Tai Kamiya

Taichi "Tai" Kamiya, known as Taichi Yagami (八神 太一, Yagami Taichi) in Japan, is the main protagonist of Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adverture tri. and the leader of the original DigiDestined. He is adventurous and a born leader, and is usually the first to spring into action. While he is partnered to Agumon in the Digimon Adventure anime series, Tai's Digimon partner in the alternate continuity of the Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 manga is a Veedramon he named Zeromaru.

Development

Tai's original character was designed by Tenya Yabuno,one of the authors of manga“V-Tamer 01". In an exclusive interview released with the Digimon Adventure DVD box on December 21, 2007, producer Satoru Nishizono revealed that as the staff decided on Tai's name using kanji that related to "luck.^[1] " In Japan, all of Tai's appearances were voiced by Toshiko Fujita. In the English dub, Joshua Seth provides his voice. However, by the time the film Revenge of Diaboromon was dubbed in English, he had retired from the voice acting industry in 2005, causing casting director Jeff Nimoy to cast Jason Spisak as his replacement, remarking how similar he sounded to Seth.^[2]

In the Digimon Adventure Tri series, Tai's teenage design is made by Atsuya Uki.^[3]

Design

In Digimon Adventure, set in 1999, Tai is 11 years old and wears a blue T-shirt with orange stars near the shoulders, a yellow pocket on each side of the chest, and three yellow buttons in the top. He also wears a yellow shirt underneath his blue one, brown shorts, where he keeps his digivice, a blue headband where he puts his goggles, a black wristband on the left arm, white gloves, white socks, and blue and white sneakers with yellow triangles on them. His headband leaves a tuft of his hair out on the front. While he keeps this look in the Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 manga, Tai also has a cape and a wrist-mounted Digivice.

In Digimon Adventure 02, set in 2002, Tai is 14 years old and has more hair. He usually wears the Odaiba Middle School uniform; a white buttoned shirt with long sleeves, under an opened green shirt with long sleeves, gray pants, and white and blue sneakers. Originally, Tai wore his goggles but gave them to Davis on the younger boy's first day in the Digital World. In the summer, he wears a green shirt under a blue T-shirt with a yellow border on the top, a yellow triangle on each sleeve, and a yellow triangle in the middle, which is cut by a yellow line. He also wears yellow wristbands on his hands, light brown shorts, gray socks, and blue and yellow sneakers with white soles. The series epilogue, which takes place in 2027 depicts Tai as a 39-year-old with his hair cut who works as a diplomat for the United Nations representing the Digital World. While his causal attire is yellow shirt under a zipped grayish blue jacket with a blue collar, wears blue pants and blue shoes with yellow soles, his business attire is a white shirt under a black suit, and a blue tie.

In Digimon Adventure Tri, set in 2005, Tai is 17 years old and usually wears the Odaiba High School uniform; a black buttoned jacket under an opened white dress shirt with blue tie, navy vest, black pants, and sneakers.

Story

Anime

In the first Digimon Adventure movie, set in 1995, Tai and Kari find a Digi-Egg that eventually hatches into Botamon and then Koromon. This leads to their first encounter with Digimon as they and six other children witness the recently digivolved Greymon battle Parrotmon at Highton View Terrace before the two monsters destroyed each other. The event played a role in Tai, his sister, and the other six children who witnessed the fight in becoming DigiDestined during the events of Digimon Adventure that take place during August 1999. After he and the other DigiDestined ended up in the Digital World, save Kari due to her illness, Tai leads to group before their lead the role they are to play in saving the Digital World from a great evil. However, Tai's notion of generally blazing the trail put him at odds with Matt Ishida on occasion.

While at the Continent of Server, Tai obtains his Crest of Courage but loses his confidence after causing Agumon to become the berserker SkullGreymon. But after Piximon teaches him not to give in to his doubts and try again, followed by mustering his fear of death to save Sora, enable Tai to have Agumon to assume his ultimate form MetalGreymon to defeat Etemon Chaos. But the fight ends with Tai and the regressed Koromon briefly ending up in Odaiba before they make their way back to the Digi World to find their friends. Tai and his reunited friends soon encounter Myotismon, an evil Digimon who makes his way to their world to kill the final DigiDestined member. Returning to Odaiba, Tai learns that Kari is the eight DigiDestined as they, Myotismon's former servant and Kari's partner Gatomon, and the other DigiDestined seemingly destroyed Myotismon.

