Antares

Antares (大火, Taika) is a male Blade Brandier and the founder of Icolo, the arena champions guild. He considers Haseo his "apprentice."

Appearance
Antares is a red-skinned man dressed in loose white clothing. He wears a brown cloak on his back and his outfit is accented with robes wrapped around both of his arms. His most noticeable feature is the odd white bird mask he wears at all times. His mask, as well as his general appearance, is based on the Tengu, mythical Japanese creatures that reside in mountains and are said to possess great knowledge in martial matters. He also has the kanji for Tengu on the back of his robe. When fighting, he wields a red sword decorated with flames.

Personality
Antares is a rather eccentric player who plays the part of a combat guru. A former Arena Emperor, he was the original founder of the Emperor's Guild Icolo. However, he passed the title of Guildmaster over to Taihaku after he became disillusioned with Arena combat. As a long time player, he is familiar with most of the long time players of The World, and was a close friend of Phyllo prior to his death. He considers Haseo to be his disciple, and is devoted to transforming him into a powerful warrior.

Basic Info
In the real world, Antares's player is a 35-year-old man named Mikihisa Ogata (緒方幹久). In his youth he attended an all boys school, and was a wrestler. He now works as the editor of a professional wrestling magazine, and lives in Tokyo with his wife and two daughters, who are 3 and 5 years old.

.hack//G.U. Games
Antares first observed Haseo during his initial fights in the Arena. Impressed with his determination and fighting spirit, Antares decided to help Haseo become an Emperor. Introducing himself to Haseo after one of his fights, Antares began teaching him the finer points of Arena combat. When Haseo questioned him about his motives, Antares took him to Icolo's @Home, a Guild Antares had formed for Arena Emperors. After introducing him to Taihaku, Sirius, and Alkaid, Antares told Haseo that his dream for Icolo had been destroyed, and the Guild was filled with nothing but people trying to increase their own egos. He confessed that he believed Haseo was a person who could restore honor to the Arena and the title of Emperor. Shortly before Haseo entered the Demon Palace Tournament match against Bordeaux, Antares helped him obtain his second Job Extension by feeding him information about the Quest required to get it.

After Haseo began abusing Skeith's power to win Tournament matches, Antares teamed up with Kuhn and Pi to teach him a lesson. Though Haseo was able to win the match, the fight taught him a valuable lesson about power. Following Haseo's victory over Demon Palace Emperor Endrance, Antares attended his coronation party, celebrating by drinking in the real world.

Later, when Haseo entered the Holy Palace Tournament, Antares continued his coaching, assisting him in getting his third Job Extension in the same way he'd helped him get his second. He also acted as the guest commentator for all of Haseo's tournament matches. Following Haseo's victory over Holy Palace Emperor Sirius, Antares rewarded Haseo by giving him his Member Address.

It was then that Antares revealed his true agenda to Haseo. He had actually been asked to help Haseo out by Phyllo, one of his old friends. Disguising himself as Phyllo he called Haseo to the Great Temple of Caerleon Medb and showed him how to unlock the Lost Weapons. He also delivered a letter from Phyllo, written to Haseo shortly before Phyllo's death.

During Sakaki's PK Tournament, Antares was offered a position in the tournament bracket due to his former role as an Arena Emperor. With his skill and experience Antares easily won his first round, and proceeded to defeat Matsu in the second. However in the tournament semifinals he found himself facing Haseo. Neither side held anything back in the fight, and in the end Haseo proved victorious. However, in an attempt to discredit Haseo, Sakaki began spreading rumors that Antares had thrown the match, damaging both his and Haseo's reputations. However Antares was relatively unfazed by this; soon after the fight he invited Haseo to join him in the Chaotic PK certification event. Taking on the role of PKKs, Haseo and Antares fought their way through some of the fiercest PKs The World R:2 had to offer, including former rivals Negimaru and Grein. After completing the event, Antares told Haseo that despite the way the tournament had ended, their fight had still been fair and he had nothing to be ashamed of.

Antares continued to support Haseo throughout his quest, and returned to help fight off Cubia's Gomoras alongside Piros the 3rd, Silabus, and Gaspard at Briona Gwydion the Dragonbein Range.

.hack//G.U. Returner
Antares is briefly seen at Δ Hidden Forbidden Festival.

Trivia

 * Antares joins Haseo at level 75.
 * Antares' starting weapon is called Crimson Sword, a rare level 38 Blade.
 * The name Antares, comes from the brightest star in the constellation Scorpio, which is also the 15th brightest star in the sky.
 * In the Japanese version of the game Antares' name was Taika, the traditional Sino-Japanese name for the star Antares.
 * The Antares card from .hack//G.U. Card Battle shows Antares' appearance under the mask, revealing a stern looking man.
 * Icolo's former guild master is 5'10" (178 cm) tall.
 * Antares holds the same English voice actor as Martini, a coma victim that adores alcohol in .hack//MUTATION.