Shirō Tagami

Infobox animanga character
name = Shirō Tagami
series = Tenjho Tenge


caption = Shirō Tagami, from the manga.
first = Volume 2, Page 68
last =
creator =Oh! great
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class = 3rd year student of Todo Academy
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aux* = nihongo |Shirō Tagami|田上 士郎|Tagami Shirō is a character in the manga and anime series Tenjho Tenge. He is the 3rd in command of the Executive Council. "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 9 tankōbon (Page 28). ]

Character outline

Shirō Tagami is a third year student at Todo Academy. He is a tall and very skinny man with long black hair, he is usually referred to by his family name as opposed to his given name. He typically wears a bandana on his head and carries his staff with him everywhere. Shiro views himself as the last samurai in the modern age. He follows Bushido, a code of honor basically, and doesn't like to do things in an indirect fashion. He would much rather fight someone straight than to try and use other tactics, this causes him to sometimes undermine some of Emi Isuzu's strategies.

He is very loyal and dedicated to Mitsuomi, even suggesting Mitsuomi should use him as a puppet. "Tenjho Tenge" Manga;(Chapter 75, Page 26). ] claiming as long as he has a body he will serve Mitsuomi "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; (Chapter 75, Page 26). ] Mitsuomi seems to trust Shiro a great deal, even suggesting Shiro and Emi will continue to fight for him even after his death. "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; (Chapter 75, Page 28). ] In last years tournament he was the Executive Council's "middle guard", but has been moved to the "reserve" slot for the sake of Emi's strategy. "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 17 tankōbon (Chapter 100, Page 16). ]

He is a violent fighter, but does not take pleasure in hurting his opponents. He seeks for strong opponents and feels honored for fighting against them. He is currently ranked 9th of the Todo Academy's strongest fighters.

He is one of the first to pick up on the fact that Aya Natsume's power is starting to awaken. He figured it out just by walking past her. He fears she may become a threat to the Executive Council one day, and wants to eliminate her. Despite the fact he views the Juken Club as a major threat, he holds no ill will towards them. He even assisted them at one point.

Techniques & Abilities

Shiro uses his family's style of martial arts, called the Tagami-Style Holy Vision.

Staff

Shiro fights with what initially appears to be a staff, in actuality it is a multi-sectioned weapon (like a sanjiegun but with more sections) that he can split apart by twisting the handle. The staff is very durable, capable of smashing concrete without sustaining damage. Tagami's techniques tend to shred the clothing of his opponents, as he hits many times in a short period.

Techniques

;The Shadow in the Sun. "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 2 tankōbon (Chapter 11, Page 133). ] :A technique for use in confined spaces. After he splits his staff into a multi-sectioned weapon, he proceeds to hit the opponent with a large number of hits, even bouncing off walls to hit from multiple angles.;Kai Snake Bone Lance. "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 9 tankōbon (Page 30-31). ] :The secret technique of the Tagami family, once the staff is split into multiple sections it uses a series of attacks. It appears to be a combination of whipping attacks. To change the angle and direction of the attacks the weapon is wrapped around the hand or other body parts. This doesn't seem to be a very accurate attack, usually hitting everything in front of the user.

Synopsis

Anime

Story Setup Arc

Shiro first appears as the Executive Council plans to attack the Juken Club in a bowling alley. He believes it may be the final battle between the two groups and is highly concerned with the elimination of Aya before she fully awakens the power of the Dragon's Eye.

After Aya has an argument with her sister, she goes to the stairwell by herself, Shiro attacks her there. Initially unimpressed with Aya, since she only displays her jujutsu. "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 2 tankōbon (Chapter 11, Page 129). ] Aya is unable to fight back as Shiro's staff is too long and she can't get in range. She heads up the stairwell to a narrow corridor before the roof to limit Shiro's attacks to thrusts. Unfortunately Shiro reveals his staff isn't truly a staff; he splits it into multiple sections and the resulting beating shreds Aya's clothing, especially her shirt.

