Tao Ran

Tao Ran is a fictional character in the Shaman King manga and anime series. She is the biological heir of the Tao Family from her father Tao Ching and unknown mother. Ran is the wife of Tao Yúan and the mother of Tao Jun and Ren. She is a Daoshi and her primary Guardian Ghosts are a pair of handsome Jiang Shi named Shu and Kyo.

Appearance
Ran is a striking woman and like all other Tao woman, she is quite beautiful. Ran wears her hair tied into two spikes and she wears decorated Chinese robes and carries a Chinese fan with her at all times.

When Ran and her husband saved Jun from an attack by the Dong Clan, she swore a rather skimpy battle outfit, decorated with animal bones, such as ribcages and a bull skull over her crotch.

Personality
She is a loving and humoristic woman who will put tradition above everything else. Despite her devotion to tradition, she still loves and cares for her family, stopping her husband before he could get himself killed and happily greeting her son's new friends with a feast.

Abilities and Powers
She is by far the best Dàoshì in the entire Tao Family and is the one who taught Tao Jun her skills.

Spirit

 * See More: Shu & Kyo

Her personal Jiang-Shi's a pair of handsome zombies who have served the Tao Family for many years, back to the time of the dynasties.

Past
Tao Ran originates from Guizhou, China and she was born on April 12, 1960. Being the main heir to Tao Family, she was forced to find herself a husband. However, only the strongest shamans deserved to bear the last name Tao, thus making it difficult to find a suitable husband for Ran. To determine who was worthy, her suitors would go through a formal marriage interview and would then fight against her and win. Those who lost would be turned into Jiang-Shis, and even if someone did win, if she didn't like them they would be forced to go back home.

Eventually, she would come to face Tao Yúan a member of the Tao Branch Family. He challenged her and won with one hit. She fell in love instantly. She would later give birth to two children. First was a girl, Tao Jun and later a son and the main heir to the family Tao Ren.

Shaman Fights in Tokyo
When her husband was losing the fight with her son, Ran appeared together with her father to stop Yúan. She encouraged her husband to stop when Ching said that his only choice was to stop or face death. She was present at the feast were she teased Usui Horokeu when he was afraid that something was wrong with the food, and later offered her son's friends some Jiang Shi horses to help them get home.

Shaman Fights Second Round
She was later seen towards the end of Team "The Ren"'s first fight, sitting together with her husband in his large Dà Dào Wáng Over Soul, daughter, and father alongside several Jiang-Shis cheering on Ren.

She and her husband were visibly upset when Asakura Keiko and Asakura Mikihisa came to deliver a message about Ren and even offered to train him.

Invading the Plants
When the Shaman Fights were moved to the Continent of Mu, the Asakura Family, the Tao Family and the Usui Family had a barbecue party at the beach, awaiting the results of the fight and hoping that their children would make it. After Anna offers to reveal their current Furyoku to ease them all, Ran was seen preparing the food together with Keiko and said that they should remain calm after both Asakura Kino and Yúan called the numbers pointless.

She later appeared on board the Soul Train together with the rest of Tao Family.

Anime/Manga Difference
In the manga and Japanese anime series, she is said to be Tao Yúan's wife; in the English version of the 2001 anime series, she is his sister-in-law and the name of her anime husband is never revealed.

In the manga and anime series, she is drawn with black hair, but in the Kang Zeng Bang Shaman Files, she is drawn with dark green hair.

Etymology

 * Ran means "orchid" (蘭).