Kuku

—Kuku

* Normal
* DV6
* Season 2
* Unmasked

**Kuku** (Korean: **쿠쿠** [rom. Kuku]) representative of the Peng tribe who participated in the Running Man Championship in the past and won the championship. After accepting the favor of Charming Gold, who paid attention to his magic skills, he was kidnapped and became DV7, given the name '**DV6**'.

Because of his irresistibly cute appearance, anyone who looks at his face becomes charmed immediately, rendering them mindless until he wears his visor.

## Physical Appearance

Kuku is a penguin who, unlike Popo, looks traditionally like the animal he has based off of. With black dotted eyes and pink cheeks, his face is said to be irresistibly adorable, being able to charm even the most serious characters like Kuga. He uses that to his advantage when escaping Kuga's grasp and distracting Miyo and Liu in the process. Contrary to his child-like appearance, he is an adult, being one of the oldest characters in the show.

Unlike the rest of the DV7, Kuku sports a white hoodie with red and grey accents and matching pants of the same color. In contrast to his white attire, he wears black gloves and a visor used to cover his face. Outside of his brainwashing, he sports the same hoodie with his red accents turning blue.

## Background

Kuku competed in the previous Running Man Games and had won the competition, catching Charming Gold's attention with his advanced skills. When he was going to claim his prize however, Charming Gold tricked him and forced him to become a DV member against his will.

## Personality

As a DV7 member, he's shown to be prideful, taunting the Running Men as he (rightfully) believes he is stronger than them. During his encounters with the Running Men, he is confident and downright mean to them at times, using his charm and tarot cards to trick and attack them.

When fighting Popo however, he shows his more sensitive side, throwing him off the platform after the former calls him 'little'. He is also at times easily distracted, shown when him and Alto fought against an energized Lonky, the latter being able to distract the two members long enough for Liu to hit them with his chloroform bullets, knocking them out cold.

Outside of his brainwashing, he, like his teammates, is shown to be serious and caring, fighting on the Running Men's behalf when they went missing as well as saving them from Manus' attack along with the rest of the DV7. He is also impulsive, charging head on in battle despite his teammate's protests.

## Abilities

### Abilities

* **Card Magic Mastery** - Compared to Popo, Kuku is a highly skilled wizard, using a special set of black and golden cards compared to Popo's multi-colored ones.
* **Charisma** - He is known to have an irresistibly cute face. Due to this, anyone who looks at his face gets put into a trance until he wears his mask.

### Equipment

#### Cards

* Kuku sports a special set of black cards that is intricately designed with gold borders. The effects of the cards are immensely more powerful than Popo's.

## Appearances

### Season 1

**Episode 27, A Risky Plan** - Debut. Gets summoned by Charming Gold via Dr. Mala.

**Episode 29, Battle of the Highlands Part 2** - Appears as the fourth member to compete and throws Popo off the high ground after the penguin mistook him for a kid.

**Episode 30, Battle of the Highlands Part 3** - Looks down at the Running Men as the DV7 win.

**Episode 32, Gaining Ground Part 1** - Tags Mai out of the game and takes over Zone 1.

**Episode 34, Gaining Ground Part 3** - Gets cornered by Liu, Kuga, and Miyo and uses his face to put them into a trance, releasing him from their grasps. Just as he is about to burn the Running Men with his flame card, Liu throws him to the ground using Mr. Suitcase and gets tagged out.

**Episode 36, The Red Explosion** - Screams in pain due to the amplifier.

**Episode 37, Battle of the Thrones Part 1** - Arrives with DV 3 when Gai enters through the portal and chases after the Running Men. Stares at the Running Men when Kuga breaks the bridge leading to the portal.

**Episode 38, Battle of the Thrones Part 2** - Gets blinded by Liu's smoke trap and watches DV 1 defeat the Running Men, winning the game.

**Episode 39, Battle of the Thrones Part 3** - Confronts Liu and Miyo along with DV 3. However, their battle gets interrupted by an amplified Lonky, who runs towards them, tiring him out as he persists on fighting them. While resting from the fight, he gets shot by Liu's paralyzing bullets along with DV 3 and gets tagged out by Lonky.

**Episode 41, The Revealing Truth** - Wakes up inside the game prison, confused. He later gets doted on by Alto and gets crushed by the prison ceiling when the stadium breaks apart.

**Episode 45, The Seventh Slate** - Arrives with Rema, Spin, and Alto to assist Shan with stalling Ulcus.

**Episode 46, What Makes a Hero** - Appears briefly as him and the DV7 brace for Ulcus' laser attack.

**Episode 48, The Last Card** - Glares at Dr. Mala when he is caught by Spin, seemingly planning to hurt the impala.

**Episode 49, Unfinished Stories** - Cheers Makkhan on along with the DV7. Later gets pushed back by the pullulu officers while the Running Men are getting arrested.

## Trivia

* According to Running Man's Complete Encyclopedia, he is said to be 35 years old, but has the appearance of a child. Considering Popo's case, it seems that his use of advanced card magic came at a price of his appearance.
* Due to the naturally short stature of his tribe, he uses a magic tarot card to make him float and thus move faster.
* According to the ability table shown in Liu's visor, he is surprisingly strong.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Running Man Complete Encylopedia Page 24
2. ↑ Running Man Animation Episode 34, Gaining Ground Pt. 3
3. ↑ Running Man Animation Episode 29, Battle of the Highlands Pt. 2
4. ↑ Running Man Animation Episode 39, Battle of the Thrones Pt. 3
5. ↑ Running Man Animation Season 2 Ep. 25 - Tree City
6. ↑ Running Man Animation Episode 32, Gaining Ground Pt. 1