Ken's the only one of Exceedraft's main trio whose regular outfit distinctly differs from what he wears in the opening by the show's second cour. It took dressing him in four different yellow jackets before we know for sure the one he wears from E12 onwards is the piece that defines his overall look.
What makes the yellow jacket with black sleeves better than the other yellow jackets that Ken wears in the show? My take is that it's chosen for being the one that looks the best with the black turtleneck which we see Ken wear from E13 to E16.
The yellow jacket with black sleeves has been identified as a piece by the fashion brand ANECDOTE. It has been featured in the Showa era Metal Hero show Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya in which the titular hero wears the jacket in multiple episodes. In Exceedraft, the jacket's yellow and black colour scheme brings to mind the colours of barricade tape used for sealing off crime scenes as befitting the police procedural plotlines.
Before E12, the jacket was altered to have a white hoodie that's eventually removed. I'm counting the altered variation as a separate jacket since it creates a different impression from its unaltered version.
Costuming in Exceedraft, and the other Rescue Police shows, is unusual for creating an effect somewhere between realism and artifice. Realism involves changing up what fictional characters wear in different episodes as if they're real people rotating pieces from their wardrobe. When we instead see them wearing the same clothes over and over again, they appear all the more the artificial constructs that they are.
Changing only one piece of an ensemble catches the eye, and draws our attention to the intent behind the design of a character's look. For Exceedraft's first twenty episodes, only the Captain repeats the same outfit. The costumes for the other characters follow a customised template with one or more pieces swapped for different ones in every other episode.
At first glance, the final choice for Ken's trademark jacket seems the worst of the options offered because of its black sleeves and black lines around the cuffs and collar.
The jacket's black parts make it less yellow, and the jackets that are completely yellow appear better for distinguishing Ken as the team's yellow member.
But it’s not just Ken’s jacket that defines his look. There’s also the shirt he wears under his jacket. Over the early episodes, Ken's shirts become simpler and darker. He goes from wearing a striped shirt with a white collar and buttons to another similar one of a solid dark green colour before it's switched to a plain black T-shirt with no collar.
The changes in the colour and design of Ken's shirts follow his growth as a police officer, as a result of which he appears less like the firefighter that he once was.
For creating the image of Ken as a reliable and confident police officer, Ken's jacket should match what he wears under it. And his jacket from E12 onwards has the best material and design for complementing his black turtleneck.
Both the yellow jacket with black sleeves and the black turtleneck are made of a soft material that creates an impression of warmth.
As for the canvas yellow jackets, they appear smooth rather than soft. Switching these for a jacket that looks softer and pairing it with the soft turtleneck let us better perceive Ken as a comfortable presence around others.
The jacket also has to match the impression of formality that the black turtleneck gives off. The black turtleneck appears as a formal piece with its dark colour and high collar which are both associated with maturity.It would clash with the jacket's altered version and its added white hoodie that appears informal.
The jacket's alteration is eventually undone perhaps for it to better complement not just the black turtleneck, but also the plain white t-shirt that Ken wears later in the show with this same jacket and which would otherwise look overly continuous with the white hoodie.
Different combinations of Ken's shirt and jackets emphasise his different traits for particular cases. In the cases for E13 and E15, which features Ken as the central character, what's emphasised is Ken's maturity and by extension, his professionalism.
The absence of children in these cases offer a clue for having Ken look more mature. We aren't told the age of Yuuko, the younger sister of Ken's university friend in E13, but it's safe to assume she's at least a teenager. The wannabe rockstar brothers in E15 who Ken cares for and lectures appear to be young adults. Tweaking Ken's look further differentiates him as an adult professional from young civilians older than small children.
For the next case centred on Ken in E17, his black turtleneck is swapped for a plain black t-shirt that emphasises his youth and energetic nature. Here, he's paired with a little girl next to whom he appears more casual and therefore more approachable.
Aside from complementing Ken's trademark jacket, these are other ways in which Ken's black turtleneck contributes to the visual storytelling for the cases of E13-E16.
In E13, Ken's outfit matches what Kogure wears. The two friends are dressed in tops made of soft, warm fabric and which cover more of their necks.
Their clothes hide their athletic physiques and reflects their distance from the world of competitive sports karate in which they once reigned as top fighters.
14-E16 contain the only occasions when Exceedraft's main trio all ride in the Scrumhead. While they're seated in the car's small enclosed space, we can see that covering more of Ken's neck makes his look better match the looks of Hayato and Kosaku with their buttoned collars.
While in E16, instead of complementing his teammate's look, Ken's turtleneck creates greater contrast in E16's scene with Kosaku injured and shirtless. The contrast emphasises the unusual physical and emotional exposure of the usually reserved Kosaku in this episode.
Ken's various shirts and black turtleneck affect how he's perceived in relation to the civilians he assists in the episodes centred on him. A jacket that complements the different kinds of tops worn beneath it completes an ensemble to bring out the intent behind a specific look. The attention to detail in the subtle changes in Ken's outfits supports a closer look at the show and its inexpensive and accessible solutions for developing its characters and story.