Tao, Yúan
Seiyuu / Dub
Chiesse, Nestor· Japanese
Ebara, Masashi· Japanese
Jilka, Gerhard· Japanese
Mendelman, Ami· Japanese
Panczak, Hans-Georg· Japanese
Rauscher, Thomas· Japanese
Tezuka, Hideaki· Japanese
Pandolfi, Silvio· Italian
Scarabelli, Mario· Italian
Thompson, Marc· English
Villeli, Alejandro· Spanish
Violette, Vincent· FrenchSummary
Tao Yúan is the patriarch of the Tao lineage, serving as the father to Tao Ren and Tao Jun. While he is introduced in the English anime adaptation as the uncle of Len and Jun, the source material identifies him as their father. Born on November 30, 1956, with blood type A, Yúan is a formidable shaman capable of commanding an army of jiang-shi. He is depicted as a towering, sadistic, and malevolent figure. His initial appearances occur during flashback sequences involving Ren and Lee Bailong, where he is seen only in shadow. His first full reveal takes place in volume 7 during the Shaman Fight, specifically as Ren and Yoh Asakura battle for the final qualifying spot. Yúan’s influence over his children was devastating; both Ren and Jun endured traumatic childhoods marked by daily exposure to violence and death, alongside severe physical abuse. When Jun confronts him about his treatment of Ren and demands his release, Yúan mocks her and sentences her to confinement in a dungeon for ten days while Ren is away. To intercept Ren upon his return, Yúan summons an army of jiang-shi from fresh corpses, which Ren dispatches with relative ease. During their confrontation, Ren finds he cannot harm his father, even using the Golden Vorpal Dance. Yúan subsequently tortures Ren and locks him in the dungeon alongside Jun. The arrival of Ren’s friends leads to a combined assault that literally tears Yúan apart. On the brink of defeat, Yúan’s concentration breaks, exposing that his monstrous form was an illusion generated by his Oversoul. In reality, he resembles an older man with a prominent mustache, looking very similar to Ren. He explains that his obsession with the family doctrine stems from the burden of carrying two thousand years of Tao family souls, housed within mortuary tablet armor. He also reveals a second Oversoul, an oriental dragon with a head resembling his initial form. Ren ultimately defeats his father, and in a moment of reconciliation, Yúan passes the Thunder Sword to him before passing on. Later, Yúan displays a significantly more enthusiastic and supportive side, such as attending the Patch Village to cheer for Ren’s team during a match, much to his son’s embarrassment.
