During the series' story, Kyo meets rivals and enemies who seek to take his flame abilities and prevents chaos like Orochi to rise.

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.

[9] 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 series.

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.

[16] 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] 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.

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.

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.

[26] The rivalry between Kyo and Iori resulted in game designer Eisuke Ogura claiming despite having the two characters having differences, they still have respect for each other, making their team-ups with fellow Sacred Treasure Team member Chizuru Kagura to defeat a common enemy feel natural.

[23] Kyo's Japanese voice actor Masahiro Nonaka was first called to work in The King of Fighters '94 after meeting sound designer Yasumasa Yamada.

[30] 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.

[42] 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.

[49] The game's developers decided Kyo's main abilities would be fire-based, inspired by the manga and anime Getter Robo Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa.

[18] 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.

"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.

[62][63] 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.

[67] The tournament's host, Chizuru Kagura, wants Kyo and Iori on her team to help defeat Orochi, eventually taking down its follower Goenitz together.

[73] He continues his fight alone in The King of Fighters 2000,[74] 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.

[76] In The King of Fighters 2003, Kyo and Iori join Chizuru's to investigate Orochi seal but it is revealed the latter is being manipulated by agents Botan and Mukai from Those From The Past who seek the demon's power.

[85] Kyo returns in The King of Fighters XIV with his old comrades at Saisyu's request of his father to meet Tung Fu Rue's students who need help controlling their powers,[86] and resealing a weak revived Orochi in the aftermath.

[92][93] 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.

[107] 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.

[112][113] He is present in the RPGs Kimi wa Hero in his regular persona and in a vampire outfit in Brave Frontier,[114][115][116] and in the Chinese mobile phone game Wangzhe Rongyao.

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.

[143] 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.

[149] 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.

[156] 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.

[172] 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.

[180][181] 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.