Taiga Hanaya

Taiga Hanaya (花家 大我) is Kamen Rider Snipe (仮面ライダースナイプ). He is a 29-year old unlicensed doctor, who was once a member of the radiology department at the Seito University Hospital and the original Kamen Rider for CR. Losing his medical license after failing to save a patient, Taiga now collects Rider Gashats to become the rumored "Super Doctor". He is also known as the "Doctor of Darkness" (闇のドクター).

Past
Taiga was originally a renowned genius radiologist at the Seito University Hospital, who is capable of detecting and removing cancer cells in an instant. At the time of Zero Day, he was chosen to be a Kamen Rider for CR after accidentally discovering the essence of Bugster Viruses through conventional methods. Despite having passed the examination to become a Kamen Rider, Taiga refused to take it until the death of his coworker Maki forced him to accept the offer.

When the Proto Bang Bang Shooting Gashat began to hurt Taiga's mind and body in progress, Taiga fell from grace by this side effect after failing to defeat Graphite, a Bugster that spawned from Saki Momose. His defeat cost Saki her life, and after being reprimanded by the CR, left the hospital and relinquished his license. Saki's boyfriend, Hiiro Kagami, has since held a grudge against Taiga and blames him for Saki's death. Over time, Taiga became obsessed with the power of the Gashats, aiming to clear the ten games and become the Super Doctor while also had been preparing himself from his hellish training to combat a possible upcoming side-effects of the new Level Up Gashats in the future.

Second Bugster Outbreak
Taiga observed Ex-Aid's first fight against the Bugster from afar, using a rifle scope as a means from seeing afar. He then mimicked shooting Ex-Aid.

He purchased his own Gamer Driver and Bang Bang Shooting Gashat from Genm Corp. with large piles of cash. When complimented by Kuroto Dan, he simply said that Dan needed a large amount of money to make new games.

Debut As Snipe
Sometime later, Taiga was confronted by Graphite. Before Taiga could transform to fight, Parado appeared, warning Graphite against doing something rash and making a bet with Taiga to see who can clear the ten games first.

By chance, Taiga overheard Emu trying to confront one of his patients, a boy named Yuki who was infected with the Bugster virus. Taiga's presence aggravated Yuki due to the latter's iatrophobia, activating the giant Bugster. Taiga transformed into Snipe Shooting Gamer Level 1 and quickly extracted the Bugster, Revol, from Yuki before proceeding to fight the virus. However, Yuki's fear of doctors was only heightened, and Revol's strength multiplied. Despite Ex-Aid's protest, Snipe continued fighting. After finishing off more of Revol's troops, Taiga confronted Emu, noticing his personality change as Ex-Aid and saying that they'll play again.

Emu found Taiga in an abandoned hospital, the latter expecting the former. Taiga refused to stay out of Yuki's case, saying he would do what he wanted to do, and that his only concern was to collect all 10 Gashats to gain the power to destroy the Bugsters permanently. Taiga proposed a wager: the two would fight to see who could defeat Revol first, the prize being the other Rider's Gashat.

As Taiga expected, the Bugsters intruded the hospital to get him and Emu. Taiga handled several Busgters bare-handed before transforming into Snipe Shooting Gamer Level 2, beginning the challenge between him and Ex-Aid. However, Brave intervened by attacking Snipe. Their fight stopped momentarily when Ex-Aid and Brave reminds them of Revol, the primary target.

Snipe is able to avoid getting damaged, but Brave and Ex-Aid are almost brought to Game Over by Revol clones generated by the stronger Revol. Nevertheless, Taiga remained calm, finishing the real Revol using Bang Bang Critical Finish after Ex-Aid defeats the clones.

After the battle, Taiga claimed the Mighty Action X Gashat, telling Emu mockingly that he's open for a rematch if he wants it back; that is, if he can transform.

