Taro Yamada

Taro Yamada Gallery Illustrations Quotes [[:Taro Yamada/|]]

This article is for Taro Yamada. Were you looking for the senpai from 1980s Mode, his sister, or his female counterpart?

Taro Yamada
Alias	Senpai Senpai-kun
Role	Senpai (202X Mode)
Class	3-2
Club	None Gardening Club (9/18/15)
Persona	Loner
Reputation	0 (overall) Liked: 0 Respected: 0 Feared: 0
Crush	None
Strength	Incapable
Appears	Week 1
Voice	Austin Hively (will be replaced in future)

Taro Yamada (commonly known as Senpai or Senpai-kun) is the love interest of Ayano Aishi and one the students who currently attend Akademi. He's one of the main characters of Yandere Simulator.

Appearance (Default)

Taro's default appearance is light skin, charcoal gray eyes, and short black hair. If possible, YandereDev would want him to be slightly taller, although he is described as the average height for a Japanese man. This is his default look as he is meant to look like a generic male anime protagonist.

He wears the default school uniform the player chose. When meeting Amai and Kizana, he wears a black sweater with white lines on the elbow, a white button-up under the sweater, and tan pants. He wears brown shoes with a plaid design above and underneath his trousers.

Upon starting the game, the player can customize his skin tone, hairstyle, hair color, eye color, eyewear, and facial hair. However, if no changes are made or the process is skipped, Taro will appear with his default look. The player might be able to choose his gender in the game's final version.

When wearing an apron on Wednesday, Week 2, his apron is black with yellow outlines.

He is canonically average, according to his student profile.

Personality

The Japanese word 'senpai' refers to someone who has seniority over someone else. For example, if you are a first-year student, all second-year and third-year students are your 'senpai'. If you start working at a new job, any co-worker who has been employed at the workplace longer than you is your 'senpai'.
In Yandere Simulator, the title of "Senpai" is given to the young man (or young woman) that the protagonist is infatuated with. The player is given the option of choosing Senpai's gender at the beginning of the game; they might be 'Senpai-kun', or they might be 'Senpai-chan'. If Senpai is a male, his name is Taro Yamada, and if she is a female, her name is Taeko Yamada.
Over the course of the school year, ten different girls will fall in love with Senpai. There is a myth at school that if a girl confesses her love to a boy under the cherry tree behind the school on a Friday, the two of them will love each other forever. Every girl who falls in love with Senpai plans to confess at 6:00 PM on Friday. If there is anyone who wants to keep Senpai all to herself, she has until 6:00 PM on Friday to eliminate the competition.

— Description on Official Website.

An average student.
Average grades, average looks, average life...
I'm not sure what you see in him.

— Description from Info-chan.

The first target you ever assassinated.
Good thing you were wearing gloves at the time...
Why? Oh, you know...fingerprints and whatnot...

— Description from Info-chan in Mission Mode.

Taro is meant to be plain and average. Info-chan cannot dig up any dark secrets about Taro. He appears to have none at all.

Taro is mostly a Loner who enjoys nature more than the company of people. However, he is friendly towards anyone who wants to talk to him. Though an introvert, he doesn't seem to be shy. He is normally gentle and considerate but would feel enraged upon witnessing a masked killer, and unmask them without regard for his safety, which may lead to Game Over. When the player sees Taro freak out, they see Ayano perceive the situation exaggeratedly.

YandereDev describes Taro as "smart", as he enrolled into Akademi when he was 16, and is now in his third year.

Taro is not popular in the beginning, although girls will fall in love with him throughout the game. Some popular people might even notice him. Taro seems oblivious to Osana's affections since whenever she says something that could be considered flirting, he either doesn't hear it or doesn't understand what she means.

His personality will be shaped and molded by the way that people around him are disappearing; however, this feature is still under development. Depending on Ayano's actions, Taro might develop PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), a personality complex, a nervous disorder, or social anxiety. In the future, Taro will have a sanity meter. His sanity will drop if rivals keep dying. His sanity will drop more if Osana or Hanako Yamada dies. If Taro thinks Ayano is responsible for Osana, Hanako, or any other rival's death, he may become aggressive towards her and possibly reject her. His sanity could be increased over time (provided that there were no murders at school), or by giving him gifts (which can gradually make Taro obsessed with his "admirer"). Taro's current sanity will affect his daily routine and personality.

