| Original | Gallery | Data |
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| “ | Liberating the Generation Zone! Infinite possibilities, and one of them belongs to me! Generation Stride! |
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—Taiyou Asukawa, Turn 26 | ||
Taiyou Asukawa is one of the supporting characters in Cardfight!! Vanguard G. He was taught how to play by Chrono Shindou during his first visit to Card Capital 2. Originally a timid boy, Taiyou becomes obsessed with becoming a stronger fighter like Chrono and thus ends up joining Team Demise.
After Kanzaki's resignation, Taiyou becomes friends with Chrono and eventually participates in the final battle with Company in Stride Gate. In Cardfight!! Vanguard G: NEXT , Taiyou becomes a member of Chrono's new team, Team Striders alongside Kazuma Shouji. Taiyou's Vanguard circle is yellow.
Appearance[]
When he first visits Card Capital 2, he wears a yellow hoodie with a blue and white t-shirt underneath. He has brown hair which falls down the middle of his face.
After he joins Team Demise, his clothes remain the same however, a bit of his hair turns white for unknown reasons.
During the GIRS Crisis and Stride Gate arc, he retains the same hoodie but he loses the t-shirt underneath in favour of a blue jacket above his hoodie.
In Cardfight!! Vanguard G: NEXT, he retains the hoodie and doesn't wear the jacket anymore. His hair grows out and he grows taller.
Etymology[]
His family name, Asukawa is written with the kanji meaning "Tomorrow" and "River". His given name, "Taiyou" can also be read as "Sun". Though since his name is written in katakana, it doesn't really have any meaning. His name may also referencing his grade 3 ace, Sunrise Ray Knight, Gurguit.
Personality[]
At first Taiyou appeared to be a timid and shy person. After he was taught by Chrono how to play Vanguard, he began finding it more enjoyable.
After going through the United Sanctuary's training program, Taiyou became an extremely cold and calculating individual, obsessed with becoming stronger in order to defeat Chrono. Like the other United Sanctuary fighters, he upholds the phrase "Weakness is a crime". During this period of time, his fringe turned white.
After the defeat of Branch Manager Kanzaki and the reformation of the United Sanctuary Branch, Taiyou retained a more cheerful and positive attitude on life along with the rest of the fighters as he finally saw the fun side of vanguard and friendship.
His relationship with Chrono also continued to strengthen, resulting in a brotherly bond between the two; with Chrono going as far as confiding in Taiyou things like Planet Cray and the Depend Cards. Taiyou, for his part, looks up to Chrono a lot, but is not above laughing at some of his comical misfortunes; like a horse constantly biting his hair.
History[]
G Season 1[]
Taiyou was first shown walking into Card Capital 2, seeking to learn how to play Vanguard. Chrono happily showed him at Shin's request, but Taiyou seemed very nervous throughout the entire experience. In the end, he leaves with a smile on his face and a goal to beat Chrono.
Taiyou is next seen at the United Sanctuary. He fights Chrono in the finals of a tournament held there. Despite the fact that Taiyou was able to predict Chrono's moves due to the data he was given about Chrono's deck prior to the fight, Chrono won with Upheaval Pegasus. After his loss, Taiyou was taken somewhere. Chrono noticed that Taiyou had lost his smile and refused to leave without correcting things. Once inside, Chrono ran into Taiyou and tried to talk some sense into him, but Taiyou was determined to get stronger. At that moment, Ibuki interrupted them.
After his loss to Kanzaki, Chrono decided to take Taiyou around town along with Shion, Tokoha, Kumi, and Team Trinity Dragon and try to put a smile back on his face. Taiyou initially refused, but agreed when Chrono bribed him with the chance to fight him. After a few hours, a Dog Trainer came looking for Taiyou. Taiyou apologized for skipping training, but Chrono challenged the Dog Trainer to a fight to get him to leave Taiyou alone. Chrono defeated the Trainer, which only made Taiyou even more determined to get stronger, as it only reminded Taiyou how it feels to be powerless and unable to change anything. Taiyou told Chrono that the latter was the one who was wrong and left with the defeated Trainer.
