Keenan Crier

Ikuto Noguchi (野口 イクト Noguchi Ikuto) is a fictional character in the anime series Digimon Data Squad. He is voiced by Rie Kugimiya in the Japanese version.

Ikuto is the partner of Falcomon. He is the fourth main character to be introduced, and the seventh character to appear with a Digimon.

As opposed to the other members of DATS, Masaru Daimon, Yoshino Fujieda, and Tohma H. Norstein, Ikuto did not live in the human world, nor did he originally have a particular liking for it. Though originally born on Earth to the DATS scientists Kenji and Misuzu Noguchi, he was accidentally transported to the Digital World as an infant. In the Digital World, he was raised by a Yukidarumon. Following her death, he was raised by Mercurimon. He believes in defending the peace of the Digital World, and also believed that humans were nothing but a threat to it. Despite his young age, Ikuto has great fighting skill (many of his moves mirror the ninja-like aspects of Falcomon). He wields a boomerang, and wears a cape and a necklace adorned with feathers, and also has facepaint.

When Ikuto was transported to the Digital World as an infant, he was protected by Falcomon and a Yukidarumon. He was sickly as a young boy; at one point Yukidarumon went to find medicine left behind by humans that had been in the Digital World. But after nursing him back to health, the evil scientist Kurata came to the Digital World to try and annihilate the Digimon in an act of genocide. Though Kurata was eventually defeated, he was able to destroy many Digimon, amongst them was Ikuto's Yukidarumon mother, who was destroyed before his very eyes while trying to protect him. This event is crucial to Ikuto's hatred of humanity, as he came to believe that all humans were evil and became dedicated to defending the Digital World from them.

Ikuto first appeared in the series' fourteenth episode, where he attacked the members of DATS as they emerged into the Digital World. His initial attack destroyed the equipment they had brought with them, effectively stranding them in the Digital World. To their surprise, he revealed that he had a Digivice, which he then used to help Falcomon evolve into Peckmon. The two overwhelmed GeoGreymon, Gaogamon, and Sunflowmon, until their battle was interrupted by an angry Jureimon, who was enraged by the fact that their battle was endangering the Nyokimon he was protecting. When Gotsumon, one of Mercurimon's servants, began to rain massive rocks down on the area, Ikuto and Peckmon fled.

They would later watch as the DATS members battled MetalPhantomon, but after he was defeated, they personally intervened. Ikuto intended to attack Yoshino, who had fallen ill and contracted a virus, but Ikuto instead contracted the virus himself. Falcomon forged an uneasy alliance with Tohma and Masaru to retrieve a vaccine, and saved his partner. He and Ikuto later departed on their own. Ikuto reveals the reason for his hatred of humans to Masaru in episode 17. A mysterious group of humans (later revealed to be Kurata and his strike force) destroyed his Digimon foster-mother, Yukidarumon, and he cannot forgive the humans for what they did. Believing himself to be a Digimon, he now attacks any human he comes across. However, while battling with the DATS members, he slowly gains a new perspective of humans, and is actually impressed with some of their kind and honorable acts. He is especially taken by Masaru, who seems to actually care for his well-being, despite their initial hostilities, and with his ideas of nobility and honor.

The events of episodes 18-19 forced Ikuto into the human world against his will. It was there that Ikuto learned from DATS's commander, Captain Rentarou Satsuma, of his birth parents, the Noguchi couple. Ikuto, the son of Dr. Noguchi, was sucked into the Digital Gate by accident when he was a baby. Though Dr. Noguchi and his wife participated in a Digital World expedition team in order to rescue Ikuto, they never found him. Ikuto, with urging from Masaru, decides to meet them, but Gotsumon makes that difficult with three Okuwamon; two were defeated by RiseGreymon and Lilamon. A Hagurumon then appears and takes over Dr. Noguchi's home by using his Darkness Gear on a toy robot (left over from Ikuto's childhood) which merges with the house and then uses the memories that Ikuto had of the toy robot and transforms it into a bizarre, giant, toy-robot house with Misuzu Noguchi trapped inside. Hagurumon's face was seen as the left eye of the robot. Misuzu was rescues by Ikuto Noguchi and Falcomon. Hagurumon was destroyed by RiseGreymon. Thus the toy robot his gear merged with returned to normal.

