Mr. Match (anime)

Mr. Match, known as Ken'ichi Hino (火野ケンイチ) in Japan, is a character in the MegaMan NT Warrior anime. He is the operator of TorchMan.EXE and also operated HeatMan.EXE for a short time. Originally a member of the World Three with Maddy, Count Zap, and Yahoot, and an enemy of Lan Hikari and MegaMan.EXE, Match and his fellow World Three members become allies and friends to Lan and his friends over the course of the series.

Overview
True to his nature as a Fire-type NetNavi operator, Mr. Match has a short temper and a fiery passion. As an arsonist for the WWW, Mr. Match was a persistent villain who vowed to defeat Lan and MegaMan and cause chaos and confusion for the real and cyberworld. However after the defeat of the WWW, Yahoot opens Number 1 Curry where Mr. Match becomes the delivery man, and seems to quickly become a more civil character, aiding Lan on several occasions and serving him and his friends at the restaurant, ultimately becoming a friend and ally to the heroes as the series goes on. Despite this, he and his fellow WWW members wish for the return of Mr. Wily and the revival of WWW, though they are unaware their leader does not wish the same.

MegaMan NT Warrior
Mr. Match appears in the first episode of the series, as an arsonist under the direction of Mr. Wily. Despite a successful string of attacks by setting the oven on fire in people's homes, Mr. Match and TorchMan.EXE are stopped when a newly programmed MegaMan stops TorchMan's fire-type viruses in Lan's house. Mr. Wily orders Match to delete the Navi if he comes across him again. Later, when TorchMan sets Maylu's house on fire through her oven, MegaMan and TorchMan duel again, and Mr. Match logs TorchMan out after MegaMan cuts off his left arm.

Mr. Match, Count Zap and Maddy are scolded by Lord Wily for their failures. The trio then cooperate in the scheme to make robotic fish at an aquarium go out of control, but their scheme ultimately fails.

Later, Mr. Match is feeling dejected because of being defeated by MegaMan. He then decides to challenge MegaMan and Lan to a rematch. In anger, he unleashed TorchMan on the Net to overheat various electronics and to attract MegaMan's attention. His actions indirectly lead to Maylu and Roll having a spat, which distracted MegaMan and Lan from his actions. Mr. Match loses patience and rages before TorchMan raises the possibility that Lan might not know it's them. Mr. Match then sends TorchMan to challenge MegaMan directly. TorchMan threatens to destroy the Central Heating Grid if he doesn't, but gives the message to Roll and GutsMan instead. When Lan and MegaMan don't show up, Mr. Match berates TorchMan for that mistake. Even though, he enjoyed watching TorchMan dominate Roll, GutsMan and MegaMan, he panics when TorchMan's crest is damaged and logs him out.

He participates in the N1 Grand Prix with other WWW members and fights against MegaMan twice. After PharaohMan and Lord Wily were believed to be destroyed, Mr. Match and the other WWW members started their own curry shop, #1 Curry, to support themselves.

While Lan was traveling through several locations as a reward for getting 2nd place in the N1 Grand Prix, Mr. Match follows after him to have a rematch, but only manages to stay one step behind; reaching a city after Lan had already departed. After returning to DenCity, TorchMan is deleted by FreezeMan in NetCity, and Match relies on the help of Mr. Famous to change TorchMan into HeatMan using his remaining data to save him. HeatMan is able to defeat FreezeMan during the incident with Gospel.

MegaMan NT Warrior Axess
Mr. Match returns in episode 7 of Axess, where he comes back to DenTech City in pursuit of VineMan.EXE. When he learns VineMan has already arrived when VineMan shuts down the rail system, he jacks HeatMan in to find him. HeatMan catches up with VineMan fighting MegaMan and saves MegaMan while Match catches up with Lan and Maylu. Match tells Lan that WackoMan, ElecMan, and MagicMan were all captured by VineMan’s plants, and that HeatMan barely escaped himself. Mr. Famous arrives, having brought equipment that Match asked for to repair HeatMan, and Match gives Lan a tracking signal they managed to place on VineMan before HeatMan logged out, telling him he will catch up when HeatMan is repaired. While repairing HeatMan, Match sees the silhouette of TorchMan, and Famous states that TorchMan’s data has been living inside HeatMan, and begins reformatting HeatMan’s data to separate the two.

