Kaban

Kaban (Japanese: かばん Hepburn: Kaban) is the name given to the human Friend who stars as the protagonist of the Kemono Friends 2017 anime. She received her name from her companion and best friend Serval, with whom she spends the duration of her adventure in the anime story, after the bag she was born wearing.

Appearance
Kaban is a girl of short stature. She has black, short, and messy hair. She also wears a safari hat - that is reminiscent of a pith helmet - that is rather battered and has holes in its rim. For most of the series the hat has a single green feather, however, in Episode 11, Arai returns a red feather to the hat. The hat once belonged to Mirai. She wears a red v-necked shirt with black trims and a dark gray undershirt below that. She carries around a white backpack, for which she is named. She has grayish-white pants with red and black trimming, as well as black stockings and gloves. She wears brown shoes and has grey-blue eyes.

Personality
Kaban has a reserved, calm, and caring personality. She is not as outgoing as Serval when it comes to interacting with other friends, and her gentle voice and less animated body language contrasts her from Serval's hyper personality. She also does not make as quick remarks as often as Serval does and tends to think through her words more.

Kaban is also able to remain calm and think of solutions under pressure. In the battle against the Cellien in the first episode, she was able to devise a plan to distract the Cellien with a paper airplane. She was also able to create a sled to escape from the Celliens that were rolling down the mountain. Even under time pressure from the Owl's cooking trial, Kaban was also able to successfully cook some curry.

Her kindness shows when she is talking to friends such as Crested Ibis. Instead of insulting or criticizing Crested Ibis's singing, she decides to compliment her. She also cares for her friends and the Park's safety more than herself. She dove into the Black Cellien and was willing to sacrifice the boat to protect the Park, rather than use the boat to accomplish her goal of finding other humans. She's polite and appreciates all the help she received throughout the story, and she is thankful for the experiences she had in Japari Park. When tackled by Raccoon, she's initially surprised, and she never displayed anger or annoyance to anyone throughout the show. She is always willing to help others as is seen throughout the show.

Even though Kaban can be brave, she is also very easily scared. Throughout the anime, she screams "Do not eat me!" usually when she is jump-scared by a friend.

Backstory
Throughout the anime, Kaban searches for her identity and learns that she is human; however, she remains unaware of her origins. In episode 12, one of Mirai's recordings from Boss reveals that she lost her hat on the Ferris wheel before departing the park. In the same episode at the party, the Common Raccoon tells her story of stumbling on Kaban's hat to Kaban and Serval. When Raccoon discovered the hat in the savanna area, sandstar from the eruption hit a strand of Mirai's hair in the hat, which surprised Common Raccoon and caused her to fall. A dark shadowed silhouette that rose from the hat appeared to be Kaban.

Episode 1
In the first episode, Kaban wanders in the savanna area and attempts to run from Serval in a chase (Serval calls it "hunter and prey"). Serval inquires Kaban about what type of friend she is and what her territory is. Kaban claims to not know anything, not even her own name. Despite this, she is able to identify her bag, in which Serval names Kaban after. Serval states that Kaban was probably born from last night's sandstar eruption and suggests that she visits the library to learn about herself. Serval accompanies Kaban through the savanna area and protected her from a Cellien. Kaban feels sad about her inadequacy, but Serval reassures Kaban about her potential. After a break and more walking, they arrive at a water pool and encounter Hippopotamus. Hippopotamus questions Kaban's capabilities, pointing out Kaban's lack of abilities. However, later at the bridge that leads to the Jungle, Kaban reveals her potential through her intelligence by distracting a Cellien with a paper airplane. Afterward, Kaban and Serval make paper airplanes together, and Kaban prepares to depart to the Jungle without Serval. However, only a few steps in, Serval reappears and decides to tag along with Kaban throughout the whole trip. Near the end of the episode, Serval and Kaban encounter a Lucky Beast referred to as "Boss", who acts as Kaban's guide throughout the show.

Episode 2
In this episode, Kaban encounters many friends in the Jungle area. Boss guides them to a bridge that has been destroyed in attempts to reclaim a Japari Bus. In her dilemma, she gathers the help of Jaguar, Asian Small-Clawed Otter, and Serval to reconstruct a bridge and the Japari Bus.

