Itamichi Takashi

Takashi (いたみち タカシ, Itamichi Takashi) is one of the main protagonists of ELEMENT. Originally appearing as an antagonist, Takashi is a calm and gruff Fire User who hails from Fire Island, a small island off the southern coast of Ardenth. He is the Fire Templar, who is in charge of guarding the Fire Medallion from danger. He is somewhat of a political figure among his people.

Background
Takashi was born to Itamichi Miyamoto and an unnamed mother 17 years before the series began. Though currently in the manga, Kiyoshi and Takashi are both 16, Takashi is nearly a year older than Kiyoshi. He was selected among other young tribesman to become the next Fire Templar, following in the footsteps of his father. He had lived peacefully on the island until he was sent away by Miyamoto to find Baku Sen'nin. The SYSTEM had been watching Fire Island carefully, so the Fire Witches decided not to keep the Fire Medallion there. Instead, Takashi was sent to the mainland to find Baku Sen'nin and see to it that the Fire Medallion was safe. The conflict with SYSTEM eventually escalated to the point of Fire Island's destruction, and the loss of Takashi's home. He currently resides in Council HQ with the rest of the group.

Appearance
Takashi is short, with dark brown hair. He has red eyes, presumably because of his ele type. Takashi is most often seen wearing a ranger-like outfit. He has a brown jacket with gold buttons, with ropes dangling off of either side. He also wears a cowboy hat on occasion. He is unique among his tribesman, because they wear bright colors, and clothing garnished with the tribal circle and triangular patters. Takashi's outfit symbolizes his rebellious attitude toward his duties as a Templar, but he keeps two feathers in his hat to proclaim his attachment to his tribe nonetheless.

Personality
Growing up, Takashi was too busy training and preparing to be the next Fire Templar that he had no time to develop proper communication skills. As such, he is extremely antisocial and difficult to approach. His personality at the start of the series revolved around the fact that he was a loner and that he didn't need anyone, especially not friends. Kiyoshi manages to convince him that friends are important, and Takashi later softens up.

Takashi primarily serves as an authority and an obstacle for Kiyoshi and the gang; he is the strongest teenage character at the start of the manga, and knows it. He is quick to boss around Kiyoshi and Akio. In one EleTalk, Kiyoshi blames Takashi's haughtiness on the nature of his job as Templar, to which Takashi responds that he is simply stronger than Kiyoshi, thereby giving him authority. A major theme of Takashi's character is the authority and respect he commands at such a young age. Most Elementals their age easily pick Takashi out as being the strongest. Takashi even gives Masuyo advice on how to surpass him.

Takashi is shown to be quite cunning and analytic. Although he was designed as a brutish character, during the series he has many insightful things to say, although many argue that he simply points out obvious facts more often and quicker than the other rookies. Although Takashi is smart, he is nowhere near Akio or Masuyo in intelligence. The challenge he issued to Kiyoshi and Akio when they met had no real purpose, and when SYSTEM Bot A attacked, he led A straight to Jaimon High School. He also has trouble when he is on the defensive in a fight, possibly because of the offensive nature of fire. This can be seen during his battles with Kinniku, Masuyo, and the Deltas.

Abilities
Takashi has always been portrayed as a highly skilled individual. He possesses large physical strength and decent agility. He can even toss people over his head with one arm and can suspend large objects like missiles above him with relative ease.

Physical
Takashi is both strong and fast, being able to match warriors like Kinniku. He is able to power his movements and strength with his ele, like most elementals can, giving him abilities that surpass normal human limits. He often focuses on fighting with his fists before resorting to fire. Takashi fights with an open palm style similar to the Chinese Lei Gar style, which utilizes a lot of heavy palm strikes.

Fire Powers
Takashi's ele takes on the Fire element, capable of generating immense heat out of thin air. Takashi has been shown to be able to set discrete objects aflame from a distance, and can throw fireballs as a ranged attack. The cold doesn't bother him, as he can super-heat the air around him. Takashi also appears to be resistant to burns, as he regularly handles and even ingests his fire.

Fire Fist
Takashi's level 1 eleweapon is the Fire Fist. He ignites his hands and proceeds to fight as if normal. He maintains a close range, but can also fling the fire off of his hand for distance attacks. Unlike Kiyoshi's level 1 eleweapon, Takashi's seems to be quite refined, although it is difficult to tell just how refined fire can be.

