Izumi Kikuchi

Kenji Hatano originally wanted to be a Baseball superstar, but didn’t like how one player’s mistake can hurt the whole team. Upon being shown a kyotei (hydroboat) race by his Principal and seeing a special turn called a Monkey Turn, he decides to try it out. After capsizing due to a Monkey Turn gone wrong, Kenji decides to become a professional Kyotei racer. Two years later, he graduates from the Yamato Training School and promises his friend Sumi Ubukata that he’ll become Japan’s No. 1 Kyotei racer within three years.