Taigen is one of the main characters in Netflix’s animated action series, Blue Eye Samurai. The character is voiced by Darren Barret.
Taigen is one chiseled samurai with a lot of arrogance and overconfidence, but also a lot of surprising grit and vulnerabilities he wears on his sleeve.
By the end of the first season, he goes through a lot of positive character development.
Bully to enemy to it’s complicated
Taigen was the head of the bully kids who tormented Mizu when she was a child. Extremely prejudiced against her for her mixed-race blood, different complexion, and blue eyes, they all subjected her to a lot of hurt and even provoked her to commit suicide.
Taigen grew up to be a reputable samurai and the top student at the Shindo Dojo. His unbeaten streak is broken finally when Mizu comes looking for the dojo master and beats up all the other students.
Taigen is celebrating his forthcoming engagement to Akemi when he’s informed about the beastly warrior. He goes to take on Mizu, not realizing right away who she is. Mizu bests him and humiliates him when she leaves after cutting his glorious hair off.
He chases after her to restore his honor and binds her to a contract for an official duel. However, along the way, he gets into a complicated friendship with Mizu, as he even refuses to give her location to Fowler and Shindo when he tortures him at the castle.
He and Mizu’s chemistry grows and grows until at Master Eiji’s place when he tries to get her to cheer up by physically tackling her, she playfully pins him down and sits on him.
Taigen is sexually stimulated by this and upon realization, scrambles to compose himself and hide his boner. Mizu can’t reveal to him that she’s actually a girl, as he starts making excuses for his physical reaction and the conversation steers to Akemi.
When he learns what’s about to happen with Akemi and the shogunate, he lashes out at Mizu for keeping this from him so far and leaves, cursing her and hurting her with his hateful words again.
From glory to happiness
At the beginning of Blue Eye Samurai, Taigen is seeking and striving for glory. He wants all the honor and recognition, and he has that too, with his unbroken record when it comes to duels.
He’s a highly accomplished samurai with skills that far surpass those of his contemporaries. However, that all changes when Mizu humiliates him in a duel.
She keeps besting him and even though he remains adamant that he’ll defeat her in an official duel, he does admit in a moment of surprising and uncharacteristic humility, that she might just be a better fighter than him.
By the end of season 1, he’s given up on all his quests for glory and only wants happiness, something he thinks and hopes he’ll have with Akemi as the two run far away.
However, Akemi wants the glory for herself as she seeks control of her fate, and stands on the opposite side of the spectrum of desires.
Taigen doesn’t get back together with Akemi and his current whereabouts are not revealed before the credits roll on season 1.