What if Ken was... And what if Takeru was the one who...

Part 2 Sections

On TakeKen's basis in the text of 02

The Dark Ocean's influence

Next: Part 3: Imprisoned by Fate

Congratulations, you've made it to part 2! Now that we've gone in-depth on Takeru and Ken individually, we'll bring it together to discuss how their traits combine and how the events of a single episode show us everything we need to know about their "relationship" potential (or, rather, about just how perfectly it sets up for the best kind of noncon...)

Sparrow: That Scene in Digimon Adventure 02, Episode 19:

Moro: My partner is correct, of course. Without question, episode 19 is the most crucial to understanding Takeru and Ken's dynamic. It is The episode for Takeru/Ken without a doubt. It's surely obvious by this point, but if you've somehow missed it, noncon is probably my most favorite kink to write and read. Therefore, understand that everything you're about to read is coming from that lens. Even the first time I watched Adventure 02, there was something about that scene that felt absolutely primed for a noncon scenario. The narrative beats and the atmosphere slot into it perfectly. So much about good noncon stories has much in common with good horror; a gradual buildup of fear and tension that leads to a dramatic release.

I always liked the scenario, but it was after more "study" that I realized how much "That time Takeru lost his mind and got vicious on the Kaiser" was not some kind of one-off isolated madness, but just part of a larger pattern of behavior.

Takeru's actions in episode 19 are a culmination of all his issues coming to a head at once, all triggered by Ken. Since it is a sort of release of tension Takeru's been holding for a while, before we get to episode 19, it's important to talk about how by this point in the series Takeru is carrying around significantly more anger and hatred for the Kaiser than the other characters. Obviously, with the Kaiser being the primary antagonist at this stage, all the characters have perfectly good reasons to be angry at him, but Takeru really seems to take it personally in a way others don't.

Besides the separation of his family, Takeru's deepest and most affecting trauma is the loss of Angemon in Adventure episode 13. This manifests most obviously as Takeru being extremely touchy about threats to his partner, particularly outside the framework of a "normal" battle. In episode 11, the Kaiser manages to briefly capture Patamon and gets dangerously close to putting an Evil Spiral on him. Daisuke, still conflicted about fighting Taichi's Evil Spiral-controlled partner, stands helplessly and doesn't direct his own partner to attack the Kaiser and stop him. Takeru is so furious at Daisuke's inaction that he almost gets in a fistfight with him before Miyako breaks the two of them apart.

In the end the Kaiser isn't successful at getting the Spiral on Patamon, and he's returned to Takeru unharmed, but there is absolutely no doubt this is something Takeru holds onto, given his already-established pattern of holding grudges and general issues with "upset manifesting as anger". Fast-forward a bit to episode 19, where the Kaiser jabs at this sensitive spot again...

Because this episode is so important to understanding the dynamic of Takeru/Ken, I'll be breaking things down in excruciating detail, as is my specialty. I hope you wanted a play-by-play of That Scene, because you're getting one! Strap in!

As Shiha notes, quote: "This is Takeru getting the closest we ever see him to being a genuine sadist [...] blowing up in anger out of nowhere with a passive-aggressive demeanor, [...] mixing the [smiling] ^^ front he puts on with his tendency to blow up angrily at anything that cuts him a little too emotionally close."

He sees that the Kaiser has deliberately used data from Devimon to create his "ultimate Digimon", becomes enraged to the point of losing control of himself, and recklessly walks off into the depths of the Kaiser's base. Though he's clearly mad as hell and absolutely couldn't wait to go do something to the Kaiser to the point of abandoning Iori, Tentomon, and Armadimon in their task of freeing the imprisoned Digimon, he doesn't even run off. Instead he walks slowly, purposefully, even though he has no idea where he could be going. Patamon is well-attuned enough to his partner to know this isn't good, and tries to dissuade him from doing this, but Takeru ignores him completely. There's no other possible reason he would have to do this except to make the Kaiser pay with his own hands.

Takeru doesn't have to walk very far before the two of them run right into each other.

