takayama reiji

Takayama Reiji is Douji Industries Bureau Chief and a particularly stern, serious man. When he is first introduced he views Masane as a commodity and shows very little interest in anything outside of his work. Despite the gruff exterior he presents, Takayama is actually a rather sensitive man whose heart has been broken in both intimate and familial relationships. As Masane discovers in episode seven ("Past") the key to Takayama's present state is his past relationship with Soho Reina, a Neo-gene.

It's like a cheap drama. - Takyama

Before the Great Quake of six years ago, Takayama Reiji was a developer for Douji Industries. During this time, the corporation united with the NSWF to share technological information and collaborate on the development of the Cloneblades. The NSWF dispatched one of their brightest researchers for the project, Lady (Reina). From the moment they met, Takayama found himself smitten with the stoic scientist.

She was an outstanding woman. Intelligent, refined, physically fit and beautiful. Everything about her. I was amazed that NSWF's Neo-Genes could be like this. - Takayama

In turn, Reina seemed quite interested in Takayama. Having been raised in a sterile environment, Reina knew little of the complexities associated with human interaction. Takayama notes that he believes Reina to have felt little genuine emotion about the relationship that developed between them as " (she)... was simply curious about her discovery of men and women".

Though he does not speak too openly about it, Takayama and Reina began an intimate affair. When Masane presses him on whether or not he was in love with Reina, Takayama is guarded.

Masane: I didn't think you were the type to fall in love.
Takayama: I wouldn't call it love. She disappeared...

And herein lies the issue. After some time spent collaborating on the Cloneblade research, Takayama had found himself genuinely interested in Reina. No sooner had they begun to enjoy each other's company when Reina stole the Witchblade and disappeared. Although unable express his distress, Reina's apparent betrayal shattered Takayama. It also confused him — Reina had vanished of her own accord, without instruction from the NSWF.

When Takayama sent i-Weapons after her in an attempt to retrieve the missing device, the Witchblade awoke and triggered the Great Earthquake. Reina was taken back to the NSWF facilities, the Witchblade was lost and Takayama was left to lick his wounds.

Some six years later, with the resurfacing of the Witchblade on Amaha Masane, Soho Reina re-establishes contact with Takayama at Douji Industries (episode four). He is, shall we say, less than impressed to hear from her.

Reina: It's been a while... I believe you need my help.
Takayama: From you, the individual? Or as an NSWF employee?
Reina: Either.
Takayama: And it'll be a repeat of six years ago.
Reina: You still remember what happened that long ago?
Takayama: The truth never fades.

It is subsequently revealed by both Takayama and Furumizu that at the time of her disappearance, Reina had an almost perfect level of compatibility with the Witchblade. Furumizu hopes to equip his favourite daughter with the weapon again, something Takayama will not allow. When the pair muse over the blade's disappearance in episode five, Furumizu notes that it was a shame the weapon vanished. Takayama replies, "It was your daughter who got rid of it".

Reina and Takayama meet again for the first time since her disappearance in episode seven ("Past"). Reina desperately tries to prevent Shiori from going berserk but arrives too late to stop her attack on Masane or her attempted rape of Takayama. All Reina can really do upon arrival is humbly retrieve Shiori's remains and warn Takayama of her recent discoveries.

Reina: Shiori died because of the Cloneblade.
Takayama: I figured as much.
Reina: I may end up like her in time. But that applies to the Witchblade too. After all, the Cloneblades are copies. Do you remember what we found in that ancient data we studied?
Takayama: The Witchblade's immense power can destroy its wielder. But there was no way to verify that.
Reina: We did just now. The Witchblade can destroy its wielder. And the Witchblade will only come off when its wearer is dead. I wonder which will fall apart first...

