Kyōko (きょうこ) is a third year student at Hanazono High School that was first featured in Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka. She is described as being faithful and high-spirited. She is close friends with Misako.
In Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka, River City: Tokyo Rumble, and the River City Girls continuity, she is the girlfriend of Riki. Although she's younger than him, she's able to keep him on a tight leash with her firecracker personality.
Appearances[]
Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka[]
Kyōko debuts in Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka as a playable character and as the girlfriend of Riki.
Kyōko on the rooftop of Hanazono High School being harassed by Ryūta.
Kyōko is first mentioned by Misako as she gets angry over Riki's comments towards her and snaps back claiming that Hanazono High School has been taken over in his absence and that Kyōko is in trouble. Kyōko is found on the school's rooftop being harassed by Ryūta as he attempts to get with her. She runs over to Riki as soon as he arrives and stands back as he and the others face off against Ryūta. Upon being defeated, the group learn that Shinji was the one giving orders to Ryūta and that he is additionally being backed by the Sanwakai. Kyōko then steps out and decides to join the party. At the amusement park, the group finds Ryūsaku at the entrance who mistakes Kunio as his rumored lookalike. They learn that the man is named Ken and that he comes by the park to talk to Shinji. The protagonists fight their way through the amusement park and eventually find Shinji at the kart tracks. After being defeated, the group chases after him on Kunio's motorcycle to the Blue Emperor's hideout. They then fight their way through the hideout and find Shinji hiding inside where they proceed to fight him for a second time. After the fight, Shinji warns the group that they'll end up being killed if they continue looking into Ken. Outside of the warehouse, Takayama informs the protagonists that Sabu is the mastermind behind the entire scheme and that Ken is rumored to be Kunio's twin brother. Kunio is stunned by the information and begins to dwell on whether Ken being his brother is actually true, though Kyōko convinces him that everything will be cleared up once they find Ken regardless. The group all head over to Roppongi after Takayama mentions that he was last seen there.
Kyōko after being shot by Sabu.
Outside of the disco club in Roppongi, the group fight against Lisa and Joe as they were ordered to kill Kunio. After the fight, Lisa runs into the club to look for Kinji and the group comes to the conclusion that he was the one who gave her their orders. The group find Kinji inside of the club and fight against him and Lisa after he refused to give out any information on Ken's whereabouts. Following the battle, the protagonists are told that Ken is currently at the pachinko parlor in Shinjuku. Later inside of the parlor, Misuzu is spotted on one of the pachinko machines getting frustrated over her losing streak. She notices Kunio and decides to fight the group to let off some steam. After the fight, the protagonists head upstairs where they find Sabu and Ken. Kyōko and Misako are shot by Sabu at the end of their meeting to the shock of the boys. Riki runs over to Kyōko in a panic as she looks up and pleads with him to stop crying and to keep his act together believing that he's truly hopeless without her. After the girls pass out, the boys carry them outside of the parlor and have Mamoru call an ambulence to take them to the hospital as Takayama leads Riki and Kunio to Sabu's villa in Izu.
During the ending of the game, Takayama reveals to the boys that Kyōko and Misako have survived.
River City: Tokyo Rumble[]
In the story mode, Kyōko is first seen alongside Riki in Shinjuku as Kunio arrives to confront him about his alleged involvement in attacking Hiroshi. When Riki realizes Kunio isn't seeing him on friendly terms, he asks Kyōko to leave, in which she warns Riki to not start a fight with Kunio as she doesn't want him to get hurt. On the following day, Misako will get angry with Kunio as he gets ready to leave for Yokohama with Riki, to where she then gets angry at Riki for backing him up and mentions that Kyōko would be equally as mad if she found out he was going out to get involved in street fights. Not wanting to get in trouble as he describes Kyōko as being very scary when she's mad, Riki asks Misako to stay quiet about the ordeal.
On a second playthrough of the game, Kyōko will see Riki off before leaving to Yokohama. From this point on, she will be seen next to Misako outside of Nekketsu High School and can be talked to in order to switch the player's controlled character.