Remembering the passcode from his time as a CR doctor, Taiga entered CR where he found Kuroto Dan. Realizing that Dan's VR device was on his person, Dan explaining that he wished to record Emu's specs again for a tune up, Taiga informed him that he had confiscated Emu's Mighty Action X Gashat for himself. While a disappointed Dan attempt to leave, Taiga stopped him by revealing his knowledge that the prototype Gashats were resposnible for Zero Day, threatening to expose the news to the public if Dan refused to cooperate. Leaving Dan with no other choice, Taiga received a one-time VR simulation of the Shooting Gamer from Dan. Instructed by Dan within the simulation, Taiga transformed into Kamen Rider Snipe Shooting Gamer from Level 1 to Level 2 before activating his Critical Strike finisher using the Kimewaza Slot Holder. Having cleared the simulation, Taiga requested Dan to send the data to him. Before leave, Taiga proclaimed that he was ready for another rematch with Emu and asked Dan to relay this message when he next meets with him.

Lazer debut
Soon after, Taiga was approached in the hospital by coroner Kiriya Kujo, the latter asking for a duel. Kiriya brought him to the latest Bugster patient, Yoshitaka Nishiwaki, who was being monitored by CR, and was quickly overtaken by the Motors Bugster. Kiriya proposed that if he destroyed the Bugster, he would take back Emu's Gashat. Taiga agrees, but says that Kiriya must relinquish his Gashat if he loses. Taiga and Kiriya transformed into Snipe Shooting Gamer Level 1 and Lazer Bike Gamer Level 1, respectively, and began fighting the Bugster.

Eventually, they were able to extract the Bugster. However, Brave entered the fight and kept Snipe from chasing after the Bugster, which allowed Lazer to steal the Mighty Action X Gashat for Emu. Brave and Snipe continued to fight until they were interrupted by the black Ex-Aid, who depleted their health bars by using the Sports Gamer before disappearing. Taiga remarks about the increasing field of candidates for the Super Doctor position before stumbling away.

The Stolen Gashats
Taiga mocked Dan to beef up Genm Corporation's security as the latter consulted him and Kiriya to reclaim the four new Gashats that were stolen from Genm Corporation, giving them the special stethoscopes to aid them. Taiga agreed to take back the Gashats, but warned the CEO that he would be keeping any Gashats he found for himself before he left.

He eventually found the Collabos Bugster at a university, requesting a fight with the other three Riders for the Gekitotsu Robots Gashat ownership. The black Ex-Aid appeared again, this time in Sports Action Gamer Level 3, promising to take on all the Riders. Brave and Snipe transformed to fight the Bugster, while Lazer went after the black Ex-Aid. Despite their best efforts, the Riders were overwhelmed, and Brave and Lazer were forced to de-transform. Eventually, the Gashat thief reveals himself to be Graphite. After he learns of this, Snipe becomes enraged and attacks Graphite with his Gashacon Magnum. However, Graphite manages to retaliate. As Graphite is about to unleash Gekidoryuga, Snipe reverts into Shooting Gamer Level 1 and uses his energy bullet form to counter it. The recoil from Gekidoryuga is so high, however, that Snipe is forced to cancel his transformation. Taiga then witnesses Emu successfully defeating the Robots Bugster using Mighty Critical Finish and using the newly-acquired Gashat to become Robot Action Gamer Level 3 and defeat Genm.

Taiga confronts Graphite, already transformed into Snipe Shooting Gamer Level 2. He exclaims that he'll finish what he begin five years ago right now. As Graphite uses Gekidoryuga, Snipe and Brave attempt a counter attack, but with no avail. As Genm orders Graphite to retreat, Taiga cancels his transformation and prepares to leave. But, Hiiro asks him if Graphite is indeed the Bugster Taiga failed to kill five years ago. Paying him no need, he mockingly said that he'd been forgetting things already. Hiiro then attempts to punch him, but he easily stopped him by holding Hiiro's fist using his right hand. As Emu stops their fights, Taiga challenges Hiiro to finish Graphite off and admits that it's indeed Graphite who made him fall from grace before he left.

Taiga, later seen on the top of a building, monitors Hiiro using his riffle scope. As Hiiro obtains the DoReMiFa Beat Gashat by defeating Beat Collabos and also defeating Graphite, Taiga begrudgingly warned Hiiro to not be so cocky before leaving.

He is shown to be fighting the Jet Collabos on his own in order to obtain the Jet Combat Gashat, but failed to defeat it due to the Bugster's flying ability and lets it escape. Taiga then swore to claim the Gashat later.

