Ken Okamoto

Ken Takahashi Okamoto Also Known As: Master Takahashi, Saguru

Characteristics
Specialty	Light Nature
Race	Human
Gender	♂ Male
Status
Affiliation	Order of the Kaijudo Duel Masters (Formerly) Choten's Forces (Formerly)
Occupation	Duel Master (Formerly)
Family	Raiden Okamoto (Father) Janet Pierce-Okamoto (Wife) Raiden Pierce-Okamoto (Son) Isao Okamoto (Uncle) Kimiko Okamoto (Aunt) Satoshi Okamoto (Cousin) Keiko Okamoto (Cousin-In-Law) Ichiro Okamoto (Nephew) Nobu Okamoto (Nephew)
Creature(s)	Humonculon the Blaster

Voice Actor	Andrew Kishino (Normal form) Dee Bradley Baker (As Humonguru)

Ken Takahashi Okamoto, also known as Saguru, is a character in the Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters series.

History[]

Ken Okamoto served the Order of the Kaijudo Duel Masters under his middle name, Takahashi. He was best friends with the Water Civilization Master, who would one day become The Choten. Secretly, Ken married a woman named Janet. He kept his double life secret, telling Janet he worked on a cargo ship so he could explain his long absences. When The Choten betrayed the Order, Ken managed to escape with Janet to the Nature Civilization, but in the fight, his gauntlet was damaged and he was rendered unable to get them back to the human world. Using his skills, Ken helped Janet to survive and built them a home deep in the forest.

It was there in the forests of the Nature Civilization that the couple's son was born. Ken named his son after his own father, Raiden. Ken spent time trying to make a new Dueling Gauntlet to get his family home, but the crude materials of the Nature Civilization proved difficult to work with. Janet took an interest in Kaijudo and Ken began to teach her. They two parents were amazed to see Raiden's natural way with creatures. The infant boy loved them, and they loved him in return. Over time, Ken decided to not go home, convinced that The Choten would be there, waiting for them. He was wrong. The Choten hunted the family down in the Kaiju Realm and attacked them. To protect his family, Ken opened a portal and closed it behind Janet and Raiden, choosing to face his former friend alone.

Plot[]

Saguru was first seen in the episodes Into the Fire: Part 1 and Into the Fire: Part 2 as a mysterious person with a missing right eye who has the knowledge to navigate around the creature realms, including the knowledge of hundreds of passages through the realms. His creature partner is Humonculon the Blaster, a gold metallic spider-looking creature who shoots beams from his eye and lives in Saguru's right eye socket. Because of his unknown past, Saguru is shown working for The Choten in exchange for the latter's help in discovering his past by giving him a Cyber Virus each time Saguru helped him. The first memory that Saguru recovers is when he came from Earth after he handed over the Sword of Fiery Cataclysm from the Fire Civilization to The Choten.

In the two-part episode The Deep End: Part 1 and The Deep End: Part 2 Saguru helps Ray, Allie, and Gabe get to the Water Civilization so that Ray can get his memories back from the Mother Virus after Choten's Memory Swarm removed Ray's memories. Once inside the capital of the Water Civilization, Gargle has the guards remand Saguru to the dungeon. During the group's escape, Ray has Saguru freed. While the guards are busy chasing after Ray's group, Saguru makes his way to the Mother Virus as Aqua Seneschal tells him that the Memory Swarm used by The Choten is not associated with the Mother Virus. After The Choten fails to gain control over the Helm of Ultimate Technology, Saguru helps him and Aqua Seneschal escape the Water Civilization in exchange for his next memory. The second memory that he recovers is that he is a former Nature Civilization Duel Master and an old friend of The Choten.

In the two-part episode The Nature of Things: Part 1 and The Nature of Things: Part 2, Saguru poses as a Snow Sprite in order to enter the Nature Civilization's tournament where the prize is the Shield of Unity, but Allie shows to all who he really was before the final round started. During the final round, Aqua Seneschal crashes the round and steals the Shield of Unity, causing Ray, Tatsurion the Unchained, Saguru, and the other Nature Civilization creatures to pursue him. After the Shield of Unity falls into the Darkness Civilization during the scuffle, The Choten is not pleased with Saguru failing in the tournament and crushes one of the Memory Swarm. Saguru realizes that The Choten is not the friend he knew in the past. Saguru is forced to work with him for his remaining memories.

In the episode "Duel Hard," The Choten sends Saguru to help Alakshmi and Heller hold up a bank, where the two pieces of the Helm of Ultimate Technology are held. Saguru succeeds in his mission, while Alakshmi and Heller fail. When Saguru asks why they have to fight the Duel Masters, The Choten tells them that they are misguided, and he gives Saguru the Memory Swarm that contains the memories about what happened the day that Master Tiera was betrayed by Meteor Dragon (the creature she has chosen), the day when Master Toji lost part of his left leg to Scissor Scarab, and how he lost one of his eye's when a water creature attacked him with it's tentacle.. The Choten also returns to Saguru his Dueling Gauntlet.