River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~[]
Kyōko appears as a member of Team Misuzu and can be played outside of the story mode. She is equipped with a chain by default and is able to use the Tornado Punch and Mach Kick.
River City Melee: Battle Royal Special[]
Kyōko returns as a member of Team Misuzu and is involved in the story mode. Kyōko is able to use the Mach FumiFumi and the Tornado Punch.
River City Girls[]
In this continuity, Kyōko is reimagined to be cheerful, bubbly, and as a bit of an airhead. Although she's typically very easygoing, she is prone to getting angry, especially so if it involves Riki. She appears as one of the main protagonists alongside Misako. She is voiced by Kira Buckland.
Kyōko and Misako after hearing about Riki and Kunio's kidnapping.
Kyōko starts off in detention with Misako until they decide to bust out of school after she received a text message claiming Kunio and Riki have been kidnapped. The girls run throughout all of town fighting anyone that gets in their way in search of any information on Kunio and Riki's whereabouts. Throughout their search, they frequently come across their love rivals Kazumi Hasebe and Mami Shimada who degrade the girls and suggest that the boys are instead in love with them. Kyōko eventually reunites with her old middle school friend Nozomi at the end of Ocean Heights, though must fight her first for embarrassing her in front of her fans. By the end of the game, the girls have made their way through the Sanwakai Tower and defeat Sabuko, who is the acting matriarch while Sabu is incarcerated.
Defeating Sabuko, the girls kick her out of the window and crash into the sauna nearby where they find Kunio and Riki relaxing. In the bad ending, the boys don't remember who the girls are and set off to go find Hasebe and Mami. In the good ending, the girls instead kick Hasebe and Mami out of the window with the boys now knowing who Misako and Kyōko are, they proceed to offer taking them on a burger date.
River City Melee Mach!![]
Kyōko would have her moveset changed and her stats increased. She now uses the Screw Slap from Kunio-tachi no Banka and Mach Kick.
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms[]
Kyōko plays the role of Zhou Yu, a general in Sun Quan (Riki)'s army. Her River City Girls counterpart plays the role of Xiao Qiao, the younger of the sisters.
Zhou Yu during Zhuge Liang's alliance negotiations with Sun Quan's army.
In the story mode, Zhou Yu is first seen in the final chapter at the castle in Chaisang. Zhuge Liang (Misako) has travelled over to the castle to negotiate an alliance between Liu Bei (Gōda) and Sun Quan in order to put a stop to Cao Cao (Yamada). Sun Quan is uncertain on all the divided opinions from his officers and asks Zhou Yu for her thoughts, in which she claims that Zhuge Liang is attempting to manipulate everyone and that they'd be better off defeating Liu Bei and hand him off to Cao Cao. Zhuge Liang explains that Cao Cao also has his sights on taking control of Yangzhou, which angers Zhou Yu as she shouts that Sun Quan would never lose to Cao Cao. Zhuge Liang questions why they don't just fight Cao Cao, though Zhou Yu believes that it's only a matter of picking the easier battle. She is then convinced to team up with Liu Bei after Zhuge Liang mentions Cao Cao's previous broken promises in Xuzhou and Jingzhou. After Zhuge Liang leaves, Lu Su (Mami) expresses that Zhuge Liang isn't a bad person at heart and hopes that everyone will get along with her, though Zhou Yu mentions that she pisses her off and will never be able to forgive her for how she spoke to Sun Quan.
Zhou Yu during the meeting with The Brothers of the Peach Garden.
