| “ | Don't you dare touch her! That's my sister! | „ |
| ~ Kai to Nokt also his famous quote |
| “ | Confidence. You know, the feeling you can do anything if you put your mind to it. There was a time I didn't think I could be a ninja. But you pushed me to be better, now I'm pushing you. | „ |
| ~ Kai to Teen Wu about how he encouraged him. |
Kai is one of the main protagonists of the Ninjago franchise, most notably serving as the main protagonist and narrator of the Pilots-S7 era. He is the current Elemental Master and Ninja of Fire, Nya's older brother, and mentor of Wyldfyre.
He is voiced by Vincent Tong, who voiced Prince Nicholas in Barbie: Princess Charm School, Flash Sentry from My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, Garble and Sandbar in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Eugene Wong in Dragons: The Nine Realms, Jestro in Nexo Knights, Huckleberry Pie from Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City, various versions of Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic Prime and Avan in Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai, while his movie counterpart is voiced by Michael Peña, who portrays Luis in Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the LEGO Ninjago: Nindroids handheld game, he is voiced by Nolan North and in LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin, he is voiced by Taylor Clarke-Hill.
Overview[]
Kai and Nya continued to work as blacksmiths in their missing father's shop. With the help of a wise master, Wu, Kai learnt Spinjitzu and discovered his three other teammates, with whom he embarked on many adventures with as they battle the Serpentine and eventually The Great Devourer.
Kai and the Ninja soon fought the Stone Army in a desperate effort to prevent the final battle, which was soon made all but certain. After Lloyd defeated the Overlord and his father was purified of evil, peace resumed in Ninjago until Pythor returned, aiding The Overlord in becoming the Golden Master and commanding the Nindroid army. The Ninja fought the Overlord and his Nindroids until Zane sacrificed himself, vanquishing the Overlord but seemingly dying in the process. The Ninja team separated until Lloyd reunited them to rescue Zane on Chen's Island. There, they competed in the Tournament of Elements before allying with the other Elemental Masters to defeat Chen's army. Soon after the war's end, Lloyd was possessed by the ghost of Wu's very first pupil Morro, who escaped the Cursed Realm and worked to release his legion of ghosts. The Ninja battled Morro and his forces at Stiix until they win by destroying the entire Cursed Realm altogether.
The Ninja found fame after saving Ninjago from the ghost invasion, with Kai becoming obsessed with his popularity. Yet they found themselves facing a new problem when an evil pirate djinn named Nadakhan returned with his crew he now calls the Sky Pirates, now content with taking over Ninjago. During their first encounter, Nadakhan trapped Kai in the Sword of Souls, though he was later freed by Jay. Kai witnessed Nya die after being struck by Tiger Widow venom, though Jay's final wish reversed recent events, saving her. On the Day of the Departed, Cole accidentally revived some of the Ninjas' old enemies, including Chen, who attacked Kai and Nya. The siblings defeated Chen before going to Yang's Temple, where they witnessed Cole become a human.
When the Time Twins returned to Ninjago, Krux tried to convince Kai that Kai's parents were traitors. But he didn't believe and went on a quest with Nya that ultimately allowed them to finally reunite with their captured parents and stopped Krux and Acronix from changing the future. They managed to track them through time and stopped them before Wu sent Kai and Nya back to the present, while Wu ended up lost in the time.
Sometime later, Kai and the ninja are ordered to watch over the Princess Harumi after she lost her adopted parents. But they later discovered that she secretly is the leader of an organization called the Sons of Garmadon and wants to resurrect the evil side of Lord Garmadon so they can conquer Ninjago. Despite the ninja's efforts, Harumi successfully resurrects Garmadon, and shortly after, Kai ends up marooned in the Realm of Oni and Dragons, which is also known as the First Realm, with Cole, Jay, Zane, and the de-aged Wu. Kai and the ninja help save the various dragons from a clan of hungry Dragon Hunters and help the now-teenage Wu regain his confidence and memories. After the hunter's vile leader Iron Baron is defeated by the mother dragon Firstbourne, Wu reclaims the Dragon Armor that once belonged to his father, in turn allowing them to return to Ninjago. Upon returning, along with his fellow ninja, he takes down Garmadon's Stone Giant while Lloyd defeats his father, restoring peace to Ninjago once again. Afterward, he along with the other ninja attend the celebration and Kai and Skylor share a moment. But after a while the dangerous destructive monster known as the Oni finally invade, the ninja team up with Lord Garmadon, and Kai and the rest of the ninja fight to defend their home. Kai used his blacksmithing skills to reforge Golden Weapons, using the Golden Armor, and later defeats the Oni by using the Tornado of Creation with the other ninja, Wu, and Garmadon.
