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Kyo Kusanagi
The King of Fighters character
Kyo Kusanagi in his original design by Eisuke Ogura
First gameThe King of Fighters '94 (1994)
Created byYuichiro Hiraki
Designed byShinichi Morioka[1]
Portrayed bySean Faris (2010 film)
Yuichi Nakamura (KOF All Star promo trailer)
Voiced by
In-universe information
Fighting styleKusanagi Style of Ancient Martial Arts (combines it with kenpō starting in KOF '96)
FamilySaisyu Kusanagi (father)
Shizuka Kusanagi (mother)
Aoi Kusanagi (cousin)
Souji Kusanagi (cousin)
OriginTokyo, Japan
NationalityJapanese

Kyo Kusanagi (Japanese: 草薙 京, Hepburn: Kusanagi Kyō) is a character in SNK's The King of Fighters series of fighting games. The character was first introduced in the 1994 video game The King of Fighters '94 as the leader of the Japan team from the series' title tournament. Kyo, heir to the Kusanagi clan, is first introduced as a cocky, delinquent high school student who has pyrokinetic powers. His clan is one of three who banished the legendary snake demon entity Yamata no Orochi. During the series' story, Kyo meets rivals and enemies who seek to take his flame abilities. Aside from the main series, Kyo appears in several crossovers and spinoffs with other games. He is also the central title character of the manga The King of Fighters: Kyo and video game adaptation with the same name, which center around his daily life.

Kyo was created by Yuichiro Hiraki and Shinichi Morioka as a young hero who would fight the main characters from other SNK franchises, such as Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting with inspirations from several rebelious heroes, most notably the late singer Yutaka Ozaki. His debut in The King of Fighters received a large positive response by fans, making Kyo return in The King of Fighters '99, where he was originally not available in early versions. His outfit and gameplay techniques were redesigned throughout the series; since his original appearance, featuring a high school uniform, became popular with fans, designers created clones of his original costume in later games. The same occurred with his moves, changing from a standard fighting character to mixed martial arts featuring his flames and a personal style of kenpō.

Video game journalists have praised Kyo's design and fighting style as among the best of the series and in fighting games in general. His constant changes od designs and moves were praised and has stood out as one of the protagonists from the series. The character's redesign in The King of Fighters XIV earned mixed responses because of the differences from previous incarnations. Kyo's role in printed media and other adaptations of the series has often been criticized, most notably in the live-action film. A variety of Kyo collectibles, including key chains and figurines, have been created.

Conception and creation

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The myths of Susanoo slaying the Yamata no Orochi influenced Kyo's story arc.

Origin and influences

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In the making of the game The King of Fighters '94, director Masanori Kuwasashi expressed pressure about creating a young lead who would clash with veteran fighters but after talking producer Takashi Nishiyama, he thought it would be beneficial for sales.[5] Kyo Kusanagi was created by SNK employee Yuichiro Hiraki and designed by artist Shinichi Morioka.[6][1] When designing characters for the first King of Fighters game, developers wanted a new, "snazzy" hero who would fight against characters from two other SNK series, Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting. Through most of his development, Kyo was named Syo Kirishima (霧島 翔, Kirishima Shō) and was dressed in martial arts clothing common in fighting games of the time. His design was inspired by the main character of Katsuhiro Otomo's manga and film Akira, Shotaro Kaneda.[7] Late in production, his name was changed to Kyo Kusanagi, as a means of relating the character to the Yamata no Orochi legend, which was the basis of the story arc of the game. The name Syo would later be used for Kyo's Another Striker in The King of Fighters 2000.[8] Another planned name before Syo was Ryo Fang (霧島翔, Fang Ryo), but no design was elaborated from it.[9] However, in the end, SNK chose the name Kyo as they felt it more fitting.[10]

