Tao Ren

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.

Contents

1 Character
2 Story
3 Bason
4 Attacks
5 Family
6 Trivia

Character

Ren is a shaman from China who came to Japan to fight Asakura Yoh 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. Initially he fights with rage and believes that either one must kill or be killed. As he gains the friendship of Yoh and the other, he becomes more compassionate. Ren tries hard to maintain a tough and confidant exterior, aloof from the rest of the gang, but deep down he would risk his life for them.

Although he is more serious than most of the characters in the story, Tao Ren is actually a 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.

Asakura Hao tells him that he wants him on his team, but he never does anything other than say it.

Ren often fights with Horohoro and the two do not seem to get along, but later it is shown that they are very close friends.

Ren was born on January 1 and is a Capricorn. He has a blood type of AB.

Story

From day one, his father, Tao Yúan (also known as "Tao En") (his uncle in the English anime) put in his head that he had to become Shaman King no matter the cost. When fighting Yoh, he and his spirit, Bason, tried to kill him, but failed. Ren tried to defeat Yoh again, and was defeated by the Japanese Shaman. In the English anime, Len's father is dead while in the original anime and the manga, Yúan is his father(some people believe he's both Ren's uncle AND father). In the manga, Ren passes the qualification exam by killing Chrom, the Patch Tribe member that had been sent to test Ren to see if he had the ability to be a part of the Shaman Fight.

In the first round of the Shaman Fight, he fights against Yoh for the second time. In the English anime, if he lost he would be out of the Shaman Fight. Both Yoh and Ren ran out of mana (furyoku in the anime and the Japanese versions, mana in the English manga) at the same time, but were both allowed to proceed. Yoh then took Ren to his house where he shows him the power of friendship. Ren goes to Tao Yúan's house in Mt. Jiaoshan, Guizhou Province, China to confront Yúan; he is captured and locked away. After he is saved by Yoh and his friends, Ren joins Yoh's team and now fights for good. In the second round of the shaman fights ren helps Yoh and the others to fight against Hao(Zeke) and also is accepted as the leader of the tao family.

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,cacable 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.

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 grows outrageously long.

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 Bao Ling (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.

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 1st January 1986
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.

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