Even though he was briefly reunited with his mother, Ikuto's memories of Yukidarumon (who Ikuto regards as his mother) were still etched in his mind. Though he realized that he loved his human mother as well, his human father warned that his presence may upset his mother, who had to undergo a lengthy and hard recovery from his initial disappearance. In addition, the Noguchi's now had a second child, Ikuto's baby sister, Yuka. Suddenly, Satsuma's superior, Chief Hashiba, whose department oversees DATS, appears and tries to declare the Noguchi's as criminals for secretly researching Digimon and opening a Digital Gate. In order to save his human family from imprisonment and keep his infant sister united with his parents, Ikuto ultimately denounces his humanity and takes the blame as he runs off with Falcomon, saving his family from prosecution. Masaru and the other DATS members become extremely angered at Chief Hashiba for his actions.

Matters get worse when Gotsumon appears later leading SaberLeomon's army of Boarmon and Pteramon in an onslaught against the city unless Ikuto is brought before him. Gotsumon now sees Ikuto as a traitor to the Digimon and wishes to destroy him and Falcomon for what he sees as collaboration with the humans. The DATS members flaty refuse and wage an all out war against the invading forces. Ikuto, filled with grief and worry for his new friends, eventually pops up to help them. After that, Masaru moves Ikuto in with his family, and acts as surrogate big-brother towards him. Marcus's family and the other DATS members also try to help get Ikuto settled, all the while hiding his presence from Chief Hashiba.

When Masaru and company set for the Digital World to meet Mercurimon and propose peace between Earth and the Digital World, Ikuto remained at home. But after much thought and soul-searching, he decided to follow them and them obtain the peace they, and now him as well, wished for. However, the mission goes wrong when Kurata, under false pretenses of peace, attacks Mercurimon using Gizmon XT, which is under his control. It is then that Kurata reveals the truth about Frigimon's death and that he is the real culprit. Mercurimon is mortally wounded by one of Kurata's Gizmon XT. Ikuto is moved by Mercurimon's last words, realizing that the only humans he must fight are the evil ones, and also realizing that Yukidarumon wanted him to live in peace with both his human and Digimon natures. His digisoul awakened further allowing him to bring Falcomon to his Perfect level, Yatagaramon. With this new power, Ikuto managed to save the DATS team who were now engaged in battle with Kurata on Ikuto's behalf and were about to be defeated.

Unfortunately, Kurata escapes through a Digital Portal and upon returning to Earth, convinces Chief Hashiba that DATS is now a traitorous and rogue organization. When Ikuto and the others return to Earth, they are met by an armed defense force, which separates them from their Digimon Partners. Falcomon and the other Digimon eventually escape and rescue Ikuto and the others. During this time as a fugitive, Ikuto once again reunites with his biological family after helping to rescue them from confinement by DATS. Ikuto's parents then help reopen a DigiPortal to the Digital World so Ikuto and the others can help rescue the DigiWorld from Kurata's attacks. Before he goes through the portal, Ikuto and his family make amends and promise that upon his return, they'll become a real family once again, and Ikuto promises that he will return and protect both his Digimon and human families from harm.

When Kurata ordered an attack on the Digital World's capital city, ElDoradimon, Ikuto sought the help of his friends, the Ninjamon tribe, to help defend the city. Unfortunately, Kurata was able to succeed in transporting ElDoradimon and the DATS members to the human world, where he used Gizmon Javelin to kill him. Later on in the story, during the fight with Kurata fused with Belphemon, Ikuto summons his full Digisoul and Falcomon evolved to Ravemon. Though they were able to defeat Kurata, his actions caused a large rift to open between the human and Digital Worlds, and the group decided to seek out Yggdrasil, God of the Digital World to help fix it. However, Yggdrasil had ordered the destruction of Earth, seeing it as the only way to save Digital World. Ikuto accompanied the DATS crew when they went to the Digital World to confront Yggdrasil. After they were saved from Yggdrasil's Royal Knights by Sleipmon, and Masaru returned to the Digital World, Ikuto stayed behind with the others until he fought Duftmon alongside Yoshino. During the fight, his Digivice iC became a Digivice Burst and he was able to to change Ravemon into Ravemon Burst Mode. After the defeat of Duftmon, Ikuto joined Tohma and Yoshino on the quest to find Masaru back in the Digital World.

After Yggdrasil was defeated, Ikuto spent a final evening with Falcomon, where both cried their hearts out. The next day, he watched Falcomon return to the Digital World with the other Digimon, and witnessed Masaru's departure as well.

In an epilogue, 5 years later, Ikuto is seen going to middle school with Chika Daimon. The two of them meet with Yoshino and Yushima along the way.