While in charge of designing the character, Hiraki sought to contrast Kyo with Street Fighter character Ryu, as he believed the latter was a popular character in international markets and that Kyo's characterization and design could benefit from appealing to as broad a demographic as possible.[6] Despite Kyo originally being depicted as a lazy young adult, he shows a notable character arc across the games: he develops a new fighting style on his own, which contrasts with his original concept of being born with talent.[11] In contrast to Terry and Ryo, Kyo was given a natural life in his debut. However, the death of his father Saisyu at the hands of Rugal Bernstein was executed to make him more tragic and serious when it came to his training, leaving Japan in his ending to become stronger in future battles.[12] The inclusion of the rival Iori Yagami and the revived Saisyu in The King of Fighters '95 was meant to give Kyo a more coherent story as the first game was written as a more all-star game.[13] While Kyo's girlfriend Yuki was also created by Morioka out of jealousy,[14] Kuwasashi was against using her in a romantic scene, believing it would not fit the narrative.[13]

The rivalry between Kyo and Iori resulted in artist and game designer Eisuke Ogura claiming despite having the two characters having differences, they still have respect for each other, making their team-ups with Chizuru Kagura to defeat a common enemy feel natural.[15] Joe Yabuki from Ikki Kajiwara's Ashita no Joe and Akira Fudo from Nagai's Devilman manga series were influences in creatingt the character.[16] Artist Nona said he found it difficult to design Kyo as a heroic character due to his dark traits, noting the character was also inspired by the darker Akira Fudo.[17] Kyo's pixel art was created by Hiraki, who, despite leaving SNK to work on another project a few years later, was asked by Capcom's Kaname Fujioka to once again work on Kyo's design for the crossover game Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000.[18]

Kyo's repeated appearances in every game in the series, at the insistence of SNK executives for marketing purposes, made story planning for each title challenging.[19] Kyo and Iori were supposed to be removed due to business reasons after The King of Fighters '98, but in the end, they have continued to appear ever since due to fans' demands. In the NESTS arc, Kyo is then involved in the story to some extent, but not Iori, in terms of the connections with the new protagonist K'.[20] The developers of the series for The King of Fighters 2001, Eolith, noted that Kyo and Iori were also popular in their country, which led to their immediate inclusion in their game when compared with the two previous installments where they had no official teams and were hidden.[21] In the "Ash Saga", Kyo, Iori, and Chizuru's Three Sacred Treasures play a major role in the story. The Miera brothers were the main focus of the Maximum Impact spin-offs, relegating Kyo and Iori for the first time to minor characters. Both the Ash arc and Maximum Impact games were developed at the same time, which resulted in Kyo and Iori still playing a major role in the Another Day original video animation that promotes Maximum Impact 2.[20][22]

Portrayal

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Voice actor Masashiro was influenced by the late singer Yutaka Ozaki (pictured) to portray Kyo in his early appearances.

Kyo Kusanagi is introduced as a 19-year-old teenager who passes a year in high school in the next game. Unlike Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury, time in The King of Fighters never passes, resulting in Kyo always repeating a grade due to insufficient attendance in the Orochi arc. This is often referenced in game dialogue for comic relief, most notably in Maximum Impact.[23][20] In his introduction, Kyo debuted as a slightly hot-blooded and somewhat egocentric character, but then the outline of the character gradually develops, but with the introduction of new protagonists that make him act more calm in comparison. By The King of Fighters XV, Ureshino refers to Kyo and Shun'ei as the most mature protagonists in KOF history, which makes their interactions feel natural, especially because the former is looking after his successors.[24]

Ureshino noted the rivalry between Kyo and Iori stood out early in the 1990s because it was weird to see characters interacting before a fight started. The King of Fighters '99 added a subtext of happiness of the two rivals meeting again, believing they had died when fighting Orochi. Their exchanges in The King of Fighters XI, where they remained in a far more experienced relationship, are as if the two now teammates seek fighting to kill their boredom.[25] However, Ureshino does not see the idea of Iori developing his social skills as it would ruin the appeal he has with Kyo as well as the charm he has on his own.[24] While Kyo and Benimaru's relationship was initially that of rivals, it eventually became like that of siblings, with Benimaru acting as the older one as he was heavily overshadowed by Iori. The romance between Kyo and Yuki remains stable across the franchise, leading Ureshino to call them a married couple in The King of Fighters XV.[26]

