If any one person was born to be the world's only loser, it would have been Jou. A biology geek with a hand for trivia and not much else, Jou is the show's ultimate un-hero.

You can't watch more than ten minutes of the first episode without picking up on the points relentlessly emphasized in anything about Jou: he's an extreme pessimist and hypochrondriac. He fears anything any everything, and considers himself never good enough or never successful enough, and he's the one swearing the whole group'll be killed by sundown.

There's a lot of focusing on Jou's feelings as the group moves along---about his general sense of being inadequate about everything and not belonging. But at the same time, he's also very sarcastic and cynical; and oftentimes the show's comic relief rests on his shoulders alone.

As time passes, Gomamon, Jou's free-spirited Digimon, gradually begins to rub off on him. When we first meet Jou, he's uptight and scared, but by the end of the series, he's learned to laugh and have a little bit of fun when the going gets rough.

But beneath that lies a somewhat darker story about his lack of self-esteem.

Jou comes from a long line of doctors; and there's never been a male Kido who wasn't one. However, Jou is interested in anything but. His father is a militant and harsh man, and for the time being, our blue-haired protagonist cowers in his father's presence and does his will. But can he ever face up to him?

Four years later, he's in
training to become a doctor. However, no one knows whether he's made a full turnaround and become interested in the profession, or if he's submitting to his father's wishes. In this second series of the show, Jou takes on the part of mentor to Iori (American name Cody). Who ever imagined a dubbed loser could be a role model?