favorite character with a total of 757 votes.
- In Neo-Geo Freak 1998, the characters in KOF '98 have their own interviews. Here are Billy's responses to the questions:[6]
- What is your aspiration in this competition? - "Do you want me to kill you first?"
- Who would you like to fight the most? - "Fighting ...? Kukuku - kuku ... I wish I could do such a thing, but ...!"
- Who would you like to team up with? / Who would you not like to team up with? - "That was decided. Who is there besides him?
- What is "KOF" for you? - "You're too loud, you...!"
- Finally, please give a word to your fans. - "Eyes hurt, turn it off. Or this time I will actually kill you...!"
- For his KOF XIV design, his shirt says "Know your enemy" and the back of his jacket says "Warning. Beware of the dog". [7]
- Billy's birthday, December 25, falls on the Christmas Day. He also shares his birthday with Robert Garcia and Eiji Kisaragi.
Similar Characters
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "Billy Kane". SNK Playmore. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 Official character profile from KOF Maximum Impact Regulation "A" website.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 Official character profile from KOIII website.
- ↑ ビリー・カーン (in Japanese). SNK Playmore. Archived from the original on July 14, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
- ↑ http://shmuplations.com/realboutfatalfury/
- ↑ Neo Geo Freak 1998-08 archive The King of Fighters '98 character interviews.
- ↑ THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIV Premium Art Book, p.058
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