Taro Yamada

This page is for the male Senpai. For his female counterpart, please see Taeko Yamada.

Taro Yamada, also known as Senpai, is the love of Ayano Aishi/Yandere-kun's life and one of the main characters of Yandere Simulator. He is one of the male students that attends Akademi High School.

Name

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 Senpai is female, her name will be Taeko Yamada.^[3]

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".

Senpai's 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 Senpai's name in a future build.^[4] In the official game, the player will be able to choose Senpai's gender. However, Senpai's original gender is male; therefore, the article will refer to him as such.

Intros

Main Article: Intros

First Intro

In the first intro cutscene, he was first seen in Ayano's dream, where the player can customize him. The next morning, Ayano, who was late to school, bumps into him and immediately becomes obsessed with him. Senpai, however, doesn't know this and will accept the love confession of any girl who chooses to do so. Right after he meets Ayano, he is scolded by Osana Najimi and they walk the rest of the way to school together, with a lamenting Ayano watching from afar. Info-chan watches the entire scene from behind them.

Second Intro

In the second intro, Senpai is not seen outside of customization. However, Info-chan calls Ayano out on stalking an upperclassman and tells her that the girl he was with is named Osana Najimi. Osana Najimi is Senpai’s childhood friend.

Appearance (Default Look)

Senpai highlighted in pink — Senpai highlighted pink in Yandere Vision.

Senpai, with his default look, has light skin, charcoal grey eyes, and short, messy dark hair. He is the same height as every other male student in the game so that all animations can link up. If possible, YandereDev would want him to be slightly taller.^[5] This is his default look because he is meant to look like a generic male anime protagonist.^[6]

Senpai wears the default male school uniform, with gold buttons and black cloth.

Upon starting the game, the player can customize his skin tone, hairstyle, hair color, eye color, eyewear, and facial hair, but if no changes are made or the process is skipped, Senpai will appear with his default look. His gender can be changed in the final game. YandereDev might release Senpai's textures and put them in the Streaming Assets folder so that the player can make custom skins for Senpai.^[7]

He is the only character highlighted pink in Yandere Vision.

Description

“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" if Senpai is male, or they might be "Senpai-chan" if Senpai is female. 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 girl. By any means necessary.^[8]

Personality

First Intro

Dddd — Senpai helping Ayano up in the first intro.

The first intro portrays Senpai as kind and considerate. He helps Ayano up after he bumps into her and is seemingly friendly. ^[9] He doesn't resent Osana Najimi for her hostility toward him and just follows her orders.

Senpai may also be somewhat of a pushover; he doesn't protest Osana's rude behavior and will accept any confession he receives (except Osana's if sabotaged), which is why Ayano must eliminate her rivals before they confess.

Second Intro

The second intro's Senpai isn't characterized nearly as much as the first. His personality is never mentioned by Ayano or Info-chan. He still accepts the confession of any rival with a good enough reputation (unless he is on bad terms with them from Ayano's sabotage), which might imply that he's still rather meek. However, this could be because he's on good terms with all the rivals.^[10]

Gameplay

Senpai is a loner who enjoys nature more than the company of people.^[11] 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 own safety^[12] though this only occurs with the player, as nobody else will commit murder at this point.

Senpai is not popular in the beginning, although girls will fall in love with him over the course of the game.^[13] Some popular people might even notice him.^[14] Senpai seems oblivious to Kokona's affections, judging by how she laments that he never notices her feelings when talking about him, but that's simply due to her being a test rival that will become a normal student in the final game. He never seems to realize why Ayano follows him around and only asks her to leave him alone if she gets too close.

He is an average male student who gets average grades.^[15]

His personality will be shaped and molded by the way that people around him are disappearing. However, this feature is still under development.

If too many rivals died shortly after they talk to him, Senpai will wonder if he is cursed.^[16]
- In later stages of game development, it was planned that if Senpai had this idea, he will reject Ayano's confession, fearing her death as with all others.
If Senpai 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.^[17]
If too many rivals are eliminated via matchmaking suitors, Senpai will think that he is not as appealing as other boys.^[16]
If rivals mysteriously stop coming to school but he does not know their fate, he will assume all girls are delinquents who skip school.^[16]
- Similarly, if the player stops coming to the school continuously, Senpai will have suspicion that Ayano is a delinquent (since she has to skip school for torturing). This will potentially lead to a heartbroken game over though it is an upcoming feature.
If rivals are all framed (for murder, leading to life sentence), Senpai will wonder if all women are murderers.
If rivals frequently commit suicide, then Senpai will think that all women are on the brink of suicide.^[18]

Depending on Ayano's actions, Senpai might develop PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), a personality complex, a nervous disorder, or social anxieties.^[19]

In the future, Senpai will have a sanity meter. His sanity will drop if rivals keep dying. His sanity will drop more if Osana or Hanako dies. If Senpai 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 is already implemented but currently serves no gameplay purpose). Senpai's current sanity will affect his daily routine and personality. Senpai's sanity meter is currently not implemented yet, but YandereDev mentioned its possible implementation in the future.

