<Basic>

Another third-year regular on Seigaku's tennis team, Kawamura is called "Taka-san" by most of his peers. He's known both for his powerful style of tennis and for helping out at his father's sushi shop. His biggest quirk? When he picks up a tennis racquet, he changes from a mild-mannered youth to an obnoxious hothead who yells nonsensical English phrases.

<At First Glance>

Taka is... well, weird. His strange split personality is, without question, the first thing you will notice about his character. This is mainly because it is the biggest recurring humor gimmick in the entire show (possibly excepting Inui Juice, lol). The flashing inferno that engulfs Kawamura every time he picks up a racquet demands attention, and usually laughter, too. Other than that, though, Taka is easy to overlook, mainly because the rest of the time he's just a normal, easygoing, polite sort of fellow. ^_^

<Personality>

As I've said, Taka has a split personality. Really, though, this is just a superficial analysis of his character. It's easy to say that Taka is a sweet, caring, timid guy most of the time, and that he becomes an Engrish-spouting monster when he picks up a racquet. But, in reality, Taka's personality has much more to do with the former characteristics than his "burning" alter ego. Taka is just, to put it simply, a really nice guy. The whole "racquet schizophrenia" thing excepted, he's one of the more well-adjusted characters in PoT. He's a very dutiful son, and helps out all the time at his father's sushi shop. It's clear he longs to please his father, and he plans on following in his footsteps. Taka's also a very loyal friend and dedicated teammate. This is demonstrated over and over, most memorably in the cases of his childhood friend Akutsu, his frequent doubles partner Fuji, and his new teammate Ryoma. In all three cases, he shows a kind of sincere affection towards them that proves his warm and caring nature. Taka is also a very polite person and is usually very soft-spoken. He often gets nervous before tennis matches and sometimes even forgets to bring his racquet onto the court before shaking hands with his opponent. Of course, we all know what happens once he does get the racquet in his hands... and then the typically meek Kawamura becomes a burning monster of "Great-o!" wrath. But that's another story entirely...

<Tennis Ability>

Taka's tennis ability is nothing to scoff at. In fact, if you have weak arms, his tennis style is more like something to fear. More so than any other member of Seigaku and, arguably, any other character in the whole series, Kawamura can CRUSH a tennis ball. He hits the ball harder even than Momoshiro, Inui, or Kaidoh (all of whom, I remind you, are RIPPED despite being under the age of fifteen). Usually, when Kawamura plays tennis against his teammates, the racquet ends up getting blasted out of his opponent's hand. There's also usually lots of grunting, groaning, screaming, and blasting fireballs of death. If it sounds like war or maybe Dragonball Z, well, it should. Because Taka plays tennis that looks exactly like a Dragonball Z showdown.

Besides playing "power tennis," though, Taka doesn't have many special moves in his arsenal, unlike most of his teammates. He apparently has a "Burning Serve" he can use, but as this move is given no special animation sequence or explication in the series, I'm guessing it's just... well, a really hard serve. He can, however, pull off the move that Ishida of Fudomine created... the infamously powerful shot called the "Hadoukyuu." He performs the shot two-handed when he wants to lessen the burden on his arm, but he can also do a one-handed version and the extremely scary "Dash Hadoukyuu." The "dash" version is extra powerful and involves even more groaning and yelling than Kawamura's other moves. So I'm guessing it's darn scary. In short, if you don't like dealing with powerful shots, you'd better not play against Taka. Ever.

As a tennis player, Taka is a Seigaku regular, so he isn't to be taken lightly. However, among the regulars, he's not particularly outstanding. He wins a lot of pivotal matches, but there are others in the series that end in his defeat. And while he's not at all an average player, his teammates generally regard him as a more welcome opponent than, say, Tezuka.

<Plot Points>

Most of the time, Taka's involvement in the plot is mostly as comic relief. His "Great-o!" moments are used as a kind of break in the action and normally serve as little more than the "I know it's coming" moments where you just have to laugh. Still, when Taka does become involved in the plot, some very important things are revealed that add a surprising amount of depth to his character.

