Kei

WARNING! This article may contain major spoilers from the Dandadan manga series. Please read at your own risk.

Kei
Japanese	ケイ
Official English	Muko (ムーコ) (Science SARU)
Characteristics
Race	Human
Home Planet	Earth
Gender	Female
Age	16-17
Hair Color	Blond
Eye Color	Brown Blue (Formerly)
Personal Status
Status	Alive
Occupation	High School Student
Affiliation	Kami High
Residence	Kamigoe City
Relationships
Others	Miko Momo Ayase Ririna
Portrayal
Japanese Voice	Miyu Tomita
English Voice	Anairis Quiñones
Debuts
Manga Debut	Chapter 1
Anime Debut	Episode 1
Movie Debut	Dandadan: First Encounter

Kei (ケイ) is a recurring character of the Dandadan series. Along with Miko, she is the best friend and classmate of Momo Ayase at high school.

Appearance

Kei is a young girl with brown skin, brown eyes, and blonde hair styled into pigtails. She is typically depicted in her school uniform, which consists of a white undershirt beneath a long-sleeved sweater adorned with a loose bow, paired with a navy skirt, loose socks, and sandals.

In her introduction, Kei was shown wearing light colored makeup (particularly gyaru makeup of the sub-style known as "Manba"). In addition, she is shown to have bright-blue eyes.

Personality

Compared to Miko, Kei is much more straightforward and pushy, not afraid to physically tease Okarun with hugs and pushes. She also treats him and Momo like they are already in a relationship, jokingly asking him to return Momo to her. She even defends Okarun when Jiji states that he's dating Momo.

Synopsis

Kintama Hunt Saga

Turbo Granny Arc

Kei and Miko listening to Momo.

Kei and Miko learn from Momo about her distressing breakup with her boyfriend. Kei comments on the humor she found in Momo hurling seafood-themed insults at her boyfriend during their breakup and reminds Momo that she had advised against getting involved with him. She and Miko then become unimpressed with Momo upon learning that her reason for dating her boyfriend was simply because he bore a resemblance to her ideal man, Ken Takakura, remarking that such men are purely fictional. Later on, the pair discovers Momo engaging with a male student in the hallway, leading Kei to remark that Momo seems to have abandoned her search for Ken Takakura in favor of a geeky type of guy.

Acrobatic Silky

During class, Kei and Miko notice Momo daydreaming and speculates that she might have reunited with her ex-boyfriend since she lost her phone and was absent from school yesterday. After lunch, Kei and Miko catch Momo accidently locking lips with Okarun after they accidently bump into each other. The pair then assume that Momo is romantically involved with Okarun and observe them exchanging insults as they attempt to refute the allegation. Despite this, Kei and Miko still become convinced that the two like each other.

Shortly after, Kei and Miko gossip to their female classmates about Momo and Okarun, leading the girls becoming eager to know more from Momo. When Okarun later arrives at their classroom to talk to Momo, the girls quickly cheer him on, with Momo angrily turning him down. After Okarun leaves dejected, Kei points out to Momo her behaviour towards him was out-of-character, leading Momo to reflect.

Serpo Arc

Kei, Miko and Momo in the biology room.

Since Okarun is apparently busy with his school report, Momo informs her friends about him and proposes to have lunch together. Still, she has a bad feeling on the overall situation and the thought of him going out with Shiratori flashes through her mind. After going out to buy some drinks and spotting Okarun standing over Aira behind the school, Momo returns and informs the girls that she gave the drinks to the ground, which the two interpret as a joke and slams her head on the desk, explaining that she's thinking about something. Later in biology class, Momo observes the mantis shrimp inside its tank and synthonizes with its destructive feelings, making her punch herself multiple times in the face while rethinking about Takakura and Shiratori. Miko and Kei are shocked by her behavior and can only assume she has been possessed by the spirit of the mantis shrimp.

With the defeat of the Serpo Dover Demon Nessie, Momo, Okarun and Aira exit Empty Space while being almost naked in front of the whole school. They escape and hide in Queen's nursery and as Ayase is just about to express what she's feeling to Ken, Miko and Kei rush their way in and explain that she had disappeared in the middle of class according to their friend Kana who also spotted her hugging Okarun while they were both naked in front of class D. Momo doesn't even try to escape the absurd situation they found themselves in, so Miko theorizes that she and Shiratori, who form a love triangle with Takakura, had nude gladatorial combat to claim him, all the while Kei teases Okarun.

