Essential Daiken Episodes
This is our essential episode guide for all things daiken. These are the Episodes You Need to Watch for all the important daiken content!
This is our essential episode guide for all things daiken. These are the Episodes You Need to Watch for all the important daiken content!
Daisuke and Ken meet face-to-face for the first time in the Digital World when the Digimon Kaiser kidnaps Daisuke and chains him to the side of a cliff, threatening to put a Evil Ring on V-mon before they get rescued by their friends' new Digimon partners.
TLDR: Daisuke gets bondaged by the Digimon Kaiser. What a memorable first meeting.
Daisuke and Ken meet face-to-face for the first time in the real world when Daisuke plays against him in a soccer match. He only knows him as the famous genius and star athlete Ichijouji Ken, and has no idea that he is also secretly the Digimon Kaiser who he has been fighting against all along.
They play against each other in the match, and Daisuke accidentally scrapes Ken's leg in a sliding tackle. Ken acts impressed, praising Daisuke's bold move and shaking his hand like an equal, which Daisuke is very flustered and proud about, but later, in the Digital World, Ken as the Kaiser punishes Daisuke for waht he did. When the Kaiser's plan fails, Daisuke knocks him off the hill he was standing on, and they slide to the bottom, which reopens Ken's wound. The bleeding makes it visible, and Daisuke realizes his worst fear: the Digimon Kaiser is the very same Ichijouji Ken he so admired.
TLDR: Daisuke is super gay for Ken at the soccer match, and Ken, as the Kaiser, wants to humiliate him in retaliation. Daisuke is heartbroken when he learns his crush is evil.
Daisuke's group infiltrates the Kaiser's floating base to fight Chimeramon, the "original" Digimon the Kaiser created. When Ken loses control of Chimeramon, Wormmon goes to Daisuke and V-mon for help. Daisuke finds Ken's Crest of Kindness embedded in a Golden Digimental, which presents itself to Daisuke to use. This Digimental of Miracles allows V-mon to evolve into Magnamon.
When Chimeramon proves too powerful, Wormmon gives all his remaining power to Magnamon so he can defeat Chimeramon and bring back the real, kind Ken-chan Wormmon once knew. Chimeramon is defeated, and after the rest of the Chosen talk to him, Ken understands that the Digital World and everything in it is real and finally sheds his Kaiser persona. He recovers his Crest of Kindness from Daisuke and picks up Wormmon just in time for the Digimon to die in his arms. Ken is devastated by the loss and stumbles home.
TLDR: The Kaiser is going fucking cray-cray, and Daisuke uses the power of gay to tap into the Digimental of Miracles' powers. Wormmon sacrifices himself to defeat Chimeramon, and the Kaiser finally has a mental breakdown and becomes sweet, gentle Ken-chan again.
After returning home, Ken falls into a deep slumber, during which he reminisces on the troubled past that led him to this point in an attempt to find his heart. When he wakes up, Ken cannot recognize his own parents, or their importance to him. They apologize for pressuring him to be like his brother Osamu, and tell him to just be himself, but Ken still doesn't know who he is.
This search leads him to the Digital World, where he finds the Village of Beginnings and reunites with Wormmon's egg, which hatches into his baby form Leafmon. Leafmon tells Ken he knew he'd find him and Ken thanks him for being born, and when he returns home, Ken thanks his mother for giving birth to him.
TLDR: Ken goes into a depression coma to try to recover all the pieces of his brain and heart and soul, and Wormmon comes back.
Daisuke champions for Ken to join the team, but the rest of the group don't trust Ken, so Daisuke travels to Tamachi to talk to Ken himself, offering him a chance to apologize and team up. Ken declines, needing more time to think about it and still not feeling worthy of partnership.
But when an encounter with a relentless Golemon proves too difficult for the group to manage on their own, Mimi reaches out to Ken, and he comes to their aid. After the fight, Ken apologizes to the entire group for his actions as the Digimon Kaiser, but still refuses to join up with them, believing this is his fault and he should take care of it.
TLDR: Daisuke has decided they're besties already. Ken has intimacy issues.
(AKA the part where Daiken becomes canon)
Daisuke is still trying to get the group to accept Ken as part of the team, even telling them about his experience touching the Crest of Kindness and how it asked him to trust Ken. When Koushirou asks them to check out an anomaly at the Kaiser's destroyed base, they contact Ken to help stop an imminent explosion. Archnemon tries to stop them, sending a Perfect-level Dark Tower Digimon to fight them, and none of them are able to beat it.
