Bankotsu

"I am Bankotsu, leader of the Band of Seven. And I've never lost a battle to anyone."

- Bankotsu

was the leader of the Band of Seven. He was both the youngest and the strongest member of the group. He wielded the halberd Banryū.

History
Before the creation of the Band of Seven, Bankotsu traveled around with Jakotsu, challenging every strong human and demon alike. He meets Naraku while heading to a battle, who made it there before him. Naraku then tells him about the Shikon no Tama before disappearing. Soon after this Bankotsu decides to create the Band of Seven.

During the story
After his resurrection, Bankotsu uses Banryū to kill everyone in the surrounding area. The scent of blood draws Inuyasha's group to engage in battle until Naraku summons the Band of Seven back to him. During the fight, Banryū is damaged by Inuyasha's Kaze no Kizu attack, but it gains the ability to deflect that attack after Bankotsu repairs it with the Jewel shards Renkotsu stole from Kagome. After learning that Renkotsu killed Jakotsu for his Jewel shards, Bankotsu kills Renkotsu for his betrayal. With seven fragments in his body and two* in his halberd, Bankotsu heads off to destroy Inuyasha.

In the manga, Inuyasha gradually cuts the Shikon Jewel shards out of Bankotsu's body as the battle progresses until Bankotsu is cut in two, with Naraku stripping the remaining half of its Shikon shard. In the anime, Bankotsu slays 1,000 yōkai and kills 1,000 humans with Banryū, transforming it into a demonic weapon that projects its wielder's hatred as powerful yōki. However, this proves to be his downfall as Inuyasha reflects this attack with the Bakuryūha, defeating Bankotsu and shattering Banryū.

Personality
A man who finds excitement and thrill in murder, Bankotsu is known for slaughtering demons and humans alike, which made him feared and hated by both. Despite his bloodthirsty nature, he generally maintains a relaxed, and laid-back demeanor, even during battle. Although he is a skilled mercenary and hardened killer, he retains a sense of honor and compassion, but only for his six companions. He exhibits considerable cynicism at times; when a furious Inuyasha demands to know why he attacked Inuyasha's friends, he dismissively notes that Inuyasha's naiveity doesn't suit him. When further accused of using dirty tricks, he retorts that "In a match to the death, there's no such thing as fair or foul." Later, when confronted by Kikyo after burying several of his dead comrades, he declares that there is no afterlife, and that "once a mortal is dead, that's the end of it." He states that the reason he fights and kills is simply because its "thoroughly enjoyable." Though he accetps Kikyo's challenge, he subsequently shoulders his Banryu and departs without bloodshed. Kkyo accuses him of making excuses for his evil actions, but he replies that "dead people like you and I will probably share the same fate.", before walking off.

As the Band of Seven is slowly whittled down at the hands of Inuyasha and his friends, Bankotsu buries them and even succumbs momentairily to melancholy, asking their grave how its like to be dead again. He later kills Renkotsu for his treacherous murder of Jakotsu, Bankotsu's closest friend, for Jakotsu's jewel shard. Before he dies, Renkotsu accuses Bankotsu of using the Band of Seven in the same manner, and demands to know the difference between his treachery and Bankotsu's actions. After tearing the jewel shards from Renkotsu's neck, Bankotsu replies that the difference between him and Renkotsu was that "I would never betray my friends." When faced with the choice of fleeing and saving his own life, or staying to fight Inuyasha, he decides to avenge his six dead comrades by attacking Inuyasha. Naraku later mocks the now-deceased Bankotsu's sense of loyalty, claiming he should have fled with the Shikon jewel shards and lived, rather than staying and giving his life for the sake of his dead brothers. Bankotsu also has a sweet side that he only reveals to Jakotsu in the anime.

Physical description
Bankotsu is a lean-muscled young man due to years of training. He has a tattoo of a four-pointed star on his forehead and is generally very handsome. His eyes are a dark shade of cobalt and has tanned skin.

He wears a white pair of hakamas with a white haori that only has a blue patch on his shoulder. He also wears a type of iron armor over these clothes along with a shoulder guard attached. This is attached to the rest of the armor by a strip of red cloth. The armor is tied at the waist with a red obi or sash. His armor has a purple fern like pattern on it. He does not wear shoes, instead he has the traditional ninja footwear. Along with that he wears black gloves that are held in place by his middle fingers.

