Ken Midori

"That Valt is one tough opponent."

Ken Midori, known as Kensuke Midorikawa 緑川犬介 Midorikawa Kensuke in Japan, is a protagonist in the anime and manga series, Beyblade Burst. His current Beyblade is King Kerbeus Limited Press.

Appearance
Ken has long, spiky black hair, green eyes, and a sharp fang sticking out on the left side of his mouth. He is dressed in a green coat with lighter green accents and a pink chain circle on the chest, darker green pants, black shoes, and a green and pink scarf.

Both of his hands are often gloved by his two dog sock puppets: a blue one named Keru, who has sharp teeth; pointy ears and a scary expression, and a brown one named Besu, who has square teeth; longer, floppier ears; and an overall more approachable appearance. Unfortunately, Besu later was ripped by Shu Kurenai in Evolution, but was eventually fixed.

Personality
Initially, Ken seems to have an intimidating and eccentric personality, however it is revealed later that he is actually very shy and soft-spoken, when he uses his real voice to speak. Despite his shy attitude, he is shown to be very friendly and supportive.

Because his parents travel often for their jobs, Ken never had an opportunity to stay in the same school for a long time, which resulted in him not being able to have many friends. He is also shown to get nervous under pressure easily. Going along with his shy personality, he is also quite sensitive.

He is extremely talented as a ventriloquist, being able to speak as his hand puppets even in battle mode. He uses his two puppets, Keru, who is the more aggressive and outspoken one; Besu, who is the kinder and more gentle one, to portray his feelings on two spectrums. Because of this, it is difficult for others to figure out what Ken is thinking.

Over the course of the series, however, Ken becomes more confident and assertive, as well as speaking without the use of his puppets.

Background
Ken grew up working alongside his parents in their traveling puppet shows. Because of this, Ken often had to change schools frequently, which, coupled with his shy personality, led to him not having many friends until he came to the city of Beigoma. When Ken first met Valt Aoi, he was initially reluctant to be friends with him, but soon came to appreciate him and had since become one of Valt's closest friends and allies.

Beyblade Burst (anime)
At first, Ken thinks Valt is a bad Blader even after he beat Rantaro Kiyama. When he faced Valt and claimed the first point, he believed Valt to be an amateur. In the second match, Valt wins with a Burst finish, and then offers Ken a handshake but he turns it down and leaves. After Valt learns that Ken has no friends, he approaches him and asks him to join the Beyclub during school. Ken agrees, but only on the condition that he gets to battle Shu Kurenai. After the battle, Ken later stops by Valt's house to say he wants to join but then tries to leave immediately after, only for Valt’s mom to make him stay for dinner. Since then, he became a close friend with the other members and cheers on Valt in the District tournament.

Beyblade Burst Evolution
Ken is the only member of the Beigoma Academy BeyClub to stay in Japan. He was the ref for the match Valt and Daigo's match as well as for Wakiya and Xander. He also cheers on Wakiya And Sunbat United in their match against SB Rios.

Ken and the rest of Valt’s friends from Japan fly to America to cheer on Valt and Shu, the latter of which rips one of his Puppets. Daigo helps him through it, and Shu later apologizes even though it was Spryzen Requiem controlling him.

Beyblade Burst Turbo
Ken is not a main character in Turbo, but appeared in some flashbacks and in a photo on the Beigoma Academy's roof.

Beyblades

 * Kerbeus Central Defense: Ken's primary Beyblade in the Beyblade Burst manga.
 * King Kerbeus Limited Press: Ken's primary Beyblade in the Beyblade Burst anime.

Special Moves

 * Chain Launch: Kerbeus uses its chain-shaped Energy Layer's numerous protrusions to chip away at its opponent's Stamina. This move can be utilized either defensively or offensively.

