Kyoko Kirigiri (Japanese: 霧切 響子, Hepburn: Kirigiri Kyōko) is a fictional character from the Spike Chunsoft visual novel series Danganronpa. Introduced in the 2010 game Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc as a high school student known only as the "Ultimate ???", she later regains her memories and is revealed to be the "Ultimate Detective", working with protagonist Makoto Naegi to solve the killing game at Hope's Peak Academy. Kyoko appears in multiple sequels and spin-offs, including Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, the spin-off game Kirigiri Sou, and the prequel light novel series Danganronpa: Kirigiri, which explores her childhood and detective training. Created by writer Kazutaka Kodaka and designer Rui Komatsuzaki, she is voiced by Yōko Hikasa in Japanese and by Erika Harlacher and Caitlin Glass in English, and has been positively received by critics and fans, often ranking among the most popular Danganronpa characters.

In the early versions of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, the demo DISTRUST, the character was known as Gyaru Kirigiri (霧切ギャル, Kirigiri Gyaru) and was the original first victim in the narrative's killing game. In later parts of development of the games, the characters of Leon Kuwata and Sayaka Maizono were both used to establish a base body type and height. The development team at Spike quickly grew tired of them, however, and so they were the first characters to be killed in the final published game, with Sayaka replacing Kyoko as the first victim. The concept behind Kyoko's traits originated from Kodaka's desire to add a detective to the first Danganronpa game. Although she has a prominent role in the story, Kodaka claimed he did not write her with the intention of creating a lead heroine. Instead, Kyoko's utility to the player and the unique thought process she provided as a detective naturally elevated her to that role over time. In order to balance the cast Kodaka conceived the idea of giving the students no recollection of their past at Hope's Peak Academy. As a result, Kyoko remains the unofficial detective of the group and is not officially revealed to be a detective until later in the game.

Although artist Rui Komatsuzaki made Kyoko, Kodaka was responsible for most of the elements of Kyoko's appearance. Kodaka wanted Kyoko's design to hint at her detective role. This desire is most prominent in her black gloves and black jacket.

Komatsuzaki has claimed that Kyoko was one of the most difficult female characters to create in the first game of the franchise. At first, the staff decided that Kyoko would be attributed to be a "mysterious girl". This originally resulted in her color scheme being toneless and monotone. However, the design soon had to be altered after the game's direction changed to the lighter "Psycho Pop" art style. Her monotone color scheme was then changed to a pastel purple. Her early design prominently featured a school uniform with overalls because Komatsuzaki wanted it to have a rarer design than the other female characters; her uniform was later changed to a blouse and skirt. Komatsusaki had difficulties deciding between a shorter or longer hairstyle for Kyoko. Producer Yoshinori Terasawa suggested that Kyoko could have a symbolic hair cutting scene in the first game, but the idea was ultimately rejected, and so Kyoko's hair remained long. Because Kyoko becomes the main heroine after Sayaka's death, Komatsuzaki wanted Kyoko's design to closely parallel Sayaka's, and their similar hairstyles in different shades was a deliberate choice.

In contrast to her cold personality from the first game, Kodaka envisioned Kyoko in the anime sequel as more considerate of her friends. While other returning characters like Aoi Asahina and Byakuya Togami show a more caring side in the anime too, Kyoko's personality was Kodaka's favorite. Furthermore, in contrast to the first game, Kyoko's relationship with Makoto in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School was written to implicate a more intimate tone than in the original game. Kodaka carefully planned this through a scene where Kyoko takes off her gloves for the first time in the series in order to comfort Makoto. This was also meant to provide a parallel between the romantic relationship between two other characters from the same series, Kyosuke Munakata and Chisa Yukizome who are also implied to be involved romantically. Makoto's voice actor, Megumi Ogata said she found the anime too dark not only for the gruesome moments but also because of Kyoko's apparent death which has a parallel with Chiaki Nanami's death from the Despair Arc.

Following the visual novel prequel centered around Kyoko, Kirigiri Sou, writer Kitayama Takekuni was selected as the lead much to his surprise. Takenkuni admitted that Kyoko was his favorite character from the franchise and thus aimed to write her story with the idea that the title character would stand out cool, believing Kodaka does the opposite to the cast in his works. This also led to the inclusion of sidekick characters who would come across as less appealing than Kyoko in the process. However, Shikiba Santa was selected as a character who does activities other than Kyoko. Some scenes from the game, like Kyoko's appearance in the main character's car, were an homage to the game Otogirisō, a 2002 Chunsoft visual novel, but slightly modified to give a more realistic scenario.

In all of her appearances in Japan, Kyoko is voiced by Yōko Hikasa. The actress commented that she grew to like playing the game and thus enjoyed her new works in the first anime. When asked about her role, Hikasa found Kyoko mysterious and cool, but felt she was too distanced from the other characters. Erika Harlacher did the English acting. She described Kyoko as the calmest among the wacky characters and always on top of things. Although Harlacher did not reprise her role for the anime adaptations, the actress remained in touch with her replacement, Caitlin Glass. Glass enjoyed Kyoko's characterization in the anime due to how supportive she is to Makoto despite believing she will not survive the next time the cast falls asleep. She felt the scene touching and at the same time felt shocked about such a twist. However, she felt that Kyoko's revelation of her survival shocked in the finale and wanted to use her last line as a way to say goodbye to the character. A stage play based on the anime was made with Natsume Okamoto expressing joy about her role as Kyoko.

Kyoko Kirigiri is introduced in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc as a reserved and highly intelligent student whose title is initially hidden from the player as the "Ultimate ???" (超高校級の「???」, Chō-kōkō-kyū no "???"; lit. Super High School Level ???). During the killing game at Hope's Peak Academy, she becomes one of protagonist Makoto Naegi's closest allies, helping investigate murders and uncover the truth behind the class trials. In the later chapters, it is revealed that she is the "Ultimate Detective" (超高校級の「探偵」, Chō-kōkō-kyū no "Tantei"; lit. Super High School Level Detective), and that her memories were more heavily suppressed because her talent threatened the mastermind's plans. She is also revealed to be the daughter of Hope's Peak Academy headmaster Jin Kirigiri. Kyoko plays a central role in exposing Junko Enoshima as the mastermind, after which she survives and leaves the academy with the other survivors.