Inui Banjin

Banjin is boastful, aggressive and obsessed with appearing unbeatable. His confidence rests heavily on his protective gauntlets, and he deliberately seeks circumstances in which he can demonstrate that an opponent's attacks supposedly cannot hurt him.

His reputation for fearlessness is less impressive under scrutiny. Sanosuke Sagara realizes that Banjin habitually chooses opponents weaker than himself and depends on his equipment to conceal his poor ability to absorb damage.

He is nevertheless an experienced fighter rather than a complete fool. During prolonged combat he can recognize when an approach is failing and alter his tactics, although pride repeatedly pushes him into unnecessary contests of strength.

Banjin practices Jutsu-Shiki Muteki-Ryu, a composite martial art combining elements from multiple older and newer fighting systems. Its techniques emphasize powerful strikes, aerial momentum and throws.

His techniques include Gofubaku, a crushing lariat-like blow; Raijin Guruma, an aerial spinning attack delivered with the forearms; and Ashura Sai, a maneuver in which he uses an opponent's body to gain height before seizing and violently throwing them by the neck.

Banjin's defining equipment is his pair of Tekkou, or Invulnerable Gauntlets. Their angled surfaces are designed to deflect blades and even bullets. After Sanosuke damages one of the original gauntlets, Enishi supplies Banjin with improved Neo-Invulnerable Gauntlets for their rematch.

Banjin joins Enishi's Jinchū group while claiming that he wants revenge for Tatsumi. His supposed devotion is fraudulent: Banjin considers Tatsumi a loser for having been defeated and uses his former master's fate primarily as an excuse to participate in violent competition.

His first major assignment is an attack on the Maekawa Dojo, one of the locations connected to Kenshin. There he encounters Sanosuke, whose straightforward hand-to-hand fighting style makes him Banjin's natural counterpart.

Sanosuke's Futae no Kiwami damages Banjin's supposedly invulnerable equipment. Banjin later receives upgraded gauntlets and faces Sanosuke again during the attack on the Kamiya Dojo, but his insistence on proving the equipment unbeatable gives Sanosuke another opportunity to destroy it and defeat him.

Sanosuke Sagara is Banjin's principal opponent. Both favor direct hand-to-hand combat, but Sanosuke quickly recognizes the insecurity underlying Banjin's claims of invincibility.

Tatsumi was Banjin's teacher in Jutsu-Shiki Muteki-Ryu and the leader of the Yaminobu. Banjin invokes Tatsumi's defeat as his justification for joining Jinchū while privately dismissing his former master as a loser.

Enishi Yukishiro organizes the Six Comrades and provides Banjin with upgraded equipment after his first gauntlets are damaged.

Hyougo Kujiranami, Hyouko Otowa, Mumyoi Yatsume and Gein are Banjin's fellow participants in Enishi's Jinchū campaign.

Kenshin Himura is the nominal target of Banjin's revenge claim, though Banjin's real motivation is proving his own strength.