Kouji

Between Ken and the Kaiser

It's rather sad that Kouji is perhaps the coolest character in Digimon Frontier. This isn't because Kouji's a bad character. In fact, he's really spiffy. I love his clothes, his fierce attitude, the way he growls, and the fact that he keeps his personality (flaws and all) intact longer than most of the rest of the kids. His Digimon forms left something to be desired, but his interactions with Takuya, Kouichi, and Izumi were great. And yet, I can't throw my full support behind him.

Kouji, you see, has one horrible problem. And that is that he is Ken. Yes, take off that bandana, and you'll find the face of a boy who spent his whole life trying to be the center of attention.

Indeed, their similar appearances are quickly obvious. Kouji's hair is halfway between the Kaiser's and school-boy Ken's. His outfit, in the same colors that Ken favored in the Digiworld, are a street-clothes alternative to Ken's conservative school uniform. The eyes are the only real difference, being more innately innocent than Ken's were, and a somewhat darker shade of blue.

In personality, Kouji is likewise a mid-point between Ken's two forms. He is as sure of his beliefs as Ken was, with little patience for mystery. He has no desire to rival Takuya's leadership, except to take on more than his share of danger and to cast vetoes. He is neither overconfident nor repentant, and Ken's well-hidden anger burns deep in his heart. With little true respect for any authority other than himself, he is unsure of what's really important in the world, and uses solitude as a refuge from his plaguing doubts.

Even more specific things have some resemblance. Without the Kaiser's arrogance or Ken's denial of self-worth, he acts like a gentleman without winning the hearts of the girls. He willingly accepts violence as a means to an end. He shares the dislike of physical contact that Ken consistently had. They both blame their families for what's wrong with themselves, and eventually decide to be kinder to them without giving up that belief. The list goes on...

Now, we all know that Ryo, the Legendary Tamer, originally appeared in 02. He was present in a single, short scene in the Digiworld, and interacted only with Ken. Ryo then became a main character by the end of Tamers, but how he got to the Digiworld in the first place was never really explained. This made Ryo the first "dimensional hopper" -- possibly by the method discussed at the end of 02. This means that the idea of characters from different seasons meeting is not unknown in Digimon... and that Kouji, being as normal as the rest of the cast, has even less of an excuse for his similarity to Ken.

And so, what to make of poor Kouji Ichijoujji? Should he be cast off as nothing but a remake, with the old adage that the sequel is never as good as the original? Yes, perhaps... "Yes, probably," even. But I cannot quite convince myself to do that. With the appearance of Kouichi, and Kouji's resulting confusion of just what being a brother means, he is renewed and given new life. And so, the light finds itself finally redeemed by the dark.