Ken Hidaka

Ken Hidaka (飛鷹 健, Hidaka Ken) is a fictional character in the anime Weiss Kreuz. He is part of the four member group, Weiss, who are florists by day and assassins by night. His character design is based on his seiyuu, Tomokazu Seki, a member of the band by the same name, Weiss. In the English dub he is voiced by Brian Morey.

Personality and Traits
Ken is about 19 years old with brown hair and blue-green (in the anime) or brown (in the manga) eyes. He is athletic, being an avid soccer player, and tends to be hot-headed, rushing into things without giving it a second thought. Although he has a short temper, he is very cheerful and friendly. He is pure hearted, kind natured, shy and quite sentimental. He loves kids and teaches a kids' soccer team when not in Weiss. He also trusts easily, a weakness that has been exploited more than once.

Ken has a strong sense of morals (it's stated that he dislikes liars) and is the only one who feels conflict over becoming a killer. As the story progresses, guilt over his actions begins to weigh him down. At the end of Verbrechen & Strafe, the first signs of insanity and him going berserk can be seen. In the dramatic CDs, his struggle to keep his growing bloodlust in control shows how much his life as an assassin has begun to corrode his soul.

By the time Gluhen rolls around, Ken's hold on his sanity is nearing an all-time low: he actively seeks out the others in the two years between Weiss's collapse and Omi's rebuilding of the team in order to find someone to keep him in check. His short temper is even shorter, and he snaps at anyone who remotely angers him (he takes his anger out on Yohji who said that Ken had wasted the past two years and happily beats Kyo to the ground because he wasn't satisfied with an answer Kyo gave him). It isn't until Aya shows up to stop him that Ken makes an attempt to pull himself out of the pit he's dug himself into, and as a result, he clings to Aya as a means to regain some semblance of control.

History
Ken's mother died when he was very young and because of his attachment to her, he fell into a depression. In hopes of pulling him out of it, Ken's father sent him to live at a Church with Sister Amamiya, a nun who specialized in child psychotherapy. Due to his time spent there, he grew up with a bit of a religious background -he believes in God, Sin, Heaven, Hell, and many other staples of a 'Catholic' faith (in Dramatic Precious 1, he states that he is a Christian but has neglected the teachings, yet in Gluhen before the final mission, he's seen saying a prayer at his bedside before he leaves).

Ken used to be a superb goalkeeper and was considered the number one goalie in the J-league. Unfortunately, during an important game, he was mysteriously drugged, resulting in a terrible performance. Due to this, Ken was blamed for throwing the game away deliberately and was banned from the J-League.

Kase Koichiro, his best friend and another player on the team, claimed that he would help Ken find the ones who had done that to him. However, right when they were about to find them, they were interrupted. Kase was kidnapped while Ken was left for dead in a burning building. Ken was rescued by Kritiker agents who trained him to be a member of Weiss (the White Hunters). Considered dead to the world, he took up the mantle as an assassin to get revenge for his failed hopes and now unreachable dreams.

Weiss: An Assassin and White Shaman
Ken is introduced during a mission conducted by Weiß. He is the one who spots Ran Fujimiya first who after asking Ken if he knows about Fujimiya, begins to attack him. Later, when Ran visits the Koneko no Sumo Ie (House of the Kitten, the flower shop which Weiss uses a cover) for the first time, Ken punches Ran in retaliation for their previous encounter. This leads to a fistfight. By the end of the manga, Ran and Ken end up having a tentative partnership.

Weiss Kreuz Kapitel
Weiss receives a mission to eliminate Ken's ex-best friend, Kase Koichiro. Ken, overwhelmed that Kase is still alive, sets out to find him and warn him about Weiss' orders since Ken believed Kase is merely being misled. Kase, however double crosses Ken and frames him. This is when Ken finally finds out that Kase was the one who betrayed him back in the J-league, slipping a drug into his water bottle during half-time.

Back then, Kase had been jealous of Ken's success for a long time and knew that it was only due to his friendship with Ken that he was still in the team. Envious and angry, he teamed up with a gang and betted high on his team losing the next game. To ensure that they did, he drugged Ken. Later on, he acted as though he was on Ken's side, telling him he'd found the leader of the gambling ring to lure Ken to the warehouse. There, he hired people to act as though he were being kidnapped while setting fire to the warehouse to kill Ken. Enraged by the true extent of Kase's treachery, Ken executes Kase but not before Kase tells him, "I'll see you in Hell" to which Ken's reply was, "Hell? This is hell."

