Bass, a well-known KI player, got to visit Japan © Ken Armas

Street Fighter, Tekken, King of Fighters, Guilty Gear — Americans have a storied history of playing Japanese fighting games, with smaller communities like the airdasher scene persevering through sheer will and love for their games despite their distance from the games’ core communities. But a small yet dedicated group of Japanese players are reversing that dynamic, adopting Killer Instinct as their competitive fighter of choice. They’ll come together this weekend in the Osaka area for KSB 2016 to showcase their skills alongside games like Street Fighter V, King of Fighters 14 and Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator. Ahead of the KSB KI tournament on April 30, here’s a look into Japan’s die-hard KI community.

A rough start

KI’s relative obscurity in Japan coupled with the Xbox One’s weak sales in the country made it difficult to get things going. The Xbox One’s Japanese release also came a year after the U.S. release, leaving few opportunities to play the game. “It was me and OGTY [who] both had Xbox Ones with the American release,” says says Ty “SuperCatDrugs” Shughart, an American player living outside Tokyo. “I basically paid for an Xbox One in America and had it mailed to me along with sticks and stuff.”

Talk to anyone in Japan about KI, and all conversations lead back to OGTY. Alongside SuperCatDrugs, OGTY has pushed for the KI community since day one, bringing together players for local sessions, hosting streams and establishing a LINE group for Japanese KI players to discuss tech. OGTY also connected with Scott Popular of FINALROUNDBATS, and the game has become a regular presence at the FRB meetups in the Asakusa area of Tokyo. And with many players spread out from Osaka to Aomori to Tokyo to Yokohama, OGTY started a regular online tournament series to ensure everyone could improve together even if they were unable to attend FRB.

Coming stateside

Ken “UA|Bass” Armas, one of KI’s top competitors, distinctly remembers the first time he met OGTY at EVO 2014. It was Bass’ second tournament ever and he was struck by OGTY’s enthusiasm. “He was literally the only Japanese player in the entire tournament,” says Bass. The two lost touch beyond Twitter after the tournament, but OGTY returned for EVO 2015 with a contingency of strong Japanese players ready to prove their might, catching America’s attention.

“There were whispers before EVO,” says commentator and player Stephen “Sajam” Lyon. “We knew some names. We sort of had an idea.” That uncertainty was quickly dispelled by Japanese player Domi, who surprised the community with a fifth-place finish and the most hype moment of the KI bracket — an insanely damaging “bomb loop” combo with Cinder that had rarely, if ever, been seen in tournament due to its high execution requirements and situational usage. The U.S. community was blown away.

“They were such an unknown factor that we had no idea if they were good or not,” Sajam says. “Since Domi stepped up and put in work, a lot of people have reconsidered our ideas about the Japanese scene and how good they are.”

Spreading the wealth

The KI World Cup circuit stretched to Tokyo with a Kombo Klash event in October 2015, and an eager and ready Bass traveled to connect with the Japanese scene. Competing and co-running the tournament, he quickly saw the strength of the players, despite their lack of competitive experience. “The way they played was very, very fundamentally based. There were no gimmicks or anything,” says Bass. “Even their most basic players were extremely solid in defense and offense and reactions and punishment.”

The Japanese were clearly improving beyond OGTY and Domi and developing their own powerful skills — sometimes totally removed from the common opinions shared by the U.S. scene. Riptor and Omen, considered low tier in America, were proven strong by Tomosama and Osomatsu, respectively. “We thought Omen was like the worst character in the game and he shut us all up, wrecking me in the corner,” says Bass. “I lost to both Tomosama and Osomatsu.”

Bass also noted differences in the Japanese scene’s mindful approach to the game and their use of Shadow meter. “The Japanese players, they Shadow Counter everything,” Bass says. “It’s basically an Alpha Counter, it’s a way out if you’re getting pressured no matter what. . . In the Japanese scene, you’re getting hit with one of those at least two or three times a game. They’re teaching you to respect the meter.”

The Japanese community shares the same love for Bass that he does for them. Already a popular pick in Japan, Bass’ main character Spinal has become the most common in their scene. “Spinal is really well known and I think Bass is part of that reason,” says Rob “Nualpha” Bell, a Canadian player living outside Tokyo. “He’s very lab heavy, he’s very conservative in the way that he plays, but when he gets you, he gets you, and he tears you apart with his mixups. And that’s exactly how Japan plays.”

Building towards the future

With KI Season 3 boasting 6 million unique players last month, the game’s community is hopeful for growth. KI’s Windows 10 release allowed many new players to join in, including a number of fresh faces in the Japanese scene. Recently, a previously unknown player named Rush-mine has been turning heads with his hype Rash play. “I think he’s a new player,” says SuperCatDrugs. “I’ve never seen him before.”

The Japanese KI community’s dedication has also developed unseen killers that are just waiting for their chance to shine, like Jago main RET, Spinal devotees Kappy and Kirino, and Glacius and Aria player Reni, who has won OGTY’s online tournament series more than any other player. “I believe [Reni is] Japan’s best kept KI secret,” says SuperCatDrugs.