Powers & Abilities
Despite being an otherwise normal human, Bankotsu was an extremely powerful warrior. So much so he could defeat demons, which normally only Demon Slayers such as Sango could, or holy men and women like Miroku and Kagome. His strength is such that, despite only being a mere human, he is capable of equalling Inuyasha in battle prowess. After gaining more jewel shards, he arguably surpasses Inuysha's strength, and even taunts him for being weak. Upon slaying his 1,000th demon, Bankotsu's Banryū transformed into a powerful, demonic sword that could project the master's hatred into a powerful, destructive energy. Much like the nature of Sesshōmaru's Tōkijin, as noted by Inuyasha. Because of this transformation and the gaining of a demonic aura, Inuyasha was able to use the Bakuryūha which shattered Banryū and defeated Bankotsu. Bankotsu's most well known ability is being able to wield Banryū skillfully. Aside from that, he also seem to posses superhuman strength as seen in episode 110, when the lord mentions that the sword was heavy enough that three strong men were required to lift it. He also possesses great endurance, speed and agility, far above all the other members of his team.

Though highly proficient with Banryū, his weapon of choice, he also displays formidable skill in unarmed combat, as shown when he easily bests Renkotsu without his halberd, and later fights Inuyasha hand-to-hand. In the latter instance, it is shown that, despite Inuyasha's claws, Bankotsu holds a clear edge over Inuyasha, even after losing two of his jewel shards.

Weapon
Banryū (Barbaric Dragon): Nicknamed Bankotsu's "companion," Banryū is a giant halberd that, after being empowered by the shards of the Shikon Jewel, can manipulate lightning. In the series of episodes that compose the the Band of Seven arc, Bankotsu uses several Jewel shard fragments from his dead comrades Mukotsu and Kyōkotsu, as well as the two that Renkotsu stole from Kagome, to strengthen his own power and that of his weapon. The strengthened Banryū is shown to able to effectively deflect Inuyasha's Kaze no Kizu attack. The strength of Banryū, enhanced with the Shikon Jewel Shards, is seemingly equal to that of the Tessaiga. In the anime, Bankotsu, desiring yōki, made a wish on his Banryū, vowing to kill both 1,000 yōkai and 1,000 humans, so that it would gain demonic powers. It refers to the legend that, if a human were to ever kill 1,000 yōkai, he would gain powers that yōkai possess.

Relationships
After Suikotsu is killed, Bankotsu tells that Jakotsu that he's "The only one in the whole world I can trust!", affirming his admiration for his fellow mercenary. Additionally, during a flashback featured only in the anime, it is revealed that before the formation of the band of seven, Jakotsu and Bakotsu had been traveling together. This explains why their bond is so strong, they are friends, more than just comrades.
 * Jakotsu

Bankotsu acknowledges the fact that, despite Bankotsu's own cleverness, Renkotsu is "the smart one". Having him write the letter to the castle where they were executed, and giving Renkotsu what seems like the title of second in command of the rest of the mercenaries, letting him give his own orders to the others up until the point when Bankotsu is introduced.
 * Renkotsu

Trivia

 * His tattoo means Youth, which refers to him being the youngest member of the Band of Seven.
 * Though he did have at least one Shikon Jewel in his body, this suggest that his physical strength is comparable to Inuyasha's, a powerful hanyō in his own right. As Inuyasha has been shown to easily lift several tons with one arm, it's likely that Bankotsu is the strongest human character in the series.
 * The anime also took Bankotsu and Inuyasha's battle further to show that Bankotsu was the better grappler in terms of hand-to-hand, with Inuyasha evening out the playing field with his stamina and durability.
 * Despite having a demonic weapon Bankotsu is the only human that was never overcome by his sword's power where as other humans such as Tōshū and Kōtatsu have been killed and possessed by their own individual demonic weapons. Though this maybe attributed to his jewel shards.
 * At the end of episode 111, it shows Bankotsu inserting 4 shards Renkotsu stole from Kagome into Banryū, one of which was the large shard Kagome and Kikyō fused from Kagome's 3 shards in episode 98, making a total of 6 sacred jewel shards in Banryū's blade, and 9 total in Bankotsu's possession at this point in time. In episode 113 however, Kagome states that there are only 2 shards in the halberd. In episode 118, Jakotsu gives Suikotsu's shard to Bankotsu, and at the end of episode 120, Bankotsu takes the 3 shards from Renkotsu, bringing his total to 13.
 * Despite being the youngest member of the Band of Seven, he is often referred to as 'Big Brother' by the other mercenaries, e.g. Jakotsu and Renkotsu.