Becoming Combat Shooting Gamer Level 3
Taiga is seen when he overheard about Shiori conversation with Asuna. He then later found Combat Collabos on the top of a factory. Taiga explained to the viewer that the Gashat that the bugster have is Jet Combat, and he'll be the one who take it. Taiga then transform into Snipe Shooting Gamer Level 2 and shortly, he able to claim the Gashat without killing the Collabos using Gashacon Magnum Rifle mode. Using the Bugster as a bait, Snipe taunts Emu to accept his challenge if he want to save Yoshio, before Taiga left.

The next day, as Emu and Hiiro appeared to confront Taiga. Taiga then begin his mission to claim the Gashats. All of them transformed into Ex-Aid Action Gamer Level 2, Brave Quest Gamer Level 2 and Snipe Shooting Gamer Level 2 respectively. As joint attack of Ex-Aid and Brave overpower him. Snipe then decide to use his newly acquired Gashat to become Combat Shooting Gamer Level 3. After he uses the Shrink Energy Item on Prime Collabos, Snipe then proceed to counter Brave and Ex-Aid while both of them transformed into Level 3. Using his Flight Capability to evade and Gatling Combats to attack, Snipe manage to knock Brave into Quest Gamer Level 2 and claim DoReMiFa Beat Gashat. Snipe then released Prime Collabos to distract Ex-Aid, while Snipe prepared his Jet Critical Strike. Snipe claimed that the world only needed him as the only Kamen Rider, then proceeding to defeat Ex-Aid Robot Action Gamer Level 3 and Prime Collabos. Snipe claimed the Gekitotsu Robots Gashat, thus completing his mission.

While Taiga shows a satisfied expression with his battle loot, Emu said that his Gashat isn't a toy, but rather a tool to save patients. Taiga instead said that Emu had no idea regarding of the responsibility of wearing Gamer Driver and using Rider Gashat before he left.

The Drago Knight Hunters and The Demise of Graphite


While Snipe Combat Shooting Gamer Level 3 is busy fighting Graphite along with Brave Quest Gamer Level 2, Lazer Chambara Bike Gamer Level 3 joins the fray. However, due to Graphite's increased strength from the Proto Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat, combined with Brave and Snipe's squabbling, it rendered the three Riders no match for the Bugster. Lazer and Brave were able to snatch the Gekitotsu Robots and DoReMiFa Beat Gashats from Snipe during the commotion, much to Snipe's chagrin. Back in the real world, the three were approached by the apologetic Emu, who asked for their help in using the Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat. Hiiro refused out of pride as a surgeon, Taiga wasn't interested in playing doctor, and Kiriya cited Emu's condition as a reason not to trust him. Later that night, Emu called Taiga, offering him the Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat. Taiga arrived the next day only to find that Emu had tricked him, as Emu had secretly made a deal with Kiriya and Hiiro as well. Emu finally used his Gamer persona and offered the Gashat to whomever could beat him first. Transforming into Snipe Combat Shooting Gamer Level 3, Taiga joined the other two Riders in fighting Ex-Aid Hunter Action Gamer Level 5 Full Dragon. Eventually, they were able to separate the Hunter Gamer from Ex-Aid and attacked it. Much to their surprise, Hunter Gamer split into four virtual Gashats, one for each Rider. Ex-Aid explained his true plan: getting the four together to see who had the power to take out Graphite. As Ex-Aid changes the stage, Graphite appeared and quickly transformed into Dark Graphite. Taiga, along with the other doctor riders, transformed into their Level 5 forms. Using their new Levels, the Riders were finally able to fight on par with Graphite, although their lack of cohesion got in the way. Ultimately, the four were able to defeat Graphite once and for all, despite none of them agreeing on who delivered the final blow.

The Dr. Pac-Man Incident
With his fellow doctors and Kamen Rider Ghost's allies, Snipe fought the Next Genome Institute.

Assuming the Xevious Gamer
"Final score: 9,999,990 points. A hearty mission complete."

- Snipe's proclamation after a finisher in Xevious Shooting Gamer

Taiga, along with Hiiro, confronts the revived "Dr. Pac-Man" who had taken Emu away from Genm, both vowing to defeat him again. When the three doctors are met by Genm and the three copy Kamen Riders that he had summoned, "Dr. Pac-Man" provides the trio with the Bandai Namco Gashats, with Taiga receiving the Xevious Gashat. Transforming, Snipe Shooting Gamer Level 2 faces Kamen Rider OOO in a brief skirmish before using his new Gashat to assume Xevious Shooting Gamer, generating a Game Area in which he finds himself engaged in aerial combat against Kamen Rider Fourze using the Rocket and Gatling Modules. Ultimately prevailing in the dogfight, Snipe performs Xevious's Critical Strike to defeat the opposing Kamen Rider.

