Taiju

Biodata

Background / History

Before the petrification disaster, Taiju was a high school student and Senku’s best friend. He had decided to confess his feelings to Yuzuriha, declining a homemade potion that Senku claimed would guarantee success. The worldwide green light struck just as he stood before her, interrupting his confession and turning humanity to stone 8.

Taiju remained petrified for approximately 3,700 years. Once Senku and Li Xiang perfected revival fluid, they chose him as their first recruit because their small team urgently needed someone capable of handling heavy physical work 7 19.

Appearance

• Build: Tall and powerfully built, with a solid chest and rough, strong hands 7 8 14.
• Voice: Deep and booming; his first shout after revival shakes leaves loose in the surrounding forest 7.
• Clothing on revival: Li Xiang covers his statue with a woven covering of broad leaves and mountain vines before Senku administers revival fluid 7.

Personality

Taiju is exuberant, affectionate, and openly emotional. His reunion with Senku brings tears, repeated cries of his friend’s name, and an attempted crushing embrace. He can underestimate his own strength: his enthusiastic handshake hurts Li Xiang, while another hug leaves Senku struggling to breathe 7 8.

His loyalty is especially clear when friends are threatened. He volunteers to hold off the lions so the others can escape and refuses to abandon the injured Li Xiang. When Senku offers his life in exchange for everyone else’s safety, Taiju angrily rejects the idea of treating life as a bargaining chip 13 14 23.

Around Yuzuriha, his usual boldness gives way to embarrassment. He admits his feelings to Li Xiang but has not yet confessed them to Yuzuriha; after her revival, he is too shy to complete an intended hug 11 12.

Despite his imposing physique, Taiju is frightened of snakes. He initially refuses to consider eating one and worries about contamination, but eagerly finishes his share after trying Li Xiang’s grilled snake 10 11.

Abilities & Skills

Exceptional Strength and Stamina

Taiju’s physical abilities are innate rather than the result of a documented training or leveling system. Senku describes them as consistently top-tier 7 8.

• Lifts stones weighing dozens of kilograms with one hand and carries them on his shoulder 8.
• Breaks hard stone by striking it with another rock 8.
• Supplies enough sustained labor to compress a hut-reinforcement project estimated at a month for two people into seven days 8.
• Handles stone hauling and lumber transport before Tsukasa joins the construction team 17.
• Chips large pieces from sulfur deposits and grinds the raw ingredients used in Senku’s black powder 22.

Defensive Combat

Taiju uses his strength to protect others during the lion attack, following Li Xiang’s instructions rather than relying on documented martial training 13 14.

• Stops a charging lioness by throwing a rock into its eye 13.
• Knocks a male lion unconscious with a single punch after Li Xiang creates an opening 14.
• Stands between the remaining lions and the collapsed Li Xiang until help arrives 15.
• Limit: His stamina does not make him capable of safely holding off two adult male lions while protecting an injured companion; Senku revives Tsukasa to rescue them 15.

Food Gathering

• Makes the group’s hunting, gathering, and foraging substantially easier after joining 8.
• Catches several large fish with Yuzuriha in a creek shortly after her revival 12.

Relationships

• Senku — Best friend. Their reunion is intensely emotional, and Taiju supports his effort to rebuild civilization. He protests Senku’s apparent willingness to sacrifice himself 7 8 23 24.
• Yuzuriha — Romantic interest and later undercover partner. Taiju promises to protect her and insists that she be clothed before revival. No completed confession to her is documented 11 12 26.
• Li Xiang — Friend and teammate. She encourages him about Yuzuriha, fights beside him against the lions, and earns his trust as a doctor. He remains with her when she is badly injured 11 14 15 26.
• Tsukasa Shishio — Initially his rescuer and fellow construction worker. Taiju is stunned by Tsukasa’s threat against Senku and later enters his camp as an undercover operative 15 17 18 26.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Establishing the Science Kingdom

• Becomes the first person recruited through Senku and Li Xiang’s newly perfected revival fluid 7.
• Helps transform their drafty hut into a reinforced, weatherproof shelter, easing the group’s immediate survival burden 8.
• Prevents Yuzuriha’s revival until Li Xiang can dress her statue; in his panic, he pokes Senku in both eyes to stop him 12.

Lion Attack and Camp Expansion

• His sudden attempt to carry Yuzuriha away triggers the already tense lion pride’s charge 13.
• Stays behind with Li Xiang so Senku and Yuzuriha can escape; Tsukasa’s revival becomes the group’s emergency means of rescuing them 14 15.
• Proposes building another cabin when the five-person group outgrows its shelter. With Tsukasa assisting, the camp gains two new cement-and-timber cabins in two days 15 17.

Conflict with Tsukasa

• Accompanies Senku, Li Xiang, and Yuzuriha on the expedition to obtain gunpowder materials, taking responsibility for the heaviest processing work 21 22.
• Witnesses Tsukasa strike Senku unconscious and escapes with Li Xiang and Yuzuriha while Tsukasa is incapacitated by Li Xiang’s laxative 24 25.
• Learns that the remaining petrified tissue on Senku’s neck can be treated with revival fluid to repair the injury, and celebrates when his friend survives 25.

Undercover Mission

• Leaves with Yuzuriha to infiltrate Tsukasa’s camp while Senku and Li Xiang travel in the opposite direction 26.
• Remains a prospective inside ally in their plan to undermine Tsukasa’s forces 40.
• By the time Ruri recovers, communication with Taiju and Yuzuriha has been lost. Reconnecting with them becomes a central reason for developing telephones 50.

Notable Quotes

“Don't say that, Li Xiang! We're friends! We'll make it out alive!” 14

“How can you care so little about your own life! Life is the most precious thing there is. How can you treat it like a bargaining chip you can just throw away!” 23