In the episode "Betrayal", Saguru accompanies The Choten, Alakshmi, Fingers, and Heller in an attack on Ray's apartment. When The Choten plans to have the apartment taken down, Saguru objects and secretly destroys the summoning Inhibitor. Saguru saves Ray, Gabe, Allie, and Sasha when The Choten summons Flametropus to level Ray's apartment building and brings them to his place in the Nature Civilization. Saguru informs Ray that The Choten holds his memories hostage, and gives Ray the coordinates of The Choten's base in San Campion Bay, telling him that he was one of the Duel Masters. At the Nexus Point of the five civilizations, Tatsurion and Sasha collapse as Saguru saves the lives of the humans. Saguru gets Sasha, Channeler of Light away from the Nexus and claims the Heart of Light from her. He hands it over to The Choten, and is given the Memory Swarm that reveals the memory that he was once Ken Okamoto, married to Janet Pierce-Okamoto and that Ray is his son. Devastated to realize that via The Choten's using him he has betrayed his own child, Saguru retaliates, is knocked out by Trox, and incarcerated.

In the episode The Rising, Part 1, Saguru uses Humonculon to break open his helmet and free Tatsurion. Aqua Seneschal intervenes and shoots Saguru, Tatsurion, and Homonculon with the Evolution Serum, where Humonculon's evolution binds him to Saguru. When Ray enters The Choten's hideout, he finds Saguru in his hybrid state until The Choten arrives. Saguru rises to his feet and helps Ray fight a mind-controlled Tatsurion the Unchained. While Ray tries to get through to Tatsurion, Saguru deals with The Choten until The Choten uses the Shield of Unity to order Humonculon to throw Saguru back into the cargo bay. Crashing to the cargo bay floor, Humonculon is banished to the creature realm, taking Saguru with him, since they are bound together.

In the episode The Rising, Part 2, Saguru and Humonculon lie comatose at the shores of the Water Civilization as Saguru's body is placed in a special underwater suit before being dragged underwater by a Water Civilization creature. In The King's Speech, Saguru is revealed to be alive. He helps Finbarr get Ray, Gabe, and Allie to the Darkness Civilization when King Tritonus is under The Choten's control. The Water Civilization creature that found Saguru in a coma works for Finbarr and it is revealed that Saguru has just awakened from a coma. Ray works with Saguru and Gargle to infiltrate The Choten's ship to expose The Choten's control of King Tritonus. After the failed mission, Saguru tells Ray that he cannot return to Earth, since Humonculon binding to him has made him more creature than human. Ray vows to find a way to return his father back to normal, which leads Ray to seek out each of the creature Mystics to find one of them who might know a spell that can separate Saguru from Humonculon.

in The San Campion Hexagon, he is summoned by Ray to fight The Choten and reveals that The Choten's real name is August.

In Forest for the Trees, he is summoned again by Ray to fight Heller, Carny, several Bladefish and the Tygrif. It is revealed that Humonculon is slowly taking over Ken's mind. After Ray learns the Spell of Swift Regeneration, he attempts to cast it on Ken, but to no avail.

In Deluge, it is revealed that Humonculon's evolution is getting out of hand. When San Campion starts getting ravaged by butterfly effects, he is summoned. Janet, having never seen Ken in his hybrid state and believing him to be deceased, yells at Ray for not telling her.

In Bargain, The Choten tells Ray that the latter must give him the Water Civilization spell in exchange for the antidote to the evolution serum. Ray seeks the Water Mystic to give him the spell. When Ray gives the spell to The Choten, the latter gives him the antidote. However, it does not work on human/creature hybrids. The Choten then uses the spell to take control of Humonculon's mind (while Ken tries and fails to fight back) and manages to send Tatsurion the Unchained back to the creature realm. Later, when Allie tries to summon him, it fails.

In Clash of The Monarchs, he is brought by The Choten to the Null Zone, where he is forced to duel Ray.

In The Evolution Will Not Be Televised, he is sent back to the creature realm by The Choten. When asked by the Light Mystic over whether to choose his father or San Campion to save, he chooses San Campion. Due to Ray having the power inside him all along, he is summoned and Ray uses the Spell of Radiant Purification on him, de-evolving Humonculon and freeing Ken.

Creatures[]

Card Representations[]

Humonguru

Quoted or referred to on cards[]

Humonguru

Trivia[]

Chronologically, Ken is the first Duel Master to break the rule about not touching a creature.
- His first touched creature is Copper Locust.
Ken is the second Duelist seen to have an evolved Gauntlet. Chronologically, this probably happened before Ray's did.
He is the first human to "evolve" and fuse with a creature.
Chronologically, Ken is the second duelist to summon a Multi-civilization creature.
- In this case, it was Humonculon the Blaster.
Saguru is the only non-creature character to get a card version.
In Duel Hard, he regained a memory of being attacked by a Fluorogill Manta. The creature's tendril struck him, causing him to be electrocuted and resulting in the loss of his eye.