Months later, Kai and his friends fight against a crazy revenge-obsessed serpentine sorceress named Aspheera and her Pyro Vipers after accidentally releasing them from their tomb, and Aspheera took away Kai's power, making Kai feel that he can't help. But although the succeed in stopping her, Zane gets banished to another realm by Aspheera's sorcery, forcing him and the remaining ninja send themselves to the Never-Realm: the most distant of the realms & the realm Zane got banished to by Aspheera, to rescue him, a land ruled by a being called the Ice Emperor. While Lloyd went to find Zane, Kai and the others protected the Ice Fishers of Great Lake, who call Kai the Fire Maker after he relights the Hearth Fire and regains a fraction of his power. After failing to prevent Boreal from freezing the village, Kai makes up for his loss by regaining his full powers in time to destroy the Ice Dragon, discovering that Zane is the Ice Emperor. With Zane having managed to return to his senses and freeing the Never-Realm from its eternal winter, the team reunite together and use Traveler's Tea to head back to Ninjago.
Sometime later, Kai and the other ninja enter the virtual world of Prime Empire, when the legendary arcade game resurfaces and hundreds of gamers are zapped into it. Due to his recklessness, Kai was the first to lose all but one of his lives, and later, he and Cole sacrifice themselves in a race, allowing the rest to win. Eventually, Jay was able to help the game world's master and first player Unagami and the game's creator Milton Dyer make amends, releasing Kai and the others trapped in the game.
Kai later traveled to the Kingdom of Shintaro on top of Shintaro. When he discovers Cole was captured by the evil Skull Sorcerer, he travels underground and helps save him. Zane and Kai later get captured by the Geckles and tames a creature known as a Mino. Zane and Kai try to unite the Geckles and the Munce but end up being captured along with Jay, Nya, Lloyd, and Zane. The Skull Sorcerer sentences them to death, but they are saved by Plundar, a member of the Upply, under Cole's command. Kai helps the other ninja fight against the Re-Awakened and they eventually succeed. Kai, Wu, and the other ninja leave Shintaro, but prepare to go on another adventure.
Kai traveled to The Island of the Keepers to save Misako and Wu where they are introduced the a tribe of storm creatures where their leader mistook them for being thieves. There, the ninja discovered an artifact known as the Storm Amulet and the existence of a villainous sea serpent named Wojira, and although they eventually are able to gain the Keepers' trust, they're worried if Wojira is real.
When Nya lost control of her powers, he stayed behind at the monastery along with Cole while the others went to investigate. Later on, he attempted to stop the lunatic prince of the underwater kingdom Kalmaar from awakening Wojira and flooding the entire realm in an endless flood, but ultimately failed and he assisted the other ninja in the fight that followed. He was saddened when Nya left, and attended her memorial.
After the apparent death of Nya, Kai tried to get over it by teaching kids how to fight. However, in the inside he wanted nothing to do with them and just wanted to leave. After the Ninja decided to resemble, Kai gladly accepted. Kai was then sent to Kryptarium prison to break Aspheera out. After that, Kai and the other Ninja were caught stealing Aspheera's staff to save Nya and were sent to Krypatrium. Kai then broke out with the rest of the ninja. After the Overlord's return Kai achieved his Dragon Form but, in the process, lost his powers, yet regained them while battling Fire Fang.
When the Merge occurred, Kai woke up on a strange island, retrieved the Bounty, and reunited with Lloyd before leaving again to map out the Merged Realms. After sometime he soon reunited with Lloyd along with 2 kids named Arin, a fan of the Ninja with the power to do object-spinjitzu and Sora, a mechanic with mastery of technology, he took in as his students as well as a special dragon named Riyu, he also reunited with his sister but soon found himself against dragon hunters who steal dragons for the cult-like kingdom of imperium while also finding a student of his own in the form of a girl raised by dragons named Wyldfyre who has control over heat. After sometime, Kai learns that a giant explosion is soon coming to destroy all reality and he & his friends go on a quest to find three dragon cores that'll stable reality, but they race against Imperium's childish ruler Beatrix to get them out of petty revenge on them, which they ultimately succeed in doing.