Takashi uses his Fire Fist to lead into his first ougi, one of the Templar Secret Skills. The first skill, called Dragon Exhale, is a fire breathing move. His Fire Fist leaves his hand and hovers in the space over it. Takashi can seemingly only ingest flame that isn't attached to his skin. He puts his eleweapons in his mouth for a moment, and then breathes a much larger stream of fire out. The attack is wide range and devastating, having burned Masuyo and melted many SYSTEM robots.

Awakenings Arc
Takashi is first seen at the end of chapter 5. He is veiled in shadow, and he is holding the Fire Medallion. Takashi is then seen in a junkyard fighting off of thugs. It is unknown how this conflict arose, but it is heavily implied that it simply arose because Takashi is not an easy person to get along with. Takashi is able to easily fight with the gang, but when they all rush at him, Kiyoshi, Masuyo, and Akio jump in, making the odds 4 versus 4. The thugs eventually retreat after Takashi uses his fire to burn their cell phones. It should be noted that this is the only time Takashi has ever set something aflame remotely; in later volumes, he must touch something with his Fire Fist, or breathe on it with his Dragon Exhale. Takashi then gets ready to leave, but after hearing Kiyoshi and Akio are Baku Sen'nin's pupils, challenges them to a battle.

Reikari Kiyoshi
Kiyoshi and Takashi are considered foils to one another; one prefers people, the other prefers solitude, one is outspoken, the other is introverted, one is friendly, the other is somewhat cold. However, both share high levels of determination and dedication to what they do. Takashi is deeply moved by Kiyoshi when they battle the second time; he is impressed that Kiyoshi's friends can somehow be a source of strength to him. Kiyoshi also learns a lot from Takashi, like why people have different reasons for fighting. Kiyoshi is at first quite defensive when dealing with Takashi. He tries to intimidate and challenge Takashi, but later Kiyoshi becomes accepting of the fact that Takashi is strong. Takashi also later acknowledges Kiyoshi's strength.

Akako Akio
Takashi at first is very rude to Akio, rejecting his friendly offers. After Kiyoshi fights Takashi the second time, Takashi becomes more receptive to their friendly gestures. When Akio creates a buffer after Kiyoshi and Masuyo fail, it is Takashi who points it out to Baku Sen'nin. Now, the two are more connected, forming Kiyoshi's main friend support system, along with Masuyo.

Shisuku Masuyo
The relationship between Masuyo and Takashi is very prominent in ELEMENT. The two are contenders for the most talented of Baku Sen'nin's pupils. They both hold an antihero role in regard to Kiyoshi, both of them play the role of a friend, a rival, and an obstacle to Kiyoshi and to each other. Their development begins as early as their meeting on the roof of Jaimon High School, followed by Takashi commenting that he would never want to fight Masuyo. Ironically, they end up fighting after the Alclay mission with Takashi winning narrowly. Takashi then gives Masuyo the advice to be a true genius. Masuyo later passes this advice on to Kataki, showing that he highly values Takashi's opinion of him. The two currently hold a mutual respect for each other, and it is still unclear as to who the superior fighter is.

Baku Sen'nin
Baku Sen'nin and Takashi at first are almost seen as equals. Both of them were in charge of fighting during the Alclay mission and when they met, they both spoke of affairs that were beyond Kiyoshi and Akio. Baku Sen'nin highly respects Takashi and his duty as Templar, even to the point of displaying slight dissatisfaction with Takashi's presence on Ardenth instead of Fire Island. Later, when it is made more clear that Baku Sen'nin is highly superior to Takashi, their relationship is more like that of mentor and student. Takashi expresses great hope when he hears Baku's group had come to save him and his people during the Fire Island Arc.

Hatomi Asuna
Asuna and Takashi don't interact much as Takashi shows little interest in her. Asuna, however, grows greatly from a particular comment by Takashi, when he says that she is nothing but a normal little girl. This makes her realize that she wants to be able to help her friends in the upcoming Elemental battles and to make sure that they are not captured or oppressed by the SYSTEM. Now, they have a friendly relationship. It should be noted that the first time Takashi makes a joke (albeit a bad one) is to Asuna.