The group then return to the Digital World, learning it fell in ruin in their absence with the Dark Masters taking control. After having WarGreymon destroy MetalSeadramon as things are getting too intense in them losing friends, Tai finds himself having a falling out with Matt over the latter's need to become stronger before he leaves the group, followed by a disillusioned Mimi Tachikawa with Joe Kido accompanying her. While he and the others were on their own as they end up in Machinedramon's territory, Tai reveals his concern for Kari's wellbeing as he almost caused he death by pneumonia when she was four to five years old.^[4] The group eventually reunites to defeat the last Dark Master Piedmon, only to learn that they have another enemy to contend with: Apocalymon. Though Apocalymon sends him and the others into the data world after destroying their Crests, Tai remembers the incredible odds they overcame while learning he and the others always possessed the Crest power inside them. This allows Tai and his friends to the return to the Digital World to defeat Apocalymon with renewed conviction, only to learn they must part ways with their Digimon partners and return to their world.

Five months later, during the events of Our War Game with a majority of their group preoccupied, Tai and Izzy Izumi find themselves dealing with a computer virus Digimon that eventually digivolved in Diaboromon. Joined by Matt after he and his brother T.K Takaishi find a computer, their opponent having accessed the Pentagon's computers to fire missiles at Tokyo, Tai finds himself and Matt brought into the internet to aid their Digimon after they DNA Digivolved into Omnimon to destroy Diaboromon. A few years later, now a middle school student during the events of Digimon Adventure 02, Tai passes his goggles to a new DigiDestined named Davis Motomiya as he and the original group act as mentors and support to the new group whose membership includes their youngest members T.K and Kari. In the series epilogue, which takes place in 2027, Tai became a United Nations diplomat for the Digital World and has a son.

In the Digimon Adventure Tri movie series, taking place when he attended Tsukishima General High School, Tai finds it hard to get the old gang together as they are drifting apart. He also meets Meiko Mochizuki prior to the DigiDestined regrouping in response to a new threat called Alphamon.

In the Digimon Fusion series, the 11-year old version of Tai appears in the final arc of the series when summoned from his universe in his eleven-year-old form to aid the Fusion Fighters alongside his DigiDestined allies, the protagonists of Digimon Tamers, the Legendary Warriors from Digimon Frontier, and the DATS agents from Digimon Data Squad during the battle against Quartzmon.

Manga

In the V-Tamer 01 story line, Tai is V-Pet trainer whose Digimon partner is a Veedramon that is named Zeromaru. Ending up in the Digital World after being summoned by MagnaAngemon, Tai accepts to aid in saving the Digital World from Daemon. During his adventures, Tai encounters Davis after he ended up in his universe, Ryo Akiyama, and Takuya Kanbara.

In other media

Tai appears in several Digimon video games released by Namco Bandai, see List of Digimon video games. He also appears in Digimon: The Movie. Tai has three Japanese image songs, "Yuuki o Tsubasa ni Shite", "Atarashii Taiyou", and "Towa ni Tsuzuke!!". He also has theme song with Agumon, "Team". Tai appears in the audio dramas,Digimon Adventure Original Story: 2½ Year Break and Digimon Adventure 02 Original Story: 2003 -Spring- both released only in Japan. In manga he appears in Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 and Digimon Xros Wars (Manga).Tai is also appears alongside Agumon on the first volume's cover flap of Digimon Xros Wars (Manga).

Critical reception

In a series of online polls conducted on Toei Animation's Digimon website, Tai was ranked 3rd by Japanese voters as their favorite DigiDestined.^[5] When the same question was asked three more times, his rank fell to 6th,^[6] rose to 4th,^[7] and finally landed at 5th.^[8]

Tai's characterization in Tri. resulted in mixed comments by Jacob Hope Chapman from Anime News Network due his new hesitations which might not appeal to viewers of the series.^[9] However positive comments by Shamus Kelley from Den of Geek approved of Tai's new character arc noting that Tri focuses on personal responsibility and his potential for character growth.^[10]

References