| |
|---|---|
| Taichi Dan | |
| Kanji |
壇太一 |
| Rōmaji |
Dan Taichi |
| Gender |
Male |
| Age |
12 |
| Height |
147 cm |
| Weight |
40 kg |
| Birthday |
January 2 |
| Horoscope |
Capricorn |
| Eyesight (Unaided) |
1.5 (both eyes) |
| Blood Type |
AB |
| Family |
Father |
| Junior High |
Yamabuki (1st Year) |
| Class |
1-1 |
| Seat |
13 |
| Club Position |
Investigator |
| Elementary School |
Yamabuki Primary School |
| Dominant Arm |
Left |
| Manga Debut |
Genius 90 |
| Anime Debut |
Episode 89 |
| Movies | |
| Voice Actor |
Yumiko Kobayashi (Japanese) |
Taichi Dan's (壇 太一, Dan Taichi) contribution to the team is very significant, since he first worked as Yamabuki's manager. After learning from Seigaku's Echizen Ryoma that height isn't important in tennis, he decided to learn more about his play style and started working as a member of the team. He is well-known for being a nice kid and always says "-dadadadan!" when he gets excited.
Appearance
Dan wears a green head band in a similar fashion to Yukimura Seiichi, which sometimes will come down of on his face. Dan has navy blue hair and brown eyes. Similar to Ryoma, He is short as he is just a 1st Year.
Personality
Even though he has a very small build, Dan is not afraid of interacting with the violent Akutsu. In fact, they seem to be pretty close to each other. Dan likes to tag a "desu" to the end of his sentences. Dan previously served as Yamabuki's manager, but through Echizen Ryoma and Akutsu Jin's, he later decided to play tennis instead of just watching it. Dan was the most emotionally affected by Akutsu's departure and the headband Dan sports once belonged to Akutsu.
Dan is usually a very energetic and innocent boy. He can be very childish but eventually matures and learns that he cannot always rely on others. He always tries his best for the team but his confidence can be easily brought down. He knows that he is not a very strong player but he is always willing to learn from his mistakes and his determination is second to none.
History
Prefecturals
Taichi is first seen in the series alerting his teammates that only three of the Fudomine players were present, not aware of the accident that Akutsu caused.
Regionals
Yamabuki cruise through to the Quarterfinals of the Kanto Regional Tournament and meet up with Fudomine who they had previously faced in the Toky Prefecturals.
Nationals
Yambuki gets off to a good start in the nationals defeating St. Icaria. Yamabuki ease their way to Round 2. Unfortunately due to the loss of Akutsu, Yamabuki couldnt win the next round against Nagoya Seitoku, ending their run in the Nationals.
U-17 Camp
Unqualified to attend the U-17 camp, the first-year trio consisting of Dan, Horio, and Shiita manage to trespass into the facilities through a broken segment of a fence. Dan's sole purpose of staying at the camp was to cheer on Akutsu Jin. He manages to gift Akutsu a good luck charm after getting his attention, and the trio continues to provide game commentary during the elimination matches until the return of the disqualified in later chapters. Afterwards, Dan is seen in a U-17 dorm room along with the rest of the trio, invariably managing to become accepted into the camp.
Tennis Record
Unofficial Matches
| Day | Location | Type of Match | Partner | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/2008 | Seigaku (Anime Only) | Singles Match | None | Echizen Ryoma | Loss (0-6) |
Playing Style and Techniques
Dan's play style has yet to be shown in the manga, although it has been noted and shown that he practices Data Tennis to some form. In the anime. he models himself after Echizen Ryoma's play style. He goes as far as copying the other boy's clothing, racquets, shoes, and mannerism. However, due to a difference in overall power and technique between Ryoma and Dan, he is unable to be on par with Ryoma, but his potential has left an impression on both Ryoma and Momo. In the video games, Dan is shown to use some of Akutsu's moves with his own clumsy style, although his stats are not as impressive.
A style of tennis based on data gathered on the opponents. It involves constantly collecting and analyzing the data of other players in order to determine strengths, weaknesses and habits. Dan was shown to take detailed notes (although this was due to unknowingly directly interviewing the person he was collecting data on), but has not shown its effectiveness or his method of utilization in a match. In the anime, Data Tennis probably had a factor in Dan being able to copy Ryoma's appearance and part of his play style.
Anime Only
Twist Serve (ツイストサーブ)
A serve Ryoma typically performs with his right hand (although it needs to be hit with the hand of the opponent's dominant side), Dan was able to learn this technique himself with effort, to the point that he caught Ryoma off-guard twice with it. The twist serve is Ryoma's most notable shot. Dan performs it with his left hand during his match against Ryoma, due to both players being left-handed. It is meant to shoot towards the opponent's face, making it difficult to return. This is possible due to the counter-spin to the Twist Serve having a topspin effect, which jumps towards the opponent's face on the bounce. It was shown that Dan's Twist Serve was weaker than Ryoma's, as he was unable to return Ryoma's Twist Serve while Ryoma ended up flawlessly returning Dan's after 2 of Dan's serves.
In the English dubbed version of Prince of Tennis, the twist serve is referred to as the kick serve, which is similar to the twist serve, but is considered to be less powerful and easier to perform than the twist serve.
Drive B (ドライブB, doraibu B)
This is Ryoma's first original shot (as opposed to moves he copies from other players), and is first used in his match against Yūta Fuji. Besides the twist serve, it probably is his most notable shot. In the English dub, this technique was renamed Drive V. Dan copied this technique from Ryoma with a lot of effort and showed it against Ryoma.
This shot is a topspin drive volley with two consecutive bounce arcs, the shape of which form the eponymous 'B'. This technique is performed by sliding up near the net and then jumping forward to hit the topspin upward, which, normally, will result in the ball being hit too high and resulting in a fast home run. However, with the huge amount of topspin, it sinks down fast after reaching a certain arc, making this shot difficult to return.
Despite Dan performing this technique perfectly, however, Ryoma returned Dan's Drive B using his Drive B from the baseline flawlessly.
Personal Information
- Shoe size 24 cm
- Committee: None
- Worst/least favorite subjects: Maths, Chemistry
- Best place to find him at school: The Arts room
- Uses his allowance for notebooks and pens
- Motto: One look is better than hearing a hundred times
- Favorite movie: 南極物語 "Antarctic Tale" (animal movie)
- Preferred reading: Information magazines of any kind
- Preferred music: Idol music
- Place to go on a date: Zoo
- One thing wants right now: The kind of shoes Akutsu wears
- Daily routine: Taking a bath with his dog
- Least favorite thing: Vaulting horse
- Special skills aside from Tennis: Oil painting, rough sketches
- Favorite Food: Butter Oysters
- Hobby: Taking his beloved dog out for a walk, Collecting data
- Father's occupation: Office Worker (Publishing Company)
- Favorite Subject: Japanese, Home Economics, Art
- Favorite Color: Sky Blue
- Preferred type: Aggressive people
Trivia
- Dan is one of the few male characters in the anime who is voiced by a female voice actor (Kobayashi Yumiko).
Gallery
