Kazu Shioda

Kazu Shioda is Takato Matsuki's classmate and Guardromon's tamer. He is often seen with Kenta Kitagawa. He has spiky brown hair. He can be annoying at times.

Voiced by Brad MacDonald

Role
Kazu would often play the Digimon card game with Takato and other students at school. Sometimes Takato would win, but most of the time Kazu won. When Takato saw Renamon's battle with Lynxmon in his dream and knew it was real, Kazu and Kenta didn't believe him. Kazu would often give lame cards to Takato, one of which actually worked in their favor during the fight with Gorillamon.

Eventually, after using a Digi Modify combo to destroy IceDevimon, Takato used the same combo to beat Kazu. Kazu later challenged Takato to a revenge rematch and won. When Takato mentioned real Digimon battles to him, Kazu and Kenta were still skeptical so Takato showed them Guilmon. At the sight of his eyes in the dark, they ran. They later thought Takato was using a cheap trick, and lost all interest in Digimon, refusing to talk to Takato (although it was hinted by Kenta that Kazu was jealous). However, they witnessed WarGrowlmon destroying Mihiramon. At this point they not only believed what Takato said, but thought of Digimon as cool.

When Takato and Guilmon played with Kazu, Kenta, Jeri, and other students from school, Impmon informed them of the fight with Sandiramon below. Kazu gave Takato a card which empowered Growlmon to destroy Sandiramon, after which they hung out with not only him, but Gargomon and Kyubimon. He later helped hide Guilmon while on the bus, on a field trip.

At one point Kazu drew a blue card for Takato, saying that it could work because Takato created Guilmon with a drawing. Takato used this card to matrix digivolve Guilmon into WarGrowlmon, who destroyed Indramon.

When Makuramon kidnapped Calumon, Kazu and Kenta traveled to the digital world with the tamers and their Digimon in order to find their own Digimon, each saying which Digimon they would like, or thought the other would get, and often when they saw a wild Digimon they would say they wanted him or her as their tamer. One such Digimon was Meramon, but during a stampede of Jagamon (during which Kazu and Kenta fell asleep and were saved by Renamon), Meramon was killed.

Later, a data stream teleported Kazu, Kenta, Rika, and Renamon to an area down a cliff where they met Jijimon and Babamon. Kazu wanted Jijimon as his partner, but they got mixed up, with Jijimon acting as the tamer and Kazu fighting Kenta as "BlackWarKazumon" (an obvious reference to BlackWarGreymon from the second season).

They eventually returned to the flag that they used to mark the spot where they arrived. Rika and Renamon got tired of waiting for the others and left to find them, leaving Kazu and Kenta behind in case they should arrive. Although Takato and the others did arrive, Kazu and Kenta followed Rika and Renamon before then. Another data stream sent them to a clock area where they met Ryo and Cyberdramon, who reunited Kazu and Kenta with Takato and the others (but not Rika and Renamon, who left due to Rika's hate for Ryo).

After Ryo and Cyberdramon left, Rika and Renamon reunited with the gang, and Takato, Henry, and Terriermon were separated, Kazu and the others fell into the forest area where they met Guardromon. After the fight with Orochimon, Kazu received a digivice and became Guardromon's tamer.

After the battles with Beelzemon and Zhuqiaomon, the tamers rescued Calumon, at Kazu's suggestion climbing down Azulongmon's beard. After return to Earth, Kazu's father punched him in the head, as he had told him that he was leaving for something school-related. Later, Kazu and Guardromon arrived to fight the D-Reaper, and he and Kenta had their big moment when they and MarineAngemon saved Takato, Guilmon, Henry, Terriermon, Rika, Renamon, Ryo, and Cyberdramon from the void of Juggernaut that destroyed the D-Reaper and nearly got them as well due to a miscalculation.

Kazu also attended Rika's birthday party after the battle with Parasimon.