Ken Ichijouji

Ken Ichijouji is a human from the Digimon Adventures canon.

Personality

Ken is a bit reserved, and a bit of an introvert by nature, though he appreciates his friends, and has gotten better about seeking them out, at first he was very reluctant to get close to people other than Wormmon, mostly out of a sense of guilt about his previous actions as Digimon Kaiser.

The other notable trait about Ken is the one his crest is of, Kindness. Ken genuinely cares about people and Digimon, to the point of being a bit self-sacrificing. The one-two combo that was able to shatter his Kaiser persona was both Wormmon's act of self-sacrifice and the realization that his reign of terror was hurting real beings, not computer simulations.

Ken does tend to overcompensate a bit towards his less Kaiser-ish traits. In other words, he tries not to be very aggressive, and as a result, is less assertive. See also the self-sacrificing bit, and the introverted bit. Wormmon and his human friends have been helping him overcome it, and he is more comfortable taking a leader role in the group, though he will usually defer to Daisuke.

Skills

While he doesn't compare to Koushirou, Ken is well above average at computers. He also enjoys judo, chess and soccer, and has quite a mind for soccer.

Pre-Game History

Ken was born the second child in a normal working-class Japanese family. His brother, Osamu, was known as a prodigy, something Ken was a bit jealous of — mostly the attention it got from his parents.

When Ken was around 9, several months after the Chosen Children had first appeared in the Digital World, a Digivice appeared out of Osamu's computer. Osamu confiscated it, telling Ken not to touch it. Ken, being a curious kid, did so, and was drawn into the Digital World. He appeared only to be gone for under an afternoon, but a long time passed within the Digital World. Within there, Ken met Ryo, another kid, and Wormmon, his Digimon partner. The two of them were able to work together to defeat Milleniumon. However, Ken was injured in the fight. Wormmon and Ryo were able to nurse him back to health before he returned to the real world, but his memory of his time in the Digital World suffered — he only vaguely remembered what happened. Also, the injury was a bit more lasting than Wormmon (at least) suspected — a bit of Milleniumon's data had entered the wound, as a Dark Spore, and was beginning to have an influence on Ken's emotions.

When Ken returned, he faced an irate Osamu, who was mad at Ken for touching the Digivice without permission. Ken was quite cross that Osamu seemed to be taking away the first unique thing he had — his status as a Chosen Child — and argued back, ending the fight with a wish that Osamu would just disappear. When, shortly after, Osamu was struck by a car on the way to school, and died before he reached the Emergency Room, Ken blamed his own selfish wish for his older brother's death.

Shortly after, while he and his parents were still grieving for Osamu, Ken received an email from Yukio Oikawa telling him that, because his brother had died, it was his job as younger brother to become the person his brother would have been. He was also told that he could use the Digital World to escape the feelings that were overwhelming, though instead of being transported to the Digital World proper, he was left in the Dark Ocean, alone with all of his feelings of grief, guilt and anger, and the Dark Spore in his head.

After returning, everyone around him noticed a change in his behavior. What before had been an average, though kind, child, now was a prodigy who excelled in sports and scholarly pursuits. On the other hand, Ken's kindness had all but disappeared — most people fell into the category as either opponents to be defeated, or peons to be ignored as best as possible. Ken was somewhat good at masking this as aloofness in the Real World, but his mask fell down within the Digital World as he assumed the guise of the Digimon Kaiser, and decided that the best challenge for him would be to take over the world. He was so wrapped up in the feelings of megalomania that were amplified by the Dark Spore he unknowingly carried, that he didn't notice that some of his plans were being fed to him via Oikawa's Digimon minions. Wormmon was one of the few beings to notice the change in Ken and get worried. However, he wasn't certain what to do about it, since Ken had stopped listening to him.

Needless to say, the Digital World took defensive action and brought in other Chosen Children to stop Ken. Ken at first found them an amusing challenge, and then started to get irritated with them, as he couldn't defeat them easily. Furthermore, their Digimon could evolve, which he had only limited success at forcing Digimon to do, and thought he had blocked others from doing it. Ken eventually left the Real World entirely, in order to focus all of his energy on the problem, and grew more and more unhinged by the effects of the Dark Spore.

It was that growing mental instability, plus the care that the other Chosen Children showed their partners that made Wormmon realize that the only way he would save Ken's sanity would be to help the other side. He even was willing to give his own life to help Magnamon defeat Ken's creation, Kimeramon. It was this loss, coupled with the realization that the Digital World was not just a really engrossing simulation, that was able to cut away the layers of darkness the Dark Spore had cast over Ken's heart. Unfortunately, Wormmon's death and his own bad behavior just added to the grief he had been suppressing from his brother's death. Ken collapsed, only barely making it back home.

Ken was nearly catatonic, until he managed to return to Primary Village to attend Leafmon's egg's hatching, and to find out his partner had forgiven him. He then vowed to repair all of the damage he had done. He initially had shied away from involvement with the other Chosen Children out of a sense of guilt, but a combination of Daisuke pushing for him to join them, and having Stingmon and ExVeemon have a johgress form together marked him as one of the team.

When the Digimon broke into the Real World, thanks to BlackWarGreymon having weakened the boundary between worlds, Oikawa and Archnemon appeared, demanding that Ken give himself up to them. Oikawa was able to remove the extra Dark Spores that had multiplied in Ken's body during his stint under their influence, and placed them in a number of children. It was through this that the being controlling Oikawa, Vamdemon was able to get close to the Digital World. Using the energy from the Dark Spores, he evolved to BelialVamdemon, and attempted to cripple the Chosen Children by playing on their hopes and fears. Ken's was both his belief that he could never make up what he did as Digimon Kaiser, and his lingering grief over his brother's death. It was only when he managed to overcome these feelings and realize that he had to look to the future, not the past, that he was able to break the spell and help defeat BelialVamdemon.

Since then, Ken has attempted to return to his normal school life. He is reasonably certain that as long as he does not let his own negative emotions overcome him, that the Dark Spore will remain quiescent within him.

In-Game History

Ken was picked up from the Dokaku Jungle by Ryo and Koushirou, and since then, has been living with them. He was not heavily involved in the Tetha Riot, being rushed out, along with the other residents of their house. The most surprising thing he has faced is the appearance of his brother, Osamu, from around his death. Ken also maintains a loose tie to other individuals touched by evil influence in the Digital World, as a sort of mutual support network.

During the Dark Area invasion, Ken assisted at the battle between DATS and Dagomon. This was also the site of Wormmon's first evolution to Adult since the pair entered the Digital World. Wormmon reached his Perfect form during the Gizmon invasion of Tetha.

Ken Ichijouji
KEN.jpg
Series Canon Digimon Adventure
Journal kindinshadows
Role-Player Becca Stareyes
Age 11
Digimon Partner Wormmon
Affiliations TARDIS
D-Comm Colors Black and gray
D-Comm Symbol Crest of Kindness
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