Hinako Shijou

Hinako Shijou is an original character who was first introduced as a member of the Woman Fighters Team in The King of Fighters 2000.

She was originally modeled after manga title character, Jarinko Chie, who is a brash young woman that fights with sumo moves. After designer's protests, her character was radically changed to instead be a naive but warm-hearted high school girl in nobility. She is also a character who became less popular than expected, perhaps due to the lack of female sumo wrestlers at the time.

Story
Hinako attends in an all-girl school and grew to value sumo's techniques after watching a professional match. Hoping to practice along with her classmates, she tries to create a female sumo club at her school but the idea fails to gain support. Once she hears about the Women Team auditioning for a member, Hinako enters and succeeds in proving her worth by defeating Yuri Sakazaki in a mock match. She continues to appear for their team until The King of Fighters 2003 where she was asked to team with Athena Asamiya and Malin to form the "High School Girl" Team.

Personality
Hinako is a kind girl who wishes to prove that girls can also practice sumo. She is somewhat shy, but also a very loyal friend. Although her blond hair and facial features indicate her Russian descent, nonetheless she considers herself to be purely Japanese.