Alongside Brave, Snipe soon caught up with Ex-Aid as he recovered the Ganbarizing Gashat, both intending to claim it for themselves only to be eluded by "Dr. Pac-Man" who snatched the Gashat as quickly as he arrived, adding it to his quartet of Bandai Namco Gashats. It was at this point that Taiga realized that the three of them had been manipulated all along, a deduction immediately confirmed when "Dr. Pac-Man" was joined by the black Ex-Aid who, using the Ganbarizing Gashat to bestow upon himself the power of the first seventeen Heisei Riders, took the three doctor Riders by shock as he was able to defeat them with a single Critical Strike Rider Kick before taking his leave.

Fighting Genm Zombie Gamer Level X
"Ex-Aid. You have Game Syndrome."

- Taiga mutters to himself about Emu's Bugster Virus.

Frustrated and bewildered by Genm, Taiga searched in vain for any information he could online about the ex-CEO. His thoughts were interrupted when Nico appeared again asking for his help to defeat M and ignoring Taiga's demand that she leave. Soon after, Taiga went to confront Kuroto, having deduced that Lazer was killed in order to hide what he found about Ex-Aid. Taiga transformed into Snipe, but even at Level 3 he (along with Brave) was no match for either Genm Lv 10 or the upgraded Aranbura. He and Brave were quickly knocked out of their transformation. However, before Genm could steal their Gashats, Emu arrived with a mysterious black Gashat. Much to everyone's shock, Emu was not only able to create an entirely new game from the blank Gashat, but split into two separate bodies.

Bewildered by Ex-Aid becoming two, Taiga was once again approached by Nico. While showing further annoyance due to her appearance, Taiga learned that Emu had never used the pronoun "boku" when referring to himself in the past, thus noticing that is was similar to Emu's personality change while playing games. The following day, Taiga observed Ex-Aid's fight against Aranbura and Genm, managing to get a blood sample from the unconscious Emu after the battle. Upon scanning it, Taiga realized that Emu had the Bugster virus inside his body.

Fighting Para-Dx
Taiga finally lost his patience with Nico after she tried moving into his hospital.

"You're a little prince who's never experienced failure. If you continue performing operations in that condition...you might become like me. Are you sure about it? I've nothing to lose. That's why I've said it before...that I'm the only Kamen Rider needed."

- Taiga's reasoning to Hiiro before he left.

The Bugster Horde
When Kuroto Dan's plot to revive in the Game World caused an army of Bugsters to perpetually revive and emerge into the real world, Snipe and Brave shared the Gashat Gear Dual β as they fought back the endless horde while Emu was sent from CR to the Game World to stop Dan. Brave assumed his Fantasy Gamer first before being beaten back, leaving Snipe to endure alone with the Simulation Gamer before rejoining him with the Hunter Gamer, at which point the horde ultimately dissipated in an instant as the destruction of the Game World brought about by Kazuma Kenzaki thwarted Dan's ambition to revive.

Personality
Taiga is a bitter man with an arrogant and very selfish personality due to the incident that occured on Zero Day. He holds almost absolutely no concern for victims of the Bugsters or protecting them: he cares only about his obsessions of both collecting Gashats and achieving his revenge on the Bugsters. He'll use anything to win, as shown as when he personally bought his Gamer Driver and Bang Bang Shooting Gashat back from Kuroto Dan and took Emu's Mighty Action X Gashat after the battle with the Revol Bugster. He will seize any opportunity possible to obtain additional Gashats. This can go as far as holding a patient hostage by taking the Bugster the patient was infected with him after it was extracted. Such a drive for vengeance was noted by Hiiro Kagami, as Zero Day caused him to view other individuals' lives, including Saki, with complete disregard. Another example of his drive for vengeance on the Bugsters was when he sought to destroy Burgermon, even though he was not only not meant to be evil, but Taiga's maliciousness towards Burgermon also caused his host to be stressed out.

