Taichi "Tai" Kamiya

300px|thumb|right|Character Song (Adventure 02): Atarashii Taiyou (New Sun) Taichi "Tai" Kamiya (八神 太一), is a fictional character from the first two seasons of the anime and manga Digimon Adventure, and Digimon Adventure 02.

He is characterized as an happy-go-lucky, adventurous, but naive character that wears a set of goggles, a characteristic that is shared among the leaders of the various DigiDestined (Chosen Children in the Japanese version) in Digimon. He is the older brother to Hikari "Kari" Kamiya, and can be very protective of her, just like Matt is with T.K.

As a leader, he often acts on impulse without realizing the consequences of his actions. This has led him to moments of friction and guilt between his best friend/rival Yamato "Matt" Ishida, 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 a 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 mistake in 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 of the group, Tai was always the first to jump into action, though it often threw him into the path of danger. His ideas often conflict to Matt's resulting to a fight. Agumon, his digimon partner, was the first Digimon to digivolve into Champion form (Greymon). However, his 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. This was due to him loosing his Digitrait of Courage. 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. Greymon is right behind him. This time, Greymon succeeds, digivolving into MetalGreymon and destroying Etemon. 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 Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi, 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 an 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 Takeru "T.K." Takaishi and later connects with Matt and Joe Kido in a diner. He goes with Joe and finds Mimi Tachikawa, managing to convince her to leave her princess life with the Otamamon and Gekomon.

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 digivolve 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 was writing an e-mail to Sora to apologize after a fight 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 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. Matt and T.K. Takaishi 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 and defeated Greymon and Kabuterimon while they attempted to digivolve into MetalGreymon and MegaKabuterimon.

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. Infermon had infected 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. Tentomon and Patamon are knocked out of the battle. Agumon and Gabumon warp digivolve into WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, but by this time Infermon has digivolved into Diaboromon and is multiplying. Millions of kids around the world watching the battle are sending letters to encourage Matt and Tai, but they are only slowing their Digimon down. Diaboromon multiplied and blasted the two Digimon. Tai and Matt entered the Internet to revive their Digimon and they DNA Digivolved to become Omnimon. Tai, Matt and Omnimon then fought Diaboromon in the Internet, but the evil Digimon was too fast. Izzy Forwarded the emails to Diaboromon, slowing him down enough for Omnimon to destroy him, stopping the missiles in their tracks. Tai's e-mail to Sora finally got through and the two made up.

During May of 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 in high school (In the Japanese version he is 14 and is in middle school). Tai has grown emotionally by this time. He is much calmer and less likely to act without thinking.

Tai plays a major role in the first episode ("Enter Flamedramon"). When he senses that Agumon is in trouble, he 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 Digivices that Davis Motomiya, Cody Hida, and Yolei Inoue 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. When BlackWarGreymon is created from 100 control spires, Tai and WarGreymon get into one final fight. Although the battle ended in a tie, BlackWarGreymon admitted defeat and left with some parting wisdom from Agumon.

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 the same age as the second series. He is a more experienced leader now, however he still has that ready-for-anything-with-action attitude. In this movie, he seems to be the leader of both generations of DigiDestined now. 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.

Tai and Matt head into the Internet to fight Diaboromon. Their Digimon DNA digivolve into Omnimon and they conquer him. 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 (whether it was powerful enough to destroy Armageddemon or not) misses the creature by mere inches. Tai and Matt fall off their Digimon's shoulders. When they get up, they can't believe what a monster they are going be fighting. Omnimon is ready and attacks, but even he is not powerful enough and 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. It was only after Sora shakes them out of it that Tai started to try and give his best confidence and hope to Imperialdramon, the second most powerful Digimon after Omnimon.

However, Imperialdramon was defeated even more quickly. After the Omni Blade was given and Imperialdramon Paladin Mode defeated Armageddemon, 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.

Epilogue


In the year 2027, Tai has become a United Nations diplomat for the Digital World. He has a son, whose partner is a Koromon (although his wife is not mentioned).

Video Games

 * Tai was the last Digidestined to be rescued from Millenniummon by Ryo Akiyama in Digimon Adventure: Anode/Cathode Tamer, though his Agumon is the first Digimon who helps Ryo.
 * Tai spends much of Digimon Adventure 02: Tag Tamers turned to stone by Millenniummon's power.
 * Tai is one of the many Digidestined recruited by the four Digimon Sovereigns in Digimon Adventure 02: D-1 Tamers to take part in a bogus tournament that is actually training for Ryo. He is the final opponent in the tournament, wielding WarGreymon, a Triceramon, and a Cyclonemon, after which the deception is revealed.
 * Tai may be saved from Etemon in Digimon Tamers: Brave Tamer to recruit Agumon.
 * Tai also appears as the partner to Agumon in the fighting games Digimon Battle Spirit, Digimon Tamers: Battle Spirit Ver. 1.5, and Digimon Rumble Arena.
 * After beating A in Digimon Digital Card Battle, you can proceed to battle Tai in Beginner City. He will give you your second partner's second Digi-Egg after his defeat.
 * Tai is also playable in some chapters of Digimon Tamers: Digimon Medley.

Possible Couplings

 * Tai & Sora
 * Tai & Matt
 * Tai & Mimi

Trivia

 * 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's parents, Susumu (father) and Yuuko (mother), have the same names as their Japanese voice actors: Susumu Chiba voices Susumu Kamiya; Yuuko Mizutani voices Yuuko Kamiya.
 * Joshua Seth doesn't reprise his role as Tai in "Revenge of Diaboromon."
 * Tai and Kari are the only digidestined to have a pet, a cat named Miko.