It's not a big shock to anyone familiar with Blade that he is a serious Pantyhose Tarou fan; he's been an embarassingly huge fanboy of the guy for well over a decade, long before either his manga or anime versions were officially translated. Why? Truthfully, a lot of it is probably just how new I was to anime when I first discovered Tarou; he might not seem so neat to someone more familiar with (or less enamoured of) the effeminate badass archetype in anime.

That being said, Tarou is pretty nifty on his own merits. He's a very versatile character, able to be both serious and threatening and very comedic in turn without any cognitive dissonance; he can play hero, anti-hero or villain without any violation of character, he can be brilliant or stupid in any situation without too much tweaking for believability. He's a pitiful figure that inspires sympathy, a badass that people can cheer, and a smug asshole that inspires readers to want to see his face kicked in.

Plus, even Takahashi thinks he has the coolest cursed form.

Tarou Pictures


Manga Tarou
Anime Tarou
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