Cursed House Arc

Miko and Kei meeting Jiji.

Jin Enjoji enters Kami High in Momo's class and sits next to her friend group, who initially find him annoying because he's a playboy. Kei points out however that he's handsome so Jiji corrects her by saying he's super handsome instead and her sweetness is pulling him towards her, prompting her to laugh. When Jiji shouts that he and Momo are in a relationship, Kei interferes, shouting that he can't date her because she already has Okarun.

Evil Eye Arc

Kei and Miko bump into Momo and Okarun while walking to school and she forcefully hugs Okarun from behind, teasing him and asking to give Momo back to them while Miko asks them about the volcano eruption at Byakuja Village.

The next day at school, Momo announces to Miko and Kei that she's going to get a part-time job, surprising the latter. Kei remembers Ririna looking for help at her job and Miko remembers she's working at a restaurant. Miko points out that Momo doesn't last long at jobs because of her behavior so Momo admits that she hates injustice, intriguing Kei. As Momo begs them, Kei and Miko smile at each other, realizing that Momo has accepted to work in a maid restaurant without knowing.

Kei and the others taking a photo together.

Kei and Miko go to class 2-C and inform Okarun of Ayase's absence. He understands and gets up to leave when he's suddenly jumped on by the two girls who force him to hangout with them despite him refusing. They lead him to the Moe Moe Kikoho where Momo is working as a maid, having fun seeing the two lovers being flustered.

Outside, Momo promises to get back at them since they had told her it was a simple restaurant, although Kei brushes this off and focuses on her maid's outfit which just adds to her cuteness. The girls decide to leave when Okarun suddenly tells them that he's going to stay, making them gasp in excitement and the two leave the lovebirds alone.

Kaiju Arc

Kei and Miko are briefly seen in class while the Evil Eye takes over Jiji and announces he's going to kill all humans, although no one takes him seriously. Later, the two girls ask Momo if he's serious since he's very consistent about it. Kei theorizes he's possessed by the apartment-complex ghost and might have the golden ball, surprising Ayase. Miko understands her shock since she doesn't have a phone and shows her their group chat which has been recently only talking about the apartment-complex specter.

Space Globalists Arc

Kinta Sakata is wondering around the school since he wants to show off to his friends his made up injuries, however he cannot find them anywhere and Miko, Kei and Ririna are briefly seen chatting in class 2-C.

Current Saga

Current Arc

Momo finally returns to school after having her curse lifted, although she's left with amnesia due to not performing the ritual in time. She however remembers Kei and Miko, informing them that she lost her memories which intrigues the former. Momo tries to explain what happened and why she was in Shimane, however Kei continues cutting her off because of how cool her story is. During break, she attempts to mimic Jiji's goofy faces and the scene makes Momo, Miko and Ririna burst out laughing.

Later that morning, Kei, Miko and Momo walk throughout school, chatting like usual. However Okarun hasn't grown enough courage to talk to Momo yet so he stalks them. Momo notices his presence and later confronts him, but after seeing his group of friends acting weird, she feels alienated and returns to class. On her way there she bumped into Sanjome who she did not remember in the slightest so she told Kei and Miko, believing that he was a stranger. Because of that Kei receives confirmation that she has truly lost her memories since Sanjome has been there from the beginning. When Miko brings up Okarun and Kei reminds Momo that she is his dear one, Momo admits that she hasn't sensed being a really good friend of his and she feels stuck. Hearing that astonishing statement, Kei and Miko order her to go on a date with him to reestabilish their relationship. At break they drag her with force to Okarun, proposing to visit the Tokyo National Museum to see a mummy man hanging around, despite Momo's refusal. Once there, Okarun excitingly tells Momo all about mummies and aliens, although Kei and Miko don't really like the exhibits so they sneak out to leave them alone.

