Taka

Taka's first full appearance

***Yamakaze Taka***or simply ***Taka***is a general of the SwordBandits army. He is the first swordbandit to be introduced in the series (and with the bandits' symbol) and also the first tamashī energy user to appear in *DoA*.

## Appearance

Taka has long black hair with a black short beard. Taka wears an eyepatch, which suggests a lack of his right eye. He also has a long scar on this side of his face (probably, the cause of the lack) and a small 'x' scar on his left temple.

Taka is shown in a long navy blue coat with a white long sash (appearing like a samurai) and a bluish clothing under it. His forearms and calves are tied with navy blue bands. As many characters he wears martial arts shoes. Taka weapon of choice is a katana.

## History

Not much is known about his past. When he was a Captain, he met Bandit Soldier Zō, which helped the second one to become stronger. One day taka decided to eliminate one of the highest-ranked wanted men by the Swordbandits - Aoki Momo. For unknown reasons (most probably, following him) he expected him to show up in Kokkyō mountains, where he waited for him. The first one to show up in this area was Cropper. Taka decided to kill the youngster for insulting him. The bandit wasn't able to hit the young martial artist, and even recived a strong kick from him which caused him to attack the kid with his Tamashī energy. Cropper dodged Taka's attack which cutted few trees down. Taka was kicked away by Cropper, who first weakened him with his Kieruken technique. Taka falled near his target, Momo. Before Taka could even name his attack, Momo send him flying high.

## Strenght

Thus, this wasn't specified, Taka (at the point of his only appearance) seemed to be a weak General, as Cropper was able to stop him for a while. Despite that, Taka is shown to be a Tamashī energy user, performing Tsumeken.

## Fights

* Taka vs. Cropper (interrupted/unfinished).
* Taka vs. Momo (lost).

## Others

* His name comes from japanese 鷹 (*taka*), meaning hawk.
* His last name might be transtlated as mountain wind, from japanese 山風 (*yama* - mountain, *kaze* - wind, breeze)*.*
* Taka is the first tamashī energy user in the series.
* On page 22 of Legend of the Dragon Warrior, when Cropper kicks Taka, he is seen with two eyes, despite he is wearing an eyepatch (thus this might be shown only for humorous purpouses).
* As stated by the author, General Taka might return to the series.
* Taka's name was first mentioned by Momo, suggesting that he is a well know swordbandits' officer.

## References

1. ↑ http://dragonsofazuma.thecomicseries.com/comics/241/
2. ↑ *Momo 'introducing' General Taka.*http://dragonsofazuma.thecomicseries.com/comics/23/
3. ↑ http://dragonsofazuma.thecomicseries.com/comics/14/
4. ↑ http://dragonsofazuma.thecomicseries.com/comics/13
5. ↑ http://dragonsofazuma.thecomicseries.com/comics/15
6. ↑ *(...)Taka, like Buta, came unnamed, but he started the idea that Swordbandits (there – 'Mercenaries') (...). when starting tRD, never planed to give him any major role in the series. The idea came when at the end of tRD #3 where i got still 2 pages unscripted and the story for #3 actually enden. Then i decided to bring Taka 'back to life'(...).*http://dragonsofazuma.thecomicseries.com/blogarchive/21764