Oh, my beloved Kipo. There are a ton of characters I love on this show, but I think our eponymous heroine remains my favorite. She makes my heart happy (premise spoilers.)
I knew I was going to like Kipo from the moment she arrived on the surface. Having lived the first 12 years of her life in an underground burrow, like every human she’s ever known, she flails around worried about radiation and mutants for about two seconds… and then she looks at the sky. And she looks at the world around her, this whole, wild, beautiful, impossible surface that she’s never seen before. And she lights up. She quickly determines that she’s a smart, capable girl who can find her way back to her burrow, but on the way, she plans on getting a good look at what the world has to offer.
That’s Kipo at her core. She gets confused and overwhelmed, and her curiosity and sanguinity can sometimes override her self-preservation instinct, but at the heart of it, she’s a girl who loves new things and experiences. She meets both life and people/mutes where they are and is prepared to love them. Growing up in the burrow, life never felt small to her, and on the surface, she’s eager to check out every new expanse it unfolds before her. She’s convinced that she can make a friend out of everyone she meets, and she assumes positive intent in practically everyone’s heart.
I love her bubbly enthusiasm, her desire to see everything and meet everyone. Like I said, there’s no sense that she felt deprived/discontent in her burrow, but she greets everything new with such delight and joy. Whether it’s coming across an old guitar in a crumbling wreck of a derelict store, meeting a band of axe-wielding timber cats, or learning about the wonders of brunch, she wants it all. Wolf, the first human she meets on the surface, is her polar opposite, and Wolf spends a lot of time trying to resist Kipo’s artless enthusiasm, but sooner or later, Kipo manages to win over just about everyone. And while Kipo lacks Wolf’s savvy and street smarts, she makes up for it with her determination and ingenuity.
Kipo is also a major nerd. Raised by her scientist dad, she’s constantly geeking out about STEM stuff and takes to every puzzle the gang encounters like a fish to water. The moment where she sees stars for the first time, having only ever read about them, is so special. These proclivities come in hand at various times throughout their adventures, whether it’s deciphering a coded message or getting in the good graces of some astronomer wolves. Her other big pastime is music, and I love every time she bonds with a new group of mutes over their favorite genre (music is huge, and very tribal, on the surface.)
Finally, Kipo is a licensed badass. It’s something that takes time – both for her to learn how to wield her own power and for her to dare to use it – but when she does, it’s always in service of those she cares about. A Hufflepuff if there ever was one, Kipo fights hard for those she loves, and all her lowest moments are instances where she fears 1) she won’t be everything her friends need her to be or 2) the fight will cause her to hurt one of them accidentally. She’s a gentle person with a lot of strength, and she’d always rather connect through music or food than fight, but she’s always ready to protect her friends when she has to.
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