Episode 3
After learning that the Japari Bus's battery has run dry, Kaban, Boss, and Serval travel to the mountains in search of a café to recharge the battery. At the base of the mountain, they find a tram station with no vehicles to ride and encounter Crested Ibis. Crested Ibis flies Kaban to the top of the mountain to the Japari Café. Kaban encounters Suri Alpaca and is able to recharge the battery. Suri Alpaca complains about the lack of visitors, and Kaban helps to make the café more visible by weeding the grass to create a mug impression on the grass.

Episode 4
After getting the Japari Bus operational, Serval, Kaban, and Boss travel through the desert area and encounter a sandstorm. They encounter Sand Cat who falls from the sky while trying to get the bus unstuck from the sand. They have small chatter and visit Sand Cat's home, which is a cave. At her home, they find an underground passage to the labyrinths. Kaban and Serval enter the labyrinths and encounter Tsuchinoko, who guides Kaban and Serval through the Labyrinth. They stumble upon an exit closed by rubble, but Kaban helps to find a secret exit behind the wooden panels and discovers another part of the labyrinth. They return to the Japari Bus and travel to the next area.

Episode 5
In this episode, Kaban, Serval, and Boss encounter North American Beaver after knocking down her stack of logs into the water. American Beaver wanted to build herself a house but she felt too much anxiety every time she attempted to build. Due to the loss of her construction materials, Serval and Kaban volunteer to gather wood for American Beaver. Lucky locates a nearby forest, and they encounter Black-Tailed Prairie Dog who is digging countless holes in the ground. With Prarie Dog's working speed and American Beaver's instruction, they gather materials very quickly. Back near the lake, Kaban suggests that American Beaver attempt to make a smaller model of her desired log house. American Beaver and Prarie Dog attempt to build their own homes without success and Kaban makes another suggestion, in which American Beaver and Prarie Dog join efforts to create a home. They successfully create a log house with an underground tunnel. Kaban, Serval, and Boss depart from the Lake Shore later in the day.

Episode 6
In this episode, Kaban, Serval, and Boss are captured by Arabian Oryx and Aurochs, who are aligned with Lion and at war with Moose's group. The Arabian Oryx and Auroch take them to Lion's castle. At first, they are intimidated by Lion's demeanor, but when the Oryx and Auroch leaves, Lion loosens the tension and converses with Kaban and Serval. Lion explains the war on the territories, her winning streak, and concerns. She inquires Kaban if she has any idea to prevent people from getting hurt and to making Moose win. Kaban suggests using rolled papers and breaking beach balls attached to their bodies to decide the battle. Kaban and Serval are sent to Moose's side as spies to help Moose win the war. The two participate in the sparring session and enter the war later in the day. Moose proposes charging to the fortress head-on; however, Kaban devised a strategy to aid in Moose's victory. At the end of the episode, Shoebill approaches Kaban and asks if she is a human.

Episode 7
At the beginning of the episode, Shoebill tells Kaban that humans were clever beings that developed an interesting idea, possessed high intellect, and wielded tools. While not being able to pinpoint the exact area that humans lived, Kaban and Serval venture to the library to learn of the humans' whereabouts. Upon arriving at the forest, Kaban and Serval venture into a maze with various quizzes about animal facts. Kaban is able to read the writing on the signs, and Serval is fascinated by Kaban's ability to read. After numerous trial and errors through the quizzes, Kaban and Serval finally reach the library and meet Northern White-Faced Owl (the Professor) and Eurasian Eagle-Owl (the assistant). After the introduction, the two owls remark that Kaban and Serval are the first to complete the maze. When Serval asks the two owls about Kaban's animal species, the two offer to answer only if they cook for them. The group enters the library and the owl introduces them to cookbooks, ingredients, and a cooking station. Serval cuts the vegetables, and Kaban starts a fire with a magnifying glass, which scares the owls and Serval. After finishing cooking, the owls taste the curry that Kaban made. At first, they gave jeering remarks about the spiciness, but they come to enjoy the dish. The owls tell Kaban that she is a human, but the two state that humans disappeared from the island by hiding or extinction. The two owls give Kaban and Serval VIP tickets to the P.P.P. concert and tell them to visit when they find the humans.

Episode 8
Kaban and Serval travel to Waterfront area to attend P.P.P.'s concert. They encounter Margay on a tree and watch a short debut of the group. They later visit P.P.P. during their practice session. They watch the practice and complement the group for their music and dancing skills; however, Royal Penguin gets frustrated due to her insecurities and leaves practice before the concert. Kaban and Serval find her sitting near the water outside the concert hall. They usher her back into the concert hall and P.P.P. performs their song. After the concert, Kaban and Serval converse with the P.P.P. members and Royal Penguin comments that the humans were last seen at the Harbor.

