Joe Kido

Joe Kido (城戸 丈) is a character in the and  series Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure 02. He is a DigiDestined, partnered to, and bearer of the Crest of Reliability (Honesty in Japan). He is the oldest of the Japanese DigiDestined.

Appearance
In 1995, Joe is a young boy with light skin, short blue hair and dark eyes. He wears light blue pajamas. He also wears large glasses.

In 1999, Joe is significantly taller, towering over the other and even children his own age. His hair is now longer and spikier, with bangs swept to the right. He wears large glasses with brown frames, a green watch on his left wrist, and a yellow wristband on the right. He wears a white short-sleeved button-up shirt under a cream vest with blue trimmings, grey shorts, blue kneehigh socks, and red and white boots. His underwear is light blue boxers.

After taking a bath in 's illusory mansion, he wears a blue bath robe over his underwear, which is later revealed to an illusion.

On March 4, 2000, he wears a white button-up shirt with long sleeves under a cream vest with red trimmings, grey pants, brown shoes and a blue jacket.

In May 2000, when Gennai summons him back to the, Joe wore a light blue short-sleeved button-up shirt and light grey shorts.

By 2002, Joe has gotten much taller, and has let his hair grow out to chin length, parted in the middle. His glasses are now small and oval with silver frames. He usually wears his school uniform, consisting of a white buttoned shirt with long sleeves, a blue blazer jacket, white pants with a brown belt and blue slip-on shoes with yellow soles.

During summer, he wears a dark blue short-sleeved button-up shirt with black pocket linings, cream pants and brown sneakers with cream soles and laces.

During winter, he wears a cream vest with a maroon collar over a green buttoned shirt with long sleeves. He also wears grey pants with a brown belt and brown shoes with cream soles. Outside, he wears a long light brown coat with a hood and dark brown fastenings. While in Australia, he doesn't wear a coat or a vest and his sleeves are rolled back.

By 2027, Joe is an adult, and has short hair again. He wears a white buttoned shirt under a green sweater, grey pants and brown shoes. His glasses are large, but have thin silver frames. While at work, he wears a white doctor's coat over his regular outfit.

Description
Joe starts out as a panicky worrywart, to the point of him being a nervous wreck (in the dub, he has a tendency to feel "allergic" to everything around him). However, this stems from Joe's strong sense of responsibility. As the oldest of the group, Joe takes it upon himself to be the voice of reason and tries, often without success, to steer the other DigiDestined away from reckless action. He is often perceived as being a "stick in the mud" and his "safety first" attitude is often the source of teasing from others. , his Digimon partner, teases Joe the most, as he feels he should lighten up and look on the bright side of things. However, for all their teasing, the DigiDestined respect and trust Joe because they know he can be relied on to be selfless and brave when things go south. Joe is an intelligent person and has practical knowledge far beyond most of the DigiDestined, including knowledge of first aid and astronomy. He is also extremely clumsy, and often finds himself falling on his face or dropping things. As a teenager, Joe learns to calm down and is much more mellow and levelheaded, though he is every bit as clumsy as before.

Joe comes from a long line of medical practitioners, and is the youngest brother of three (two in the dub). His eldest brother, Shin, studies medicine, while his second older brother Shuu, studies anthropology under Sora's father's tutelage. In the dub, his brothers were merged into a single character named Jim Kido.

Etymologies
Name used in Japanese materials. Officially romanized in Digimon Adventure: Official Encyclopdia II.
 * Jo Kido (城戸 丈)
 * Ja: Kido (城戸). Japanese surname that means "castle door".
 * Ja: Jo (丈). Japanese masculine name that means "stature", possibly referring to him being the tallest of the.

Name used in the English dub of Digimon Adventure and related materials. Also used in the Partner Buttons Set.
 * Joe Kido
 * Joe. Homophone to Japanese name.

Fiction
In 1995, Joe's family lived in Highton View Terrace. One night, while speaking to his brother on the phone, he witnessed the battle between and. This event caused him to be chosen as a new. The destruction created by the battle caused it to be labeled a terrorist attack, and the Kido family moved away from the area.

Joe spends much of his first week in the Digital World looking for humans who could help them in this strange world, and trying to steer the younger DigiDestined from the path of recklessness. When he cannot settle an argument between Tai and Matt about climbing Infinity Mountain, he decides to go in the middle of the night and climb it himself before the others to see if it's safe. When he and are attacked by, Tai and Sora arrive to help them, but their Digimon are defeated. To save his friends, Joe tries to remove the Black Gear controlling Unimon himself, but when he fails, Gomamon Digivolves to and defeats Unimon, saving everyone.

When separates the DigiDestined, Joe and Gomamon land in the middle of the sea, and end up being fished out by Sora and   after a close encounter with. When they arrive at Overdell Cemetary, Joe is delighted to find more humans, but he quickly discovers that they are in disguise who want to eat them. When the Bakemon fuse into one giant Bakemon and threaten to defeat Ikkakumon and, Joe remembers a chant he learned to give himself luck during exams, and uses it to depower the Bakemon.

After Tai and disappear following the battle against, Joe leaves the other DigiDestined in search of Tai. Joe and Gomamon stop to eat at a diner, but when the cashier doesn't accept the currency Joe has, the two are forced to work to pay for their meal. Matt and Gabumon arrive later and come to their aid, trying to help them at work. However, Joe's clumsiness and 's trickery cause them to gain more debt and work more. Matt eventually grows tired of this and lashes out at Joe, but when Matt's brother T.K. is attacked by Vegiemon, Joe puts himself in danger to save him because Matt and T.K. are his friends. This causes Matt's Crest of Friendship to activate and allows him to save Joe.

