Tai Kamiya

Infobox animanga character
name = Taichi "Tai" Kamiya
color = Orange
series = Digimon


caption = Tai in Digimon Adventure (season 1)
first = Episode 01, "And so it Begins..."
last = "A Million Points of Light"
creator =
voiced by = Toshiko Fujita (Japanese)
Joshua Seth (English) Jason Spisak (English, "Revenge of Diaboromon")
Gerry Meza (Spanish)
oaux1 name = Japanese name
oaux1 = Taichi Yagami
age = 13 (Adventure)Fact|date=May 2008
16 (Adventure 02)Fact|date=May 2008
aux1 name = Grade
aux1 = 7th (Adventure)Fact|date=May 2008
10th (Adventure 02)Fact|date=May 2008
aux2 name = Trait
aux2 = Courage
aux3 name = Digimon
aux3 = Agumon

Taichi "Tai" Kamiya, known in Japan as nihongo|Taichi Yagami|八神 太一|Yagami Taichi, is a fictional character from the first two seasons of the anime Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure 02, as well as in the Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 manga.

He is characterized as an adventurous,happy go lucky, carefree but naive character who wears a set of goggles, a characteristic that is shared among the leaders of the various "DigiDestined" or (Chosen Children in the Japanese version) in "Digimon" However, unlike the other leaders, he wears a blue headband underneath "his" goggles. He is the older brother to Kari Kamiya (Hikari Yagami in Japan).

As a leader, he almost always acts in a rash and stubborn way without realizing the consequences of his actions (The V-Tamer version is more of a planner). His stubborn and hot-tempered attitude makes him not to listen his comrades for a plan. This has led him to moments of friction and guilt between his friend/rival Matt Ishida (Yamato Ishida in Japan), his oldest friend Sora Takenouchi, as well as his Digimon partner Agumon. However, he manages to do whatever is necessary to rectify the situation, and in times of need, save friends and family from certain doom. He is the bearer of the Crest of Courage.

Taichi was voiced by Toshiko Fujita (Japan), Joshua Seth (English), and Jason Spisak (English, Movie 4).

Prelude to Digimon Adventure

Tai receives a Digi-Egg, which eventually becomes Botamon. Botamon digivolves quickly, from Koromon to Agumon. He then digivolves into Greymon and battles Parrotmon at Highton View Terrace. Kari also got pneumonia sometime when she was four or five years old, and Tai was punished for his stupidity for taking Kari outside. (To avoid controversy in America, this was edited out in the dub; however, between the bruising on Tai's face and the way his mother's hand is spread out, it is rather obvious that he was struck across the face.) Tai relives these painful memories when Kari gets sick during the Dark Masters saga.

Digimon Adventure

The adventurous leader but stubborn protagonist of the group, Tai was always the first to jump into action, though it often threw him into the path of danger. Agumon was the first Digimon to digivolve into Champion form (Greymon). However, his "I never change my mind" ambition to get Agumon to digivolve into Ultimate form soon gets him into trouble. He first overstuffed Agumon with food. During their next battle, Tai deliberately walks into danger, knowing that Greymon would digivolve since he is in trouble. However, Greymon instead digivolves into SkullGreymon, his virus counterpart, and causes disaster, rampaging around and taking out Garurumon, Birdramon and Kabuterimon before regressing into an exhausted Koromon. As a result, both of them lose their confidence until Piximon arrives and helps them out. They realize that they need to stay strong and always come back after suffering defeat.

In the final battle with Etemon, Tai sees his crest of courage glowing and once again walks towards danger, where Datamon abducted Sora to clone her and user her power to destroy his captor. Greymon is right behind him. This time, Greymon succeeds seeing Tai's courage, he digivolves into MetalGreymon and destroys Etemon (but not for long), and he finds Sora. Tai then makes a promise to her that he won't let anything bad happen to her. However, Etemon's destruction results in the formation of a dimensional warp. Tai and MetalGreymon enter the warp, which causes them to go back to the Real World and enables Tai to go home. Tai is having a blast, sitting back and relaxing, but when the news comes on he recognizes several Digimon in the Real World. He receives a message from Izzy, who warns him not to come back to the Digital World, but Tai knows that he must get back to fix the balance. When Tai sees Ogremon, Koromon digivolves into Agumon and a dimensional warp opens. Agumon and Tai get sucked through and once again reenter the Digital World.