Valt Aoi
When Valt learned that Ken didn't have many friends due to constantly changing schools, he set out to befriend him and invite him to join the Beyblade Club. Ken even stated in episode 13 that Valt was probably the first real friend he's ever had. Even when Ken had to move away due his family's career, the two agreed to always be best friends, no matter how far apart they may be.

Ben Azuki
Ken met Ben sometime after moving to his new school, and the latter eventually invited him to join Team Beasts. The two are often seen hanging out together, and it's implied that Ben may have had an influence on Ken, because he had become noticeably more confident and assertive since the others last saw him.

Shu Kurenai
Ken appears to have a high level of respect for Shu, to the point where he only agreed to join the BeyClub if he could battle him. He also would get flustered whenever Shu complimented him or would become more shy in his presence as he hesitated to taste Shu's spaghetti carbonara at first. Shu was even the first person Ken spoke to without using Keru or Besu. Their friendship remained strong up until Shu joined the Raging Bulls and secretly became Red Eye. This was evident when Shu ripped up Besu, much to Ken's devastation. Fortunately, when Shu eventually returned to his old self, Ken held no ill will towards him and was happy to have his friend back.

Daigo Kurogami
Ken was initially suspicious of Daigo when the latter claimed to be impressed by Valt's match in episode 3. His suspicions were later confirmed when Daigo purposely lost a practice match with Valt in order to learn about his weaknesses.

However, after Daigo became a member of the Bey Club, the two became friends and remained on good terms. Daigo cares about Ken a lot; shown by how he noticed that Ken was upset about moving away, and how he wanted to go after Shu after the latter ripped Besu, one of Ken's puppets.

Ryota Kurogami
Ken is close friends with Daigo's younger brother Ryota, as he often visited him in the hospital. Even after he was discharged, Ken and Ryota still remained on good terms, shown when the former helps Ryota cheer for Daigo in the Team Tournament.

Quotes

 * "Alright Kerbeus! It's time for the Chain Launch!"
 * "Is he gonna start with an attack or wait and defend? Which one?"
 * "Everything's news to this guy." -speaking through Keru
 * "Not the brightest crayon in the box." -speaking through Besu
 * "If Xander's using his power side, I know what to do. I'll go in for the attack!"
 * "It's not like I want to leave you guys. You're my best friends."
 * "KERBEUS! THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN'T HANDLE! WE'VE HAD WAY WORSE!"
 * "Valt sure is a good guy, isn't he?" - Ken's first line without using his puppets
 * "Besu, NO!!!!!!!"
 * "Chillax, would you? Of course I'm proud of you. It's just this means I'll have to wait a bit longer before I get to take you on."
 * (while holding back tears) "Hey, Valt. I'm sorry. Here I was trying to help, and I couldn't do a thing."

Gallery
For a full gallery of images of Ken, see Ken Midori/Gallery.

Trivia

 * Ken, like other characters in the Burst cast, shares some similarities with his Beyblade, King Kerbeus.
 * His Japanese family name Midorikawa means Green River. The Japanese character "Ken" in his first name means "canine"
 * His name, Ken, and his Bey Kerbeus share the same initials, hinting at the letter K in the center of the Bey.
 * His two puppets, named Ker (Keru) and Beus (Besu), make up the name of his bey, Kerbeus.
 * Unlike other Bladers, Ken usually pulls his cord up, in the middle, or down.
 * Ken is the only main Blader from Beyblade Burst who doesn't have a major role in Beyblade Burst Evolution.
 * He, Rantaro, and Gabe are the only characters from the Beyblade Burst series which their names are fully written in kanji.
 * Ken was Gabe Khouth's final anime voice acting role before his untimely death in July 2019 from cardiac arrest.
 * Ken is one of seven characters who did not make an anime debut in Beyblade Burst Rise, but made an appearance in the manga: the six others being Silas Karlisle, Kristina Kuroda, Trad Vasquez, Shu Kurenai, Rantaro Kiyama, Lui Shirosagi, and Daigo Kurogami.