Kyo's Japanese voice actor Masahiro Nonaka was first called to work in The King of Fighters '94 after meeting sound designer Yasumasa Yamada. When first reading of the game, Nonaka had poor impressions of his work, as he believed it would not be as appealing as other SNK IPs. Nonaka was inspired by rock singer Yutaka Ozaki, as he was impressed by his rebellious personality, who appealed to Japanese people by writing inspiring lyrics for his songs. Seeing the similarities between Ozaki and Kyo's personalities, Nonaka wanted the latter to be like Ozaki. Despite the actor's early negative impressions, Nonaka's performance was notoriously well received, as he recalls having several fanletters involving several lines he made the character say, to the point Kyo became a more popular character than those from Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury.[27] Nonaka related to his character as being young and reckless until he "grew up" in his later appearances. He then expressed some difficulty accepting Kyo on the same level. Nonaka befriended Iori's actor Kunihiko Yasui and both noted that despite fans wanting their characters to become friendlier with each other, it did not appear to happen with Nonaka claiming that seems to be more common in action anime.[28]

Tomoaki Maeno replaced Nonaka for The King of Fighters XIV and said he was putting in all his efforts and expected the fandom to enjoy his work as the new voice of Kyo.[29] Maeno noted the impact of Kyo was challenging as he was the main character from a famous series of fighting games. He often played the demo of The King of Fighters XIV as Kyo in order to fully appreciate the character.[30] For The King of Fighters for Girls, Maeno was careful with his performance as he understood how beloved his character is. He was careful in his songs and took a liking to the catchphrase "Moetaro?" (Got burned?).[31] Yuichi Nakamura portrayed Kyo in a commercial promoting the cellphone game The King of Fighters All Stars.[32][33]

Designs

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three images depicting different concept and designs of Kyo and fellow characters.
The character was redesigned multiple times, starting from the NESTS (from left) and the Ash Saga (middle). Few touches were made to XV (right). due to negative response to XIV (not pictured). Each picture has Kyo accompanied with his new successor in the series.

Several of the series' designers said Kyo is one of the most difficult characters to illustrate because of his popularity.[34] Artist Falcoon states that Kyo has a strong attitude, making him one of the hardest characters to illustrate,[35] while also noting that his rivalry with Iori Yagami is strong enough to make the duo likable.[36] As the "face" of The King of Fighters, Kyo's sprites were made by Toyohisa Tanabe, who aimed to be careful in designing him.[37] In contrast to the other fighting game characters featured in The King of Fighters, Kyo was given a more realistic and stylish look, as Tanabe found the others too cartoony.[27] Artist Hiroaki Hashimoto expressed a desire for his work to live up to Shinkiro's, which he said left a great impression on him.[38]

In his first appearances, Kyo wears a modified version of his school uniform with a sun mark that represents his heritage of the Kusanagi.[12] For the NESTS story arc starting in KOF '99, Kyo wears a new outfit said to be made by the character himself in an attempt to be more casual, though Neo Freak writers claim he stole it from the same cartel that kidnapped him.[39][40] The staff claimed fans enjoyed the design for how fashionable it was and how distinctive Kyo was still without his school uniform.[41] In contrast to the fashionable designs, in Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidō Retsuden, Kyo wears his father's green-themed traditional martial artist outfit with prayer beads around his neck while keeping his original bandana with the Kusanagi crest. Falcoon redesigned Kyo's clothes for the spin-off game KOF: Maximum Impact 2; his jacket was redesigned while keeping the appeal of the original costume. His "Normal Color F" attire is similar to his father's martial arts clothing. The outfit called "Color G" is reminiscent of the costume design of Yuki, the popular protagonist of NeoGeo Battle Coliseum.[42] Ureshino in particular liked the two designs Falcoon gave Kyo, even if he believes players would find the last two of Maximum Impact 2 funny.[20]