When they are in the Real World, Joe goes back to his routine of attending cram school. When he gets a bad grade, he is held back, causing him to be away from Odaiba when spreads his digital fog and cuts the island off from the rest of Tokyo. After trying all night to get back home, he and T.K. decide to depart on Ikkakumon's back. En route to Odaiba, they encounter MegaSeadramon, who knocks them off Ikkakumon's back. Joe is able to save T.K. from drowning at his own expense, but because he was able to put T.K.’s safety before his own, his Crest of Reliability activated, allowing Ikkakumon to Digivolve into his Ultimate form,.

After the DigiDestined returned to the Digital World and Mimi loses the will to fight due to the untimely death of a few close Digimon allies, Joe decides to be the one to stay with her so she wouldn’t be alone. Once they are alone, they encounter the wounded Ogremon, and Joe gives him medical aid at Mimi's request. When the newly evolved attacks them, their old friend  comes to their aid as. However, in a later battle against MetalEtemon, SaberLeomon is gravely injured, though he helps Zudomon defeat MetalEtemon before he perishes. Saddened but inspired by Leomon's sacrifice, Joe follows Mimi as she decides to gather all their Digimon friends to help them in the final battle again.

Later, having gathered reinforcements, Joe and Mimi encounter at the ruined Primary Village, possessing Matt's harmonica. This inspires Joe to leave Mimi with the other Digimon while he searches for Matt. After finding the other boy and returning his harmonica to him, the two find T.K. and Sora, and help Sora escape from a pit of darkness she had fallen into. After this, they reunite with the other DigiDestined in time for the final battle.

At some point, the Old Clock Shop Man summoned the heroes of the past to the Fusion universe to help take down. Joe destroys a Quartzmon agent in Chichen Itza, but realizes that his allies have already left. Gomamon informs him that the other heroes already headed for Tokyo.

On March 4, 2000, Joe is on his way to an important exam when Diaboromon attacks, which causes him to be late. Despite Tai and Izzy's best efforts, they cannot reach him while he's taking his exam.

In May 2000, Joe arrives in the Digital World and gives up his Crest power to free the Digimon Sovereigns. As a result, Gomamon lost the power to become Zudomon. After coming back to the Real World, he discusses his experiences with Digimon with his older brother on the phone, and professes his desire to become a Digimon doctor.

By 2002, Joe's studying has paid off, as he now a private school student. He is busy studying for the high school entrance exams (college entrance exams in dub), so he doesn't have a lot of spare time, but he helps the new DigiDestined whenever he can. He attends Wada Cram School (和田進学塾) every day after school to prepare for exams.

When the new DigiDestined become trapped in an underwater oil platform, the DigiDestined send Cody in an emergency pod, telling him to call Joe. While Joe is in cram school, Cody lies about Joe's father being ill to get Joe out of an important exam. Cody is crushed that he had to go against his ideals, and thinks he is not worthy of the newly-uncovered Digi-Egg of Reliability. However, Joe assures him that one white lie to save his friends doesn't mean he isn't honest or reliable, allowing Cody to activate the Digi-Egg.

On Christmas Day, the DigiDestined are empowered by the Harmonious One so that their Digimon can once again reach their highest forms. Joe, Cody and their Digimon go to Australia to help the DigiDestined of the Pacific round up the wild Digimon who had appeared on Earth as a result of opening all the Digi-Ports.

Joe later aids the others in fighting the Daemon Corps and tracking down the children seeded with Dark Spores by Yukio Oikawa. He is present at Highton View Terrace when Oikawa gathers the Dark Spore children and is confronted by the DigiDestined. However, he remains behind when Oikawa, the children and the new DigiDestined enter the world of dreams. When the world is engulfed by MaloMyotismon's darkness, he goes with older DigiDestined and their families to the site of the summer camp from which they were transported to the Digital World years ago. He and the older DigiDestined manage to reach the Digital World from there, and help defeat MaloMyotismon once and for all with the light of their Digivices.

On Valentine's Day, 2003, Joe's father tells him that he accepts his son's choice whether to carry on the family tradition of being doctor or not. It is because of Joe that the D-Terminals are all mixed up & new Armor forms are introduced to fight Pukumon. Interestingly, Joe is seen dating Yolei's sister Chizuru.

On March 2003, Joe is at first busy trying to register himself in the school of his choice. Later on, he helps secure a bike for Davis and Ken so they could get to the harbor, which was where their partners were. However, when the boys point out they are two and Joe only brought one bike, he chases after a girl who rides by on her on bike. Later, Joe and the girl on the bike arrive in Tokyo Harbor, just in time to see the end of the battle against.



By the year 2027, Joe has become the first Doctor for Digimon, and taking along with the job, all the complications that occur because of it. In a way his family's tradition continues and his son (who very closely resembles him, and has a Bukamon) may carry it out as well.

PSP game
Joe has a choice to agree with Matt or Tai whether to climb Infinity Mountain. When is revived by, Joe refuses to give up as he told Tai that he and Gomamon will fight him, which causes Gomamon to warp digivolve to.

Digimon Fusion
A young man that looks like Joe is at the arcade.

Music
Joe has two Japanese image songs: "Chigau Boku ga Iru" ("There Is Another Me") and "Kaze ni Mukatte" ("Facing Towards the Wind"), sung by Masami Kikuchi. He has an additional image song, a duet sung by Kikuchi with Junko Takeuchi as, called "Sora wo Crawl" ("Crawl the Sky"). Kikuchi also participates in "Bokura no Digital World" ("Our Digital World") and in the male Digimon Adventure characters' rendition of "Butter-Fly" in the Digimon Music 100 Title Memorial Box.

Notes and references
Kido Jou