Taka's first big moment in the plot is during the Fudomine arc, where he plays in second doubles with Fuji. Ishida performs the infamous (and darn scary) Hadoukyuu move, intending to stop Seigaku's momentum in the match. The power shot is hit directly to Fuji, who prepares to return it despite the numerous warnings from his teammates. (Unlike Taka, Fuji has... well, girlish wrists that would probably snap like a twig if he tried returning a shot like that.) In that moment, Taka steps in front of Fuji and returns the shot instead. Besides revealing Taka's strength as a player, since no one is supposed to be able to return the Hadoukyuu, this moment also shows his concern and affection for his teammate. Taka seems to think very little of the gesture, but as Fuji seems more than aware of, such a risky action could have cost Taka dearly. (By the way, Taka and Fuji seem to be on fairly close terms, since in Taka's "burning mode" he addresses Fuji using the very diminuitive nickname "Fujiko-chan." And Fuji likewise calls Kawamura "Taka-san." ^_^)

As it turns out, Taka seems to think very little of cost to himself or his health if the welfare of his teammates is at stake. Case in point, during the Hyoutei arc, Taka risks severe damage to his hand by repeatedly hitting the dangerous single-handed Hadoukyuu. His motive for doing this is two-fold... he refuses to accept the idea that the match could have been the last match for Seigaku that season (and, consequently, the last match for him and for his third-year teammates). He also feels that he must play his best because many talented players, like Ryoma and Akutsu, may not have an opportunity to play in the Kantou Regional Tournament. As Taka sees it, this means he needs to do his absolute best, since he had the opportunity to play. It's moments like this that show the thoughtful and passionate personality beneath Taka's meek exterior. He is truly dedicated to his tennis team and exceptionally loyal to his friends.

In the case of Akutsu, Taka also shows a huge amount of compassion and understanding. Akutsu is, to put it bluntly, NOT a nice guy. But Taka seems very open-minded about Akutsu as a person, and doesn't seem to judge him despite his obviously bad attitude. Taka also openly admires Akutsu's tennis skills, proving once again that he is anything but arrogant or insecure about his own abilities. However, Taka also proves during the Yamabuki arc that there is a limit to his loyalty to Akutsu. As he demonstrates by confronting Akutsu about his attack on Seigaku and Ryoma in particular, his teammates come first. Taka seems to feel a certain amount of protectiveness toward the other Seigaku regulars, both on this and other occasions. Similarly, he is often the one to cheer on his teammates when they're in a tight spot, which gives me the impression that Taka is generally an optimist.

For a very revealing glimpse into Taka's private life as well as his personality, fans can also refer to the filler episode #133, where Taka's determination to become a sushi chef like his father takes center stage. At times, Taka can be a conflicted character when it comes to his priorities, which probably has a lot to do with the fact that he's very passionate about a number of things. But in the end, Taka is a cheerful and loyal character who works very hard and is very likable, even with his strange "split personality."

<Odds and Ends>

The most eccentric thing about Kawamura, obviously, is his "burning" mode when he picks up a racquet. Apparently, though, this "burning" mode kicks in whenever Taka picks up anything vaguely shaped like a racquet. This includes a desk lamp and a baseball bat, apparently. It does not, however, seem to include a pool cue. What qualifies an object as "Taka burning mode" material is completely beyond me, so don't ask. I don't know. Other than that, Taka's a pretty normal person. Apparently, he can actually make sushi (which I hear is difficult, especially by a genuine sushi chef's standards, such as his father). On a few occasions, he prepares some of the sushi that his teammates eat at their tournament celebrations. He also helps out at the shop a lot, and most of the scenes of Taka at home show him cleaning up the restaurant or carting the daily fish shipment inside the shop. Probably because of his sushi-making background, Kawamura also seems to be a pretty traditional Japanese boy. He's very polite and uses honorifics with care. He also has some very Japanese tastes, such as his belief that only soy sauce from Japan is really soy sauce. (He expresses this opinion when he gives Ryoma a bottle full of soy sauce as a goodbye present!! :3)

<My Take>

Taka's one of the more normal characters in PoT, and because of that, I sometimes have a tendency to overlook him (such as taking forever to write this character page, for example... -_-;). But I really do like Taka, and I like him even more as time goes on and I watch more episodes. He's just SUCH a sincere, sweet guy. He's even more of a sweetie than Oishi is. And for that, he earns my sincere admiration.

Plus, I've got to say, his "burning" mode cracks me up. I love listening to his weird "Engrish" (i.e. bad English). Some of my favorite quotes in the whole series are when he attempts to say things like "Come on, baby!!!" in a VERY Japanese accent. I mean, come on. That's just great stuff.

So, rock on, Taka-san. You're "GREAT-O!", so say it loud and proud every time Ryoma hands you that tennis racquet. XD

<Screencaps>

Coming soon!

<More Thoughts>

Coming soon!