Taichi Dan

Infobox animanga character
name = Taichi Dan
series = The Prince of Tennis


caption =
first =
last =
creator = Takeshi Konomi
voiced by = Yumiko Kobayashi (Japanese)
age = 12
born = January 2
class = 1-1
relatives = Father, mother, little sister
aux1 name = School
aux1 = Yamabuki Middle School
aux2 name = Style
aux2 = Data tennis, left-handed

nihongo|Taichi Dan|壇太一|Dan Taichi is a fictional character in the anime and manga "The Prince of Tennis".

Background

Dan is a first year student at Yamabuki Middle School and a player in the tennis club. When he first appeared in the series, he was the team's manager, performing all kinds of tasks such as caring for the equipment. In his first appearances Dan is decipted as a rather clumsy, childish character, believing he is too small and weak to actually play tennis. He constantly wears a headband that is too large for him, often falling over his eyes and momentarily blinding him. In fact, the first time he meets Ryoma Echizen, he trips over the other first-year's legs.

According to anime, the headband was earlier discarded by Akutsu Jin, an older student and player at Yamabuki, whom Dan idolizes despite Akutsu's less-than-perfect behaviour. However, according to the Yamabuki questions in Fanbook 20.5, Dan claims that Akutsu gave it to him after they went to buy a tennis racket together. At first he thinks Akutsu's playing style is the best one, admiring the other boy's size and strength. In official art, such as bromides, the two are often shown together, and in both the manga and anime Akutsu seems to tolerate Dan better than most people. It is also clear that Dan is not afraid of the violent Akutsu, something his fellow team members have mentioned a few times. (Somewhat interestingly, whereas most characters' fanbook info lists their preferred type of a girl, Dan's information in the 40.5 fanbook makes no reference to gender, only stating his preference as "A wild person".)

When Akutsu loses to Echizen during the Kantou tournament and vows never to play tennis again, Dan begs him not to leave the team, crying as he says Akutsu is everything he'll never be. Akutsu, however, points out that with their vastly different body builds, it is impossible for Dan to become like him; instead, Akutsu advises him to strive to become like Echizen instead, implying that by achieving that goal Dan may be able to surpass even him.

Still crying, Dan vows that one day he, too, will stand on the court as a player. Soon after this he gives his application to the captain to join the actual team instead of just managing it. Akutsu, on the other hand, is mentioned never to set a foot on a tennis court again.

While in the manga not much is told of Dan after this, in the anime there is an episode that shows the results of this promise. Going somewhat overboard in trying to become like Echizen, Dan buys exactly the same kind of equipment as Echizen, even going as far as getting himself the same kind of clothes Echizen wears when training outside practice. With his coach's help, he then attends Seigaku's practice for a day, challenging Echizen into a match, which he loses miserably. During the episode Echizen's team mates mention how much the two resemble each other, even going as far as to mistakenly think Dan is Echizen's twin at first.

Despite the lack of actual storyline for him, Dan appears several times after the match against Yamabuki, usually watching Seigaku's matches with his vice-captain, Sengoku. When Yamabuki loses in the second round of Nationals and is dropped from the tournament, Sengoku calls out to the crying Dan, telling him that next year, it will be up to him.

When the third years graduate, Dan will be one of the three named characters remaining on the team. While his tennis skills have not been shown in the manga and only briefly in the anime, the information given about him in the 40.5 fanbook implies that he will be an important part of the team. It is also stated that he is the one person with the most passion for the team.

Aside from his somewhat childish and overenthusiastic behaviour, Dan's most notable character trait is his politeness, as well as his habit of ending every sentence with the word "desu" (actually a part of Japanese grammar in certain sentence structures, but Dan's use of it is excessive). This is a habit sometimes given to anime characters that are to be considered cute. He also uses the more boyish form of "I," "boku," instead of the more masculine and rough "ore" most of the characters use. His character in general is very innocent, even naïve; he's also given some traits that could be considered almost feminine, like an interest for arts and Home Economics.

Techniques

Data Tennis

First named in Sadaharu Inui's use, data tennis is more of a playing strategy than an actual technique. Players who employ this strategy are very few; the ones actually seen during the series are Inui, Rikkaidai's Renji Yanagi, St. Rudolph's Hajime Mizuki, and Shitenhouji's Koharu Konjiki, all of whom have different ways of using their data. While Dan is yet to use it in tennis, he is known to collect data as well; in fact, his very first appearance was seeking data about Echizen. The fanbook articles also mention data as a part of his tennis strategy, thus officially marking him a data player as well.

Like other data players, Dan is constantly collecting information, often seen with a notebook much resembling that of Inui's. As stated in the manga fanbook, his favourite reading is information magazines of any kind, and data collection is listed among his hobbies.

Twist Serve

Twist Serve is originally Echizen's most notable shot, early on mentioned as a very hard serve to use even for adults. It is shot with the opponent's dominant hand. The twist serve bounces off the ground towards the opponent's face, making it extremely difficult to return. Dan learns this serve for his match against Echizen and uses it successfully at first; however, due to his inexperience as opposed with Echizen's mastery of the shot, he fails the second time he tries to use it.

Drive B

Another technique Dan copied from Echizen. Sliding on the ground towards the net and then jumping to hit the ball, Drive B is a topspin drive volley with two consecutive bounce arcs which give the shot its name. While Dan performs the shot successfully, Echizen returns it with another Drive B, which Dan is unable to return.

Notable Matches

Ryoma Echizen (Anime only)

In the anime episode #89 ("Seigaku, DaDaDan!"), Dan attends Seigaku's practice and challenges Echizen to a match. His clothes and equipment are similar to Echizen's, due to his habit of mimicking, emphatizing their somewhat similar appearances. While Dan proves that he has learned the Twist Serve and Drive B, due to his inexperience he fails to win a single game against Ryoma. At one point he starts crying, mourning his lack of skills, but Echizen's words fire him up again. After this, he concentrates on the game so much he doesn't even realize they have reached the match point before the referee announces Echizen's victory. During the last ball, the cap Dan was wearing (similar to Echizen's) falls off his head, revealing that he was all along wearing Akutsu's headband under it.

In the end of the match, Takeshi Momoshiro praises Dan's determination, setting him as an example for the Seigaku first years. Echizen, on the other hand, tells Dan that "the end was somewhat good."

Satoshi Horio (Anime only)

Only shown briefly during episode #89, this is the only other match of Dan's that is actually known. While Horio's tennis skills are hardly anything remarkable, Dan's rather effortless victory of him after starting tennis not much earlier shows that Dan is indeed somewhat talented.

Actors

* In the Anime series, Dan's seiyū (or voice actor) is Yumiko Kobayashi.

* In The Prince of Tennis Musicals, Dan is portrayed by Yuki Kawakubo.

ources

*"The Prince of Tennis - Volume 12" ("Publisher:" Viz Media), English Version -- ISBN 1-4215-0337-9
*"The Prince of Tennis - Volume 13" ("Publisher:" Viz Media), English Version -- ISBN 1-4215-0666-1
*"テニスの王子様 40.5"