When Ken arrives, Daisuke is ready to deal with the problem together, but Ken refuses, insisting he has to do this by himself, no matter the consequences, and that his death is the only way to atone for his sins. Daisuke slaps him, calling him an idiot, and reminds him of the people who care about him and the things he has yet to do, urging him to live. His words are able to reach him, and Ken admits he doesn't want to die or make his family sad anymore. Just then, their Digivices and Digimon begin to glow with a bright light, and their hearts beat in each other's chests as XV-mon and Stingmon evolve together as one.
Now that they have Paildramon, they're able to fight against the Dark Tower Digimon and enter the base to stop the explosion. Daisuke and Ken lead the way, moving in perfect unison. The group's attempt to stop the explosion is futile, and in the end, Paildramon destroys the base and the portal to the World of Darkness that is the true source of the base's power.
Afterward, Daisuke asks Ken to join them again, but Ken recoils from his outstretched hand. He doesn't understand why their Digimon evolved together, but Daisuke is certain it's because they are partners, and Ken walks away, leaving Daisuke confused and sad. That night, both of them contemplate their experience.
TLDR: Daisuke and Ken are so gay for each other their Digimon merge into one and they can hear each other's heartbeats. Also, Ken has some serious suicidal ideations and needs therapy. Daisuke is so confused that Ken isn't ready to commit to being his boyfriend yet.
This two-parter begins with Daisuke and Chibimon excitedly telling the rest of the team what Jogress was like after they get back from a successful day of destroying Dark Towers. They all speculate on which Digimon might combine next. Meanwhile, Ken is also speculating about Jogress while destroying Dark Towers on his own, trying to make up excuses for Wormmon not to do it again so he doesn't have to join the team.
When Archnemon invites the group to a giant house, they know it's a trap, but they decide to go anyway. This is the first time Ken works in conjunction with not just Daisuke, but the entire group. Interactions with the others, especially Iori, are difficult, but they work together to defeat Archnemon, only for Mummymon to come to her aid at the last minute.
TLDR: TEAMWORK!
After losing another Holy Stone to BlackWarGreymon, Daisuke invites Ken to come over for dinner, posing it as a time to discuss and plan how to defeat BlackWarGreymon. Ken agrees, and Miyako and Hikari tag along. Daisuke is thrilled to have Ken come over, and when Ken tells his mom, she cries tears of joy because he has a friend. Daisuke's parents, on the other hand, are embarrassing when they meet Ken.
The meeting goes well, but things run late and Ken winds up spending the night. He has to borrow a pair of pajamas and sleeps on a futon on the floor of Daisuke's bedroom, and in the morning, Minomon and Chibimon wake them up as they play together.
TLDR: Their first sleepover!!
While celebrating after clearing a large section of Dark Towers, a nervous Ken hesitantly invites the group to a Christmas party at his apartment. Daisuke is excited about finally visiting Ken's house, and the others clamor over and happily accept their invitations, much to Ken's relief, even Iori.
At the party, the group plays games and enjoys themselves, and when Ken bursts into laughter in front of the group, Hikari points out that they've never seen him smile or laugh before. Daisuke is genuinely surprised, and when he comments on that, Ken gets embarrassed and blushes.
Unfortunately, the party is interrupted, and the group have to rush back to Odaiba to help. Ken and Wormmon ride on Lighdramon's back with Daisuke on the way there, and afterward, everyone accompanies Ken to the train station. Once Ken leaves, Sora remarks to Hikari that he's changed, and while Hikari agrees, Daisuke is confused yet again, saying he hasn't noticed anything different about him. Everyone laughs, but clearly they just don't know Ken as well as Daisuke does.
TLDR: Ken is cute and shy. Daisuke's confused that no one else has heard Ken laugh before.
Dark Towers start appearing all over the real world, including where Ken lives, and the group call an emergency meeting at Koushirou's house. Daisuke, though, insists he needs to go to Tamachi to help Ken as Ken is his important friend and their teammate. So while everyone else meets up, he rides Lighdramon to Tamachi to help Ken.
