Takato Matsuki

Takato Matsuki (松田) is a fictional character in the Digimon Tamers series and one of its three main protagonists. He is the Tamer of and his creator.

Appearance
Takato is a young boy with light skin, light brown hair and light red eyes. He usually wears a blue hooded shirt over a white t-shirt, with long gray shorts, yellow wristbands on his hands, and green converse sneakers. He usually wears yellow goggles over his forehead, but can be seen occasionally without them.

His pajamas consist of a pale yellow button-up shirt and pants. In winter, he sometimes wears a light brown coat with large pockets and brown buttons over his regular outfit.

Description
For all intents and purposes, Takato is a very normal boy. He is a cheerful and carefree person who loves Digimon, the Digimon card game, and drawing. He is a gentle, sensitive and true to his feelings, which makes him very emotive. He is a very imaginative and creative person, which is the reason he made up, though his imagination often gets the best of him. He is inexperienced as a Tamer, but makes up for it with his enthusiasm and his honest love for Digimon. Takato cares deeply for others, and when he is thrust into situations where people's lives are at stake, he treats the situation with appropriate seriousness and does his best to help out. However, he is easily upset when he thinks he has failed to protect his loves ones; he cries when he thinks he has been a bad Tamer to Guilmon, and is sent into rage when is killed. As Takato gains experience, he is able to control his feelings better, and his perception of the enemy changes, judging the opponents by their actions rather than instantly thinking of them as "bad guys".

Takato is an only child. His parents run their own bakery, and the family lives in an apartment right above it. He sometimes helps out in the bakery, so he knows how to make bread. He has a grandfather and cousin, Wataru and Kai Urazoe, who live in Okinawa.

Takato has a crush on Jeri Katou, which he openly admits twice throughout the series.

Etymologies
Name used in Japanese materials. Officially romanized in Digimon Tamers: Official Encyclopedia V. Takato Matsuki
 * Takato Matsuda (松田 啓人)
 * Ja: Matsuda (松田). A Japanese surname meaning "pine rice paddy".
 * Ja: Takato (啓人). A masculine Japanese name meaning "open person".

Name used in the English dub of Digimon Tamers.
 * Matsuki. A Japanese surname usually meaning "pine tree". This surname shares the character "matsu" (松) with Takato's original surname, Matsuda.

Fiction
One day, a mysterious blue card appears in Takato's Digimon card box. When he swipes it in his card scanner, it transforms into a D-Power. In school, he draws the Digimon he made up,, on a notepad, which is later scanned by his drawings to create his new partner. To show his Digimon Tamer status, he proudly dons a pair of yellow goggles. He struggles at first to control his curious Digimon, causing him to worry about failing as a Tamer, but he begins to understand more about being a Tamer after meeting veteran Tamers Henry Wong and Rika Nonaka.

At first, Takato isn't very good at battling. For example, during the battle between Guilmon and Devidramon, he was using cards that made everything worse, and the only reason they won was Takato's care for Guilmon, causing him to digivolve into. However, he learns from his experiences and becomes better, even using his new knowledge to beat his friend Kazu Shioda at the Digimon card game, which was a first for him.

Takato forms a deep bond with Guilmon. As his creator, Takato feels very responsible for everything Guilmon does, and they become very close very quick. When the tiger Deva gravely injures Growlmon, Takato's deep connection to Growlmon causes him to feel Growlmon's pain and fall unconscious. While unconscious, he communicates with Growlmon, who begs Takato to help him fight once more. This causes Takato to receive a Blue Card which he uses to digivolve Growlmon to, allowing him to defeat his foe.

During the fight with the boar Deva, when everyone else had given up, Takato refuses to back down and let his city be destroyed. Through his bond with WarGrowlmon, he shares his own energy and strength with him. Takato and WarGrowlmon's combined strength frees WarGrowlmon and destroys Vikaralamon, who before was too powerful to be beaten.

Takato took Guilmon with him to Okinawa, where he was to stay with his cousin, Kai, and his grandfather. Initially, Takato didn't want to go, as he wasn't thrilled to meet his cousin again, but he soon began to enjoy the experience of the islands. When Digimon started showing up in Okinawa, Takato, Guilmon and Kai took up battle with several of them. After saving Minami, the daughter of the creator of a V-Pet, Takato looked after her until she was kidnapped by rogue Digimon and taken to VP Labs. Takato,, Kai Urazoe and , Minami Uehara's "partner", took after her and rescued her and her father before engaging Mephistomon in battle. Henry, Rika and their partners soon joined the battle against the Ultimate Level Digimon. Takato was present when the battle continued into another dimension where, and  created the "Trinity Burst" to defeat.

After the monkey Deva kidnaps  to the Digital World, Takato and the other Tamers decide to follow him to the Digital World and rescue their friend. After Guilmon finds a portal to the Digital World underneath his makeshift home at the park, Takato introduces Guilmon to his parents and tells them of the Tamers' mission. With his parents' blessing, he and the other Tamers, as well as new Tamer Jeri Katou, her partner, and Takato's best friends Kazu and Kenta, go to the Digital World together.

While in the Digital World, the children and Digimon go through many adventures and mishaps. In one such mishap, Guilmon boards a free-running motorcycle that brainwashes him into trying to run everyone over, but he returns to his regular self after being knocked off the motorcycle. Later, Takato, Henry and Terriermon are split from the others and find an underwater library, where they meet the essence of Shibumi, one of the Monster Makers. After Shibumi explains to them about Digi-Gnomes and the reason they became Tamers, he helps them reach the next layer of the Digital World.