It is during this meeting that Reina spots Masane's daughter (Rihoko) for the first time. She is genuinely confused by the child's sudden appearance and asks Takayama "Is that child...?" to which he gives a complete non-response. Reina is unphased by this and begins to follow Rihoko in the next episode, infatuated. It isn't until the conclusion of episode twelve that Reina's interest in Rihoko is truly explained — a DNA test confirms that she is the child's biological mother.

The revelation that Reina is Rihoko's biological mother shocks Takayama when he hears about it from Segawa in episode thirteen.

Takayama: Lady? You mean Reina is her mother?
Segawa: Yes. Isn't it shocking? To think the reason she fled six years ago was to have a child. I couldn't find out who the father was, but why would she secretly give birth all alone?

After reaching the conclusion that Reina betrayed their research all those years ago, Takayama is troubled by the idea that she vanished after falling pregnant. He resigns himself to the idea that she intentionally conceived a child to "test herself" as she was always experimenting with her limits as a Neo-gene. Masane then tackles the obvious question in episode fourteen.

Masane: Say, you used to go out with Soho Reina, right? Don't tell me Riko's father is...?
Takayama: It's not an impossibility.
Masane: Wait, that's all??
Takayama: ...

Takayama and Reina have their final moment of interaction together in episode fifteen, after Reina is left mortally wounded from her encounter with Maria. Takayama is the first on the scene and, alarmed, tries to save her. She brushes off his attempts to get help and instead, uses her last moments to converse with him.

Reina: Say, that was the first time I felt pleasure while fighting... Was it because of my breakdown or because I protected her? I studied myself all this time, but in the end, I'm still incomprehensible...
Takayama: I thought I had understood, but...
Reina: Reiji... At one point, for just a moment, I experienced an incomprehensible feeling toward you... For just a moment...

In episode nineteen, sometime after Reina's death, Takayama confirms that he is Rihoko's biological father. He confesses to Masane that he had been avoiding the issue because he was unsure of how to interact with his daughter. Once the pair spend time together, Takayama begins to grow fond of his child (despite scaring her initially with his sour face). After Masane's death at the end of the series, Takayama is left as Rihoko's sole guardian.

relationship

Most of Takayama's relationship with Reina is kept in the past and only touched on during discussions about the events before the earthquake. In the present, Takayama carries a considerable amount of baggage related to his affair with the scowling scientist. Subsequent to their relationship he appears to have put up his guard and tried to shield himself from getting hurt again. Reina on the other hand, seems to have dismissed her attempts at romantic love entirely.

While both parties try to pass Rihoko's conception off as nothing but an experiment, as Reina states during her death scene, at one point she really did feel something for Takayama. Arguably she could have conceived a child with any man on the project, but for some reason Reina pursued Takayama alone. Although she could not explain it, Reina liked Takayama to the point where she considered him a suitable father for her child. Given her selfish motivations for conceiving Rihoko in the first place, it seems little wonder that she cut him out of the picture soon after falling pregnant.

As Takayama states, Reina treated her entire life like a series of experiments. Pregnancy appears to have been nothing more than a further scientific challenge, so she chose to experience it alone. Despite being nervous about fatherhood once introduced to Rihoko, had Takayama been given the opportunity to care for her from the start, he probably would have tried his best. It was unfair of Reina to deny him this chance, but given her inherent lack of human understanding it seems doubtful that she did this intentionally. His perspective probably never crossed her mind.

In spite of the time they once spent together, Takayama and Reina's relationship was doomed to end in hurt. Takayama fell deeply in love with a woman who could never return his affections on a human level. For Reina, Takayama allowed her to test her ability to conceive a child, but beyond that she didn't know what to do with him. Never too sure about how far her emotions could actually extend. The affair ended in apparent betrayal and both parties moved on, scarred from their love.

The relationship between Takayama and Reina might have an ultimately bleak outcome, but it also has a positive side too. From the stifled affections of two scientists, Rihoko was born. After everything Takayama is forced to deal with, he is able to find some solace in the little girl entrusted to him by both her mothers.