Reputation

Senpai's default reputation is 0.

Liked: 0

Respected: 0

Feared: 0

Background

A backstory has never been fully written for Senpai. He is meant to be plain and average.^[20]

Senpai has a younger sister. Their parents look very ordinary. His father looks like an older version of him, and his mother looks as plain as he does.^[21] If they suspected he was in danger, they would move town for him.^[22]

Osana Najimi was his childhood friend. They have apparently known each other for a decade.^[23] He and Osana attended the same middle school.^[24]

Info-chan cannot dig up any dark secrets about Senpai. He appears to have none at all.^[25] However, it might be because Senpai is not an intended enemy in the game, so having a dark secret is purposeless.

Routine

SenpaiFountain — Senpai reading at the fountain.

At 7:05 AM, Senpai enters the school grounds. 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 and sits on its edge, reading a book. He does not socialize with the other students, other than Osana.

At 8:00 AM, Senpai walks into Classroom 3-2 and sits at his desk. He starts his morning classes at 8:30 AM, and leaves to go to the rooftop to eat his bento at 1:00 PM. On Wednesday, Kokona Haruka watches him from behind a tree.

Senpai walks to class again at 1:30 PM and finishes his afternoon classes at 3:30 PM. Afterward, he will remain reading at the fountain until the school day ends. No matter what time the player chooses to leave school, Ayano always watches him go home until he arrives at his house safely.

Additionally, he will follow the schedule of any Rival interactions that Ayano can sabotage.

Gameplay

3-1-2017 Aura — Ayano standing behind Senpai. March 1st, 2017.

Senpai is more similar to a "moving obstacle" rather than a regular interactive student, as he cannot be interacted with normally. If Ayano commits murder in 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.

Staying near Senpai 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 shyness to watching him creepily. If Ayano stands in Senpai's line of sight for too long, he will get slightly freaked out and a bit concerned. If this happens five times in one day, he will express that she is causing him to feel afraid, causing Ayano to become heartbroken and trigger a Game Over. If Ayano is in the Occult Club or plays the "Stealth" game in the computer lab, she can then stay in Senpai's aura for longer without being noticed. Senpai will not recognize her when wearing a mask.

Senpai is a Loner. When he sees a corpse, bloodstains, suspicious weapons or limbs, he will run out of the school grounds. This can be useful to know if you want to get rid of Senpai early in the day, as he has a unique reaction to murder that makes him a significant obstacle. If Ayano commits murder in 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).

Clubs won't factor into his life much. He might visit some clubs on a "trial" basis, but will be clubless for the whole game.^[15]

Senpai will have a hidden sanity variable that will influence some of the game's endings and might influence his everyday behavior.^[26]

In the future, there might be a "date gameplay" mechanic in the street.^[27]

Normally he cannot be killed like a normal student due to his aura. Certain Easter Eggs can still kill him, but he will respawn the next day, as he is not intended to be killed for now.

Relationships

All Rivals

Main Article: Rivals

In the full game, Senpai 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. This bypasses all exception (he dislikes delinquents, even though Osoro, the head of all delinquents, is the 8th rival). However, he cannot stop the rivals from being arrested if they are framed.^[10]

Hanako Yamada (planned 9th rival)

Main Article: Hanako Yamada

She and Senpai are brother and sister. If Hanako ever got a boyfriend, Senpai 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.^[28] Senpai's sanity variable will greatly decrease if he knows of her death.^[29]

At the end of Hanako's week, she will force her brother to agree that he'll never get a girlfriend.^[30] If Senpai rejects her, he will give her a "tough love" speech about not being so clingy and needy and depending on him for everything.^[31]

Nemesis

Main Article: Nemesis

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 in Mission Mode.^[32]

Osana Najimi

Main Article: Osana Najimi

Osana Offering Senpai a Bento — Osana offering Senpai a bento.

Osana is Taro's tsundere childhood friend.^[26] When Osana, Senpai, and Senpai's little sister, Hanako, were all younger, they used to hang out together.^[33] The two continue to be very close, meeting over together in the morning every day.

YandereDev has not revealed why Senpai chooses to spend time with Osana, despite her treatment of him. After she is eliminated, there may be a cutscene showing how Senpai is handling the situation.^[23] Her death, like that of Hanako, will cause Senpai's sanity to drop significantly.

Kizana Sunobu

Main Article: Kizana Sunobu

Senpai considers Kizana a bit bossy, but is impressed by her passion for acting and is flattered by what she thinks of him.^[34]

Mida Rana

Main Article: Mida Rana

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

Uekiya Engeika

Main Article: Uekiya Engeika

If none of the rivals ended up affecting Senpai'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.^[35]

Topics

The topics towards Taro are (Negative/Positive/Neutral) as follows:

Negative

Violence
Gossip
Martial Arts
Memes
Money

Positive

Cooking
Drama
Sports
Reading
Justice

Neutral

Everything else.