Upon his re-entry, Tai finds it in severe disarray. Time moves much quicker, and months have passed in the Digital World. The entire team has broken up, mainly to look for him, and are moving their separate ways. Tai first locates T.K. and later connects with Matt and Joe in a diner. Piece by piece, he gathers the group up together.

By now, Myotismon has emerged as the next great threat, and he is in search of the eighth DigiDestined child. The DigiDestined pursue him to the Real World. Wizardmon finds the crest and the digivice and unites Kari and Gatomon. Gatomon digivolves into Angewomon and defeats Myotismon, but he comes back as VenomMyotismon. The digidestined believe that the key to defeating VenomMyotismon is to have Angemon and Angewomon shoot Tai and Matt with arrows of hope and light. Both of them agree, and Gabumon and Agumon warpdigivolve into MetalGarurumon and WarGreymon, both of whom defeat VenomMyotismon. The DigiDestined are shocked to see the Digital World appear in the sky. All eight of them open another warp and go back to the Digital World to restore the balance.

The Dark Masters emerge as the major enemy, and it is revealed that they were the ones who warped and rebuilt the Digital World. During this portion, Matt and Tai develop serious rifts in their friendship, which culminates into a major battle involving their Mega level Digimon. Matt leaves the group for a short while to reevaluate his place in it. After defeating three of the four Dark Masters, Tai gets everybody together as one group to battle Piedmon, the last of the four. Showing true foresight, he refuses to allow any of the others digivolve in the battle against LadyDevimon, Piedmon's bodyguard, because he wants to save their strength for the ultimate battle. He also sends Sora and T.K. to round up Mimi, Joe, and Matt, all of whom left the group to find themselves. In the end, they triumph over Piedmon, but it takes the digivolution of Angemon into MagnaAngemon to do it. He leads the group against Apocalymon and once he is defeated Tai and the others have to say goodbye to their Digimon friends.

Our War Game!

Tai, wearing a long sleeve, gloveless version of his first season outfit, was writing an e-mail to Sora to apologize after an argument they had, accidentally signing the letter "Love", instead of "From". Tai's letter, however, wasn't to be received after Kari sent it because of a strange Digimon who had appeared on the Internet. Izzy also wearing a unbuttoned, gloveless version of his first season outfit, came over to Tai's house to help. They contacted Gennai, who sent Agumon and Tentomon into the Internet to battle the rapidly evolving Digimon, during the contact, Tai dons his trademark white aviator goggles and blue headband once more. Matt , wearing his black outfit, and T.K., already wearing his season two hat, hooked up at a barbershop to connect to the Internet, and soon Patamon and Gabumon were helping Agumon and Tentomon in battling the Digimon, who had since digivolved into Infermon, defeating Greymon and Kabuterimon in the process.

Infermon was an Ultimate Digimon, skipping the Champion stage. When Izzy figures this out, the two Champions attempt to digivolve, but Infermon is too quick and knocks them out before they can finish. Agumon and Gabumon warp digivolve into WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, but by this time Infermon has digivolved into Diaboromon blasted the two Digimon. Tentomon and Patamon are knocked out of the battle. Millions of kids around the world watching the battle are sending letters to encourage Matt and Tai, but they are only slowing their Digimon's processing speed down. Diaboromon multiplied, infected with the Pentagon's missile systems and launched 2 nuclear missiles, commanding them to strike Colorado and Tai's house in an attempt to kill him. Tai and Matt somehow enter the Internet to revive their Digimon and in Izzy and T.K's words, "Part WarGreymon... Part MetalGarurumon.. They've Digivolved together to become... Omnimon!" Meaning Wargreymon and MetalGarurumon used the power of the kids' emails, and their Digidestined partners' strength to DNA-Digivolve into Omnimon. Tai, Matt and Omnimon then fought Diaboromon in the Internet, destroying him in the nick of time,using Izzy's and the kids' emails to slow him down. Tai's e-mail to Sora finally got through and the two made up.

During May 2000, Tai arrived in the Digital World and gave up his Crest power to free the Digimon Sovereigns. As a result, Agumon lost the ability to become MetalGreymon and WarGreymon.

Digimon Adventure 02

In this series, Tai is 16 and is a high school student (he's 14 and is in junior high school in the Japanese version). Tai has grown emotionally by this time. He no longer has an unhealthy friendship with Matt.