Kase's death haunts Ken who resorts to racing on his motorcycle to stop remembering the incident. While out racing, he meets Yuriko, a fellow motorcyclist. They go swimming, play tennis, ride their bikes, and spend the night in a motel. Yuriko tells Ken about her dream of going to Australia to ride her bike in the outback and she asks Ken to be a part of it. Eager to be rid of the world of blood that he's steeped in, Ken agrees to leave with her after his last mission with Weiß.

However, this mission changes his mind. Yuriko is unwittingly affected and it is only due to his knowledge as a member of Weiß that Ken ends up saving her. Yoji, who follows him, finds out about the whole affair and warns Ken not to go with her. As a killer, Yohji reminds him, he has no right to care for her. Although Ken promised Yuriko that he would meet her at the airport, he ends up watching her leave by herself. She finds a flower pressed between the pages of her book along with his ticket on the plane.

Ken is usually against Farfarello and Schon during Weiss's battles with Schwarz and Schreient respectively.

Weiss Kreuz OVA: Verbrechen & Strafe
Ken sides with Akira, ignoring Weiss' orders to kill him, causing a split in Weiß that has tragic results.

Weiss Kreuz Gluhen
Though Ken takes five episodes to appear, he is undoubtedly still one of the main characters. His absence so far is explained as he's been stationed in Europe to bring down a sister school of Koda Academy. His entrance shows the dark trail of mind that he's settled in. The change in his character can be witnessed as a presence which brushes his mind to take control over him, decides otherwise as it considers him too impure.

After returning to Japan, he plays the undercover role of a college student. He bears a grudge against Sena in the beginning and believes that he should not be a part of Weiß. Because of his late arrival, he never encounters Kyou, which is probably for the better as earlier, Kyou had been hired to "beat him half to death" (and failed miserably). During the mission at Kowa, he is perceptive enough to realize Aya's thoughts about leaving Weiss but remains loyal to him and doesn't reveal it to anyone.

In the end, Ken voluntarily ends up in jail (as speculation among his jailors go) due to his connections with the Takatori family. There he reflects over what is missing in his life and why he can't let go. He also wonders why he felt so hesitant when he saw Ran off in the airport. His life's passion, soccer finally helps him realize what path his future should follow. He decides that he wants to be with Ran and mentally tells Ran that he'll catch up with him soon.

Weiss Kreuz Side B
Due to Mamoru's (Omi's) connections, Ken finds out that Ran is currently being scouted by Krypton Brand. He meets up with Yoji, now Ryo and takes back Ran's katana and heads to England. He surprises Ran by turning up in Richard's mansion during Ran's practice match. They team up and work together along with Richard to beat the combined team of Mitsurugi, Michael and Chloe.

As Krypton Brand, Side B, Ken and Ran once again assume the role of florists by day, assassins by night as they begin to uncover the trail of a drug trade that links back to the Koda Academy and the Z-Class (Gluhen). Ken's soccer past is once again brought up as an old friend of his, a soccer player dies. Ken suspects foul play, especially with evidence pointing to the drug's role in his death.

In the team, Kurumi trusts Ken the most and Ken regards her as a little sister perhaps. Chloe and him are openly antagonistic to each other and he's amiable with the rest of his team members, the closest one being Ran. He hopes that Ran's logic about Krypton Brand allowing them to choose their own paths unlike Weiß is indeed true.

Role in Fandom
Weiss Kreuz, known for its bishounen, has a large fan following, especially due to its yaoi potential. Ken has been linked with all of his teammates, most of Schwarz, some of Krypton Brand, and even Knight from Crashers.

NOTE: Fandom tends to describe him as being clumsy despite the fact that he has incredibly good reflexes due to his time in the J-League and as an assassin. The klutz issue is never shown in the canon and should not be taken for truth.

Random Facts

 * Ken's codename, Siberian is a reference to his favourite weapon, the bagh nakh (tiger claws).
 * His favourite gun is Smith and Wesson. (Weiss Kreuz Glühen)
 * His image flower, the Gentian means 'You are unjust'.
 * Ken usually travels by motorcycle.
 * He enjoys Japanese food and strives to become perfect in it. (Weiß Kreuz Side B)
 * He's pretty bad at English. (Weiss Kreuz Side B)