Character Profile: Bankotsu

Bankotsu both the most powerful and final member of the Shichinin-tai to make his presence felt. Despite his youthful appearance, he is the Shichinin-tai's leader. Naraku revived him, and ordered him to kill InuYasha, but his first order of business is retrieving Banryu, his halberd, that had been taken by the lords that beheaded him and his Shichinin-tai 10 years prior.

The scent of bloodshed from that battle draws InuYasha and company to Bankotsu, who has the Jewel fragments of his fallen comrades Kyokotsu and Mukotsu. Bankotsu was able to fight InuYasha without backing down, but soon realized that he was not powerful enough when his halberd was nicked by InuYasha's Wind Scar. He took the Jewel Shards Renkotsu stole from Kagome to repair his damaged blade, giving it the power to deflect the WindScar easily.

Bankotsu soon realizes just how deceptive Renkotsu has become, killing him when he learned Renkotsu murdered Jakotsu. Now with 7 fragments in his body and two in his halberd, Bankotsu headed off to destroy InuYasha once and for all deep inside Mount Hakurei. But InuYasha slowly cuts the Shikon shards out of Bankotsu's body as the battle progresses until Bankotsu was cut in two, with Naraku stripping the remaining half of its Shikon Jewels.

Bankotsu's first appearance was after a castle was destroyed (the castle with the same people that chopped the Shichinin-tai's heads off). InuYasha battled Bankotsu but he was different from the rest. Then his halberd, Banryu, gets a huge gash in it from the Wind Scar. Later, Kanna tells him that Renkotsu is hiding the Shikon Jewel Shards that he stole from Kagome. With the two Shikon shards, Banryu glows with scorching power.

His next appearance was on Hijiri Island on the foot of Mt. Hakurei. Because of the barrier, both Bankotsu's and InuYasha's powers were drained. However, when the barrier on the island was broken, both opponents' magic returned. Bankotsu used to fear the Wind Scar, but now with the powered-up Banryu, he slashes it away as if it were nothing. He first uses an attack called the Banryusen (Banryu Flash) which is a great gust of wind like in the opening credits, then he jumps in the air and creates a thunderstorm and unleashes the Ryuraisen (Thunder Dragon Flash) which sends lightning attacks all over the place.

After finding out Renkotsu betrayed the Shichinin-tai and took Jakotsu's shard, Bankotsu easily defeats him, taking Renkotsu's shards out of himself, Ginkotsu, and Jakotsu. Renkotsu asks him, "What is the difference of what I just did and what you are doing now!?". Bankotsu replies, "The difference is... I don't betray my comrades".

Bankotsu ends up being the only member of the Shichinin-tai left alive. He battles InuYasha one last time in Mt. Hakurei using waves of heat. He has two shards in both his arms and three in his neck, as well as the two shards in Banryu, making a total of nine shards. InuYasha, during the battle, takes the shards in his neck and right arm. At the end of the battle Bankotsu slashes Naraku's demons yelling, "991...992...993...994...995...996...997...998...999...1000!".

Suddenly Banryu glows in a red light and all of the other demons are destroyed in a blast of energy. InuYasha states that Banryu has the same aura as Sesshoumaru's Toukijin. Bankotsu says:

I was not born a demon. I was not blessed with the powers of the divine. That's where I placed my wish in my Banryu. After slaying 1000 shoguns and 1000 demons my sword now is a demon sword after tasting the blood of 2000 lives!

Bankotsu, thinking that he had won because of his new, improved Banryuu that was a lot more powerful, twirled it around making a huge amount of ki and fired it at InuYasha, unknown that InuYasha could unleash a Bakuryuuha attack. InuYasha, of course, used Bakuryuuha and blasted the whole thing back at Bankotsu who tried to deflect it with his Banryuu but was unsuccessful in doing so. Banryuu shattered and fried in the heat as well as the lower half of Bankotsu's body. His upper half survived because he still had Shikon jewel shards in his left wrist.

Bankotsu, at the brink of death, is confused as to why InuYasha didn't die. InuYasha explains that he was too greedy for power. Suddenly the walls of Mt. Hakurei turn into flesh and Bankotsu's body becomes engulfed in tentacles. In Naraku's chamber, Naraku takes all of Bankotsu's, InuYasha's, and Banryu's shards. Naraku turns into a full demon and the Shichinin-tai become extinct forever.

Bankotsu's name broken down means "Barbarian Bone" but it also means "Reckless Courage".