Chapter Appearances

Kintama Hunt Saga

Evil Eye Arc
51. We Can All Stay There Together!	Appears
52. The Hayashi Performers Are Here	Absent
53. We Became a Family	Absent
54. Get a Part-Time Job	Appears
55. Moe Moe Tri-Beam	Appears
56. Feeling Kinda Gloomy	Absent
57. Scary Dudes at School	Absent
58. Symphony No. 6	Absent
59. Symphony No. 9	Absent
60. You Can Do It, Okarun!	Absent
61. The Evil Eye's Briefs	Absent
62. I Want to Rebuild the House	Absent

Space Globalists Arc
74. Let's Go to School	Absent
75. Ran Into Someone Deadly	Absent
76. What Do We Do With Her?	Absent
77. This Person is a Pain in the Butt	Absent
78. A Pulse-Pounding Night	Absent
79. Just Who the Heck Is This Person?	Absent
80. Ran Into Some Deadly Dudes 2	Absent
81. What Do We Do About These Deadly Dudes?	Absent
82. Number One Deadliest Dude	Absent
83. At Work	Absent
84. Annoying Dudes	Absent
85. The Power of Nessie	Flashback
86. I Just Wanna Leave Already	Absent
87. Can Never Sleep at a Manga Cafe	Absent
88. Spy	Absent
89. Argument	Absent
90. What're We Gonna Do?	Absent
91. Initiate! The Road to Counterattack!	Absent
92. Just Can't Sleep	Absent
93. Astral Body Adventure	Absent
94. Please Tell Me How To Get Back Into My Body	Absent
95. Day of the Decisive Battle	Absent
96. Motivation	Absent
97. What To Do About the Name?	Absent
98. What To Do About My Beauty Treatment	Absent
99. My Turn	Appears
100. Close That Gate	Absent
101. Vamola	Absent
102. Vamola 2	Absent
103. Vamola 3	Absent
104. Vamola 4	Absent
105. Banga	Absent
106. Vamola's Reasons	Absent
107. I've Decided On Takoyaki	Absent
108. I'm Gonna Kick Ya Into Tomorrow	Absent
109. Mantis Shrimp's Calculation	Absent
110. Wicked Power	Absent
111. Everyone's Reconvened	Absent
112. Today is a Tuesday	Absent
113. Wreck 'Em	Flashback
114. A Persistent Bastard	Absent
115. It's Kinta's Turn Onstage	Absent
116. Howl, Great Kinta!	Absent
117. Out of the Frying Pan	Absent
118. The Power of Reiko Kashima	Absent
119. That Note	Absent
120. Reiko Kashima's Maiden Heart	Absent

Current Saga

Shimane Arc
201. Here We Are, In Shimane	Absent
202. Where'd the Magic Hammer Go?	Absent
203. The Mysterious Man	Absent
204. Enenra, the Smoke Yokai	Absent
205. Spiral Training	Absent
206. Jiji and the Evil Eye	Absent
207. What Even Is a Ninja?	Absent
208. Who's The Real Ninja?!	Absent
209. All Alone	Flashback
210. After the Ritual	Absent
211. Who the Heck?	Absent

Current Arc
212. Momo's Memories	Appears
213. Okarun's Resolve	Appears
214. Feeling Kinda Fuzzy	Absent
215. A Feeling of Distance Between Them	Appears
216. Look, We're Being Attacked By Space Aliens!	Absent
217. The Ogre Club	Absent
218. He's a Mummy, Isn't He?	Absent
219. The Mummy's Weakness	Absent

Bonus Appearances

Volumes Omake
1. Volume 1	Absent
2. Volume 2	Absent
3. Volume 3	Absent
4. Volume 4	Absent
5. Volume 5	Absent
6. Volume 6	Absent
7. Volume 7	Absent
8. Volume 8	Absent
9. Volume 9	Absent
10. Volume 10	Absent
11. Volume 11	Absent
12. Volume 12	Absent
13. Volume 13	Absent
14. Volume 14	Absent
15. Volume 15	Absent
16. Volume 16	Absent
17. Volume 17	Absent
18. Volume 18	Appears
19. Volume 19	Appears
20. Volume 20	Absent
21. Volume 21	Absent

Dandadan Daizukan Stories
1. Momo	Appears
2. Okarun	Absent
3. Aira	Absent
4. Jiji	Absent
5. Bamora	Absent
6. Kinta	Absent
7. Rin	Absent
8. Unji	Absent
9. Sanjome	Absent
10. Turbo Granny	Absent
11. Rokuro Serpo	Absent

Etymology

• The name Kei is written in katakana (ケイさん), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (慧, 圭, 慶 or 恵), it could possibly mean:
  • 慧 - "intelligent".
  • 圭 - "gemstone".
  • 慶 - "congratulate, celebrate".
  • 恵 - "favor, benefit".

Trivia

• In the anime, Kei's name is changed to Muko (ムーコ).
• According to Dandadan Daizukan:
  • She likes shiny things.
  • She dislikes silence.
  • Her hobbies are gyaru makeup.