Taokaka

Overview

Taokaka or "Tao" for short is a cat-girl from the Kaka clan, a clan of similar-looking cat-people who all happen to wear oversized, hooded uniforms that hide their true face. According to Litchi, the Kaka were supposed to be genetically engineered weapons descended from Jubei's genetic code to fight the Black Beast. However, now that the Black Beast is gone, she mentioned that their number can go no higher than 100 and that they may go extinct unless they can somehow reproduce asexually. All members of the Kaka clan contain hidden, sharp blades that serve as large claws and reportedly use up a tiny amount of seithr every time they are unleashed. 
 
Tao lives in the Kaka village in the lowest part of Kagutsuchi, where the "sky" is a giant plate that supports the rest of the city, there is almost no sunlight and no natural plant-growth except for a small patch on a hill where she likes to sleep.
 

Calamity Trigger Story

Taokaka is searching for Ragna the Bloodedge because she is technically a vigilante looking for money and on the orders of her village elder. However, as the story progresses, it becomes apparent that Taokaka is either a complete idiot or has levels of ADHD so high that not even a barrel full of Ritalin would help. In the unlockable mini-series "Tell Me, Dr. Litchi!", the Kaka village elder asks Litchi to teach Taokaka to become a vigilante even though (the elder adds) she is quite stupid. Tao often has trouble comprehending complex words and long sentences to the point where she either complains bluntly about it to the speaker or falls asleep in the middle of the lesson. 
 
In one story arc of the game, she actually runs into Ragna after being handed a flyer with his face printed on it, but after fighting him all she's interested in is the food he's eating. When he offers to share some of his food with her, Tao refers to him as a "good guy" and forgets all about the bounty. Tao also assigns simple nicknames to most of the people she meets. For example, she refers to Litchi as "boobie lady", Noel as "lacking lady", Bang as "scruffy man" and side-character Jubei unironically as "cat person."
 

Continuum Shift Story

Flashbacks in the story reveal that Taokaka briefly met Ragna when she was a child (kitten?) still growing up, and that she was designated the official protector of the Kaka village when her predecessor, Torakaka, had to leave on a journey. In the present, Tao helps to save Ragna after he is grievously wounded by Carl and Nirvana. Eventually, Ragna manages to slip away with promises of meat buns. Tao tries to find him again in Kagutsuchi but ends up fighting a bunch of people instead.
 
In her quest to become stronger so that she can defend the Kaka village, Tao decides to head to Ikaruga with Ragna.
 

Continuum Shift Move List/Pseudo Guide

 Pros:

• Fastest character of the cast.
• Relitively high damage combos.
• Many options for mix-ups.

Cons:

• Has the lowest HP of the cast (9500).
• Complex combos.
• Very few defensive options.

 
Drive:

• Dancing Edge: Reckless Kitty (D): Taokaka's drive will propel her across the screen towards her opponent, claws out. She can do this up to 3 times in the air, the 3rd drive always being neutral. At any point (even if it makes contact with the opponent) the drive can be cancelled using any of the 3 attack buttons. Pressing A will cause Tao to come to an abrupt halt, pressing B will cause Tao to use some ninja skills to pass through her opponent and finally C will cause her to stop by jumping up in the air.
  

Basic Special Moves:

• Cat Spirit One! (236A): Tao reaches out with her claws for a slash attack that can be repeated multiple times. Quick but not very damaging.
• Cat Spirit Two! (236B in midair): Tao attacks horizontally with her feet for a total of 5 hits, the 5th hit being more powerful and knocking the opponent away. Normally used to end air combos.
• (Old) Cat Spirit Two! (BB in midair): Similar to Tao's Cat Spirit Two! in Calamity Trigger, the 1.03 patch allows Tao to strike in a more downwards fashion with her feet for 2 hits.
  
• Cat Spirit Three! (236C): Much like Cat Spirit One! this move is repeatable, only this time Tao will advance across the screen with each hit. Cat Spirit Three! is also far slower, but the initial hit has an overhead property and can be used as a launcher for Tao to break into an air combo. This move is also delayable by holding the C button.
  
• Kitty Litter Special! (214A/B/C): Tao will hurl a variety of objects at her opponent depending on the button and her mood. The A version of this move will throw items in an arc and can be used to knock opponents out of the air, although it's not recomended. The B version will throw projectiles straight at the opponent; baseballs will travel the screen twice if they do not hit the opponent first time. C will cause Tao to pull a bowling ball from... somewhere? Rolling it slowly along the ground, the C version is also delayable by holding C. Tao is not really designed to be throwing stuff other than herself at her opponent so these moves are often largely ignored.
  

NOTE: Taokaka can actually crawl under most projectiles and attacks in the game using the 3 input!

• Cat Jump! (214D): Tao will jump right next to her opponent causing no damage. This move now includes auto-correct for 1.03, making it very useful for confusing a blocking opponent.
  

IMPORTANT: This move is the main component of the fabled "taunt loop". Taunt loops are Tao's ace in the hole and consist of: S (taunt) > 214D > j.2D~B, they can technically be executed forever but require some pretty exact timing. Even with BlazBlue's great net code they can be very difficult to perform online. (Taunt loop is no longer useful in the 1.03 version of the game, due to a nerf in the proration of Taokaka's taunt. We'll miss you always taunt loop).

• Sticky Kitty! (214D in midair): Tao will attach herself to the side of the screen and slide down for as long as D is held down. This move is all kinds of useful for nudging your opponent out of the corner or just general mix-ups.
• Trick Edge (charge 2-8D): Tao will look like she is performing "Sticky Kitty!" but will then drive toward her opponent for slightly higher damage than a regular drive.
• Slashy-Slashy! (22C): Tao will crouch and shoot her nails upward for multiple hits. This move isn't particularly useful on it's own, but can be used to extend combos.

 
Distortion Drives:

• Cat Person's Secret Art: Hexa-Edge (236236D): Tao explodes towards her opponent claws out swiping at them 5 times, the 5th hit doing the majority of the damage. When trapped in a corner, this, bursting and counter assault are your only ways out.
• I'mma Beat The Crap Outta You! (214214C): This is for that tuna! Tao pounces on her opponent command grab style and after "beating the crap outta them" will launch her opponent into the air allowing for a follow-up on the way down. While this cannot be teched, simply ducking will void the pounce making it easy to punish.
• Almost Becoming Two! (236236B): Tao creates a shadow clone that will follow her every move (17 frames slower) for a short period of time. However damage is cut in half for the duration to balance out the extra hits. There are a lot of very strange gimmicks you can pull with this distortion drive, although it's not the most reliable source of damage.

 
Astral Heat:

• Attack Meow Pow! (charge 4-128D): Much like "Trick Edge" Tao will jump back to the edge of the screen and perform what looks like a "Sticky Kitty!" before driving at her opponent, transporting them to magical fish land, juggling them around the screen with Kaka kittens and having Jubei finish them off. This will not hit if your opponent is a full screen length away and can be jumped/countered or blocked. All of which will leave you VERY open to attack.