Taito

We've all heard about Taito, folks.  It's one of the most popular yaoi pairings I've ever seen.  Anyone who frequents digimon fansites of fanfiction archives has probably run into it in some form or another.  So what, exactly, turned Taito into a religion?

In the first few episodes of Digimon 01 there weren't an awful lot of hints for any couples.  People who make a hobby out of finding hints will already be aiming their flamethrowers at me, but the only real hints of anything in those episodes were people talking and/or standing next to each other.  There was nothing really big.

Except, perhaps, for Taito.

To say that they fought a lot is an understatement.  Taichi seemed the natural choice for a leader but Yamato constantly challenged that leadership.  As early as episode three they were at each other's throats.  Yamato's nasty attitude in 'Garurumon' can be greatly attributed to his worry about Takeru, but many took it as a sign that he took it all out on Tai.  Taichi himself did a lot of thinking in that episode and once went to Sora for advice, keeping Taiora fans happy as well as Taitoists.  But for the boys that was the start of their conflict and the start of their friendship.

After that they wander on for a few episodes, fighting occasionally and all that.  Yadda yadda yadda.  Fight some digimon, smash some black gears, the usual.

Enter Devimon.

With File Island broken up, the digidestined were separated.  Then there was Sub-Zero Ice Punch.  Despite their initial happiness at seeing each other again, Matt and Tai soon started fighting and the resulting screenshots (complete with dirty captions) are now being waved about on every Taito shrine from here to Monaco.  'Nuff said.

There were other Taito episodes as well.  The 'I'll hold your hand, just so you don't wimp out or anything' when they were shot by the angels and the digimon went to mega.  And of course, 'Tai, I promise that nothing will ever come between us again!' which was quite eloquent of Yamato considering that it was a dub version.  You can point stuff out everywhere, if you really want to.  I can't be bothered, because Taito fans have probably heard it all before on every other shrine on the net.

Taito, as well as having a helluva lot of evidence and sufficiently dirty screenshots, works well visually.  A lot of the people who pair characters off for a hobby will go for people who look cute together.  And yeah, there's something about the goggle boy and the angsty blonde that seems very... right.

Taichi and Yamato share a bond that neither of them really have with any of the other digidestined (except, in my opinion, Sora; but most will disagree with me there).  I could be love or it could simply be friendship, but you can't deny that there is something there.  But it's something very special and it's something we should remember because I don't think we're going to see a friendship like that in anime or anywhere else for a very long time.