Kenzan

Kenzan is an Autobot Swordbot from the Go! portion of the Aligned continuity family.

"Hiya, Barbie!"
"Hi, Kenzan!"
"Do you want to go for a ride?"

Kenzan (ケンザン) is the leader of the Swordbot Samurai Team. Despite his relative youth, he takes himself and his role very seriously. That sense of responsibility, combined with his bravery and great martial skill, make him a fearsome warrior, but he is sometimes prone to recklessness. He values the training in swordsmanship he received from Go Prime, and respects such skills in others.

He can combine with Jinbu and Ganoh in various configurations. With Kenzan as the top, GoKenzan (ゴウケンザン Gōkenzan) is formed. After the arrival of Optimus Exprime on Earth, he also gained the ability to combine with Optimus and the Shinobi Team leader Gekisoumaru. With Kenzan forming the head, shoulders, and arms, the combined form is called DaiKenzan (ダイケンザン Daikenzan). His Mini-Con partner is Zan.

“	I'm Kenzan, of the Emergency Double-Blade Style! I fight using the Samurai principles of Zan, Jin, and Gan!	”
—Kenzan, Transformers Go!

Fiction

Go! cartoon

Voice actor: Kazuyuki Okitsu (Japanese)

The Swordbot Samurai Team were woken from their slumber by Isami Tatewaki when Budora and Gaidora tried to obtain the Legendisc he was protecting. Confronted by the Jaki which the two Predacons summoned, the team switched through their various combinations, culminating in them using their GoKenzan form to finish off Goradora. On striking the two Predacons, the Autobots and Isami found themselves briefly transported back in time where they saw two armies carrying Legendiscs. On their return to present day, Kenzan invited Isami to help them fight the Decepticons, and they discovered that Isami's friend Tobio Fūma had also encountered the Swordbot Shinobi Team. Triple Combination! Swordbot - Samurai!

The Swordbots built an underground base beneath Isami's dojo which Kenzan showed off to the boy, before Optimus Prime briefed the team and their friend on what was known about the Legendiscs. Sometime later, history started changing causing buildings to disappear, and Isami's Legendisc transported the team back in time again. In the past they encountered Musashi Miyamoto whose Legendisc had been stolen by the Predacons, and the Swordbots helped him get it back by fighting the Jaki in their GoJinbu form. Isami and the Swordbots were returned to present day, though without the disc. Pursue! The Legendiscs!

On another occasion Isami and the Autobot team went back in time and encountered Ryōma Sakamoto. On that occasion, they battled the Jaki in their GoGanoh form, however they again returned to the future emptyhanded. The Invincible Swordsman - Ryōma Sakamoto!? Isami was discouraged, but Kenzan gave him a pep talk to try and bolster his spirits. They again headed to the past, this time helping Benkei Musashibō fight off the Predacons in their GoKenzan form, and again returned to present day without the Legendisc. Showdown! Benkei Musashibō!

On their next jaunt into the past, Isami managed to obtain the Legendisc, only to be confronted by Gaidora, Judora and the awakened Dragotron on their return to present day. Though they were no match for Dragotron, even in their GoKenzan form, the team was soon joined by Optimus Exprime. Depart! Optimus Exprime! The Predacons abducted Isami, and the Samurai Team merged into GoJinbu to give chase. They arrived at Mount Fuji to find the Shinobi Team was also there as Tobio had also been kidnapped. Imbued with the power of all five Legendiscs, Dragotron proved impossible to beat, however Tobio and Isami managed to demerge from him. The two boys had duplicated the power of the Legendiscs, and used it to allow Optimus and the two teams to merge into DaiKenzan. This provided them with enough power to defeat Dragotron and seal the Predacons away once more. Final Battle! Link-Up Triple Combination DaiKenzan!

Toys

Go!

I'm a samurai. A real one. Not like Drift.

• Kenzan (6-22-13)
  • Japanese ID number: G01
  • Accessories: Two "Samurai Cross" swords, kabuto helmet/weapon

Part of the second wave of TakaraTomy Go! toys, Kenzan is a roughly Voyager-sized toy that transforms from a Japanese-style police interceptor into a samurai-styled robot, even including a robotic chonmage topknot! He can also form the top, middle or bottom of the Swordbot Samurai Team's three combined robot forms. He has two swords (with 5mm handles) that can be held or stored on tabs on his backpack or shoulders. He also has essentially no lower torso, with his legs and kusazuri flap masquerading as his abdomen.

His kabuto helmet is worn in GoKenzan form to form the super-robot's head. It can also transform into a large, ungainly double-barreled cannon which can attach to Kenzan's back or, via 5mm post, be held by the robot or mounted atop the police car.

Kenzan features complex electronic lights and sounds. In vehicle mode, pressing the Autobot-symbol button on his roof activates flashing lights and a repeating siren. Transformation into robot mode triggers a shout of "Transform!" and the classic transformation sound. In robot mode, pressing the same button triggers a number of phrases (in Japanese, natch). The button's functionality changes when held down: in police car mode, it now activates yet another phrase, while in robot mode, it triggers shouts by all three Swordbot Samurai to combine, followed by a musical "combination sequence" tune that plays until a) his kabuto is snapped in place, b) the button is pressed again, or c) his batteries run out. This music is accompanied by a strobing three-color LED.

Once a combined form is completed, the kabuto attached determines what clips further presses of the button will play, but they are all dialogue delivered by the appropriate voice actor of the top third of the combination. In addition, GoKenzan's dialogue is punctuated with a blue LED, GoJinbu's with yellow, and GoGanoh's with red. The combined robot mode is armed with a giant melee weapon formed from all of their individual melee weapons, as well as an aesthetically-questionable, but proportionally less ungainly blaster/cannon made of the unused kabuto helmets.

Upon his initial release, Kenzan included his Mini-Con partner Zan when purchased from a large number of retailers (including Amazon Japan).

• More information on Kenzan at TFU.info
• More information on GoKenzan at TFU.info
• More information on DaiKenzan at TFU.info
• More information on Kenzan at Transformers-Universe.com

• Kenzan Kuromusha ver. (11-16-13)
  • Accessories: Two swords, kabuto helmet/weapon

"Kenzan Kuromusha ver." is a Toys"R"Us-exclusive black-and-gold redeco of Kenzan. "Kuromusha" ("黒武者") means "Black Warrior".

BeCool

• Samurai Team BeCool Set (10-26-13)
  • Japanese ID number: G24

Part of the sixth wave of Go! toys, BeCool Kenzan is a redeco of Bot Shots Series 1 Prowl with Mirage's hood and front bumper. He transforms into a tiny, super deformed police car with a spring-loaded automatic transformation to robot mode triggered when his front bumper is pressed. He has a "spinner" in his chest that depicts various symbols of the expression of his face, his twin swords, and the Japanese character 斬 (zan). He comes in a three-pack with equally small, super deformed versions of Jinbu and Ganoh.

Notes

• The name "Kenzan" could potentially have many meanings. Some Japanese characters which can be read "Ken" can mean "sword/blade," "heaven," or "emperor" (among many other things), and some characters that can be read "Zan" can mean "killing," "balance," and more. "Kenzan" can also be a word meaning "meeting/seeing," or it can refer to a needle-pointed base for standing flower arrangement, or it can mean a frog.