Sometime afterwards, Kai and his friends soon find themselves against another evil organization known as the Wolf Clan led by an anthropomorphic black tiger named Ras that pretended to serve Beatrix under orders of his boss to free a group called the Forbidden Five with a new elemental master named Cinder mastering one of the Five's teaching in the form of a corrupted version of Spinjitzu called Shatterspin, prompting him & the others to meet the masters Egalt & Rontu to learn the "Rising Dragon" technique to fight them off with him being the first to master it. Eventually the Blood Moon: the time when Ras will unleash the Five, arrives and Kai & the gang race to stop the ritual from happening, but a crash lands him, Sora, and Wyldfyre separated from the rest which prompts them to disguise themselves and sneak into the ceremony and battle the wolf warriors, but Kai gets knocked into the Forbidden Five's prison by Ras which in-turn releases one of their members named Nokt, but with the help from a sentient spell named Bonzle, Kai is able to close off the prison dimension but sacrificed his own freedom in the process.
Appearance[]
Kai has tall, thick spiky reddish-brown hair, shaped like fire. He is often seen with a focused expression on his face, with a scar visible on his right eyebrow and bandage above his left. Before Season 8, his eyebrows were black, his bangs parted to the right and instead of a scar, he had a notch on his left eyebrow. Kai wears Red Gi's All throughout the Series. Briefly that he will wear a different color. When he was a Blacksmith, Kai wore a white shirt and red pants as well as an orange apron.
Personality[]
Fittingly for his elemental affinity, Kai is a very hotheaded person, prone to taking action before thinking things through. He is capable of making careful observations when the need arises, but his emotions often override his caution. His single-mindedness made interaction with his teammates difficult at first (especially due to his worry about Nya and Cole), but he eventually learned to work with the other Ninja. He can be arrogant at times, insisting that he is better than his peers and growing depressed when he seems to be lagging behind their training.
Later, following the Ninjas' fame, Kai would end up getting something of a larger head and bigger ego, constantly flirting with girls and enjoying the merchandise styled after him. Likewise, he indulged in his fame the most out of all of the ninja.
Kai also has something of a stubborn side, believing that he is in the right until overwhelming evidence to the contrary is presented. This is especially pronounced during Lord Garmadon's stay on the Destiny's Bounty; Kai repeatedly accused the four-armed villain of treachery or plotting despite Garmadon's insistence that saving Lloyd was his primary concern at the time. On the other hand, Kai's stubborn streak lends him incredible determination that allows him to bolster the team's spirit in the face of impossible odds.
The most prevalent facet of Kai's personality is his good heart and dedication to people he cares about—if someone can earn his friendship, he will stop at nothing to protect them. Much of his stubbornness and recklessness are due to his desire to help his loved ones, either directly or by becoming strong enough to defeat anyone who might threaten them with their plans. In turn, his friends and family work to balance out Kai's more extreme traits, causing him to become a levelheaded mentor for Lloyd by the time he and his comrades begin training the Green Ninja.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Fire: As a Elemental Master of Fire Kai can manipulate, generate fire and use it to create powerful fire attacks.
- Fire Manipulation - The user is able to manipulate, generate, negate, and control fire from existing sources or the ability to manipulate flames with a flick of the hand or a snap of the finger, often used as a projectile, and to create fireballs of different size and throw or use them as melee advantage. Additionally, it can be used to break ice, illuminate areas, or reignite flames that have been put out.
- Pyrokinetic Flight - This gives the user the power to propel themselves up or forward using Fire.
- Fire Shield Construction - The user can create shields of varying shapes and sizes out of fire.
- Heat Generation/Absorption - The user can generate or absorb heat for a variety of purposes, by making things hotter or melting objects
- Fire Blast - The user can release fire over a specific target area causing great damage and/or delivering great shock waves of pure force.
- Spinjitzu: Kai is capable of performing Spinjitzu that comes in the form of a man-sized fire tornado which gives him great strength against his enemies.
- Airjitzu: Kai is shown to be able to do Airjitzu which enables him to take flight.
- Tornado of Creation: Alongside Jay, Zane, and Cole, Kai is capable of performing a tornado that can create anything or drive away beings of pure destruction.
- Fire Dragon: By conquering his fears & doubts, Kai is able to create an elemental dragon he can ride on.