There's something so ominous about the way Takeru speaks and behaves in this scene that's unlike any of his other emotional outbursts. The Kaiser meets him with his typical haughty attitude, but Takeru's response is extremely dismissive and contemptuous, not so much treating the Kaiser like a threat (the way he always has in front of his friends) but more like he's simply beneath him, a reprobate who needs to know their place. It's immediately evident that Ken was not even close to expecting this, and right away he's clearly unsettled and on the defensive, frozen in shock.

Takeru needles Ken about his real identity immediately and mocks the Kaiser's entire persona. The Kaiser claims he commands the power of darkness in an attempt to intimidate Takeru, and Takeru immediately throws it back at him as something he couldn't possibly understand, with a cryptic and extremely threatening remark that Ken "won't just get hurt".

Despite how clearly furious he is, Takeru doesn't yell at the Kaiser at all, instead speaking the entire time with an extremely unsettling calm. Takeru's voice throughout the entire scene is so soft, almost sounding gentle, and it really makes the entire scene feel much more loaded than it would have if Takeru was shouting at Ken like a more typical conflict. In all aspects Takeru appears not to have lost his cool at all, but to be in total control of himself and the situation.

The Kaiser's attempts to respond are clumsy, as he can't even manage to formulate a real response to Takeru's words, opting instead to call the entire group "insects". His already tenuous grasp on the situation is slipping, the mental armor of the Kaiser is showing cracks, and the emotionally vulnerable Ken shows through underneath. As already discussed, this emotional vulnerability is one of Ken's core traits, but up until this point, the persona of the Digimon Kaiser has been sufficient to cover this up to outside observers, and none of the others in the group quite manage to get under his skin like this.

Takeru doesn't care at all. He gives an utterly contemptuous smile, and simply asks Ken, "Is that all you can say?" He doesn't know the specifics of what's been going on with Ken, but it's almost as if he can sense something in it, can detect the fragility showing through. A weakness he can exploit.

Just look at that expression!! This expression alone shows how dangerous Takeru is in this state. That smile looks downright sadistic... it's perfect. This might be my favorite shot in the whole episode...

Anyway, it's then that Ken lashes out physically, whipping the side of Takeru's face hard enough to draw blood.

And Takeru doesn't even flinch!! An angry glare melts into another contemptuous smile, and Takeru softly remarks that Ken obviously "Can't win with words, so you resort to violence, huh?" And despite every other act of violence we've seen the Kaiser commit thus far, he immediately tries to back down in response to this comment, stammering out a weak denial. He's not really had anyone get in his face like this in a small space, without having some muscle to defend himself, and this on top of his increasing instablity has him rattled in a way we haven't previously seen. And for good reason, as Takeru calmly remarks that it doesn't matter either way, and just asks Ken if he's "done".

If you compare between the two screenshots of Ken's face, you can clearly see him physically shrink away from Takeru. The other boy's calm, confident words are like needles piercing the fragile facade he's built up. Ken hasn't grasped the situation fully to this point. All of this has been a game to him, but Takeru is deadly serious, and it's only now that he seems to realize he's fucked up. One gets the sense that Ken didn't really seriously consider any of the Chosen to be a threat to him, not in any real sense, and this is a nasty wake-up call.

Takeru cheerfully says "It's my turn"(!) It's clear that Ken physically attacking was really just the excuse Takeru was waiting for. Takeru could have simply jumped him the moment the Kaiser walked into the hall, before he had a chance to react. But he chooses instead to talk to him first, like a cat playing with its food. But now that Ken's thrown the first blow, it's all the excuse Takeru needs, and it's only now that he leaps at Ken, throwing such a nasty punch that it knocks Ken flat on his back.

It's at this point that we cut to the exterior battle, and when we cut back into the scene, Takeru has climbed on top of Ken and straddled him, pinning him to the floor to keep beating him. What a gift, for us to be handed such a scene on a silver platter. Takeru's really letting him have it, until a tremor from the battle outside causes the base the shake, which knocks Takeru off-balance.

Takeru's momentary stun gives the Kaiser the opportunity to throw Takeru off and grab his whip, but when he tries to get Takeru with it, Takeru catches the whip like it's nothing! Ken is supposed to be more physically fit and generally athletic than Takeru, (remember that at this point Ken still has all that Dark Seed superpower juice making him an extra special talented prodigy) but none of that matters when his mind's not in it. He's freaked out, not only from the increasing loss of overall control he's begun to deal with, but also Takeru's extremely direct aggression.

