Dan Kusou

Daniel "Dan" Kusou is the main protagonist of the anime series Bakugan Battle Brawlers and its three following seasons: New Vestroia, Gundalian Invaders, and Mechtanium Surge.

He is partnered with a Pyrus Dragonoid named Drago (who eventually evolved into Fusion Dragonoid). After his actions in the first season, he has become a legend among brawlers from Earth, Vestal, Neathia, and Gundalia.

For the first two seasons, he lived in Wardington with his parents, Miyoko Kuso and Shinjiro Kuso, near his friends Runo Misaki, Marucho Marukura and Shun Kazami. He moved to Bayview in Gundalian Invaders, as did Julie, who became his neighbor.

He was the #1 Brawler in Bakugan Interspace until he was disqualified in a brawl against Anubias. He moved to Bakugan City in Arc 2 of Mechtanium Surge, and now lives in the Battle Brawlers Headquarters.

In the Heroes Coalition fics, Dan is a member of the Heroes Coalition and is part of the Universal Guardians as it's Second-in-Command.

Appearance
In the first season, he is seen wearing a short red overcoat with black pockets over a bright yellow sleeveless. He has brown hair in which he wears hexagonal shaped goggles. He wears long red trousers with black stripes just below his knees, the ends of which are neatly tucked into his blue-tongued black sneakers. He keeps his Bakugan Gear on his belt similar to how Pokémon trainers keep their Poke Balls. Lastly, he wore blue fingerless gloves. The left glove was longer and he wore an orange BakuPod on his left wrist.

In New Vestroia, he wears a gold-trimmed long sleeved overcoat and darker colored 'shoulder pads' on his shoulders. His sleeves go past his wrist forming a slight upward V-shape. He wears this over a light blue sleeveless shirt. He wears white pants with grey pinstriped patches on his hips that are outlined in blue. The bottoms of his pants are neatly tucked into his black boots and are supported by a white and blue belt with a square belt buckle and wears suspender-like straps on his waist with gold buckles. He wore black fingerless gloves nearly identical to the ones he wore in the first season.

In Gundalian Invaders, he wears a white-collared red jacket with the sleeves rolled slightly up his forearms. His goggles have become elliptical. His gold buckled belt is replaced by a normal buckle (silver or aluminum). He wears dark trousers with side pockets that are outlined in red and tucked into his blue and black sneakers with gray tongues. When he became a castle knight, he wore a high-collared form-fitting outfit similar to a stormtrooper's armor. It was trimmed in red and gold and had blue markings down the sides. However, he reverted to his former outfit at the end of the series.

In the first arc of Mechtanium Surge, he wears his trademark red jacket with a black high collar and black pads on the sides of each of his shoulders over a white and blue T-shirt. He wears normal jeans which are held by a brown belt. He also wears red-soled black sneakers that have red tongues. In the second arc, he wears a red jacket which has white on the shoulders, black fingerless gloves, and dark red jeans.

Personality
Dan is a boy who really loves Bakugan and aspires to be the best brawler to ever live, which he achieves in the last episode of Bakugan Battle Brawlers. However, he tends to be impulsive and rash, which often leads him to trouble when his overconfidence gets the better of him. He is easily frustrated, which combined with his eagerness to brawl, causes him to complain a lot when he has to wait around in hiding, as shown in the first and second season. By the third season, however, Dan has outgrown that habit, as shown in the episode Curtain Callwhen he was telling Jake to help rebuild the second shield generator after they had a successful victory over the Gundalians.

In the beginning, Dan played using raw power without any kind of strategy, only caring about winning and not the consequences that would follow. Because of this, he and Drago got into an argument that ended with Dan throwing Drago in the river. After losing a battle to Ryo and reuniting with Drago, Dan learned that there's more to Bakugan than just power. After that experience, Dan started using a little more strategy in his battles, allowing him to take on world-ranked Bakugan champions like Chan Lee.

Abilities
Dan used to play using raw power without any kind of strategy, often caring more about winning and not the consequences to come. However, after he was defeated by Ryo, he start to learn being strategic to rematch and defeat him. Dan is a skilled brawler between Season 1 - 3. But in season 4, his brawling record isn't as great. He has lost three brawls in Battle Brawlers, three brawls in New Vestroia, two brawls in Gundalian Invaders and eight brawls in Mechtanium Surge.

Beside his Brawler skill, he has also shown to have some Psychic abilities, especially Telephaty and Clairvoyance. On Season 2, he is shown to telepathically hear Spectra's voice to rematch their battle, and on Season 3, he has some visions about the Neathian-Gundalian war on episode 1. When he gain a switch code on Season 4, Dan always has mental link by Mag Mel which results he always gets a pain in his head whenever he heard his voice or gets haunted by a horrified vision even for a temporary, due the power of switch code not yet completed. He no longer has this after he clashes with Mag Mel during their battle on reverse world, which causes him to lose his link with him. With the Switch code, he is also able to combine his key and Drago's gate to summon his Methogan, Zenthon and Zenthon Titan.

In the Heroes Coalition fics, Dan wields a golden-colored blade with several colorful gems, he charges it up with magical energy before swinging it, unleashing a flaming wave of energy towards his targets.

Trivia

 * He is the first and only one to use a Double Ability in Gundalian Invaders.
 * Dan is the second-youngest out of the original Battle Brawlers.
 * He is the second person to use a Triple Ability, after Spectra.
 * His goggles are similar to those worn by the main protagonists of Digimon seasons 1-4 and 6-9.
 * With a total of seven Bakugan Traps, he has the most Bakugan Traps.
 * He also has the most Battle Gear, with six.
 * He also has the most Battle Suits, with four.
 * He also has the most Fusion Abilities,with nine.