Kenny (Beyblade)

Kenny, known in the original Japanese version as Professor (キョウジュ Kyouju) and in the English version as the Chief, is a fictional character in the popular anime and manga series of Beyblade. He is voiced by Houko Kuwashima in the Japanese version, and Alex Hood in the English dub. Alex Hood says that Kenny has a similar personality to him and that portraying Kenny is like "playing myself in real life".

About Kenny

Kenny is the "brains" of the Bladebreakers team. He is a "self-described nerd", as he'd gladly take the job of a janitor just to be around high-class instruments and computers. He is nicknamed "Chief" by his fellow beybladers because of his advanced expertise on beyblading and computer technology. In the Japanese version, his real name, Manabu Saien (才媛マナブ Saien Manabu), is only revealed later in the series by his mother; only a few other people have called him by his real name, such as DJ Blader in a few episodes.

Kenny's parents, introduced in the second season, own a noodle shop - one of the most successful in the city - and live right above it. His mother is shown to be pushy and overbearing, constantly badgering Kenny about not being enough help to their business and demanding that he help more with the shop. Kenny's father is more easy-going but is constantly busy with the running of the shop; he is never seen outside of it.

Kenny is introduced in episode one of the first season when he first meets the show's protagonist, Tyson Granger. In the second episode, he is kidnapped by Kai Hiwatari and the Blade Sharks for the information on his laptop. After Tyson does battle with Kai to save him, Kenny becomes Tyson's best friend and the two remain inseparable throughout the rest of the series. In the third episode when Tyson meets and befriends Max Tate, Kenny becomes jealous, feeling that Max is stealing Tyson away from him, culminating in an argument between him and Tyson. However, this issue is resolved when Max talks with Kenny and proves that he is determined to be good friends with him as well as Tyson.

Kenny keeps tabs on Tyson's (and later, all the Bladebreakers') beyblading progress throughout the series. He takes care of all the Bladebreakers' blade upgrades and repairs, and though he doesn't take part in beybattles as often as the other members of the Bladebreakers, he's an expert on every aspect of the sport.

Kenny created the HMS series in the anime, and is shown to be of genius intelligence as demonstrated in his ability to repair and modify beyblades to the best of their potential. This was, for the first two seasons, the sole reason for his involvement in the Bladebreakers team - but in G-Revolution Kenny begins to come into his own as a blader, and becomes an official competing member of the team upon the departure of Max and Ray from the Bladebreakers.

Beyblades

In the first season, Kenny battles Kai in the qualifier round using a custom green beyblade with a spring attached to the bottom, giving it a unique bounce effect. Kenny is one of the last competitors with his beyblade still going, but lacks confidence that he can best Kai. Kai ultimately wins the battle against Kenny, but when Tyson wins against Kai later on in the qualifier and the Bladebreakers are formed, Kenny becomes an integral member of the team.

In the second season (V-Force) Kenny creates a beyblade with the help of Max's scientist mother Judy called "Einstein". In a surprise twist, he challenges his best friend Tyson, confidant that Einstein can beat Tyson's newly upgraded Dragoon. However, just when it looks like Kenny might win, Einstein accidentally bounces upside-down into a nearby pond, losing the battle.

In the third season (G-Revolution) Kenny uses "Hopper", his most powerful beyblade in the series. With Hopper, Kenny competes as an active member alongside Tyson. This was initially out of necessity due to Max, Ray and later Kai's departure, but in this season Kenny proves himself to be a formidable opponent in battle.

In the English dub of the first two seasons of the anime, Kenny's laptop has a female bit-beast inside, called Dizzi who was added to the show in placement of Kenny's normal laptop screen. Because Kenny did not use his laptop much in the 3rd season, the addition of Dizzi to the show was impossible to keep up and she was taken out. As part of avoiding confusion because of the removal of Dizzi, Hopper's bit (which showed a frog wearing Kenny's glasses) was blanked or the scene was cut whenever the anime focused on the blade itself.