Sparrow: Ken's lost his grip on reality, and someone's forcing him to confront that. What is he doing here? Why is he doing this? Does anything make him happy, make him feel better? Is he genuinely convinced he's the one in control here?

Ken's fucked at this point, and this obnoxious kid insists on tearing away his fragile delusion of grandeur.

Frankly, that's why it is so genuinely terrifying when, in our timeline, Takeru is the threat. Ken's pinned down after being forced to listen to how he's not perfect, he's just as worthless as he's always been, and his construct is fraying at the seams…

But he can't make it stop. He can't escape Takeru's voice. And only now does Ken grasp how serious, how furious, the boy atop him truly is. Ken only realizes the true gravity of the situation long after they've passed the point of no return.

And that is terrifying.

Moro: When we cut back, Takeru's already shoved Ken back to the floor and straddled him again. He just can't stay off him! In the background, their partners fight, until Chimeramon blows the roof clean off, at which point Takeru leaves to join the battle outside.

How much of a stretch is it, really, for Takeru to conclude that just a few punches isn't enough for the likes of the Kaiser? That he needs to find a more... significant way to hurt him? That he needs to not only hurt him, but humiliate him, lay him low, make him feel violated and ruined...

Even sticking strictly to the canon events, it's extremely telling that Takeru never, at any point, mentions to the others any details about what he did in episode 19. Iori, having been present to see Takeru get set off, has some inkling that Something happened, but that's the extent of it.

It's not so hard to imagine Takeru crossing the line into sadism when he was already almost there, for his hatred of Ken to become sublimated into gleeful cruelty. Takeru's established patterns of behavior and specific reason to hold a grudge against Ken are practically enough on their own, but the final piece already at play in episode 19 that could easily give him that push is the presence of a direct conduit to the Dark Ocean, in the form of the Dark Whirlpool. A little extra influence from the Dark Ocean, pushing and prodding at Takeru's worst impulses, urging him on to do ever more awful things... We'll come back to the Dark Ocean later, so just keep it in mind for now.

I've always maintained that Takeru is the one of the Chosen most likely to, and most capable of, committing rape under the right circumstances, especially to do it to someone he's angry at, since it's a uniquely awful way to hurt someone. It'd be so easy for him to do it and then justify it to himself after the fact - the Kaiser was evil, so he deserved it, after all!

Episode 19 and the leadup thereto are really all you need to see why Takeru/Ken could happen in that way, but there are a few smaller things we see hints of afterwards.

In episode 25, Daisuke meets up with Ken in the real world and attempts to persuade Ken to join up with the group. At this stage nobody except Daisuke is willing to really trust Ken, so Takeru hardly has a monopoly on that, but he takes his suspicion a step further than the others, taking a more proactive approach. He follows Daisuke to the meeting and watches secretly at a distance. Daisuke can take care of himself just fine in this situation, (especially since he took Vmon with him) and Takeru knows that full well, so this seems less like a protective behavior towards his friend than it does a strong desire to keep an eye on Ken himself. Whether Daisuke can handle himself is irrelevant.

As Sparrow previously discussed, Ken's not willing to join up at this stage because he doesn't think he's worthy of it, that he hasn't earned it and that it's his responsibility to fix everything he did as the Kaiser himself, but Takeru doesn't know any of that. All he sees is Ken hovering around their periphery and doing something out in the Digital World, but always flying off if they try to get too close.

As far as Takeru is concerned, this secretive behavior is something that makes Ken more suspicious, not less. Takeru keeps everything close to his chest and doesn't reveal anything about how he's feeling or what he might be thinking to others, so he also assumes this is what others are doing unless they behave obviously to the contrary like Daisuke or Miyako. Ken isn't really speaking much with any of them at this point, and in his conversation with Daisuke he's circumspect and doesn't say much. From Takeru's perspective, that obviously means Ken's hiding something. And he is, but it's not actually anything nefarious, as the rest of the group eventually learns.