Episode 9
Kaban and Serval travel to the Snow Mountains Area and decide to visit the hot springs in the area. They are fascinated by the snow, but when they decided to travel on foot to the onsen, the weather drastically changed to a blizzard. They created an igloo to seek shelter from the cold winds and during their wait, they encounter Silver Fox and Ezo Red Fox whom dig their way into the igloo. The two foxes introduce themselves to Kaban, and they both discuss their objectives. The foxes intend to check out the hot spring's source for any problems, and they promise to guide Kaban to the hot spring afterward. At the hot spring's source, Kaban and Serval examine and enjoy the hot water while the two foxes clean the excess sulfur from the extractor. Shortly admiring the mountain the view, the group is threatened by spherical Cellien rolling down the mountain. They make a make-shift sled to quickly escape by sledding down the mountain and exiting the Celliens' path. Afterward, the group reaches the hot springs inn. They all decided to take a bath, but before joining, Kaban prepared to take off her clothes which surprised Silver Fox and Serval. After enjoying the hot springs Kaban, Serval, and Lucky Beast decided to depart to the Lodge for the night.

Episode 10
In this episode, Kaban and Serval arrive at the Campo Lodge and meet the innkeeper, Campo Flicker. She showed the two various rooms at the lodge, and they then selected the View Room as their lodging. Afterward, Kaban and Serval decide to explore the Lodge and encountered Gray Wolf, who was working on a rough draft for a manga. Gray Wolf decided to scare the two with a prank to examine their fearful expressions, and afterward, the two left to explore more of the Lodge. They then encountered Reticulated Giraffe who interrupted Serval in her introduction. Giraffe attempted to deduce Serval's species without much success. Later, the two explore the lodge a bit more, listened to one of Mirai's recordings, and head to sleep for the night. The next morning, Kaban and Serval meet Campo Flicker, Grey Wolf, and Reticulated Giraffe and discussed the ghostly apparitions that Campo Flicker saw during the night. They go to the location of her sighting but are unable to deduce a culprit. Unable to leave the lodge due to heavy rain, Serval and Kaban stayed the next two nights. Kaban and Serval listened to more of Mirai's commentary, and the Reticulated Giraffe and Grey Wolf spot the ghostly apparition. Still unable to come up with a culprit, Kaban and Serval encounter the apparition in the next morning. The group meets up to think of a culprit, in which Kaban deduces the culprit to be herself. She has the group follow her around with Lucky Beast to reveal that Lucky Beast has been projecting a hologram of Mirai. After solving the case, Kaban and Serval depart to the harbor with farewells from Grey Wolf, Reticulated Giraffe, and Campo Flicker. Kaban and Serval reach the harbor but see that it is uninhabited. They board a ship, and Kaban discusses her plan to travel out to the ocean. Shortly after, a loud explosion is heard before the end of the episode.

Episode 11
Investigating the cause of the sound, Kaban and Serval encounter a black Cellien. Serval attempts to attack the Cellien, but her attacks bounce off, and they attempt to escape. They are saved by Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey. Lucky inquires Kaban if it can investigate the situation. Kaban, Serval, and Monkey follow the Lucky Beast and encounter Brown Bear. After some small talk, Lucky Beast alarms the others of a high concentration of Sandstar Ro and to evacuate. Brown Bear and Monkey decide to chase down the Black Cerulean while Lucky Beast, Kaban, and Serval check out the mountain. On their way to the mountain, they hear Mirai's commentary on the Black Cellien, and upon reaching the peak, they learn that the Black Cellien follows the light and dislikes water. After listening to some more commentary, Kaban is tackled by Common Raccoon who has followed Kaban throughout the whole park with Fennec Fox. A small misunderstanding ensues but is dissipated shortly after. With the help of Mirai's commentary, Fennec's knowledge of direction, and Kaban's map reading, they are able to locate a tablet that purifies the Raw Sandstar from the Sandstar mountain, reducing the Black Cellien's growth. After regrouping with Brown Bear, African Wild Dog, and Monkey, Kaban devises a plan to lure the Black Cellien to the ship at night with the Japari Bus's headlights and plans to sink the ship with the Black Cerulean. At night, they attempt to execute to plan, but the Black Cellien topples the bus and absorbs Serval. Brown Bear and Kaban use torches as a backup plan to lure the Cellien, but Kaban does not follow Brown Bear and decides to dive in the Black Cellien from atop of a tree to save Serval. Once out, Kaban attempts to lure the Black Cellien away from Serval but gets eaten from her attempt.

