Talpa

Talpa/Arago

Age	Unknown
Residence	The Youjakai/The Nether Realm
Height	Varies
Weight	Unknown
First Appearance	"Target: Metropolitan Tokyo"/"Shadowland"

Talpa (阿羅醐 Arago) is the Emperor of the Dynasty realm and the archenemy of the Ronin Warriors. He was defeated by The Ancient One and banished to the Nether Realm. It is from his armor that the nine armors were born.

Talpa is voiced by Mina E. Mina and by Shigezō Sasaoka in the original Japanese version.

Appearance and Personality[]

Talpa has white hair. He is constantly seen in his armor with his face completely covered by his red mask. Not even his eyes can be seen, though they do tend to glow red on occasion. When he first invades the Mortal Realm, he is seen only in spirit form. He becomes more solid with each of the nine armors he absorbs, and remains this way until his destruction, despite having lost the armors power within him.

Talpa is the definition of evil. He enjoys watching the suffering of others, especially if the destruction is by the hands of him and his followers. He's accustomed to being obeyed and is therefore harsh and demanding with his four Dark Warlords. He becomes quickly impatient with them when they continually fail to kill the Ronin Warriors. Towards Kayura, on the other hand, he seems to be very patient, possibly because she's his favorite. That doesn't mean that he wouldn't kill her himself if it was the only way to achieve his ultimate goal of controlling the Mortal Realm.

Biography[]

Early History[]

Not much is known about the emperor of the Dynasty. It is said that Talpa is actually the spirit of an evil man who used black magic to further his goals after death. His evil nature allowed his spirit to enter the Nether Realm, which he conquered and took over. His opponents were either killed or became his servants, some by their own will and some by force.

Talpa first invaded the Mortal Realm a thousand years ago in order to take over the world of humans. He was met with resistance, but only the Ancient One had the power to defeat him. The Ancient banished him back to the Nether Realm, but his evil armor was left behind. As he left the Mortal Realm, Talpa swore he'd get his revenge.

Talpa eventually regained four of the nine armors, the Ogre, the Spider, the Snake, and the Jackal. These were the armors he granted to the four Dark Warlords.

Plot[]

The War with the Ronin Warriors[]

Throughout the first half of the first season, Talpa is without his physical form and mainly has to have the warlords carry out attempts to defeat the Ronin's. Only a handful of times was Talpa able to put forth his own effort and power in trying to defeat the Ronin's before reclaiming their armors. When the young Ronin's eventually made their way into the Nether Realm, Talpa started to regain his physical form by defeating them and absorbing their armors. Despite getting his body back, Talpa was temporarily beaten when Ryo freed himself and used the Inferno armor for the first time.

During the second half of the season, Talpa continued to have others try to defeat the Ronin's before they could make their way to his castle. Once his forces were able to make their way to the mortal realm, Talpa began to lead the fight against the Ronin's until he was ultimately defeated by them.

Armor and Powers[]

It is from Talpa's massive armor that the nine Elemental and Seasonal armors originate. Though it seems to have no special powers or abilities, it is what allows Talpa to maintain a physical form in the Mortal Realm. He wields a giant tsurugi sword against his opponents in battle. In addition, he is able to change his height, appearing as a giant after absorbing the power of the nine armors and then appearing to be just a taller than average man while in the Nether Realm.

Talpa also appears to have a limited control over the Nether Spirits. While he must rely on Badamon to command the majority of their power, he is able to summon and control the spirits, even without having to reclaim his armor.

Relationships[]

The Ronin Warriors: The Ronin's are some of his main rivals when he tries to take over the mortal realm. As the five teens prove to be a great threat and irritation to him, Talpa does whatever he can to eliminate them and regain their armors and powers. Of the five, Talpa appears to mainly face off against Ryo as both the leader of the Ronin's and the carrier of the Inferno armor.

The Dark Warlords: Talpa's four leading warriors and commanders of his army. Talpa bestows great power onto the warlords but expects a great deal from them in return. Any time the warlords fail him, Talpa is quick to let them be aware of his anger. Despite this, he continually gives them numerous chances to redeem themselves.

Lady Kayura: Kayura was seemingly Talpa's favorite subordinate as she appeared to be the most successful in the battle against the Ronin Warriors. Talpa would heavily praise her efforts and power and rarely ever had to be strict with her. When Kayura began to remember her life before Talpa abducted her, Talpa is shown doing what he can to keep her under his control.

The Ancient One: Talpa's longtime rival. Talpa had previously encountered the Ancient One when he had tried to take control of the mortal world nearly a millennium prior to the war against the Ronin's. He often referred to the Ancient One as "Monk".

Badamon: Talpa's top sorcerer and leader of the nether spirits. During many occurrences in which Talpa needs magic and spells performed, he instantly turns to Badamon and seems to have great faith in his skill and knowledge of magic.

Gallery[]

Talpa Image Gallery

Trivia[]

The Legend of the Inferno Armor is the only OAV in which Talpa does not appear.

Citation[]

Theria.net, Yoroiden Temple