Takeru is oblique about Ken when discussing him with the others during this period but he doesn't hide his overall negative sentiment, even if it's more subtly expressed. As previously touched on, he's more than ready to get up in arms about Ken killing some seemingly randomly aggressive Digimon and doesn't care to consider whether there could be something else to it. But we don't get much indication that his opinion has changed after Ken and Stingmon reveal that the mysteriously aggressive Digimon are not real Digimon at all, but animated Dark Towers.

But perhaps most telling of Takeru's overall disposition towards Ken immediately post-Kaiser is how Takeru speaks of Ken after episodes 26 and 27. Even after everything Ken does during these two episodes - running off to deal with the problem at his old fortress even at the cost of his own life, be talked down from this by Daisuke, and then the Jogress Evolution and Paildramon saving the day... Takeru's not ready to give Ken any credit.

Daisuke says that Ken is "doing his best, in his own way" and Takeru cuts in with "I just hope that effort isn't to satisfy himself."

I already talked about the Black Wargreymon arc a bit in Takeru's section of Part 1 of this, so I will avoid rehashing it here, but it is not a stretch to think that Takeru might blame Ken personally for it. Even if it was Arachnemon and not Ken who created him, Ken built the towers that allowed him to be made, so it's still at least partly his doing.

Remember in Part 1 when I told you to put a pin in the bit about how Yamato thought Takeru could relate to Ken, with them both having the trauma of a lost partner? Well grab that pin, because we're going to get into that now.

The series doesn't really explore this beyond a brief mention in episode 35, and even then we only hear about it indirectly, through Yamato. But there are some key inferences we can make from this. It's loosely implied that some of Takeru's hostility toward Ken is precisely because he can relate to Ken's situation, which seems paradoxical until you examine it a bit more closely. Takeru knows the trauma of losing a partner, witnessed Ken go through it himself, and sees how much it broke Ken just as much as it broke him all those years ago. However, Takeru doesn't like this and doesn't want to acknowledge it, for a few reasons.

For one, seeing it in Ken forces Takeru to think about his own trauma, something which we've already established he will go to great lengths to avoid doing. Moreover, acknowledging this also requires acknowledgment that Takeru and Ken have something in common, and by extension that would mean that Ken isn't just a straightforward Bad Person.

Takeru doesn't want to be able to relate to Ken at all. He couldn't possibly have anything in common with someone as bad as Ken! Instead, he deflects these feelings by focusing purely on the fact that Wormmon's death was Ken's own doing, and by dismissing Ken's trauma as someone not being able to handle the consequences of their actions. This allows him to avoid all that uncomfortable introspection and continue on thinking that he's Fine and the only reason Ken's not Fine is because he was a bad person who did bad things.

In sum, Takeru has every reason not only to develop a particularly nasty hatred of Ken, but to maintain and nurse this grudge even once Ken turns over a new leaf and begins working to undo the harm he caused as the Kaiser. Ken's emotional vulnerability, deep-seated feelings of inadequacy, the burdern of guilt he carries everywhere, and his tendency to bury his suffering inside set him up to be particularly vulnerable to Takeru. This combined with Takeru's harsh, black-and-white worldview, vindictive sense of justice, and inability to cope with his own negative emotions would make it very easy for him to fixate on Ken as a particular representation of the "evil" he hates so much, and to then latch onto Ken in the process. Later, we'll talk about how this changes Takeru within our story itself and how this can metastisize into a sort of terrible attachment to Ken that traps the two of them together in this awful arrangement.

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Moro: The Dark Ocean is a dimension connected to, but separate from, the Real World and the Digital World, with specific properties that are variously touched on but not fully explained.

In Adventure 02 the Dark Ocean or its influence comes up repeatedly throughout the series: in episodes 13, 19, 23, 27, 31, 45, and 48. I'll refrain from a play-by-play deep dive into episode 13 or Hikari's experiences with the Dark Ocean, but we do need to talk about that some because it's the most detailed look we get at the Dark Ocean in the whole series. Having some understanding of the Dark Ocean is an important piece to understanding how Takeru's issues could become intensified and worsened through something other than only his own choices.