The King of Fighters 2003 sees Kyo sporting a new outfit with a focus on belts and classical gloves. The Kusanagi Sun sign still remains in Kyo's leather jacket.[43] In The King of Fighters XII and The King of Fighters XIII, Iori and Kyo were meant to wear new outfits that emphasized their sexual appeal, but due to time constraints, they were removed. As a result, they sport similar outfits to the ones seen in the Ash arc, with few changes, such as Kyo wearing blue jeans.[44] While Kyo often wears different outfits for each game's story mode, he was given a more masculine appearance for The King of Fighters XIII while staying true to his 2003 outfit. Artist Ogura expressed pressure when designing this incarnation of the character, saying it had to live up to an enduring reputation.[45] Ureshino thus believes the 2003 outfit was the most touched up design by SNK.[46] A design similar to his classic one labeled "Another Style" was featured in KOF Chronicles set before KOF '94 but without the bandana for mobile games. However, the character was noteworthy for showing a new, unique technique.[47]

With designers believing he had become a more traditional fighter, they gave him a simpler, more modern appearance for The King of Fighters XIV.[48] Character designer Nobuyuki Kuroki said the staff wanted to captivate new fans with Kyo's larger design regardless of negative backlash.[49] Producer Yasuyuki Oda noted that while researching new characters for KOF XIV, Kyo's moves avoided stereotypes like Japanese sumo wrestlers to produce more variety within the cast, which included characters of multiple nationalities. Oda added that they "Kyo-ify" the new members to produce originality in the game.[50] His appearance in KOF XV was altered to resemble his previous appearance while altering other parts of his design, like his jacket and gloves.[51]

Fighting style

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The game's developers decided Kyo's main abilities would be fire-based, alongside the movesets of the other characters in the original Japan Team, who were all inspired by the manga and anime Getter Robo, created by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa. Kyo was based on the main character, Ryoma Nagare, who had a fiery persona. The elements and the personalities were also a homage to a Japanese phrase about giving birth to fire: "lightning strikes the earth which sparks the flame".[19] In his debut, Kyo fights with the Kusanagi Style of Ancient Martial Arts (草薙流古武术, Kusanagi-ryū Kobujutsu), attacking opponents using flames and several hits from his limbs. This was developed by animator Mitsuo Kodama.[7] Kyo was created originally as an all-rounder with a projectile, "108 Shiki Yami Barai" (百八式闇払), an easily used anti-air move, being SNK's answer to Ryu's Hadoken among other famous projectile techniques seen in fighting games.[52][53] Several other moves were renamed during game development coming from simple styles to more elaborated like the flaming uppercut 100 Shiki Oniyaki (百式お・にやき, lit. "Method 100: Ogre Baker"), the kick special move 101 Shiki Oboro Guruma (百壱式・朧車, lit. "Method 101: Hazy Wheel").[54] Kyo's signature Desperation Move is the Ura 108 Shiki: Orochinagi (裏百八式・大蛇薙, lit. "Back Crescent Eighth Formula – Serpent Wave"), a massive slash of fire he creates with one hand. The staff worked to incorporate this move into the game carefully, trying to make it as realistic as possible while using enhanced special effects.[55] The Orochinagi was conceptualized as the move Kyo would use to defeat the demon known as Yamato no Orochi.[54] This was given a mid-air variation for The King of Fighters XIII; designers kept in mind the concept of coolness and the small difficulty in performing it.[56]

Starting in The King of Fighters '96, Kyo has mixed martial artists involving the Kusanagi style and a personal style of kenpō.[57] This was changed as part of the series' overhaul to make Kyo's character more unique, removing his projectile in favor of hand-to-hand combat.[58] He was also given a new move known as the 212 Shiki Koto Tsuki You (弐百拾弐式・琴月 陽, lit. "Method 212: Zither Moon Yang"), where he grabs an enemy with his hands and releases flames to knock them out.[59] SNK specifically gave Kyo this move to note the protagonist's constant training to reveal that Kyo likes training despite his claims of hating effort.[60] Kyo's gameplay was modified again for The King of Fighters '99 onwards with Kyo doing variations of his father's moves again like the 427 Shiki Hikigane (四百弐拾七式・轢鉄, lit. "Method 427: Plowing Iron") flaming punches.[61]

