Kaijudo

***Kaijudo*** is an American animated television series produced by Hasbro Studios and a spin-off and relaunch of the Japanese *Duel Masters* franchise. It was developed by Henry Gilroy and Andrew R. Robinson for Wizards of the Coast and aired for two seasons on the Hub Network from June 2, 2012 to December 28, 2013. It was cancelled afterwards when the franchise was discontinued in 2014.

## Plot

The series follows Ray Okamoto, a 14-year-old boy from San Campion who possesses the rare ability to summon and duel alongside fantastical creatures from another dimension. Ray is recruited by the mysterious Duel Masters to study Kaijudo: The Way of the Creatures for his ability as a creature tamer and duelist. Along his friends Allie and Gabe, Ray learns to work with the magical creatures in their world. Each duel he fights yields new experiences and allies in both worlds. The Veil, which has divided the two worlds for a thousand years, is crumbling. Hope lies with those who can master the art of Kaijudo, and now Ray and his friends must fight for the survival of both races.

## Characters

### Protagonists

* **Raiden "Ray" Okamoto** (voiced by Scott Wolf) - The half-Japanese main protagonist of the series and the son of Janet and Ken Okamoto. He lives on the central California coast in the city of San Campion with his mother and paternal grandfather. His creature partner is Tatsurion the Unchained. Raiden's natural ability to befriend the creatures comes from his father Ken.
* **Allison "Allie" Underhill** (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) - A girl who has been friends with Ray since grade school, she has a wealthy father but does not act like a stereotypical rich girl. She is fiercely independent and extremely adventurous. Her creature partner is Scaradorable of Gloom Hollow. Her mother Piper ran away before her tenth birthday, though the reasons are never explained. It is implied that she has a crush on Ray.
* **Gabriel "Gabe" Wallace** (voiced by Phil LaMarr) - A friend of Ray, he is more direct than most people, but is honest and true. He loves math and science and is both super logical and blunt. His creature partner is Reef Prince of Glu-urrgle, and later gets a second partner in Sasha, Channeler of Light.

### Duel Masters

* **Master Hector Chavez** (voiced by Freddy Rodriguez) - A Duel Master and expert on the Fire Civilization. He is always on the front lines of Earth, where he fights any creatures that come through the tears in the Veil. His creature partner is Gilaflame the Assaulter. Though Chavez can be intimidating, he is a great mentor for Ray. Like most Masters, he's mostly set in his ways, but he can still learn something from his students. He is implied to have a crush on Master Nadia.
* **Master Jaha** (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) - An elderly dwarfish female Duel Master, she is the most resourceful of the group and an expert on the Darkness Civilization. She collects secrets kept hidden on both sides of the Veil. She was the Darkness Duel Master when The Choten was still in the order.
* **Master Benjirou Kimora** (voiced by Andrew Kishino) - A sumo-like Duel Master and expert on the Nature Civilization. Kimora serves as the front end for martial arts dojo that hides the Duel Masters Temple. His creature partner is Mighty Shouter. He succeeds the previous Nature Duel Master, Ken Takahashi Okamoto.
* **Master Nadia Lobachevsky** (voiced by Grey DeLisle) - A female Duel Master and expert on the Water Civilization, she has spent years studying the Creature Realms and the Veil that protects them and Earth from each other. Her creature partner is Aqua Chaser, Rusalka.

### Villains

* **The Choten** (voiced by Oded Fehr) - The primary antagonist of the series. His real name is August, and he is an evil genius and a former Duel Master that went rogue to pursue his own goals. He may have been the former Water Civilization Duel Master preceding Master Nadia. His main creature partner is Aqua Seneschal, and he has a secondary creature partner named Trox, General of Destruction. He believes that one day the Veil will crumble, and creatures will again roam Earth, so he's working to make sure he's in control when that happens. The Choten doesn't duel in the usual way, instead mixing modern tech and alchemy to bend creatures to his will.
* **Joseph "Fingers"** (voiced by Jason Marsden) - A duelist nicknamed "Fingers" because of an injury in which he lost two fingers on his right hand following an incident with an unknown creature. He is an ally of The Choten, for whom he gathers corrupted creatures to help him build his army.
* **Heller** (voiced by John DiMaggio) - A notoriously quick-tempered thug who works as a thief. One of the things he steals is one of the Choten's Duel Gauntlets.
* **Master Nigel Brightmore** (voiced by John DiMaggio) - A Duel Master and an expert on the Light Civilization and a master strategist. His creature partner is Ra-Vu, Seeker of Lightning. He was the Light Duel Master when the Choten was still in the order, but later sides with him because of his belief in the original Dual Masters code of conduct between humans and Kaiju. He could not allow the creatures to enter Earth, and he would rather accept the Choten's flawed motivations than deal with the chaos that has resulted of his breaking the code.
* **Alexander "Alex" Carnahan** (voiced by Andrew Kishino) - The father of Carny who helps run the city if San Campion. He is the Choten's largest benefactor and one of his silent partners. He is also constantly disappointed in his son for getting in trouble at school.
* **"Carny" Carnahan** (voiced by Phil LaMarr) - Carny is a school bully who often picks on Ray and his friends. It is later revealed that he suffers verbal abuse from his father Alex at home. When Carny ends up with Ray and Tatsurion the Unchained in the Fire Civilization, they form a truce in order to evade Lord Skycrusher's bounty hunters and return to Earth. After Carny is retrieved by the Fire Civilization, he runs off and later joins his father, and is then trained by Alakshmi in the operation of the Duel Gauntlets.
* **Master Tieno** (voiced by Kari Wahlgren in armored form, Alanna Ubach in normal form) - The Fire Duels Master before Master Hector Chavez and the girlfriend of the Choten. After jumping off a cliff after being betrayed by her Meteor Dragon, she survived the fall but was placed in a cursed mana-dampening armor and resurfaced as a prisoner of Lord Skycrusher. She has taken Alakshmi in as an apprentice following the destruction of the Volcano Warship in the first part of the Fire Civilization's war with the Water Civilization and trained him to cross the Veil.

## Episodes

Main article: *List of Kaijudo episodes*

 1
 2

## Reception

The premiere of the series earned year-to-year delivery gains among Women 18-49 (+52%, 50,000), and Adults 18-49 (+42%, 84,000). The premiere, held alongside *Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot*, saw The Hub earn some of its best performances amongst targeted demographics in six months.