Later during the meeting with the Brothers of the Peach Garden, Zhuge Liang teases Zhou Yu by putting her on the spot to be the first one to share their ideas on how they can defeat Cao Cao. Zhou Yu angrily responds stating that she believes Cao Cao has a weak navy and that it'd be an effective strategy to exploit that. Wanting to keep things calm, Guan Yu (Kunio) suggests that they each say their ideas at once, in which Sun Quan and Zhou Yu agree but decide to do it in writing instead in the event that any spies were listening in on them. Zhou Yu strikes on the same idea that Zhuge Liang had of fire-setting, though she mentions that there's a major problem they'll need to address in order to make that plan work. Zhuge Liang is aware that the wind needs to be in their favor and decides to handle it herself which surprises Zhou Yu that she's supposedly able to do such a thing. When Guan Yu asks Zhou Yu if he can assist her with anything, she orders him to gather 100,000 arrows within three days for the upcoming battle. Noticing his shocked reaction, she tells him to ask Zhuge Liang to help him if he's unable to do so on his own. Guan Yu believes that even she would have trouble collecting so many, though Zhou Yu makes it clear that the two of them will be punished if they fail her. Zhuge Liang later puts together a makeshift boat out of the straw materials Guan Yu collected and the two use it to purposefully get shot at by Cao Cao's army in order to collect their arrows. Zhou Yu notices the arrow-riddled ship after the two return and is initially angry, though is impressed by Zhuge Liang's tactics after Guan Yu explains that they've gotten the amount of arrows she asked for. In a sidequest, Sun Quan asks Guan Yu to spy on Cao Cao's army in Xiakou to see if they're strengthening their navy. After Guan Yu returns to confirm that they've brought in a new general that specializes in naval battle, Zhou Yu joins the conversation and suggests that they spread a rumor within Cao Cao's army that their new general is a spy with secret connections to Liu Bei.
Zhou Yu assuring that they have no intention on taking over the Han.
During the ending of the Romance route, Zhuge Liang questions Sun Quan on how he doesn't think them keeping his land safe from Cao Cao despite the difference in numbers as a win, though Zhou Yu angrily comments about how much Zhuge Liang pisses her off and admits that her plan came in handy, but claims that they wouldn't have won if it weren't for Sun Quan. She then states that they're no longer allies and demands that they leave Yangzhou immediately. Zhuge Liang suggests that their soldiers may still be at the top of Mount Nambyeong working up a sweat as she forgot to give them the order to withdraw which enrages Zhou Yu. On the Hot-Blooded route, Zhou Yu assures that they have no intention on taking over the Han so long as there's no threat to the people in Yangzhou.
In the China Heroes gamemode, Kyōko's River City Girls counterpart was added into the English release of the game as a bonus character and is unlocked by default. Her moveset is copied from River City Girls and translates it to this game's control scheme.
River City Girls Zero[]
The River City Girls counterparts of Kyōko and Misako appear in the game's newly added intro and outro. Kira Buckland returns to voice Kyōko in English with Sumire Morohoshi voicing the newly added Japanese dub.
Kyōko explaining to Misako about what she bought at Skullmageddon's pawn shop.
Kyōko buys an old videogame with a free SNES thrown in at Skullmageddon's pawn shop. Kyōko is trying to figure out how to play the game with Misako being instantly intrigued when walking in the room to see Kunio on the game's cartridge. The girls then play through the entirety of Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka. After the girls finish playing the game, they talk about what happened in the game while also questioning if any of it actually happened. Kyōko asks where Sabuko was in the game not knowing who Ken is, to which Misako asks why Ken looked so handsome. Kyōko teases Misako for saying this only because he resembles Kunio. The girls then proceed to leave the house and go look for Kunio and Riki, foreshadowing events that later happen in River City Girls 2.
River City Girls 2[]
Kyōko retains her role as one of the main protagonists alongside Misako. Kira Buckland returns as her English voice actor with Sumire Morohoshi returning from River City Girls Zero as her voice actor in the Japanese dub.
The story starts right with Sabuko's defeat and Misako and Kyōko heading off to their lunch date with Kunio and Riki. Sabu now knowing of Sabuko's embarrassing defeat breaks out of prison and quickly takes control of River City. On their way to class, the girls are expelled from school by Ken and are then kicked out of the window by Ryūichi and Ryūji Hattori. The group all head back to Kyōko's house to play videogames. Two months pass since then and Kyōko's Mother informs the crew that the sequel to Vampire Punchers has been released with a few copies still being in stores at the mall. Students were paid by the Sanwakai to wait outside of Kyōko's house to ensure the group doesn't get in the way, so they must all fight their way towards the mall. While at the mall, the group gets sidetracked and go see a movie, though coincidentally end up meeting Ken once again. The group faces off against Ken and wins, to where he then attempts to pull his gun on Misako and Kyōko. Unfazed, the girls continue to make fun of him until a knife with a note knocks the gun out of his hands, to where he then runs away. The girls find out the note came from Sabuko looking to team up after going to the requested location.