In The King of Fighters XII, Kyo's moves were modified to those from the first two games of the series to rely on his projectile.[62] Kyo's Neo Max from XIII technique, the "Ura 121 Shiki: Ama-no-Murakumo" (裏百弐拾壱式・天叢雲), in which he covers the enemies with walls of fire, was the first move of this category to be made for KOF XII.[56] The DLC "NESTS Kyo" focuses on his hand-to-hand combat style.[63] SNK ensured neither Kyo version would be superior to the other. Besides retaining the Orochinagi, NESTS Kyo has the "Saihsuu Kessen Ougi: Mushiki" (最終決戦奥義・無式, lit. "Final Showdown Ultimate Technique: No Style), a move where he consecutively punches the enemy while adding increasing flame damage to each strike originally used in The King of Fighters '97. His Neo Max is a new technique named "Saishuu Kessen Hiougi Totsuka" (最終決戦秘 奥義, lit. "Final Battle Secret Mystery, Token"), which covers the entire screen in flames.[64] For The King of Fighters XIV, Oda wanted to keep his gameplay intact in order to avoid fan backlash, using hand-to-hand combat.[65] One of the most striking changes in The King of Fighters XV is the change in the motion of the "long-distance strong punch". Instead of extending the arm out to the side as before, it is now a body blow with a slightly shorter reach.[66]

Appearances

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In video games

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In The King of Fighters

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Kyo is one of the last members of the Kusanagi clan who can create fire. 660 years before the games' events, the Kusanagi and Yasakani clans were allies, but the latter's jealousy over the former's fame led the Yasakani to make a pact with the snake demon Orochi. Since then, the clans have had a generation-long grudge with casualties on both sides. Kyo's rivalry with Iori Yagami is one of mutual hatred rather than history.[67][68] In the first King of Fighters video game, Kyo stars in the famous fighting tournament as the leader of the Japan Team with Benimaru Nikaido and Goro Daimon.[57] They become champions and defeat the host, Rugal Bernstein, who has killed Kyo's father, Saisyu. Kyo goes on a training quest in the aftermath.[69] In the next title, the Japan Team faces Rugal again, who has revived and brainwashed Saisyu in revenge.[70] Following their fight, Saisyu is saved from Rugal's control, and Kyo defeats Rugal again, who is consumed by his new energy.[71] Prior to the events of The King of Fighters '96, a man named Goenitz – a follower of Orochi – easily defeats Kyo, causing him to seek revenge, developing his own Kusanagi fighting style in the process.[72] The tournament's host, Chizuru Kagura, wants Kyo and Iori Yagami on her team to help defeat Orochi, eventually taking down its follower Goenitz together.[73] In The King of Fighters '97, Kyo faces Orochi's remaining followers, the New Faces Team, who aim to revive Orochi by sacrificing Kyo's girlfriend, Yuki. Orochi possesses one of them, Chris, but Kyo and Iori manage to defeat him, leaving him to be sealed by Chizuru.[74][75] In KOF '98, Kyo appears in the classic Japan Team and as an alternative version with moves used in previous games.[76]

Kyo is a secret character in most versions of The King of Fighters '99. The story has him kidnapped by the NESTS syndicate, who use his DNA to make clones of him.[77] If the player has accrued enough points, Kyo can be faced in a bonus fight, swearing revenge against NESTS.[78] He continues his fight alone in The King of Fighters 2000,[79] but in the next game, he reunites with his old teammates and his self-proclaimed student Shingo Yabuki to make a comeback on the Japan Team.[80] In KOF 2002, Kyo is a playable character on the original Japan Team.[81]

