Tora (Xenoblade Chronicles)

"If such a place did exist, maybe we could all live in peace, without the need to fight."

- Rex, about Elysium

Tora is one of the characters of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. He is a Nopon who comes with a designated robotic companion called Poppi α. Poppi α calls him "Masterpon". As shown by his outfit, Tora is a boy who loves mechanics. He aspired to be a Driver, but his attempt at resonating with a Core Crystal was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, he secretly holds several trumps, like Poppi α who works as his artificial Blade, in order to fulfill his goal of becoming a Driver. He tends to call Rex "Rex-Rex", Aniki. In battle, Tora can fight using the Drill Shield with Poppi α, as well as the Mech Arms with Poppi QT. He can attract enemies and direct their attacks on him while protecting his allies offering them offensive opportunities.

He is voiced by Ai Nonaka in the Japanese version and Rasmus Hardiker in the English version.

Story
Tora, his father Tatazo, and his grandfather Soosoo could not resonate with a Blade. As a work around, the three of them began working on an artificial Blade. One day, a masked man came into their workshop and seemingly shot Soosoo. Tatazo helped Tora escape the masked man and the gang of Tirkin, but he himself was captured. Tora then fled to Torigoth.

As Rex and Pyra are about to be captured by Brighid and Padraig, Tora shoots a missile at a nearby pipe, which spews water and temporarily weakens Brighid. Rex and Pyra join up with Tora, where he reveals his backstory of not being able to resonate with a Blade. The crew then formulates a plan to break into the Titan Battleship via the Treetop Path and rescue Nia and Dromarch. Before doing so, Rex helps Tora get the few remaining materials to activate Poppi, Tora's Artificial Blade. After Rex leaves Torigoth, Tora decides to join him on his adventure in hopes of finding his father. He convinces his uncle Umon to give the party a small ship so that they may journey to the World Tree, though they end up in Uraya instead.

Upon arriving in Mor Ardain, Tora runs into Muimui, his grandfather's assistant, who admits that he doesn't know where Tatazo is. The night they arrive in Alba Cavanich, a robotic girl is seen attacking the city. Tora acknowledges her as Lila, the original artificial Blade model that he, his father, and his grandfather worked on. He then reveals his backstory to the party before deducing that his father must be alive, as he is the only one who could complete Lila. The Garfont Mercenaries discover that Lila is hiding out in the Old Factory, presumably along with Tatazo.

In the Old Factory, the party discovers that artificial blades are being produced, further supporting that Tatazo is alive and inside the factory. Tora eventually finds his father and the two reconcile. Muimui then comes in, revealing that he was keeping Tatazo captive in the factory, and orders his Tirkin troops to attack Tora. Bana then appears, reveals he is working with Muimui, and orders Lila to attack Tora and Poppi. Eventually, Lila destroys Bana's control device and claims that her true "Masterpon" is Tatazo. Tora then briefly leaves the party while Rex and Nia pursue Bana and Muimui.

Bana and Muimui activate their ultimate artificial Blade, Rosa, and the party faces some difficulty defeating it. On cue, Tora arrives and reveals that Lila helped Poppi upgrade her ether furnace, and Poppi then transforms into Poppi QT. With this new power, they are able to subdue Rosa, though Bana escapes alongside Mikhail and Patroka. After this, Tatazo and Lila will appear in Tora's house. The sidequest Powered-Up Poppi later sees Tora upgrading Poppi into Poppi QTπ.

Personality
Tora is a Nopon with dreams of becoming a Driver, which inspired him to complete Poppi. This also led to Tora aiding Rex and Pyra escape from Ardanian pursuit when they first met. Tora is very friendly towards his companions. He is, however, annoyed at Poppi's occasionally disrespectful behavior. Similar to other Nopon, food is never far from Tora's mind and he can drive a hard bargain in business decisions. He is a brilliant inventor, exceeded only by his father and grandfather, coming up with plans for more advanced models of Poppi and recognizing the faults of his father's designs. He shows some deductive ability as he was able to realize his father was still alive when he realized Lila was completed. A Heart-To-Heart revealed that Tora has the same inventive vision of his family, as he was did not consider the artificial Blades Bana mass-produced to be true blades due to a lack of spirit and personality, despite having the combat abilities of a typical Blade.

Tora's major personality flaw is his perceptions on how his ideal woman should behave. Tora has a fascination with maid-like and "cutesy" behavior. This led to him programming in such behavior settings into Poppi and creating related outfits for her to wear. Such traits are severely frowned upon by his friends, in particular Brighid. Tora recognizes that these traits are not socially acceptable and does try to hide it or deflect blame to his grandfather.

Trivia

 * Tora is a possible throwback to Tora from Xenoblade Chronicles X due to their similarities in name and appearance.
 * Tora has an interest in maids inherited from his father and grandfather, which explains all of the maid outfits stashed inside his closet.
 * Similar to Riki from Xenoblade Chronicles, Tora has the highest HP in the party.