• If too many rivals die shortly after they talk to him, he will wonder if he is cursed.
• If he has to reject many rivals because he can't get along with any girl he meets (due to the player sabotaging them), then he will worry that he will never find a partner.
• If too many rivals are eliminated via matchmaking suitors, he will think that he is not as appealing as other boys.
• If rivals mysteriously stop coming to school but he does not know their fate, he will assume they are all delinquents who skip school.
• If rivals are all framed (for murder, leading to a life sentence or most likely the death penalty), he will wonder if all women are murderers.
• If rivals frequently commit suicide, then he will think that all women are on the brink of suicide.
• If rivals are befriended and promise to stay away from him, he will worry that no one will ever interested on him on spending time with him.

Routine

Main article: Events

During the first week, Taro starts the day by talking to Osana Najimi first. Around 7:05 AM, he walks to his locker at 7:10 AM and changes from his outdoor shoes to his indoor shoes. At 7:15 AM, he walks to the Fountain in the Plaza and sits on its edge, reading a book.

On Tuesday, when Osana borrows his book, he'll simply walk around the school, enjoying nature.

At 8:00 AM, he walks to Classroom 3-2, sits at his desk and plays on his phone. He starts his morning classes at 8:30 AM. He leaves to eat his lunch with Osana and Raibaru Fumetsu on the Rooftop at 1:00 PM.

He walks back to class at 1:30 PM and participates in cleaning time between 3:30 PM and 4:00 PM. During cleaning time, he can be seen cleaning the fountain in the Plaza. At 4:00 PM, he will read until 5:15 PM. At 5:15 PM he will have another conversation with Osana and they will walk home together.

No matter what time the player chooses to leave school, Ayano Aishi always follows him until he arrives at his house safely.

His routine may be changed by Ayano's actions, such as sabotage.

Gameplay

Staying near Taro will cause Ayano's heart to beat loudly and the screen to turn pink. She will drop anything she's currently holding, keeping her hands to her chest. She cannot do anything besides walk slowly when she is near him. Entering this zone will help Ayano recover lost Sanity. However, the longer she remains in his aura, the weirder she acts in front of him, going from shyly gazing at him to staring at him creepily. If Ayano stands in Taro's line of sight for too long or aims her Phone at him, he will get slightly freaked out and a bit concerned. If this happens five times in one day, he will express that she is scaring him, causing Ayano to become heartbroken and trigger a Game Over. If Ayano is in the Occult Club or plays the "Stealth" game in the Gaming Club, she can stay in Taro's aura for longer without being noticed. Taro will not recognize her when wearing a mask.

Gameplay-wise, Taro is more similar to a "moving obstacle" rather than a regular interactive student, as he cannot be interacted with normally. If Ayano murders his field of view, it will cause an instant "heartbroken" Game Over. If he sees Ayano performing suspicious actions such as holding a weapon, dragging a corpse, having low sanity, being covered in blood, killing a person or taking a panty shot, it will trigger an immediate Game Over as well. If Ayano murders his field of view while wearing a mask, he will disregard his safety and rip Ayano's mask off her face and cause an instant game over (despite usually ignoring her in other cases). Taro cannot be killed like a normal student due to his aura outside of SNAP mode and certain Easter Eggs.

Taro is a Loner. When he sees a corpse, bloodstains, suspicious weapons or limbs, he will run out of the school grounds and call the police.

He doesn't appear in Mission Mode, as he became Ayano's first victim in the Mission Mode storyline.

Topics

The Conversational Topics that Taro has opinions on are as follows:

Positive	Negative
Justice Reading Solitude Family Nature	Drama Occult Cats Violence Gossip

Relationships

Ayano Aishi

Main article: Ayano Aishi

Ayano deeply obsesses over Taro due to him giving her emotions with his presence. He is unaware of the fact that Ayano had been stalking him and knows where he lives due to her following him home after school. Out of selfishness because he is the only her reason to live, Ayano would refuse to let any girl to be around him, including his childhood friend and younger sister, no matter what, even if it means harm and killing. Ayano also tries to embody the traits her previous rivals had, such as improving her cooking ability to "replace" what she took away from Taro.