Realizing her disadvantage in the narrow space, Aya kicks out the door and moves the fight to the roof. Tagami removes the bandana from his head and puts it on the end of his staff extending it to Aya to cover herself. He insists he hates an unfair fight such as this, but he must eliminate her before she can realize the power of the Dragon's Eye.

Contrary to Shiro's intentions the fight actually awakens Aya's Dragon Eyes and Shiro is unable to hit her as a result. He notes the eerie feeling of malaise, as if she was mocking him. Even at point blank range he can't land a hit. Eventually he thrusts at Aya but she wraps her hair around the staff holding it in place. He realizes she is able to see everything before it happens, as if he is being made to move. "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 3 tankōbon (Chapter 17, Page 132-133). ] Aya slams him into the ground and takes away his staff, she laughs as if getting enjoyment from Shiro's pain.

As Souichiro Nagi comes up to the roof, he sees Shiro is smashed upside down into the bowling alley's billboard, and appears dead. Aya's still has his staff which is covered in Shiro's blood. Aya is very upset saying she knew his bones were broken, she heard him thinking "please stop", but she couldn't stop herself. She fears she may have killed him. Souichiro humorously calms her down by kicking Shiro in the ribs causing him to gasp, proving he was indeed alive.

After that Shiro is absent from the anime and OVA's, likely recovering from his injuries.

Manga

F Arc

Shiro makes another appearance later in the story, as Emi orders him to talk Tessen Ishiyumi out of attacking Souichiro. When Tessen insists, Shiro resorts to violence, beating Tessen down with his staff. Yet Shiro collapses out of the bathroom with what appear to be bullet holes riddling his body. Turns out Shiro was hit with Tessen's "water bullets", and had to be hospitalized as a result. The resulting fight between Tessen and Souichiro lands Tessen in the hospital as well until he is healed by Tetsuhito. The two along with Emi discuss the Executive Council's chances in the next tournament.

After her encounter with Madoka Mawari, Emi ends up in the hospital alongside Shiro, who is shocked to finally see Emi's true form. Mitsuomi enters, and says he wants the two ready for the tournament, as they are his true wing not F.

Tournament Arc

Shiro gets out of the hospital at the same time Bob Makihara does, Emi thinks they should "do something about that", but Shiro insists they will exhaust themselves on their own. "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 16 tankōbon (Chapter 98, Page 124). ] The two enter a limo with Mitsuomi, Shiro is confused as to why Mitsuiro Tokuan Shōjō and Hirohiko Myouun Kabane are in the car as Mitsuomi dislikes members from the red feather families. He is even more perplexed as to why Dōgen Takayanagi, Mitsuomi's father is in the car as well.

As the first round of the tournament starts, Tagami is the only member of the Executive Council to actually show up. He single handedly defeats the opposing team. It's revealed that in last years tournament Shiro was in fact the "middle guard", but Emi placed him as the reserve this year for some kind of elaborate strategy. Shiro dislikes it referring to it as a "taboo" for him. "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 17 tankōbon (Chapter 100, Page 16). ] He does however assist the Juken Club since he doesn't like indirect methods. As Masataka Takayanagi over-slept Shiro shows him a short-cut to the battlefield. As the rest of the Juken Club was pinned down, and Emi had made a deal with the Archery Club to hold the Juken Club until the round's time was up, so the Juken club would be disqualified. Emi was displeased, but Shiro insists there is no need to make them take a "useless detour". "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 17 tankōbon (Chapter 100, Page 25). ]

Shiro later learns of the plan to destroy all the Red Feathers made by Ichiyo Nagi. This plan is the reason Dogen and Mitsuomi have teamed up, even though they plan to use it for different reasons. While Mitsuomi wants to wipe out all the Red Feathers, Dogen wants to skew the plan to make the "True Warrior", planning to form his own powerful organization around the true warrior. The Executive Council members dislike Dogen as a result, especially Shiro. Shiro even comments he'd gladly kill Dogen when he is no longer useful, despite the dishonor of it.

References