Trivia

The character model that was used to make Senpai is available in the Unity Assets store under the name Taichi Hayami.
In Japanese, senpai (先輩) means upperclassman.
Senpai's birthday might be the same as Ayano's birthday, April 1st.^[36]^[37]
Senpai has an unnamed career path that has not been revealed yet.^[38]
Senpai has never bought a panty shot from Info-chan.^[39]
Senpai can probably cook a few simple meals.^[40]
Senpai will not react to the player aiming their phone at him.
Senpai's lines will be affected by the elimination method used on the rivals.^[41]
If too many girls die or go missing immediately after meeting Senpai, rumors may spread that he is a serial killer. ^[42]
In the future, it will be possible to steal Senpai's clothes and shoes from the gym.^[43] YandereDev has said that the game mechanic of stealing items from Senpai for the static Senpai Shrine has been planned since its implementation.^[44]states that Ayano could possibly go on a date with Senpai if a small town was added.^[45]
Senpai doesn't appear in Mission Mode.
- It was later revealed that he was killed in the timeline Mission Mode takes place in.^[32]
There are 25,000 different combinations of customization options for Senpai - 150,000 different combinations if Senpai is in a customized uniform.
On December 23rd, 2015, YandereDev posted a comic created by Achromatic, which joked about what would happen if Senpai was allergic to cats. If Senpai was ever allergic to cats, Ayano would kill her own beloved cat for him.^[46] However, Senpai being allergic to cats is not necessarily canon yet. The comic can be viewed on YandereDev's website.
Senpai's voice lines for the poisoning event, as shown in "How to poison a girl in Yandere Simulator", were not in the actual game.
On Akademi High School's Facebook page (Kaobook), there was originally a post made by Senpai asking how old the sakura trees are. Later, it was changed so that Sakyu Basu posted it.
There was an old idea of breaking into Senpai's house. It will remain in the game only if the map was expanded with a town.^[47]
Senpai did not have a voiced line for reacting to Ayano taking panty shots until the March 31st, 2016 Build.
The reason Senpai is so popular is because he sat in the "Main Character Chair". From that moment on, his fate and destiny were set in stone.^[48]
Senpai 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.^[49]
- 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 a key during Mission Mode.
In the February 17th, 2016 Build, Senpai 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.^[50]

Quotes

“	Are you...okay?/Can I...help you?/Is something...wrong?/I'm...a little concerned...	”
	— Senpai if Ayano is near him for too long.

“	Um, excuse me! Would you please stop doing that? You're scaring me!	”
	— Senpai after Ayano harasses him five times.

“	What the hell is wrong with you?! Get away from me!	”
	— Senpai after seeing Ayano visibly insane/laughing maniacally/possessed by the Pain Demon.

“	Why do you have a weapon? What are you going to do with that thing?! Stay back!	”
	— Senpai after seeing Ayano visibly armed.

“	Why do you have so much blood on you? Did you hurt somebody?	”
	— Senpai after seeing Ayano covered in blood.

“	You killed them! Stay back! Get away from me!/What have you DONE?! You MONSTER!/Oh my god! You just MURDERED someone!/How could you do that?! Do you realize what you've just done?!/This can't be happening! Somebody, help! HELP!	”
	— Senpai after seeing Ayano murder someone or near a dead body.

“	What the hell are you doing? That's horrible! Stop it, you creep!	”
	— Senpai after seeing Ayano taking panty shots.

“	Does anyone know how old the school's sakura trees are?	”
	— Senpai on the internet.

“	Wow! This is delicious! Yeah! It's great! Hmm? What was that?	”
	— Senpai in "January Osana Progress Report - Part 1".

“	Ugh... what did you put in this?! My stomach... really hurts all of a sudden! I'm sorry... I can't finish it! I have to go!	”
	— Senpai in "January Osana Progress Report - Part 1".

“	What's this? You made me lunch? Oh...cool! Thanks a lot!	”
	— Senpai in "January Osana Progress Report - Part 2".

“	Osana? Are you okay? What's wrong hey?! Do you need any help? Osana! Oh my god! Osana, answer me! Wake up, please wake up! Don't do this! Oh god, this can't be happening! No!	”
	— Senpai in "January Osana Progress Report - Part 2".

“	What's wrong with you?! Stop it! This is no place for violence!	”
	— Senpai after seeing Ayano starting a fight with a delinquent.

“	Wait...something's wrong. Why is it so...quiet? What...happened to everyone? Wha...what? I...I don't understand. Wh-what are you talking about? You...what? No...no, you're joking...this gotta be some kind of...prank... You're really starting to...hey! What are you doing? Get back! Stay away from me! NO! STOP!	”
	— Senpai in the genocide ending.