Post-Amai Cutscene

Ayano learning how to cook to "replace" what she took away from Taro.

He remembers Ayano due to accidentally bumping into her.

If Taro rejects Ayano, she would snap and mercilessly kill him as she thinks he only belonged to her because the rejection will ultimately destroy Ayano's reason to live.

If Taro learns Ayano killed Osana, Hanako, or any other rival, their relationship will appear hostile. He may grow violent and aggressive towards Ayano and harshly hate her as he would reject her confession. Taro may also develop a deep hatred towards Ayano and kill her to avenge his deceased loved ones. At that point, Taro would refuse to do anything with Ayano for hurting his loved ones.

Rivals

Main article: Rivals

In the full game, Taro will be on good terms with all the rivals so he won't suspect them of any crimes, even if he sees them covered in blood.

Osana Najimi

Main article: Osana Najimi

Osana and Taro are his childhood friends; they have known each other for a decade. He and Osana attended the same middle school. When she, Taro, and his little sister, Hanako, were all younger, they used to hang out together. The two continue to be very close, meeting every morning.

Osana first met Taro at the local playground, where all the neighborhood kids went to play.

Her death, like that of Hanako, would cause Taro's sanity to drop significantly. If Osana dies and her corpse is discovered, Taro will stay home from school for one day to mourn her death. Regardless of how she's eliminated, he will feel sad or guilty about the situation.

If Taro knew who killed Osana, he would want to see that person imprisoned immediately.

Amai Odayaka

Main article: Amai Odayaka

Amai will serve as a positive influence in Taro's life after Osana is eliminated, as she comforts him after listening to his distress. Amai knows Taro, as she has seen him around Akademi when she attended in a previous year.

Kizana Sunobu

Main article: Kizana Sunobu

Taro considers Kizana a bit bossy but is impressed by her passion for acting and is flattered by what she thinks of him. In the event that the Drama Club is disbanded before Kizana's Week, she would do everything herself, and force Taro to help her.

Oka Ruto

Main article: Oka Ruto

Taro likes Oka for her personality.

Muja Kina

Main article: Muja Kina

Depending on how the events play out in Muja's week, Taro could find Muja clumsy but cute if the events go as planned, or he may find her incompetent and prone to disasters if the events are sabotaged.

Mida Rana

Main article: Mida Rana

Taro and Mida's relationship will be very complicated and/or rather hard to explain. Mida will try to seduce Taro, and though Taro is not perverted, he would eventually fall in love with her.

Uekiya Engeika

Main article: Uekiya Engeika

If none of the rivals ended up affecting Taro's love life, he would likely enter a relationship with Uekiya, since the Gardening Club is the one club that he actually ever seriously considered joining. He would "wind up" with Uekiya if Ayano or the other rivals never existed.

Family

Main article: Small Characters

Taro's parents look very ordinary. His father looks like an older version of him, and his mother looks as plain as he does. If they suspected he was in danger, they would move towns for him.

Hanako Yamada

Main article: Hanako Yamada

Hanako is Taro's younger sister. If she ever got a boyfriend, he would be sad that he is no longer the center of her world; however, he would be happy that she is finally independent from him in a bittersweet way. His sanity variable will greatly decrease if he knows of her death.

At the end of her week, she will try to force her brother to agree that he'll never get a girlfriend. If he rejects her, he will give her a "tough love" speech about not being so clingy, needy and depending on him for everything.

With Hanako having a pet rabbit, Taro did play and feed the rabbit.

On August 1st, 2019, YandereDev released a manga about the backstory of Nemesis. The comic explained how Nemesis was trying to hunt the person who killed her brother, Taro. That's why she targets Ayano Aishi in Mission Mode.

If Hanako tried to convince Taro to switch schools, her attempts would not be successful.

Others

His Friends

According to YandereDev, Taro has friends, but they moved out of Buraza Town and only stay in contact via the internet.

Raibaru Fumetsu

Main article: Raibaru Fumetsu

While Taro does not spend a lot of time around Raibaru, he thinks of her as a nice and friendly person. His happiness stems from the fact that Osana is happy to have Raibaru as her friend.

