Special Features: Bankotsu is not as clever and Renkotsu and he knows it so he is always suspicious that Renkotsu is hiding something from him. Other than that he is a powerful fighter with his Banryuu, an enormous sword and he is very interested in fighting Inuyasha.

Description: He wears rather rich-looking clothing, and wears his hair in a long braid reaching past his waist. He's easily identified by the purple cross-shaped marking on his forehead.

Weapon: The halberd itself originated from a ceremonial staff-weapon that was used to indicate rank or escort important people. Also used as a symbol of authority and high-rank, training in using such a weapon was very extensive.

Considering that the Banryuu is more of a sword-scythe combo rather than most halberd's which are axe-scythe or axe-spear combos, the training to use such a weapon would be even more challenging and would require great upper body strength to wield it properly. The Banryuu itself seems to be a combination of a halberd & a zanbatou's design. (the Zanbatou being a large sword used to kill men & the horses they rode on in one slice) Zanbatou's were only used for a short amount of time due to their weight making them hard for everyday soldiers to use properly.

The fact that someone of Bankotsu's height & weight can so easily manage a weapon such as the Banryuu speaks volumes on how strong the young leader actually is. Not only does such a weapon require tremendous amounts of upper body strength, but his ability to jump while fighting and spin the Banryuu around to slice downward also shows that he must have strong leg muscles and dexterous fingers.

Definitely someone you wouldn't want to judge by his slender frame alone, Bankotsu proves himself not only a skilled fighter with his Banryuu, but can also fare well in hand-to-hand combats.

Bankotsu, like many soldiers of the day, also considers his preferred weapon to be "his partner" or "his buddy." This terminology indicates that he has been through many battles with the Banryuu and that perhaps, it holds some special symbolic meaning to him that we aren't aware of. Overall, Bankotsu & his Banryuu are a deadly team that very very few have seen and lived to tell about.

Relationships: Not that Bankotsu is one to single people out or show favoritism, he does openly express a deeper connection and emotion towards Jakotsu than anyone else he interacts with. From the moment you first see the two of them together, you pick up that there's a different relationship between them than those of the other Shichinin-tai members.

Jakotsu's always more cheerful and excited to see Bankotsu than the others, and Bankotsu seems to respect Jakotsu's opinions on matters (He even asks Jakotsu if they should trust Naraku or not, when only Bankotsu himself has met Naraku). This relationship also tends to make Bankotsu's rivalry with InuYasha only worse, obviously somewhat irritated by Jakotsu's infatuation with the dog-eared hanyou. (in the manga for example, Bankotsu shows signs of jealously when Jakotsu whines about having to go after Sesshoumaru and not InuYasha, saying the line, "It's an unrequited love. Get over it.") The epitome of scenes between the two though, is the scene in episode 118 (volume 27 of the manga) in which Jakotsu hands over Suikotsu's shard. During this touching scene, Bankotsu begins to cry because Jakotsu is giving the shard to him.

Then, he wraps his arm around Jakotsu's shoulders and tells him "You're the only one in the world I can really rely on. Even if you're a bit weird" This is the last time the two of them get to be together before Jakotsu's death at the hands of Renkotsu.

When he comes to discover that Renkotsu was the one to end Jakotsu's life, Bankotsu becomes furious, and also seems deeply upset and in a state of mourning that exceeds that which he's shown for the other members. Obviously, Bankotsu and Jakotsu shared some strong bond that wasn't there between Bankotsu and the other members of the Shichinin-tai

His Story: Other than being the leader of the Shichinin-tai, Bankotsu also seems to be close-connected with Jakotsu, more than all of the members of the Shichinin-tai. Jakotsu talks to him often outside of battles, and Bankotsu the same. They sit down often to just "hang" or drink sake together. They seem at ease with each other, although Jakotsu speaks to Bankotsu in a slightly polite way because of Bankotsu's status. Bankotsu also cares for Jakotsu, possibly more than Jakotsu cares from him. At the time of Jakotsu's death, Bankotsu had such a sad expression on his voice unseen since then. Nor does he wear it again, only at the time of his own death, for obvious reasons. Jakotsu and Bankotsu are close, definitely sharing a "brother" connection. From watching the anime, the anime revealed facts that Jakotsu and Bankotsu were fighting together even before the formation of the Shichinin-tai. It's not given when and how they met up, but they sounded very close to each other. When Bankotsu thought of the idea of the Shichinin-tai, Jakotsu wasn't sure of whether he was serious or not, but agreed to go along with it because he respected his friend.

Although Bankotsu is the last of the Shichinin-tai to appear, he is the leader of the infamous group of seven mercenaries hailing from the east. Ironically, he is also the youngest of the group; at the time of his execution, he was around 17 years old. Despite his youth, he is the strongest of the seven - clearly evident by the way he is able to pick up his great halberd, Banryuu.

Decades after his and his partners' demise, he was resurrected with the objective to kill Inuyasha and anyone associated with him, a task given to him by Naraku. Bankotsu is therefore kept alive by three shards of the Shikon no Kakera in his neck - one belonging to him, and the other two belonging to his fallen "brothers", Kyoukotsu and Mukotsu.

While together with the rest of the Shichinin-tai, Bankotsu seems at ease, showing that the Shichinin-tai is indeed a close-knit group. However, should any of the lower-ranking members turn on him, he will be unmerciful to them for what they've done. This is proven when he discovers that Renkotsu, second in command of the Shichinin-tai, has betrayed him by stealing Shikon fragments in his desperation to live. Bankotsu then killed him after finding out that he betrayed him.

After his partners' deaths, he comes to have one last encounter with Inuyasha at Mount Hakurei -- and quite an energetic one at that, as it turned out to be more of a boxing match than anything. Bankotsu grew a bit weaker than he was previously as Inuyasha extracted the shards he held within him, and as the two were about to strike each other for the final blow, Inuyahsa literally bissected him, causing his lower half to turn back to dust (note, this version of Bankotsu's death occurs only in the manga.). Soon, what is left of the now dead Bankotsu returns to dust as Naraku takes his last shards.

Bankotsu's name contains the kanji for "barbarian" and the kanji for "bone", therefore giving it the literal translation of "barbarian bone". It can also be read as "brute courage" and "recklessness".