“My entire existence, I have been training for this day. For this hour. For this moment. Terra Karana is a place of danger. Peril awaits at every turn. Victory is impossible... without a proper guide. I am that guide. They call me Okino, Samurai of Terra Karana. If I am worthy, I will lead my Master in triumph. That is my sole purpose in life. For I am Okino!” |
— Okino |
"I am Okino" | |
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Season 12, Episode 5 | |
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Air date | April 4, 2020 (Asia) April 5, 2020 (Australia) July 26, 2020 (US) October 17, 2020 (Canada) |
Written by | Kevin Burke Chris Wyatt |
Directed by | Daniel Ife |
Episode guide | |
Previous "Superstar Rockin' Jay" |
Next "The Glitch" |
I am Okino is the fifth episode of the twelfth season and the 133rd overall of LEGO Ninjago. It aired on April 5, 2020, in Australia, paired up with "The Glitch." It aired in the US on July 26, 2020, but was released on the app on July 10 to people logged in.
Contents
Synopsis
Inside one of the game zones, a Samurai named Okino faces a crisis of faith when he repeatedly fails to lead a series of Masters to victory, causing him to lose all hope - until some familiar ninja arrive.
Extended: Okino is a serious, duty-bound Samurai warrior who is unaware that Prime Empire is a game, since he is part of it. His job is to lead players through the three dangers of Terra Karana - the Forest of Discontent, the Cliffs of Hysteria and the Maze of the Red Dragon where the first Key-tana is located. Unfortunately, the game is rigged to be nearly impossible and Okino quickly fails his masters, who are dematerialised into cubes of energy. As more and more masters are "cubed", Okino begins to lose faith in his abilities. One day, Okino meets another Samurai like himself who is more successful in keeping her master alive. Okino internalises this as a fault of his own so he trains and pushes himself as never before. Despite all his efforts, he loses more masters. Okino prepares to abandon his responsibilities when a final group of travellers arrive, seeking his help. It is the ninja.[1]
Plot
Okino is seen training passingly as he hopes to guide a gamer through Terra Karana and help them obtain the purple Key-Tana. His first attempt is with Newbie Gamer, who interrupts when Okino is explaining Terra Karana and the three deadly challenges: the Forest of Discontent, the Cliffs of Hysteria, and the Maze of the Red Dragon.

A gamer cubed and taken away.
Newbie Gamer enters the Forest of Discontent with a sword and begins to brag that he will conquer the forest. Suddenly, he is shot by the Thorns of Discontent and loses a life. After respawning, Okino suggests that they should take cover, but Newbie Gamer ignores Okino and heads on. However, the same thing happens and he loses a life. With two lives remaining, Okino was about to suggest something, but Newbie Gamer once again ignores Okino and proceeds to head around the forest. Nonetheless, he steps on the Thorns of Discontent and squanders his third life. Now with one life left, Okino was about to suggest something, but Newbie Gamer cuts him off again and goes around the other way. As expected, he dies and turns into an orange cube. Out in the distance, an aerial drone comes by and scoops up the cubes before leaving.
Okino, determined not to fail another master, plants Newbie Gamer's sword in the ground and trains rigorously. Not before long, Gamer Geek arrives in Terra Karana. Despite the original excitement from Gamer Geek, she too is cubed. Okino continues to train and hopes to guide a master to victory but constantly fails every gamer.

Okino talking to a Successful Samurai and a Sage Master.
After some point, Okino begins to lose hope and he places less effort in his training. On one day, Sage Master and Successful Samurai enter Terra Karana and find Okino doing nothing. Successful Samurai and Sage Master would talk about their past success which gets Okino interested. Okino asks what is the key to success and Successful Samurai talks about a positive mindset that inspires Okino.
With inspiration from Okino, he begins to train differently saying that he must change and adapt. Soon, he meets Adventure-Ready Woman who seeks guidance from Okino. She is able to get through the Forest of Discontent thanks to helpful advice from Okino. Next, she is able to scale the soaring Cliffs of Hysteria. When they reach the top, the two can see the Maze of the Red Dragon. With determination, Adventure-Ready Woman continues but is picked up by a huge bird and is cubed, causing Okino to lose all hope.

Lloyd welcomes Okino as their guide.
Okino, believing he has lost everything, thinks he is a failure for not leading any of his gamers to victory. He then vows to never lead a master to their doom and sets his sword down. That's when the ninja enter with Jay and Kai arguing about the League of Jays.
The ninja spot Okino, who calls himself a disgrace for leading none of his master to success. However, the Nya embraces Okino saying it would be an honor if they could have him as their guide.
Cast
- Adventure-Ready Woman - Kathleen Barr
- Cole - Kirby Morrow
- Gamer Geek - Kathleen Barr
- Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
- Kai - Vincent Tong
- Lloyd Garmadon - Sam Vincent
- Newbie Gamer - Brian Drummond
- Nya - Kelly Metzger
- Okino - Alessandro Juliani
- Sage Master - Brian Drummond
- Successful Samurai - Ian Hanlin
Transcript
For the transcript of the episode, click here.
Locations Visited
Trivia
- Narrator: Okino
- This marks the first time that the ninja wear their Digi suits.
- It is revealed that if a player loses all 4 of their lives, they will turn into cubes of energy that end up collected by one of Unagami's aerial drones.
- The bottom half of Kai's scar reappears in this episode after being absent since the animation studio change from WILFilm to WildBrain.
- This episode marks the seventh time a character's name is directly mentioned in an episode's title, that being Okino.
- The other six being "Return of the Overlord" (The Overlord), "Codename: Arcturus" (Arcturus), "My Dinner With Nadakhan" (Nadakhan), "Saving Faith" (Faith), "Krag's Lament" (Krag), and the previous episode "Superstar Rockin' Jay" (Jay).
Errors
- When Okino failed to do push-ups, his hair tie was black instead of red.
Gallery
For the gallery of the episode, click here.