Later while training at the United Sanctuary Branch, Kouji Ibuki came to Taiyou, and asked if he would go through the special program that all Team Demise members go through, to which Taiyou accepted.
On the day of the special match with Team Demise, Taiyou was revealed to be the new third member. His match with Chrono was right after Shion vs Shouma, but it was delayed for a while because Ibuki stole the Depend Card. A while after Chrono talked to Kamui, Taiyou appeared from behind him and showed Chrono the friends he made at United Sanctuary because he was strong. He declared to Chrono that he would be the victor and would prove to him that his decision to believe in United Sanctuary policy was correct.
During his match with Chrono, Chrono mentioned to Taiyou that the pattern of their match was similar to their last fight. However, Taiyou declared that the outcome of this match would be different. Chrono strode Epoch-Maker Dragon but Taiyou blocked his attack.
He mentioned to Chrono that Chrono’s tricks were useless against him. He told Chrono that since Chrono beat him last time, he underwent a lot of training all for the sake of surpassing Chrono and prove that United Sanctuary was right. He confessed that when he was weak, he was all alone, but strength had brought him many things and he had friends because of the strength he had gained. When Chrono asked if playing Vanguard that way was fun, Taiyou got irritated by the question and rudely asked Chrono what he meant. By that time, it was Chrono’s turn, and Taiyou told him that he would block whatever Chrono threw at him. Chrono, who was angered by Taiyou’s attitude, strode the unit he used to beat Taiyou last time; Upheaval Pegasus.
Chrono managed to rearrange Taiyou’s rearguard formation and push him to 5 damage, but was unable to defeat him. On Taiyou’s turn, he mentioned that he was helpless during the previous match because Upheaval changed his rearguard’s formation, but he calmly states that it would be different this time. He strode Spearcross Dragon and managed to build a powerful formation and increase the cards in his hand. Despite this, Chrono managed to survive. Chrono told Taiyou that he was impressed by how much Taiyou had improved, while Taiyou said he endured all kinds of hardships for the sake of defeating Chrono and told him how someone like Chrono who was strong from the very beginning would never understand his feelings. Chrono admitted to Taiyou that with Vanguard winning was fun and losing was frustrating, but winning was not everything and that Vanguard brings people together.
On Chrono’s turn, he strode Chronodragon Nextage and took out all Taiyou’s intercepts. When he attacked with Nextage, Taiyou blocked the attack. However, Chrono activated Nextage’s skill to make his vanguard stand up again as Chronojet Dragon. Because Chrono could attack with his vanguard once more, along with Chronojet Dragon’s Generation Break and a critical trigger, Taiyou started to panic and was afraid of going back to being weak again. However, Chrono told him that being weak wasn’t a sin and losing wasn’t the end. He also told Taiyou that he can fight again as many times as he wanted and could choose any kind of future. Taiyou was surprised by Chrono’s words and Chrono managed to defeat him. After his loss, Taiyou fell to his knees and looked back at his friends he had made and, seeing them abandon him, started crying.
During the match between Kanzaki and Chrono, he started questioning United Sanctuary’s policies and made the decision to believe in Chrono by discarding his bracelet and cheering for Chrono to win. After the match, Taiyou apologized to Chrono and they became friends again. He later tells TRY3 about what Kouji did by reforming the branch and hoped to enjoy Vanguard with the rest of fighters.
G Season 2[]
Taiyou reappeared in episode 18 helping out with the G Quest as a staff member. He met up with TRY3 and explained the changes that had happened at United Sanctuary and about AL4. He was later shown watching the special match.
Trivia[]
- Taiyou Asukawa is the first person to defeat a member of Company.
- Taiyou Asukawa's official twitter account can be found at https://twitter.com/Gurg_taiyou.