Akihiro Kurata

is the primary antagonist of Digimon Data Squad.
==Appearance==
Kurata has black hair and wears glasses, a white lab coat over an olive green undercoat, and dark grey pants. 
==Description==
Kurata is a xenophobic researcher possessed by his fear and bigotry against Digimon, treating them as without sapience. He is sadistic and megalomaniacal, wanting to murder all Digimon and install himself as ruler of both worlds. He indulges his pride and ego whenever he thinks he is in control. His ruthlessness towards this goal has him blackmail and kidnap potential allies, as well as encouraging the violent, sociopathic tendencies of people like Kouki Tsubasa.
Kurata also possesses great hatred for the Damon family, specifically for Spencer and Marcus for the many setbacks they caused for his plans. When Marcus insults him and his plans for world domination, Kurata suffers a complete breakdown and becomes bent on killing him, to the point where he is willing to risk destroying both worlds to do it. At his core, however, he is a shameless coward, quick to resort to fear and begging when he is the underdog.
When attempting to coerce people or hide his true intentions, Kurata pushes a facade of harmless affability, but it is insincere enough to annoy more forthright people. He is not above using blackmail, such as when he used Franz Norstein and placed a bomb in Relena Norstein's necklace to force Thomas H. Norstein to work for him. He is also not above breaking scientific ethics and performing human experimentation, turning Kouki, Nanami and into Bio-Hybrids to serve as his main enforcers and later upgrading their Digimon forms, despite the risks of the process being fatal and preforming it on all three of them when only Kouki was interested.
Kurata has a habit of proclaiming, "It's showtime!"
==Etymologies==
;Akihiro Kurata (倉田 明宏)
Name used in the franchise. His given name is revealed in Japanese text on-screen in "Masaru's Memory is Erased! The Bond Which is Lost!".
*Ja: . Japanese surname that means "warehouse field".
*Ja: . A masculine Japanese name that means "bright vast".
==Fiction==
Ten years before Marcus Damon joins DATS, Kurata was a member of a Digital World exploration party tasked with investigating the and rescuing Keenan Crier. To the disdain of his supervisor, Spencer Damon, Kurata consistently reacted with fear to the inhabitants of the Digital World, but insisted he was superior to Spencer. Eventually, the group became terrorized by , who chased them to the Infinite Ice Ridge. While Spencer held off SaberLeomon, Kurata used a makeshift space-oscillation bomb to open a portal to the Real World through which the rest of the expedition escaped.
Kurata's resentment of Spencer and phobia of Digimon led him to decide that all Digimon must be eliminated by allying himself with the powerful in order to conquer both worlds. So while Spencer negotiated an alliance with the powerful , Kurata worked towards invading the Digital World by creating —soulless, artificial Digimon able to permanently delete other Digimon. Kurata led an attack force into the Digital World, using an army of Gizumon to ravage the Digital World and exterminate as many Digimon as possible. Among the casualties were Keenan's guardian, . Merukimon, believing that Kurata was cooperating with Spencer, decided that the humans had betrayed him and forced the humans to flee back to the Real World.
Kurata reappeared after led SaberLeomon's army in an attack on the Real World. Kurata used a massive Digital Gate to return the army to their world, then revealed himself to DATS, portraying himself as a well-meaning ally. When SaberLeomon himself came to the Real World, Kurata sent a to help the DATS defeat him, though they did not recognize the artificial Digimon nor realized its connection to Kurata. The team distrusted Kurata due to his attitude, but only Richard Sampson knew enough about him to suspect what Kurata was planning.
After this, Kurata traveled with DATS to the Digital World in order to settle matters with Merukimon. However, Merukimon revealed the truth of Kurata's heinous past to DATS, so Kurata dispensed with the charade and used a Gizumon-AT to fatally wound Merukimon. The DATS team attempted to fight back, but proved no match for Gizumon-AT, much less its digivolved form, , until Merukimon performed one last suicidal attack alongside the newly digivolved . Unfortunately, Kurata escaped in the chaos.
==Other appearances==
===Digimon Masters===
Kurata is an NPC.
===Digimon Heroes!===
When fighting Belphemon Rage Mode, ShineGreymon Burst Mode misidentifies him as "Kurata" to the confusion of Rosemon.
===Appearances in other Toei media===
In the September 2024 sequel novel to , written by Ryota Yamaguchi, Akihiro Kurata appears as an antagonistic biologist. As in Data Squad, he creates artificial lifeforms (here named "Anti- Drones") which he transforms into a javelin, and later turns into a demonic monster that sprouts his human face. When defeats him, she repeats the same words as Marcus once did.
==Notes and references==
Category:Tamers
Category:Characters in Digimon Data Squad
Category:Characters in Digimon Masters
Category:Antagonists
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