Tai plays a major role in the first episode ("Enter Flamedramon"). When he senses that Agumon is in trouble, he dons on his trademark white goggles and blue headband for the last time, and mysteriously enters the Digital World and tries to help him out. Along with Patamon and Gatomon, he finds a cave that has a Digi-Egg with the Crest of Courage on it. He tries to lift it up (and fails), which causes three points of light to rise and fly off. They are the three new Digivices, or D3s that Davis, Cody, and Yolei receive. After the battle with Monochromon, Tai also gives Davis his goggles, since Davis broke his square goggles in the battle.

Tai (along with the other older DigiDestined) act as mentors throughout most of season 2, but they're not above giving a helping hand to their younger generation throughout the series. During the middle / near end of the second season, Tai begins to wear his blue headband when they start a world tour around the world looking for unleashed Digimon. When BlackWarGreymon is created from 100 control spires, Tai and WarGreymon get into one final fight, using the power of Gennai's DigiCores. Although the battle ended in a tie, BlackWarGreymon admitted defeat and left with some parting wisdom from Agumon.

In the year 2027, Tai has become a United Nations diplomat for the Digital World.

Hurricane Touchdown/Supreme Evolution! The Golden Digimentals

Tai is captured along with the other older DigiDestined and sent to another dimension. Tai regressed in age thanks to Wendigomon.

Revenge of Diaboromon

Tai is still 16 years old. He is a more experienced leader now, however he still has that ready-for-anything-with-action attitude while wearing a unbuttoned, long sleeve blue over orange version of his first season outfit. In this movie, he seems to be the leader of both generations of DigiDestined. However, Izzy has more of an understanding of what's going on. So when Tai hears the news of how Diaboromon survived, he is ready to go in the Internet and take him down once and for all. Matt even wears his camping outfit from 02.

Tai and Matt head into the Internet via Digiport to fight Diaboromon. Their Digimon DNA digivolve into Omnimon, but it's not enough, so they enlist Kari Kamiya, and Takeru Takaishi to help their brothers defeat the virus Digimon. Angemon and Angewomon grab Diaboromon so Omnimon uses his Grey sword and the Royal Knight stabs him through the head, just like last time. After the victory on the Internet, the war in the real world begins, as a huge number of Kuramon break out of the internet and merge into Armageddemon. Thanks to Angewomon, Omnimon blasts his way out of the Internet, yet the blast misses the creature by mere inches, Tai and Matt fall off their Digimon's shoulders. Right after, the two Digimon duke it out. When their partners get up, they can't believe what a monster they are going to face. Omnimon is ready and attacks, but even "he" is not powerful enough and thus is defeated.

Tai loses hope as he stares at his defeated Digimon, who was, as most believed, the strongest Digimon they had. He and Matt now stand motionless after a powerful blast from their opponent. Sora arrived late, but however, Tai was very glad to see her. It was only after Sora shakes them out of it that Tai started to try to give his best confidence and hope to Imperialdramon, the second most powerful Digimon after Omnimon. Agumon and Gabumon (the arms of Omnimon) use up their power and give to Imperialdramon, transforming Omnimon's body into a sword, and Imperialdramon mode changes to Imperialdramon Paladin mode.

After the Omni Sword was given and the Paladin Digimon defeated Armageddemon by stabbing him through the head, like Omnimon did so many years ago, the Kuramon started to appear. Tai was one of the DigiDestined, along with Sora and Matt, who used their Digivices along with the cell phones of the normal people to delete the Kuramon.

Trivia

* Tai was the last Digidestined to be rescued from the evil Millenniummon by Ryo Akiyama in the Digimon Wonderswan games. He would play a supporting role in the sequels.
* In D1 Tamers (the second-to-last in the Wonderswan series), Tai is one of the many Digidestined recruited by the four Digimon Sovereigns to take part in a bogus tournament that is actually training for Ryo. He is the final opponent in the tournament, after which the deception is revealed.
* Tai is the protagonist for the season premiere and finale for "Digimon Adventure".
* Tai has 3 songs "Atarashii Taiyou" ("New Sun"), "Towa ni Tsudzuke!!" ("Go on for Eternity!!"), and "Yuuki wo Tsubasa ni Shite" ("I'll Turn My Courage Into Wings") as well as a fourth sung with Agumon (Chika Sakamoto) called "Team"