Lighdramon takes down the Dark Tower so that Wormmon can evolve, and the two Digimon Jogress-evolve to Paildramon. Just then, Mummymon intervenes and attacks Paildramon and the children, causing debris to fall from the nearby buildings toward Daisuke and Ken. A burst of Qinglongmon's power released by Gennai in Odaiba hits Paildramon, and they evolve a level further to Imperialdramon: Dragon Mode, saving their partners.
With this new power, they are able to prevail, and they jump into a force field on Imperialdramon's back to travel around Japan before meeting up with the rest of the Chosen for the start of the World Tour mini-arc. During this fight is the first time Ken calls Daisuke by his first name.
TLDR: Ken is Daisuke's precious partner, and he'd do anything to protect him. Also, this is the one and only time Ken calls Daisuke by his first name in the show.
The morning after the World Tour mini-arc, the news reports a slew of kidnappings in the area, and three of Demon's lackeys begin to wreak havoc on Tokyo.
The Chosen Children all run out to fight. Daisuke and Ken fight SkullSatamon, but when Imperialdramon isn't enough to defeat him, the other Digimon give them the rest of Qinglongmon's power so they can mode-change to Fight Mode, just in time to destroy SkullSatamon and rescue the bus full of children he was threatening.
After the battle, Demon himself appears and asks Ken to come with him for the Dark Seed inside him, only for Archnemon and Mummymon to drive up and insist Ken go with them instead. They have the kidnapped children, leaving Ken with no choice but to comply, and Daisuke chases after them.
In the van, Ken meets Oikawa Yukio, who is a coworker of his father and who attended his brother Osamu's funeral. Oikawa reveals that he was the one who sent Ken the email inviting him to establish dominion over the Digital World, and that he's kidnapped him to scan the Dark Seed in his neck and transplant its sprouts into the missing children. When Oikawa ties him up and scans his neck, Ken cries for Daisuke and Wormmon to save him.
Daisuke finally catches up, only for Demon to arrive, and in the fray, Daisuke, V-mon, and Wormmon are able to rescue Ken. Their Digimon, though, are no match for Demon, and even when the others arrive, he is too powerful.
The only solution is for Ken to use his dark D-3 to open a portal to the Dark Ocean and send Demon there. The process is incredibly difficult and painful, but the others support and encourage him. It is only when Daisuke joins in, telling him how much he believes in him and that he has nothing to fear, that Ken finally calms down and is able to open the gate. The Digimon send Demon to the World of Darkness with a combination of their most powerful attacks, but in the aftermath, Oikawa escapes.
TLDR: Ken sacrifices himself to save a bunch of kidnapped children and becomes a damsel in distress for Daisuke to rescue. Ken faces his darkest fears, and it's Daisuke's voice that helps him find the light.
The Chosen Children follow Oikawa and the Dark Seed kids through a portal that leads, not to the Digital World as intended, but to the World of Dreams instead. There, they learn that Oikawa has been possessed by BelialVamdemon, who violently murders Archnemon and Mummymon. Everyone is paralyzed by fear and unable to fight - except for Daisuke.
He's certain they'll be able to win if they just believe in their power. Just as he and XV-mon rush in to fight, Ken runs forward and grabs his arm, stopping him in his tracks. He tries to reason with Daisuke, asking if they should Jogress to better their chances, but Daisuke gently points out that Ken's hands are shaking and they won't be able to Jogress if Ken is scared. He tells him not to say another word or he'll just mess him up, admitting that Ken is the only one who could possibly shake his resolve, and he rushes into battle.
BelialVamdemon uses his Mind Illusion to trap each of the Chosen Children inside a dream of their deepest desire. Ken is the last to be saved, trapped inside a vision of himself being tortured as the Digimon Kaiser. After his Kaiser version has been killed, Ken's dead brother Osamu stands in his place. Osamu tells him that his sins have now been paid for and he doesn't have to worry about anything anymore, and Ken collapses in relief, only for Wormmon to remind him that there are still things he has to do. This snaps him out of his reverie, and the others help him return to the dream world to fight BelialVamdemon in earnest.
Daisuke, it seems, was able to tap into the dream world's power, and V-mon has evolved into his every form. The others take their cue from him, and soon all their Digimon forms are there to fight BelialVamdemon - until their power is enough to break through the wall between the dream world and the Digital World. There, unfortunately, he is even more powerful, and the Chosen Children from all over the world help defeat him.
TLDR: Daisuke admits that Ken's fear is his only fear. Ken has suicidal ideations but is able to kick himself back to reality, and Daisuke's so proud.