Throughout the rest of the story, the group travels all throughout the town taking down Sabu's subordinates (Blaire, Tsuiko, and Primo) for their emblems to get inside of the Sanwakai Tower. In Uptown, the group meets Provie and are mistaken to be yakuza, so they fight her to prove that they aren't associated with any yakuza goons. Provie was looking for Ken to get him to tell the location of her friend Chris, but because of the group's altercation with him earlier he left the place and left Provie back to chasing him down. Misako offers to help Provie find Chris and to also beat Ken, to which she reluctantly agrees. In Downtown, the group is informed by Hikaru Saotome to go look for Marian. The group eventually head into the subway where they find Marian working for the Sanwakai under Blaire's spell, which wears off after the group beat her in a fight. Marian then agrees to join the group in fighting.
After Primo's defeat in Ocean Heights, he reveals the girls will need a fourth emblem to get into the Sanwakai Tower which is held by Ken. The group fights their way to the rooftop of the now destroyed River City High to face off against Ken once again with Ryūichi and Ryūji assisting him in battle. Ken is defeated once more, hands his emblem to the girls, and flies off on a helicopter telling the girls to drop by the Sanwakai Tower for their rematch. Sabuko waits for the group outside of the school and betrays the girls by informing them that her men have strapped explosives to their friends. After saving everybody, the group heads off to the Sanwakai Tower to the sight of Sabuko putting Ken in his place and attempting to make an escape in a helicopter. The group eventually makes their way into the underground of the Sanwaki Tower where they defeat Sabu and end his plans for good.
In the post-credits cutscene, Kyōko and everyone else are back at her house playing Vampire Punchers 2 with Misako.
Other video games[]
CODE SHIFTER[]
Kyōko and Misako appear as a dual character. A remix of the shop theme plays when playing as them in Story Mode.
Baseball Superstar 2020[]
Mighty Fight Federation[]
Kyōko makes a cameo appearance during Kunio's arcade mode ending.
Other media appearances[]
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (TV series)[]
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun: Rantō Enbu-hen[]
Kyōko is played by Erika Denya.
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun Gaiden River City Girls[]
Kyōko was to be played by Reo Kurachi, though the play would be cancelled due to one of the cast members testing positive for COVID.[2]
Onimai: I'm Now Your Sister![]
In Season 1's "Mahiro's Time of the Month", Kyōko and Misako make a cameo appearance as Mahiro and Mihari play River City Girls together.
Trivia[]
- Kyōko's rendition of the Mach Kick in Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka bears a resemblance to the Hyakuretsukyaku (百裂脚 "Hundred Rending Legs"), one of Chun-Li's signature special attacks in the Street Fighter series. River City Girls further expands on this by making the move (Dragon Feet, like in River City Ransom) a literal Hyakuretsukyaku with a finishing kick, much like Chun-Li's Senretsukyaku (千裂脚 "Thousand Rending Legs"), one of her super combos.
- Sometimes while doing this move in River City Girls, she will shout "Ora ora ora!" as a reference to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Coincidentally, Kira Buckland would later be cast in the anime's English dub.
- Her Handstand Kick also resembles the Spinning Bird Kick, another of Chun Li's signature moves. However, according to the game's director Bannon Rudis, there wasn't a deliberate effort to reference Chun-Li.
- Her name has three different variations: Kyōko or Kyoko or Kyouko. Depending on the characters with which it is written, the name can have different meanings. In her case, it means City Girl or Girl from the Capital.
- The Japanese pronunciation of her name prolongs the first o; hence why it is sometimes Romanized as Kyouko. River City Girls director Adam Tierney has said it was simplified to make it easier for the English voice cast to say their lines.
Gallery[]
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Other Media[]
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