Taiga's end goal is to gain all ten Gashats to eradicate the Bugster and finish what he started on Zero Day. He holds a strong animosity against Graphite, who cost him both his medical license and his credibility as a doctor. His hatred of the Bugster overshadows any concern for a patient's well-being. For him, the battles are competitions with his fellow Riders. (Ex. Escalating a child's fear of doctors by continuing to battle despite Emu's pleas not to scare him.)

He seems to be well-informed, as shown when he approached Kuroto Dan to buy a Driver and Gashat because he knows Kuroto needs funding for his new games. He also has a tendency to monitor the situation using a rifle scope (Hence his rider name, Snipe).

Despite willing to use dirty tactics to win, Taiga does have a sense of fair play as he did not try to take Emu's Gashat by force, nor did he think that Kiriya Kujo would take the Mighty Action X Gashat from him before even winning their bet. This however, didn't stop him for being provocative to fellow Riders. Similarly, while he kidnapped the Collabos Bugster (Jet Combat) to blackmail Ex-Aid and Brave, he did not demand them to directly surrender their Gashats to him, but instead wanted to win them through a fair battle.

Taiga, however, isn't completely without a conscience. When Nico Saiba faked being sick with the Game illness and when she become a Ride Player, he went to make sure she was alright, showing that he's at least willing to care about other people somewhat. He also has a strong sense of responsibility, once stopping Hiiro from battling Vernier while the aforementioned person was still strained from using Level 50, having indirectly shown that he doesn't want another person to fail like he did 5 years ago. The same fight showed his acknowledgement of Emu's resolve as both a doctor and a Rider when he provoked him to subtly remind him of who he is, after struggling with his nature as Patient Zero of the Bugster Virus.

One major flaw Taiga had shown is that he doesn't bother trying to play the games by their rules when attempting to clear them, just focusing on eliminating any Bugsters he finds. His self-reliant attitude also interferes with playing by the rules, preferring to go by his own instead. Even Nico took note of this, and complained to Taiga about his flaw since he's not a gamer unlike Emu and herself.

Despite his robust attitude, Taiga is afraid of ghosts.

After losing his doctor license, Taiga felt that eliminating his opponent and keeping the name of a Kamen Rider were much more important than protecting lives (ironically going against the general values of most Riders'), even the life of his opponent. This mentality was something both Emu and Hiiro were against since he preferred to kill Genm instead of rendering him powerless.

Powers and Abilities

 * Hand-to-Hand Combat: Taiga has shown himself to be a skilled fighter, being able to easily take on Bugster viruses as a civilian.
 * Genius Radiology: Before the introduction of Rider Gashats, Taiga is a famed radiologist, capable of detecting even a small strain of illness in an instant after a simple X-ray scanning. He is also capable of detecting the Bugster Virus through conventional methods, gaining the interest of Asuna and Kuroto.
 * Marksmanship: Because of his former career as a radiologist, Taiga had a huge proficiency while using his Gashacon Magnum, able to shoot the well-hidden Revol. This also shown when he shoot Combat Collabos down with ease.
 * Acquired Game Disease Immunity: As a result of the standard compatibility surgery for CR candidates, Taiga Hanaya is immune to the Game Disease, and able to transform into a Kamen Rider to fight the Bugsters. His usage of Proto Gashats has also increased his body's tolerance for higher level Gashats, being able to overcome the side effects of his Level 50 almost instantly.

Devices

 * Gamer Driver - Transformation device.
 * Rider Gashat - Transformation trinkets.
 * Gashat Gear Dual β - Level 50 transformation trinket, initially shared with Brave before the creation of the second.
 * Kimewaza Slot Holder - Carrier strap for the Rider Gashats.
 * Combat Gamer - Snipe's Level 3 support robot.
 * Hunter Gamer - Snipe's Level 5 support robot.
 * Simulation Gamer - Snipe's Level 50 support robot.
 * Xevious Gamer - Snipe's Xevious support robot.

Weapons

 * Gashacon Magnum - Standard sidearm weapon.
 * Air Force Wingers and Gatling Combats - Combat Shooting Gamer Level 3's personal weapons.
 * Dragon Gun - Hunter Shooting Gamer Level 5 (Dragon Gun/Full Dragon)'s personal weapon.
 * Dragon Fang and Dragon Blade - Hunter Shooting Gamer Level 5 Full Dragon's personal weapons.