In The King of Fighters 2003, Chizuru recruits Kyo and Iori, investigating Orochi seal.[82] In the ending, the team is ambushed by the fighter Ash Crimson, who steals Chizuru's power.[83] In The King of Fighters XI, Kyo and Iori again form a team with Shingo to avenge Chizuru but Ash steals Iori's power when he goes out of control.[84][85][86] The PlayStation 2 port added an alternative version of Kyo that has his NESTS saga moves.[87] In King of Fighters XII, Kyo is a playable character, but he does not have a team.[88] Kyo reunites with the original members of the Esaka Team in The King of Fighters XIII.[89] Following Ash's disappearance, Chizuru's and Iori regain powers, with the latter challenging Kyo again.[90] Additionally, an alternative version of himself with different moves called "NESTS Style Kyo" is available as downloadable content.[91] Kyo returns in The King of Fighters XIV with his old comrades.[92] at Saisyu's request of his father to meet Tung Fu Rue's students who need help controlling their supernatural powers.[93] After an unknown related with them stops the competition, Kyo reunites with Iori and Chizuru to reseal a weak revived Orochi.[94] Chizuru once again reunites the rivals in King of Fighters XV in case the seal of Orochi is weakened.[95] In the aftermath, the two rivals engage in a one-on-one fight whose outcome remains unknown as the scene instead jumps to Kyo reuniting with Yuki.

Kyo appears in multiple spin-offs like The King of Fighters: Kyo, in which he travels around the world to prepare for the King of Fighters tournament until the events of KOF '97. This game reveals events of Kyo's personal life, like his life with Yuki how he replaces his cousin Souji as the Kusanagi representative after he was cursed by Orochi's blue flames in a fight with Iori.[96] The King of Fighters R-1 again reprises the events of KOF '97.[97] In the sequel, The King of Fighters R-2, Kyo teams up with his father and Shingo.[98] He is present in the spin-offs Neowave[99] and the Maximum Impact series. In Maximum Impact 2, Kyo is playable as his classic version from the first games.[100][101] During The King of Fighters EX: Neo Blood, Kyo participates in a tournament developed by the South Town lord Geese Howard, who aims to manipulate Iori. In the sequel game The King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood, Reiji Okami, another member of the ten sacred treasures, asks Kyo to investigate interference with the Orochi seal.[102] He is present in the Chinese mobile phone games named KOF: WORLD[103] and KOF X Arena Masters.[104] In the role-playing game The King of Fighters All Star, Kyo is playable in multiple forms.[105] For the otome game King of Fighters for Girls, Kyo can be dated.[106]

In other games

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Kyo has also appeared in video games outside The King of Fighters series. He is a playable character in the shooter games Sky Stage, its expansion Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting, NeoGeo Tennis Coliseum, and the rhythm-action mobile game The Rhythm Of Fighters.[107][108][109][110] He is featured in the 2018 augmented reality game The King of Fighters Orochi Go and the Korean fighting game The King of Cyphers.[111][112] In the crossover video games Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and SNK vs. Capcom series, Kyo appears as a playable character.[113][114] Kyo additionally appears both as one of the background characters and as a spirit in the Nintendo crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.[115] A past persona of Kyo also appears in Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidō Retsuden, in charge of protecting the Orochi seal with the assistance of the protagonist Hisame Shizumaru and Iori's predecessor.[116]

He is featured in the card-battle video games Lord of Vermillion Re:2's Tie-Ups and Core Masters[117][118] and the fighting game Lost Saga.[119] Despite not being playable in SNK Gals' Fighters and SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, he appears in the ending as a cross-dressed Iori and Shermie, respectively.[120][121] He is present in the RPGs Kimi wa Hero in his regular persona and in a vampire outfit in Brave Frontier,[122][123][124] and in his school uniform in the Chinese mobile phone game Wangzhe Rongyao.[125] He is available in the mobile games The King Fighters X Fatal Fury, Puzzle and Dragons, Boku & Dragon, and Crusaders Quest.[126][127][128][129] He is present in the dating sim part of the Days of Memories series,[130] Metal Slug Defense,[131] and the beat-em-up Fighting Days.[132] A shooting game named Beast Busters has Kyo as a guest character,[133] as does Lucent Heart.[134] The character's NESTS arc look is also used in the action role-playing game Phantasy Star Online 2.[135] He also appears in Another Eden as a guest character.[136]

