"The galaxy that lurks in the darkness. Become the light of hope and my very servant! The embodiment of light, now descend! Appear now, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!"

「闇に輝く銀河よ、希望の光になりて我が僕に宿れ! 光の化身、ここに降臨!現れろ、ギャラクシーアイズ・フォトン・ドラゴン!


Kaito Tenjo, or Kite Tenjo as he's known in the English dub, is a self-proclaimed Number Hunter. He aims to collect the Number cards for his own mysterious reasons, and is willing to crush anyone who stands in his way, be they a Number holder or not. He is often accompanied by Orbital 7, a sentient robot who assists him in locating Numbers. Orbital 7 can also transform into a pair of wings that allows Kaito to view Heartland City from a birds-eye view.

Kaito's ace is Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, a deadly monster that can banish its enemies into another dimension. Armed with Galaxy-Eyes as well as an army of Photon monsters to support it, Kaito is not a force to be trifled with. He will accomplish his goals no matter what, even if he has to push his body and soul to the brink in the process.

I have really strong feelings about Kaito after watching almost the entire first half of Zexal. I don't even know exactly what those feelings are just yet, I just know that they're really intense. He makes me equal parts amazed, upset, sympathetic, intimidated... he's a really amazing character. I always saw people talking about the hype over him and how he was 'the best character in Yugioh', and now I see why. His absolute devotion to his little brother, Haruto, is as equally heartwarming as it is heartwrenching. He regularly puts his own health on the line in his hunt for Numbers, and shoulders his own personal and familial burdens all on his own. Even when Yuma tries to intercede and offer his support, Kaito refuses it.

"Haruto is my everything! He's always given me hope!" - episode 56

His life has really been about protecting Haruto since the very beginning. Kaito has never had the opportunity to live for his own sake. However, he holds no resentment for his brother. All he has is love in his heart for Haruto. And Haruto wants to protect his older brother, too! He doesn't want Kaito to burn himself out for his sake, and cares deeply for his well-being, too... their bond is so strong, it can never be broken. This bond manifests itself in Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, the embodiment of their very souls combined.

I cried the first time Kaito summoned this monster. It's literally born from the love and desperation of these two brothers and their desire to care for one another. Listen, okay, I don't know what to tell you, if that doesn't make you cry, I don't know what will...

Kaito is... he's just so strong. He puts his life at risk to follow the orders of his self-absorbed, power hungry father, because this is the only way he can stay by his brother's side. He tried, once, to save Haruto and run away from his father, but they were caught and forced back into Heartland. Kaito gave Haruto a piece of caramel, probably the only sweet thing the boy had ever tasted in his life, and just as Kaito told him he'd always be there for him, they were physically ripped apart from each other. Haruto is kept in a tower, weakened and exhausted from testing and constant use of his supernatural abilities, and Kaito is sent off to collect the Numbers under the vague hope that having all of them will cure his brother's visions. Their father Dr. Faker no longer loves them, seeing them only as tools, and Kaito is fully aware of this fact. In the end, he's using his father, too, and intends to take revenge on him once all of the Numbers are in his grasp.

Kaito's relationship and subsequent duel with Quinton, or V, is as emotionally charged as everything else. Quinton, only two years older than Kaito, lost his father when Kaito's own father attempted to sacrifice him in an ancient ritual. Quinton cared for Kaito and Haruto from afar, treating them somewhat like surrogates for his two younger brothers who were stolen from him and put into an orphanage. Upon finding out what Dr. Faker had done, Quinton abandoned Kaito, never explaining to him what he'd done wrong. Years later, the two duel with Haruto's fate hanging in the balance. They clash, over their strained relationship, over the respective sins of their fathers, over the idea of whether or not these selfish, power-hungry men can be saved. Ultimately, Kaito wins the duel, and Quinton admits that he's always loved them like they were truly his brothers. While Kaito has given up on his own father, Quinton entrusts his duelist's wish with Kaito, the desire to save his father Byron and be a real family again. Kaito carries the hopes of not one, but two broken families within him, and he fights with every ounce of his strength to protect these hopes.

I... I don't know. Kaito is just amazing to me. I haven't quite figured out yet if there's more to these feelings than just awe and a wish for him to live a happy life, but I do know that I care very, very deeply for him, as a character and as a person.

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