The revived TorchMan saves MegaMan and MegaMan gains Torch Soul, and the two fight together and delete VineMan. Match thanks Famous for reviving TorchMan, and Lan thanks Match for his help in deleting VineMan, though Match mutters that while they worked together this time, now that he has TorchMan back next time he will defeat Lan and MegaMan (he does not state this in the original Japanese version, instead when Netto thanks him he simply states that it was “my pleasure!”).

He briefly appears in episode 9, having apparently "trained" Dex and GutsMan to take on Lan and MegaMan with his fellow World Three members, although this is merely a ruse to get him out of their hair, as he was useless around the restaurant. Dex returns at the end of the episode, much to the frustration of him and the others.

He appears in episode 15.

Rockman.EXE Stream
Hinoken appears at the end of episode 34, where Mahajarama reveals that Inukai’s accomplices didn’t get away with the Dark Chips they were attempting to smuggle, as Hinoken had been on vacation near where they were docking and stopped them.

In episode 37, he stops by Maha Ichiban and compliments Dekao on his curry, stating it’s even worth coming over seas to eat. Yaito stops by on her rocket and takes Dekao and Dingo to make curry for her party, and takes Hinoken along too, who states it’s like being kidnapped and that people with money seem to do what they want. Yaito tells him if he wants to go home, they can give her a refund for the 64,800 plates of curry she ordered, and Hinoken quickly relents. When Yaito reveals the party is a contest for the girl with the most beautiful forehead, Hinoken wonders if winning this would really make anyone happy. He later assists in making the curry. When CloudMan.EXE and BlizzardMan.EXE attack the Yaito Memorial Dome, Hinoken tells Netto and Nenji Rokushakudama that they can’t plug-in unless they melt the ice covering the port, so Nenji gets into a fight with NapalamMan.EXE to make him heat up Nenji’s PET, using it to thaw the ice. Nenji, Netto, Hinoken, Dekao, and Dingo all plug-in to combat the Darkloids, and despite having the advantage over them, Dark Rockman summons Dimensional Converters and CloudMan and BlizzardMan form in the real world. BlizzardMan attacks Dekao, Dingo, and Hinoken before Netto cross fuses and repels them.

Hinoken is a guest at the event, where Yaito is chosen as the girl with the most beautiful forehead, though Hinoken points out that all of the other party guests are employees or relatives of employees of Gabcom, Yaito’s company. He then watches the fireworks with the rest of the guests.

In episode 39, he is with the other original WWW members as they watch in disgust as the Neo WWW cause destruction with massive viruses materialized in the real world by VideoMan.EXE. Unbeknownst to them, Dr. Wily had been the sole customer at the restaurant, and tells them that they will show the Neo WWW the wrath of the original organization. Hinoken, Madoi, Mahajarama, and Dingo go to the car museum and get the Dimensional Area cars, and bring them to Wily and prepare them for use. The original WWW members, Dingo, and Dekao arrive just in time to save Netto, and activate a Dimensional Area for him to use. Wily reflects that his WWW has matured a bit before disappearing, much to Hinoken and the other’s distress.

In episode 44, it is revealed that Mahajarama set up a "Seaside Maha Ichiban", and Hinoken and the others were there on a business trip, joining several other cast members on a vacation. Hinoken watches on in disgust as Netto eats "curry ice", a cross between shaved ice and curry that Dekao invented. Later in the episode he flees from the "haunted mansion" (which was really Dr. Hikari's "test of courage) with the others, only to have been spit out at the hot springs nearby with the rest of the cast. Hinoken and the cast then enjoys the hot springs.

He makes one more appearance in the season during the credits of the final episode, watching Dark Miyabi eat curry alongside the other WWW members.

Trivia

 * In the English dub, he speaks with a Scottish accent.
 * Unlike in the video game series, Match never goes back to a life of crime after reforming like in Mega Man Battle Network 3, despite pining too with his fellow WWW members.
 * Match is never the operator of FlameMan.EXE like he is in Battle Network 3, instead FlameMan appears as a Zoanoroid under Gregar, and the two never even cross paths.