In other media

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Aside from the main series, Kyo has appeared in other media from The King of Fighters series. In the anime The King of Fighters: Another Day, he is featured prominently in the fourth chapter as Ash Crimson stages a fight against Alba Miera, both of whom are stopped by Iori.[137] A number of image songs and audio dramas featuring Kyo, including the contents of his own character-image album consisting of a number of his theme songs, have been released.[138]

Kyo also appears in printed adaptations like manhua and light novels.[139] Andy Seto also wrote a prequel that shows how Kyo turned into a fighter, met his girlfriend Yuki, and befriended Benimaru and Daemon.[140][141] The King of Fighters: Zillion created by Andy Seto tells Kyo and Iori's story between their fight against Orochi until the one against NESTS with the Hakkeshu reviving to have a man named Jean become the Orochi vessel, only to be defeated by the duo.[142] The spin-off manga story entitled The King of Fighters: Kyo was created by Masato Natsumoto and deals with Kyo's daily life.[143] In the KOF XII manhua, Kyo briefly confronts Ash after recovering from Iori's berserker attack from XI and undergoing new training.[144] In the manga The King of Fighters: A New Beginning, Kyo once again battles his rival in his corrupted form,[145] and later investigates NESTS hideout. Enraged by the cartel, Kyo kills the recently reborn NESTS leader, Igniz, and destroys their base.[146] Afterwards, Kyo reunites with his allies and the Yagami Team to face the wraith brought by a creature referred to as a Verse.

In The King of Fighters movie, Kyo is played by Sean Faris and is portrayed as a biracial Japanese-American. During the story, Kyo joins forces with Iori and Mai Shiranui to defeat Rugal. Eventually Kyo summons the ancient Kusanagi no Tsurugi weapon, which he wields to kill Rugal.[147] In the CGI web series The King of Fighters: Destiny, Kyo goes to his first team tournament with Benimaru and Daimon.[148] The web series has an extra episode that shows Kyo befriending Benimaru during a fight against multiple yakuza.[149] After saving the tournament's fighters from Orochi's power, which causes them to go berserk, Kyo, defeats the mastermind Rugal.[150][151]

Reception

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Kyo's XIV design was disliked by the audience resulting in its remake in XV.

Promotion and merchandise

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In 2020, SNK held the pop-up shop event "Kyo Kusanagi Exhibition", hosted by Indoor Co., Ltd. in Akihabara, which presented to the audience with merchandising featuring the image of the character.[152] Two scale figures based on Kyo's original form and his XIV look have also been released by Gantaku.[153] In November 2024, Tanita made an official collaboration with SNK, which involved merchandising and studying the bodies of Kyo, among other characters from the series.[154] Kyo also gained appeal thanks to the Capcom vs. SNK series, which helped to make a striking rivalry between him and Ryu from Street Fighter.[155][156] This led to his image being used for Capcom VS SNK 2 on a cross-platform in a Japanese printed ad for that alongside Ryu.[157] Although Kyo's story arc ends with The King of Fighters '97, he has remained a more popular hero than his successors like Ash Crimson in Western regions, which led to Ignition Entertainment promoting KOF XII using him.[158][159]

Critical response

[edit]

Kyo Kusanagi has received major praise ever since his introduction. In the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die, Kyo is regarded as the most iconic character from The King of Fighters.[160] Although the first King of Fighters game promoted the possibility of fights between Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting characters, IGN and Hobby Consolas regarded Kyo as the most popular character from the game, calling him the "best star" in the franchise.[161][162] In the book Video Game Audio: A History, 1972-2020, the theme song "Esaka", often used in the franchise, was noted to reflect the character's personality with revisions such as his cocky and upbeat side, while The King of Fighters '99 gives him another unique theme, "Tears", meant to represent his depressed state in the NESTS arc due to having been kidnapped and cloned by the title antagonists.[163] Joan Arnedo Moreno and Jordi Duch Gavaldà from Universitat Oberta de Catalunya said Kyo was one of the biggest figures in gaming next to Terry, Ryu, and Goku which inspired a fictional Cadillac for a video game titled CarOut!.[164] Den of Geek said that while Kyo was introduced as a weak main character, as a result of the pressure of the series also using Terry Bogard and Ryo Sakazaki—heroes from other SNK's series—by the climax of the Orochi arc he becomes more appealing due to his role in this part and his new movesets.[165] When it comes to the narrative, the formation of the new Sacred Treasure Team was noted to be a proper conclusion to the Orochi story arc and the character.[166][167] In Futabanet, Kyo's character was given as one of the reasons The King of Fighters became listed as the fifth best fighting game franchise in Japan, standing out far more than popular recurring fighters Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, and Ikari Warriors, among others.[168] Similarly, Anime UK News preferred him more than the next lead, Shun'ei.[169] In retrospect, while Kotaku recalls Kyo as the most heroic character in the series considering his role in the Orochi arc where he faces enemies with both the Hero Team and Sacred Treasures, him being replaced by other new protagonists was found to be coherent according to Kotaku and Polygon, as noted by how future story arcs tend to use other leads in the games' covers.[170][171]

