Hirokazu Shiota (aka Kazu Shioda) ** Note: In the original Japanese version of "Digimon Tamers", Kazu's full name is Hirokazu Shiota. He is 10 years old at the beginning of the show, not 13. >From the beginning, Kazu was going to be a character who started out as a friend and classmate of Takato, and later became a digimon tamer. His personality, that of a modern street-talking young boy, was created in a sort of feedback loop from Mr. Nakatsuru's design sketches of a boy with a visor and a heavy metal long-sleeved t-shirt. The script writers had not planned for Kazu's mom to be a young, tough mom; this was another detail that was decided upon by Mr. Nakatsuru's designs. Around the middle of the first story arc, Takato brags about the fact that he is a digimon tamer, and his friendship with Kazu becomes strained as a result. This continues for several episodes, and while these episodes were being recorded, Ms. Yukiko Tamaki (the actress who portrayed Kazu) seemed so heart-broken that I couldn't help but tell her that "Next week, they'll make up and be friends again." When I saw her face light up with joy, I thought "Ah... she has completely immersed herself in the role of Kazu, hasn't she." One thing that stands out in my memories is that Ms. Tamaki was always with Ms. Kiriko Aoyama, who played Kenta. Even when she did not have a speaking part in the episode, she would come to the studio and stay until the end of the session.