When the Tamers finally reunite, they are attacked by, the digivolved form of , under the orders of the canine Deva. When Leomon engages him, Beelzemon impales him with his Darkness Claw, killing him. The loss of Leomon and Jeri's grief cause Takato to fly into an uncontrollable rage. With his overflowing hatred for Beelzemon, he forces WarGrowlmon to digivolve into, and his D-Power overloads and shatters. However, once Takato realizes what he had done and what his partner means to him, he reaches the Guilmon inside Megidramon and causes him to revert back to Guilmon. With their bond reaffirmed, and with their desire to battle Beelzemon strong, the two Biomerge to form. After they defeat Beelzemon together and let him go at Jeri's request, Takato receives a new D-Power.

After learning about the D-Reaper from the Digimon Sovereigns, Takato and the others return to the Real World. However, after Takato escorts Jeri to her parents, Takato discovers that the D-Reaper followed them and has attacked their hometown. Despite his mother's protests, he and Guilmon return to Shinjuku and meet up with Rika and Henry. Though initially they cannot Biomerge with their Digimon, a mysterious girl and her give them the ability to do so.

Takato soon discovers that the Jeri that came with them to the Real World was actually an agent of D-Reaper taking Jeri's form, and that the real Jeri is trapped within the D-Reaper's core. Later, the Monster Makers improve the Ark the Tamers came back home in and turn it into Zero ARMS Grani, which Gallantmon can now use as a steed.

When the Monster Makers HQ is taken over, Takato and his family leave Tokyo, and Takato meets up with his cousin Kai. He soon gets a call from Henry and he and Guilmon return to Tokyo to fight the D-Reaper for the last time. Inside the D-Reaper's core, Grani is injured, and Gallantmon tells it to stay behind. However, Grani later appears to Gallantmon, and the two mode change. With his new power, Gallantmon Crimson Mode is able to beat the Jeri Type Agent. ltimately, the D-Reaper is defeated, but the same program that pulled the D-Reaper back to the Digital World is now doing the same to the Tamers' Digimon. Takato and Guilmon, now de-digivolved into, are forced to say a tearful goodbye. A few months later, Takato's life is back to normal, as if he never met Guilmon. However, when he goes back to Guilmon's home, he is shocked and excited when he finds the gate to the Digital World is open.

Takato was calling Rika and slipped out that the others were planning a surprise party for her. To try and make up for it, he simply suggests they go look at together instead (despite not being the right time for it), but the appearance of a crazy Locomon thwarted the idea. Takato and Growlmon were separated after the initial attack on Locomon, with Takato ending up on board one of the Digimon's carriages. Rika and Renamon soon joined him on board, but Rika was soon overtaken by Parasimon and was made to attack Takato (here he displays a certain agility). Guilmon, who had caught up to Locomon, helped free Rika from Parasimon's control and Takato biomerged with him to become to save Rika from another Parasimon. Finding out that Locomon's destination was a portal to the Digital World that was allowing an invasion of, Gallantmon, , and the other Tamers teamed up to defeat the incoming Parasimon. When the battle became too much, his determination to win caused Gallantmon to mode change into and destroy all of the Parasimon in one shot. Afterwards, Takato attended Rika's birthday party and when Rika left he followed her, but stopped him from going to her and let her be alone

Other appearances
Takato appears alongside Guilmon in Digimon Rumble Arena, Digimon Rumble Arena 2, Digimon Battle Spirit, and Digimon Tamers: Battle Spirit Ver. 1.5.

Digimon Tamers: Digimon Medley
Takato is one of the playable characters of the opening and ending chapters of Digimon Tamers: Digimon Medley. While searching for, he, Henry, and Rika are captured by and chained to crosses. After viewing the events of Digimon Adventure and its sequel, they break free from their bonds, only to fight to save Impmon.

Digimon Tamers: Brave Tamer
Takato is the first of the DigiDestined and Tamers that Ryo Akiyama saves during the course of Digimon Tamers: Brave Tamer. After being saved from, he lends Guilmon and his D-Power to Ryo to aid him in his journey. Takato is the only protagonist that Ryo has to save; Ryo has a choice to save one of two or more in subsequent missions.

Digimon Park
Takato is a character.

Digimon Frontier
A Gallantmon runs an armory at the Autumn Leaf Fair, and is unable to help Zoe Orimoto find the and the stolen D-Tectors. In the Japanese version this Gallantmon doesn't speak, while in the American dub it speaks in the same manner as in Tamers and even refers to itself in the plural as a definite shoutout.

Digimon Fusion
Takato appears alongside on the Old Clock Shop Man's boat. Takato shows up again during the final battle with, and marvels about how cool it is to be standing next to Tai and Davis on the battlefield.

Digimon Xros Wars (manga)
When ponders Nene's digifuse with, he recalls a legend about a human digifusing with his Digimon, and pictures Takato and his Digimon becoming.

Digimon Xros Wars: Super Digica Taisen
Takato is a legendary General, and his Partner is.

Digimon Adventure (PSP)
Takato is a character.

Cards
Takato has 70 cards, mainly Digimon ones.



Music
Takato has two Japanese image songs: "Across the Tears" and "Kiseki no Takaramono" ("Treasure of Miracles"), sung by Makoto Tsumura. He has an additional image song, a duet sung by Tsumura with Masako Nozawa as, called "Futari de La La La" ("The Two of Us, La La La"). Tsumura also sings two songs with Fumiko Orikasa as Rika Nonaka and Mayumi Yamaguchi as Henry Wong, "3 Primary Colors" and "Santamon o Sagase!!" ("Search for Santamon!!"), and participates in the male characters' rendition of "The Biggest Dreamer" in the Digimon Music 100 Title Memorial Box.

Notes and references
Takato Matsuki Matsuda Takato 松田启人