In Big Movements or Small Motions: Controlling Digital Avatars with Single-Camera Motion Capture, Kyo's performance in The King of Fighters XIII was picked as a digital avatar to control for people due to his iconic popularity, as players controlling him were given immersion in the fighting game. Successfully recreating Kyo's special moves, or the Desperation Move Orochinagi, was noted to leave a sense of satisfaction in the players. However, there are still several complex tactics the character is given that might result in stress to the player despite retaining a notable challenge factor.[172] Critics liked his special moves enough to be one of the most dominant,[173] most notably his "Orochinagi",[174] whereas others preferred his kenpō moves over his original projectile style.[175][176] The Daily Star noted that although Kyo and Iori begin as enemies, they become allies in later games, leading to their popularity.[177] On the other hand, Kyo and Iori's initial relationship, as shown in the visual novel The King of Fighters: Kyo, was seen as meanspirited by HardcoreGaming, as the latter stalked every one of the former's allies, which could ruin the player's improvements if Kyo fails to defeat Iori in the visual novel. Meanwhile, though Yuki and Shingo Yabuki accompany Kyo in his journey, the website writer, Kurt Kalata, lamented that Yuki does not provide much content to the story despite being Kyo's girlfriend.[178] ItMedia noted that Kyo's original personality was changed from rude to formal in the SNK All-Stars, even when addressing his teammate Goro Daimon, with whom he has been a close friend ever since the first game. This was further reflected in the gamer's point of view, something which the website could be a poor translation from the original mobile game.[179]

There was commentary about Kyo's design, with SNK artist Falcoon saying he believes Kyo appealed to gamers in the 1990s because of his appearance and fashion style.[180] The character is notorious for his cool personality and looks that helped to promote the otome game The King of Fighters For Girls, according to AnimeAnime.[181] The book Gaming Cultures and Place in Asia-Pacific noting his popularity in Hong Kong from the mid-1990s onwards as his outfit resulted in several cosplayers. This was especially notable as the character outshined Street Fighter characters who are instead more popular in Western regions.[182] The character's next designs were praised with RPGFan acclaiming The King of Fighters '99 as one of the best from the year of its debut,[183] and his King of Fighters 2003 outfit also received a similar response.[184][185] On the other hand, Kyo received a negative response for his King of Fighters XIV design, as it was not faithful to the original.[186][187] In response to the negative feedback, artist Hiroaki Hashimoto said that while Kyo's and Iori's original designs in the Orochi arc were so appealing, it was hard for SNK to keep coming up with quality with XIV.[188] As a result, his more nostalgic version in The King of Fighters XV was met with a better response from the media.[189]

Anime News Network expressed disappointment that Kyo was not picked as a SNK representative character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as he had few guest appearances in comparison to Terry Bogard.[190] Dexerto wanted him Smash due to his gameplay being able to properly match other video game icons.[191] IGN enjoyed the character enough to want him playable in Namco's fighting game Tekken 8 based on fellow character Geese Howard's inclusion in the previous game Tekken 7.[192] Kyo's live-action portrayal was the subject of negative focus due to the incorrect heritage Sean Faris has.[193][194]

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