- Rising Dragon: Upon achieving the third level of the Fang Ranking System, Kai is capable of performing the Rising Dragon that makes his body be surrounded by an Avatar resembling a dragon with all the draconic features and abilities that come with it.
Former Powers[]
Powers Via Staff of Elements[]
- Energy: With the power of the staff Kai could use element esence of Energy.
- Energy Manipulation - The user is able to manipulate and generate energy. This Elemental Power makes the user able to create powerful beams as explosions and use the power as a matter to generate force fields or control their power levels to increase or suppress their attacks.
- Energy Ball Projection - The users of this ability are able to create green balls of energy that they can use as part of a melee attack or as a way of transportation.
- Lightning: With the staff he could use power of element of lightning.
- Electricity Manipulation - The user can create, generate, increase, absorb, conduct, shape, and manipulate electricity of various intensities. Users of this element can redirect natural lightning in an electrical storm, electrocute opponents, and cause electrical explosions. Also, the user can use it against an adversary.
- Lightning Blast - The user can release electricity over a specific target area which causes great damage and/or delivers great shock waves of pure force.
- Ice: With the Staff Kai could use element of ice.
- Ice Manipulation - The user can create, generate, and manipulate ice , create ice constructs, induce chills, and extinguish fires. The user can even use this to freeze designated areas underwater and sometimes create ice without even using a beam, instead using their hands to magically generate ice.
- Ice Blast - As demonstrated by the Elemental Master of Ice, the user can release ice over a specific target area causing great damage and/or delivering great shock waves of pure force.
Abilities[]
- Blacksmith: Despite his terrible skills in weapon forging, Kai is shown to be still a great blacksmith despite all the setbacks he went through despite teaching himself to forge weapons. Which is best shown when he was able to melt down the Golden Armor, and reforge it into the weapons it was previously made from.
- Master Combatant: Even before getting the proper training, Kai was shown to be a very competent fighter, wielding a sword against the Skulkin when they attacked the blacksmith shop. But once he underwent proper training with master Wu and other masters, Kai is now able to go head-to-head with opponents much stronger than him, like the Serpentine, Ghost Warriors, to the Oni.
- Master Swordsman: Being his favorite type of weapons, Kai is able to wield all types of swords with great proficiency.
- Leadership Skills: Way before Lloyd became the leader of the Ninja, Kai is shown to be a very capable leader to his comrades whenever the time came to it.
Quotes[]
| “ | To forge the perfect weapon, you first need the right metal and plenty of heat. Cool it off… and… presto!' | „ |
| ~ Kai's first words in the series as he makes a sword |
| “ | I knew when I had to make a choice, I wanted the Fangblade so badly to prove I was good enough to become the Green Ninja. But then I figured it out, All my training to become the best ninja wasn't in preparation to become the Green Ninja. It was to protect him. | „ |
| ~ Kai Explaining how he unlocked his true potential to save Lloyd. |
| “ | The ultimate battle. The battle that would end all battles. It feels like ages ago. After the Golden Ninja defeated the Overlord, much of Ninjago City was in ruin. It was a time to reflect on our past, and build for our future. Ninjago City soon became New Ninjago City. And it became the center of great technological advancements. But without an enemy to fight, the age of the ninja came to an end. | „ |
| ~ Kai to his students (and the audience) as he teaches them about the Final Battle and it's aftermath. |
Trivia[]
- He is the first character to speak in the Ninjago franchise.
- He didn't like technology in Season 3: Rebooted but he has been seen playing video games and indulging in other technical items in the later seasons, meaning it has grown on him.
- Kai is similar to Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
- Both related to the power of Fire.
- Both have a Sister. Kai with Nya and Azula with Zuko.
- Kai is very similar to Tanjiro Kamado from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba.
- They both have younger sisters respectively (Kai with Nya and Tanjiro with Nezuko).
- Their fire-based abilities are inherited by their fathers respectively.
- They are friends with the cowards who use lightning-based abilities and fall in love with their sisters (Jay and Zenitsu).
- They are also friends with the strongest ones with brutal personalities and obsession with food (Cole and Inosuke).
- They have parents who were taken away by their arch enemies (The difference is that Ray and Maya were captured by the Time Twins, Krux and Acronix, and Kie Kamado was killed by Muzan Kibutsuji).
- He has shown to like Cragling mud during his time traveling the Kingdom of Madness.
