Kyo Kusanagi
KyoWinXIII.png (356405 bytes)

  
kyo-cvs2-capcom-art.jpg (38231 bytes)          nestskyo-full.png (1190294 bytes)          kyo-kusanagi-kof98-ultimate-match.jpg (139541 bytes)                              kyo-nw.jpg (123067 bytes)
 

BIO:

In 1994, Kyo was a cocky high school student and the heir of the Kusanagi clan. Kyo could wield flames naturally at the age of 15, and soon surpassed his father Saisyu's fighting abilities. Destined to fight the Orochi, he became the clans leader. He eventually met a girl named Yuki, who became his girlfriend.

Shortly after the completion of his training, Kyo competed in a preliminary tournament in Japan to determine the members of the country's representative team in the KOF tournament. He defeated Goro Daimon and Benimaru Nikaido to become the leader of the Japan Team. Afterwards, the three became teammates and good friends, and won the first three KOF tournaments together.


Before the KOF '97 tournament, Kyo was pestered by fellow high school student, Shingo Yabuki. Shingo begged Kyo to teach him how to create flames. Though annoyed by Shingo's persistence, Kyo partially agreed to mentor him as a means of gaining free meals. In the KOF '97 tournament, he ended up joining with his rival Iori Yagami and Chizuru to fight Orochi as destined. In 1999, Kyo was attacked and taken by the NESTS syndicate. NESTS used his DNA to create various "clones" of Kyo. K' was also infused with Kyo's DNA at this time. He awoke one day and managed break out of captivity. He forcibly questioned a few of his captors and tried to investigate what happened to him, but wasn't able to learn much. In The King of Fighters 2001, Kyo reunites with his old teammates, along with Shingo, to once again form the Japan Team.

In KOF 2003, Chizuru appeared in front of Kyo and Iori, requesting that they investigate the Orochi's recent suspicious activities. At first, Kyo was reluctant to ally with Iori, but he eventually agreed and they formed the Sacred Treasures team. After defeating Mukai, the team investigated the weakening Orochi seal that they had been transported to. They were then ambushed by Ash Crimson, who stole the power of the Yata no kagami or Yata mirror from Chizuru, and threatened to go after Iori next. Ash managed to escape and Kyo swore vengeance.

In The King of Fighters XI, Kyo, Iori, and Shingo teamed up to try and stop Ash. However, the growing presence of the Orochi (from Magaki) caused Iori to lose his mind and enter the Blood Riot state. Iori attacked Kyo and Shingo in a berserk fit. Ash appeared soon after, and stole the Yasakani no Magatama within Iori's body (and Iori's flames). Kyo was hospitalized after Iori's attacks, and stubbornly leaves the hospital before fully recovering. He met up with Goro and Benimaru to form the Japan Team once again.
 
kyo-kusanagi-kof2002um-art-by-hiroaki.jpg (68485 bytes)                          kyo96-fix.jpg (112348 bytes)                         
 
kyo-nests-kof13-2.jpg (43895 bytes)                          kyokofxii.jpg (169973 bytes)             kyo-kof13.jpg (113797 bytes)            
 
                          kyokusanagi-kof14-artwork.jpg (258432 bytes)                         
 

ORIGIN:
The King of Fighters '94

   
                                                   


     
 
                                                   
   

OTHER APPEARANCES:
King of Fighters '95, King of Fighters '96, King of Fighters '97, King of Fighters '98, King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match, King of Fighters '99, King of Fighters 2000, King of Fighters 2001, King of Fighters 2002, King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match, King of Fighters 2003, King of Fighters XI, King of Fighters XII, King of Fighters XIII, King of Fighters XIV, King of Fighters XV, King of Fighters Neowave, King of Fighters R1, King of Fighters R2, King of Fighters EX, King of Fighters EX 2, SNK Vs Capcom: Match of the Millennium, Card Fighters Clash, Card Fighters Clash 2, Card Fighters Clash DS, King of Fighters: Maximum Impact, King of Fighters: Maximum Impact MANIAX, King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2, KOF: Maximum Impact Regulation A, Capcom VS SNK, Capcom VS SNK: Pro, Capcom VS SNK 2, SNK VS Capcom Chaos, Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, King of Fighters 94: Re-bout

  
kyo-nests-kimiwahero-card.png (200014 bytes)                                         .    


KyoFace1.png (75719 bytes)         KyoFace2.png (77780 bytes)         KyoFace3.png (75980 bytes)         KyoFace4.png (72078 bytes)         kyo-kusanagi-brave-frontier-artwork.png (107932 bytes)         kyo-kusanagi-brave-frontier-artwork2.png (182580 bytes)
 

Page Updated:  Dec. 9th, 2023

Kyo Kusanagi... SNK's poster boy for KOF since the very beginning of the series. Kyo debuted as sort of a "vanilla" and easily-likeable protagonist. In the mid 90's, Kyo's moveset and special moves were definitely original and offered something unique from the standard fare of 2D fighters fans come to expect. Kyo has evolved quite a bit since his early "schoolboy" design, obtaining a variety of alternate looks - most of which have him donning some kind of cool jacket. Kyo set the benchmark of "male fashion" throughout the series... the dude dresses well. As his outfits improved, Kyo's fighting style, animations, and personality all followed suit. 

I must say, SNK has done a great job with keeping Kyo's design fresh - while not ever changing too much about his design. Kyo's newer moves & mannerisms did a lot for his design in the later sequels and crossovers. He's obviously been in a ton of games, and is a fun to use character in pretty much all of them - a great feature for a FG protagonist to have.

Fighting  Style  /  Moveset
Personality  /  Charisma
Outfit(s)  /  Appearance
Effectiveness  in  series
Overall Score

     

Click Here for more Kyo artwork!