Tao Ren

Tao Ren (道 蓮 Japanese: Tao Ren; Pinyin: Dào Lián or Dao4 Lian2), known as Len Tao 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.

Character & Personality
Ren is a shaman from China who came to Japan to fight Yoh Asakura and to take part in the Shaman Fight in Tokyo. In the American dub this is never mentioned. 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 yearning 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 (or uncle in the English anime), Tao Yúan (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 about the world 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 returned to China to defeat his father.

His first attempt failed, but he refused to give in to his father, even as he remained chained in the dungeon of his home. Thanks to Bason, Yoh and the others came to help him. He thanked them for rescuing him but was persistent in saying that he didn't want any help from them. He said it was his problem alone. But eventually all of them defeated Tao Yúan together; allowing Ren to finally move on.

Ren tries hard to maintain a tough and confident exterior and is aloof, but deep down would risk his life for his allies. Ren is a particularly impatient person with a very short temper, and isn't afraid to hurt the source of the anger.

Ren is an 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 teammate, Horohoro. His overflowing self-confidence annoys some of the other characters. In addition, Ren is also very intuitive, quick-witted, and sometimes stubborn. He is also very defiant. He rarely listens to what anyone says or takes their instructions. Before and during the process in which he befriended Yoh, he even was bold enough to disobey his father on various occasions.

It is mentioned that Ren is skilled in more than one area of combat. Not only is he a powerful shaman capable of doing things most shamans his age would not be able to, but in addition, he also seems to be skilled in martial arts and sword fighting, in addition to also learning many of Mikihisa Asakura's techniques simply by experiencing them firsthand. It is also lightly suggested in the manga that Ren can also play the erhu.

As the series progresses, Ren begins to trust others more. Out of all his friends, his bonds with Yoh and Horohoro seem to be the strongest. Ren often fights with Horohoro and the two do not seem to get along at all. However, after Ren sacrifices himself to save him, it becomes apparent that they really do care for one another. As Faust worked to try to save Ren's life after the incident, Horohoro did his best to protect the unconscious Ren.

Ren's name in Chinese means "benevolent", "tough", and "edge of a knife", all of which are reflected in his character. His actual Chinese name, Lián, means "lotus". In the English dub, he is given a British accent. He also has an obsession with milk and the number 3.

It seems to be hinted in the anime that Yoh is stronger than Ren. However, in the manga Ren happens to be stronger than Yoh.

Appearance
Tao Ren as seen in the mangaRen has a unique appearance that divides him from all the other characters in Shaman King. He is shorter than Yoh and most of his friends, but he seems to look taller when the length of the spike in his hair is added up. He is relatively thin, and his spiked hair is a shade of dark purple. His hairstyle is called a tongari. Ren's eyes are golden in the anime, but in the manga's colored pages, they usually appear the same color as his hair.

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 "botchama" (Young Master) in the Japanese version.

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.

Weapons & Powers
In the beginning of the series, Ren fights with a kwan dao, a Chinese spear-like weapon. However, as he begins to face more powerful enemies, he switches to the Hou Rai Ken (Bao-Lei), the Tao's family most treasured heirloom sword. With this sword, he creates a variety of over souls, such as the Bushin. Hou Rai Ken has the special ability of purifying and refining the spirit being integrated into it, making the spirit recall all of its past techinques from when it was still alive. This, in turn, increases the strength of Bason several times making him the ultimate fighting machine as explained by Ren himself in Volume 17 when he was battling Mikihisa Asakura.

In the manga, he becomes one of the Five Elemental Warriors and gains the Spirit of Thunder. His element is reflected in his weapon, the Hou Rai Ken (Jewel Thunder) sword.

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 (Chinese Slash Dance) and later on, Golden Chuuka Zanmai. In the manga, this attack results in the spike of Ren's hair growing outrageously long. In the manga, he is also capable of releasing a strong Armor Oversoul called Bushin Yuchi, roughly translated into Bushin Fish Fin, and can convert his furyoku into powerful lightning bolts, in an attack known as Rasiou.

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 Lian), who is a dao-si. He cares a lot about her, which is evident when he tries to save her from their father's wrath upon his return to China. 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.