Tao Ren
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- This is a Chinese name; the family name is Tao
Tao Ren (道 蓮 Japanese: Tao Ren; Pinyin: Dào Lián or Dao4 Lian2), known as Tao Len or Lenny in the English anime and English video games, is a character from the anime and manga Shaman King. Ren's name sometimes is seen in Western order, Ren Tao, in artwork in the Shaman King manga.
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[edit] Character
Ren is a shaman from China who came to Japan to fight Yoh Asakura and to take part in the Shaman Fight in Tokyo. Ren starts off as a 13-year old in the manga and the original Japanese anime, while in the English anime he first appears as a 15-year old.
He is serious, logical, and emotionally aloof. He has become like this because of how he was raised. Because of his father, Ren had adapted a deep hatred towards humanity and a strong yearn to eliminate them all. He also believed that his spirit companion, Bason, was only meant to be used as a tool and to treat him as a friend would only result in the spirit taking advantage over him. Ren's anger and hatred came from his father, Tao En. Forced to train and study at a very young age, Ren had his childhood stolen from him. He hated Tao En for all of his suffering.
As he gains the friendship of Yoh and the others, he realizes that everything he once believed in was not true. He learned to trust others and that humans weren't as awful as he thought they were because Yoh and the others showed him that some people truly are kind. A new will to change himself took over. He wanted to let go of his hatred so he could be able to move on with his life. So he goes off to defeat his father back in China.
His first attempt failed but he refused to give in to his father and sooner or later Yoh and the others came to help him. He thanked them for rescuing him but was persistent that he didn't want any help from them. He said it was a problem of his only. But eventually all of them defeated Tao En together; allowing Ren to finally move on.
Ren tries hard to maintain a tough and confident exterior, aloof from the rest of the gang, but deep down he would risk his life for them. Ren is a particularly imaptient person with a very short temper. He gets angry too easily and isn't afraid to hurt the person who angered him in the first place. He's very lazy when it comes to work that doesn't benefit himself in any way at all.
Ren is a very egotistical person and usually doesn't care that people think that he's overly proud. He even named his own team, "Team the Ren", much to the annoyance of his team mate, Horo-Horo. His over-flowing self-confidence results in some characters to be annoyed by his behavior.
Although he is more serious than most of the characters in the story, Tao Ren is actually one year younger than Yoh, he was born in 1986, but because his birthday is January 1st, his age seems to be the same as Yoh until, of course, Yoh's birthday.
Hao Asakura tells him that he wants him on his team, but he never does anything other then say it. Ren often fights with Horohoro and the two do not seem to get along at all. Ren was born on January 1 and is a Capricorn. He has a blood type of AB. Tao Ren's Chinese name is actually, Dao Lian. Dao means "the way" and Lian means "lotus". So his name literally means "the way of the lotus".
[edit] Bason
Bason is the spirit of Tao Ren. A fierce warrior from the era of Kublai Khan, Bason has always served the Tao family, even now in death. Like Amidamaru, he is a supremely powerful spirit,capable of destroying an army with ease. His skills are on par with Amidamaru.He is rather submissive (reflected in his "Can I help you master Tao Ren?" or "Can I go Master Ren" statements when asking for permission to speak or fight), extremely loyal to Ren, and rarely oversteps his boundaries unless Ren is in grave danger. He also refers to Ren as "bocchama" (Young Master).
Bason, other than with Ren, seems most at ease with Amidamaru, with whom he will occasionally converse with. The two are a powerful team, even against Hao Asakura's Spirit of Fire.
[edit] Attacks
Ren's most powerful attack is called the Vorpal Dance, or Zhong Hua Zhan Wu, in the English manga. The attack is later called the "Golden Vorpal Dance". The attack is called the Rapid Tempo Assault in the English anime. In the Japanese anime, it's called Chuuka Zanmai and later on, Golden Chuuka Zanmai. In the manga, this attack results in the spike of Ren's hair growing outrageously long.
[edit] Family
Ren is part of the Tao family, an ancient Chinese family known for their shaman capabilities. As history went on, they become ostracized for their abilities and hunted down. As a result, the Tao family became bitter and lost their belief in the kindness of humanity. Ren and his sister Jun were raised with these beliefs in mind. Ren is the current heir to the family.
Tao Ren's older sister is Tao Jun (who calls him "Lian", or "Lenny" in the English anime--his Wade-Giles name is Tao Lien), who is a dao-si. Ren's mother is named Tao Ran. His grandfather, is Tao Zhen in the manga and Tao Ching in the anime.
Ren and Jun are utterly dominated by their father (uncle in the English anime), Tao En (rendered as Tao Yuan in the manga, En is the Japanese pronunciation of Yuan) until they are both changed by Yoh's views of the world. They rebel and with the help of Yoh and his friends defeat Tao En. En consults the Tao ancestors and sees that it is time for a change in attitude; he entrusts the family's heirloom, a sword called Houraiken (Jewelled Thunder, known as the Sword of Thunder in the English dub), as well as the hopes for the future of the Tao family to Ren.
Also, in volume 9, his mother and grandfather appear. His grandfather's name is Zhen, he is bald,short and carries two guns. His mother is very tall with a fan and elegant clothes.
[edit] Voices
- Ren's voice actor (seiyū) in the Japanese version is Romi Paku (it is common practice to cast a woman in the role of a boy in animation).
- His actor in the English dub is Andrew Rannells.
[edit] Trivia
- Ren has an obsession with milk and an obsession with the number 3.
- In the English anime, Len and Jun have British accents.
- Ren's birthday is January 1, 1986.
- At the end of episode 12, Ren's eyes are mistakenly colored black for a few seconds, instead of their usual yellow.
- In the American dub it is never mentioned that Ren is actually from China, except when in Patch village he repeatedly won a lottery determining what his team would eat, and upon winning he always chose Chinese food.
- It seems to be hinted that in the anime Asakura Yoh is stronger than Ren. However, in the manga Ren happens to be stronger than Yoh.
- In the anime, after Ren defeats his father, the emblem on his back disappears while in the manga, it does not.
| Shaman King |
|---|
| Techniques |
| Over Soul (Spirit Control)| Giant Over Soul (Giant Spirit Control) |Double Medium | Spirit Reduction |
| Characters |
| Asakura Family:Yoh Asakura | Anna Kyōyama | Kino Asakura | Yohmei Asakura | Hana Asakura | Yohken Asakura |
| Allies/Teammates: Horohoro (Trey Racer) | Manta Oyamada (Morty) | Chocolove McDaniel (Joco) | Faust VIII | "Wooden Sword" Ryu (Rio) | Tamao Tamamura (Tamara) |
| Spirits: Amidamaru | Bason | Lee Bailong | Tokagero |
| Native American Shamans: Silva | Kalim |
| Tao Family: Tao Jun (Jun) | Tao Ren (Len) | Tao Yúan (En) |
| X-Laws: Iron Maiden Jeanne | Lyserg Diethel | Marco |
| Enemies: Hao Asakura (Zeke) | The Hanagumi | Opacho |