Trivia

• In Japanese, the word "senpai" (先輩) means "upperclassman".
• His name, Taro Yamada, is the Japanese equivalent of "John Doe". John Doe can refer to a hypothetical person whose real identity is unknown. If he is female, the name will be Taeko Yamada. The name "Taro" is written as タロウ in Katakana. Written in Kanji, like 多朗, the name can mean "many bright". However, there are also other kanji writings for this name. For instance, "太郎" means "big son"; 立楼 means "standing tower"; and 汰滝 means "selected waterfall".
  • His name will never be spoken aloud, but it will appear in the Student Info screen and on in-game social media. The player may be able to pick his name in a future build. In the official game, the player will be able to choose his gender.
• In the future, there might be a "date gameplay" mechanic in the street.
• The character model that was used to make him is available in the Unity Assets store under the name Taichi Hayami.
• His birthday might be April 1st, the same day as Ayano Aishi's
• He has an unnamed career path that has not been revealed yet.
  • According to YandereDev, Taro would like to become an author after he graduates, he has thought since he was a kid and has written a few stories. But he's unsure if he will go forward with it or choose something else instead.
• He has never bought a panty shot from Info-chan.
• He can probably cook a few simple meals.
  • But for some reason, he tells Amai that he doesn't know how to cook at all.
• His favorite food is sushi.
• His lines will be affected by the elimination method used on the rivals.
• If too many girls die or go missing immediately after meeting him, rumors may be possible that he is a serial killer.
• In the future, it will be possible to steal his clothes and shoes from the gymnasium. YandereDev has said that the game mechanic of stealing items from him for the static Senpai Shrine has been planned since its implementation.
• On December 23rd, 2015, YandereDev posted a comic created by Achromatic, which joked about what would happen if he was allergic to cats. If he was ever allergic to cats, Ayano would kill her own beloved cat for him. It is later confirmed by YandereDev that both Taro and his sister are allergic to cats. The comic can be viewed on YandereDev's website.
• On Akademi's school Kaobook page, there was originally a post made by him asking how old the sakura trees are. Later, it was changed so that Sakyu Basu posted it.
• The reason he is so popular is because he sat in the "Main Character Chair". From that moment on, his fate and destiny were set in stone.
• He wrote a book How to Hentai without Hentaing, seen in the May 7th, 2015 Build. This object was later removed; YandereDev has since declared it non-canon.
  • The book was reintroduced with a different cover in the December 16th, 2016 Build. It can be found inside the safe, which can be opened with the safe key during Mission Mode.
  • However, in April 2021 builds, it was removed again due to YandereDev disliking that feature.
• Besides reading and listening to classical music, Taro's hobbies include calligraphy, bonsai, and origami.
  • Taro likes reading classic Japanese literature.
• In the February 17th, 2016 Build, he was shown in his student profile as darker skinned, blond with spiky hair, and wearing shades. He was made to look that way because YandereDev was testing out new customization features and forgot to reset him.
• Tripwires and bucket traps never worked on Taro. This is because according to YandereDev, Taro was pranked a lot in middle school and has become vigilant of pranks.
  • When he's about to get electrocuted by the Car Battery, just like the Faculty and the student council, he'll dodge the puddle to avoid being electrified.
• According to a question YandereDev answered, if Taro ever reported Mida Rana's sexual harassment to Kocho Shuyona, the headmaster would think '"What's wrong with this guy? When I was his age, I had a huge crush on my teacher, and wanted to marry her! He's so lucky!! Why is he complaining?!"'. Kocho would ultimately tell him to go file a report with Genka Kunahito.
• Taro appeared as a playable mortal in Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals before its removal from the Steam storefront on September 27th, 2023.
• If Taro imprisoned Ayano with the intentions to "rehabilitate" her, she would fool him and "pretend" to be fixed. Once she manipulates him into releasing her, she would reverse the situation, and make Taro her prisoner, or take any course of action to be his girlfriend.
• According to his Tuesday conversation with Amai, his favorite color is black.
• YandereDev says that Taro likes "sweet and gentle" girls.
• Taro knows how to play the piano.
• If Taro had a girlfriend, and Mida Rana tried to advance to him, he would reject her.
• Similarly to his sister, Taro would be useless in a zombie apocalypse.
• YandereDev mentioned that if Ajia Ashitomi had a crush, it would be Taro, as many of his interests lay between being traditional and Japanese.