Relationship

 * CR:
 * Emu Hojo: He and Emu developed a seemingly hostile rivalry. Taiga sees Emu as a tick, although he usually calls Emu as either the Genius Gamer or Ex-Aid. Emu, in return didn't like Taiga either, since Taiga stole his Gashats twice. After Kiriya's death at the hands of Kuroto, Taiga got the evidence Kiriya left behind such as Emu's secret related to his special past surgery by Kyotaro where both Kuroto and his father involved in, and found out who Emu exactly is. Taiga also shows some respect to Emu after he tries to save Nico.
 * Asuna Karino/Poppy Pipopapo: Asuna fears Taiga because of his brash yet calculative demeanor. Taiga is usually apathetic towards her in return.
 * Hiiro Kagami: Hiiro holds a grudge against him, since he is the man responsible for Saki's death, who is Hiiro's girlfriend. Taiga, in return also hates Hiiro, often provoking him if necessary. Later on, Taiga reminds Hiiro that he might end up becoming a broken and disgraced man like him if he's not careful with his ego. Upon Masamune Dan revealed to be an evil mastermind behind entire events all this time and being another Patient Zero besides Emu as a time manipulating Kamen Rider Cronus, when he able to steal the Proto Gashats which contains the Bugsters' former hosts including Saki as his hostages, Taiga fears that Hiiro will fall into Masamune's blackmailing tricks, which became true.
 * Kiriya Kujo: Taiga didn't really like Kiriya, although he's a bit surprised about Kiriya's compability with the Gamer Driver. Kiriya usually pays him no heed in return. After Kiriya's death at the hands of Kuroto, Taiga continues the investigation of the information Kiriya left behind, regarding Emu's special past surgery performed by Kyotaro where Kuroto and his father Masamune were involved in.
 * Genm Corp.:
 * Kuroto Dan: Taiga often provokes Dan if necessary, although he's still oblivious about the fact that Dan is actually Genm, until Dan revealed himself to Taiga and three other doctor Riders once he got all battle data he needed, as Taiga and the other Riders are too late to notice and stop this scheme. In the past, Kuroto used Taiga and Jiro as his guinea pigs, most occasionally when Taiga used a Proto Gashat that he provided on just to gather battle data for Kamen Rider Chronicle. Because of this, Taiga's life was almost ruined that led him into the unlicensed doctor as he is now. However, these events granted Taiga some tricks and knowledge on how to resist the upcoming negative side-effects of the future Gashats quickly, such as when using his Level 50 form with the Gashat Gear Dual β.
 * Bugsters:
 * Graphite: Taiga sees Graphite as his number one nemesis, mainly because of the fact that he lost his doctor license. Taiga is always enraged whenever he confronts Graphite, and always tries to eliminate him at all costs, although Graphite always defeats him single-handedly. It was only by working together with the other Riders did he finally succeed in his revenge on Graphite, though he didn't want to admit it. During the Kamen Rider Chronicle crisis, he is shocked to learn that Graphite, being a fully-manifested Bugster, can be revived anytime, even after the latter's physical body being destroyed without having his Bugster virus debris absorbed into the Gashacon Bugvisor before. Graphite then challenges him to clear Kamen Rider Chronicle in order to be the same level as him now, and fight him one on one, which made Taiga swear to be the one to clear the game, while hiding the truth from Hiiro that Graphite had revived.
 * Civilians:
 * Nico Saiba: Nico wants to attract Taiga's attention so he can defeat the Genius Gamer M, but Taiga sees her as no more than an annoyance. However, as time passes, Taiga show some sort of care to her, despite he covered it with his arrogant persona, Nico ultimately does the same to him in return. After his fight with Lovrica, Taiga finally admits that Nico's presence is the one who made him happy, and that he wants her to not leaving his side ever again, while promising that he will cure her Game Illness no matter how many times it will take, which Nico happily complies.

Portrayal

 * Taiga Hanaya is portrayed by Ukyo Matsumoto (松本 享恭). As Kamen Rider Snipe, his suit actor is Satoshi Fujita (藤田 慧) in Level 1 and Eitoku (永徳), best known for his stint as a majority of secondary Heisei Riders up to Baron, in Level 2.