It should be noted up front that due to a dearth of definitive information, much discussion about the Dark Ocean is based upon inferences and logical deduction, and not things that have been explicitly confirmed. Even the name "Dark Ocean" (暗黒の海) isn't always what's used; per Wikimon, it's variously referred to as the "World of Darkness" (暗黒の世界), simply "that Ocean", "the dark place", and also "Dagomon's Ocean" (ダゴモンの海), after its ruler, Dagomon (seen in the screenshot below).

This is not to confuse the Dark Ocean with other somewhat similarly named places such as the Net Ocean or the Dark Area. The Dark Area is of particular interest, which we'll get into shortly.

We do know for a certainty that it was direct exposure to the Dark Ocean that, along with the Dark Seed, set Ken down the corrupted path of the Digimon Kaiser. This is really all the textual evidence we need of the Dark Ocean as a potentially "corrupting" force. In Ken's case, it's inarguable that the Dark Seed was the more significant factor, but it seems a certainty that this exposure to the Dark Ocean helped accelerate or possibly catalyze the process. Ken's corruption was also extremely drastic, to the point of changing him almost completely as a person, and this makes sense even if he did not have the Dark Seed; his exposure was the most direct compared to other characters that come into contact with the Dark Ocean.

In any case, it's clear that an individual's emotional state is the biggest factor in how they will be called to, or reached by, the Dark Ocean. The aforementioned example with Ken when he was younger is a clear instance (even if it was partly due to Oikawa's actions), but both times Hikari is pulled to the Dark Ocean are also caused by emotional distress, in particular her ongoing problem of being unable to let herself vocalize her needs and problems to others, even when it directly harms her.

Likewise, Ken's behavior is altered according to his grief, feelings of inadequacy and envy of his brother, and the aggravating factor of the Dark Seed. This makes him "evil" in a sort of aimless, misguided fashion, because fundamentally Ken isn't a cruel person! What the Dark Ocean pushes someone to think or feel is dependent on their own issues, personality, and natural inclinations, as well as their emotional state at the time of "exposure". We have abundant textual evidence that the Dark Ocean can reach forth and seem to "respond" to strong emotions.

This brings us to Takeru. For this part, we'll look just at his exposure in episode 19. In our work, the Dark Ocean continues to influence him past this point, but we'll save getting into that for part 3 of this manifesto.

In episode 19 we are told that the Dark Ocean, via the Dark Whirlpool, has some form of connection to a place called the "Dark Area". The Dark Area is where evil Digimon reside and also where deleted data goes and the residual data of dead Digimon. Devimon was pretty categorically obliterated in episode 13 of Adventure, and we get confirmation in this episode that his residual data has been kicking around down in the Dark Area ever since. Not long after retrieving the scraps of Devimon's data, the Kaiser begins to suffer horrible hallucinations, a direct byproduct of aggravating the Whirlpool - a dual effect of connecting with the Dark Area and provoking the Dark Ocean's attention.

Pegasmon senses that it's not good and tells Takeru not to look too deeply into the Whirlpool when they're flying above it, but Takeru stares into the abyss long enough to see strange ghost-like apparations before flying off. Now recall that the Kaiser's base is also powered by a reactor that siphons evil energy from the Dark Ocean. It allows the fortress to float and move around, powers the electronics inside, and allows him to create Evil Rings, Evil Spirals, and Dark Towers. Takeru is also likely being bombarded with evil energy the whole time he's walking around in the fortress, which might not be such a problem if he weren't already prone to irrational anger and emotional instability. And the presence of Devimon's old data is a personal connection for Takeru to his biggest trauma.

It's not an unreasonable deduction that he could also have been affected by the Dark Ocean (with some added juice from the Dark Area!) the way Ken was, but since their personalities deep down are so different, the effect of this contamination is also different. Contemplating the effects of Takeru becoming infected with a Dark Seed... well, he'd be far worse than the Kaiser ever was.

If you're interested in reading more about the Dark Ocean in general, we've written more here.

Interested in reading analysis and more background information, and details about the dynamic specific to Takeru and Ken and their relationship in It's Only You I Can't Escape? Of course you are!!

Please note that the most significant spoilers will be hidden under a readmore arrow, but you should still proceed with caution if you haven't finished the story.

Click the link below to go to part 3 of this deranged academic paper that is our thoughts on takeken:

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