Takuma Fujii (藤井タクマ Fujii Takuma) aka. Tiger the Dark (タイガー・ザ・ダーク Taigā za Dāku) is the deuteragonist and Naoto Azuma's friend and rival in the Tiger Mask W anime.
Biography[]
Takuma and Naoto worked with his father at the gym until its destruction and was injured and his face scarred. Because of this he also yearns to defeat the Tiger's Den and GWM and begins to train to become a professional wrestler. Joining the Tiger's Den, he earned his Tiger persona while planning to destroy the Tiger's Den from the inside. He eventually got his chance at revenge during his title match against The Third, discovering he was his target all along. While Takuma almost managed to defeat The Third, the injuries inflicted by Naoto take their toll and succumbs to The Third's Sacrifice, leaving him crippled. After being unmasked by The Third, Tiger Mask shares his identity with him and the two friends reconcile. He undergoes rehabilitation with Ruriko's help in order to return to wrestling and train with Naoto again and made his return to the ring as part of team NJPW during the Final Wars. After Naoto's mask is ripped by The Third, he shares half his mask with Naoto to allow him to fight. After The Third's defeat, the two part ways deciding to fight abroad (with him moving over to North America to officially join the wrestling federation) and calling themselves Tiger Mask W they share the same mask design combining both their previous masks.
Signature Moves[]
- Darkness Driver (ダークネスドライバー): A piledriver technique where he slams the opponent's head on the floor with his knees.
- Darkness Hold (ダークネスホールド): A powerful arm hold using his arms and legs.
- Crossbow (クロスボウ): He ducks and performs a jump with his arms crossed, striking the opponent's jaw and then releasing both arms, catapulting the target.
Trivia[]
- He is the anime's equivalent of Black Tiger in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
- To help promote the anime series, the real-life NJPW introduced a Tiger the Dark wrestler to feud with the real-life Tiger Mask W (with Kota Ibushi behind the mask). ACH was the underneath the Tiger the Dark mask.