Episode 12
In this episode, Kaban spends a decent portion of time in the Black Cellien. Many friends help attack the Black Cellien to free out Kaban, who is in the form of a radiating rainbow orb. Kaban revives with her memory and form intact. Kaban inquires about the Black Cellien, and they learn that the Black Cellien has boarded the ship with Lucky Beast still on board. The boat travels out and sinks from the Black Cellien's weight. The next morning, various friends from the park, Serval, and Kaban search for Lucky and find his remains near the shore. A month after the battle, the park holds a celebration party for Kaban. She makes a short speech thanking all the friends in the park for their efforts for saving the park and helping learn of her identity. Afterward, they feast, and various friends throughout the show enjoy their time at the amusement park. Kaban learns about her origin from Raccoon and wears Lucky Beast as a watch. Later Kaban and Serval ride the Ferris wheel. They listen to Mirai talk about departing the Park and after finishing their ride, they encounter various friend reveal the re-purposed Japari Bus, which has turned into a boat. Kaban thanks all the friends at the party and they thank him in return. Kaban climbs a tree to show and tell what she has learned from the Park before boarding the Japari Boat and departing. Once at sea, she sees the next island, the Gokoku region, but the boat runs out of battery. However, she is quickly joined by Serval, who is another boat made from the Japari Bus, and by another aquatic friend.

After the Series
Kaban, along with Serval and other Friends (who are implied to be Raccoon and Fennec Fox), was last seen riding the Japari Bus, which has been repurposed as a boat, from the Kyōshū Region to the Gokoku Region. The group hopes to learn the fate of humanity by continuing their adventure elsewhere.

S2E01: Beyond Memories
While Kaban is not seen in person, when Kyururu states that he isn't an animal, mentions that he could instead be a human. To back up this theory, she asks about an unusual Friend she had traveled with that Serval had called a human. Serval responds affirmatively but notes that she has difficulty remembering that time, despite how long she knows the two were together. A silhouette of Kaban, implied but not confirmed to be a memory of Serval's, then flashes on the screen.

S2E05: The Power of Humans
After not appearing for some time, Kaban finally reappears after the strange encounter with Siberian Tiger to lead Kyururu and the other Friends to safety but becomes surprised once she sees Serval again.

Serval
Serval is Kaban's endearing companion throughout the twelve episodes in the show. They both care for each other greatly and seem to admire and complement each other's talents. Serval can perform exceptional physical tasks while Kaban utilizes problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Throughout the anime, Serval is constantly fascinated by Kaban's ingenuity e.g. Kaban's paper airplane from Ep. 1, the bridge from Ep. 2, ability to read in Ep. 7.

Lucky
Lucky acts as Kaban's guide throughout the anime. Lucky informs Kaban about the various friends and areas and views Kaban similarly to Mirai due to Kaban's hat. Through Mirai's recorded logs, Kaban gains hints about the humans' disappearance from the island.

Raccoon
Throughout most of the anime, Raccoon does not meet Kaban till near the end of anime. She pursues Kaban in hopes to reclaim the hat she found in the savanna and accuses Kaban as a thief despite never having interacted with Kaban. Raccoon goes throughout Japari Park and becomes fascinated with Kaban's feats that are told by other friends. Near the end when Raccoon finally meets Kaban, she realizes that Kaban is not the thief that she accuses her to be and comes to really admire Kaban.

Fennec Fox
As Raccoon's friend, she follows Raccoon and does not meet Kaban till near the end. Unlike Raccoon, she is able to remain calm and think things through, which complements the Raccoon's hasty nature. It is implied that she already assumed that Kaban was the friend with Raccoon's desired hat. She is able to help Kaban with a sense of direction and find the tablet to purify the sandstar mountain. Afterward, they become friends.

Trivia

 * After she gets rescued from the Black Cellien, Kaban seems to have lost her leggings and gloves. Throughout the rest of the episode, they seem to grow back.
 * In the first episode, Serval touches Kaban's back to check for wings even though wings are located on the avian friends' heads.
 * Ironically, Kaban and Mirai share the same voice actor. Being a nod and hint to how Kaban was created off of Mirai's essence and in her image. Both being voiced by Aya Uchida for the original Japanese dub and Suzie Yeung for the English dub respectably. In addition to this, they also both voice Lucky, which is a nod (and foreshadowing) to his and Mirai's strong connection and how she would often speak through him.