Mitsuru Bando

Mitsuru takes considerable pride in his physical power and prefers straightforward close combat. He is confident enough in his strength to meet opponents head-on rather than relying on elaborate deception.

His loss to Ikki does not produce a lasting grudge. Instead, Mitsuru comes to regard him as a punching rival and a standard he wants to surpass, turning defeat into motivation to continue developing as a Storm Rider.

After Behemoth falls apart, Mitsuru shows enough independence to establish a new direction for himself rather than simply abandoning Air Trecks.

Mitsuru possesses myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy, giving his musculature extraordinary density and producing far greater strength than his appearance alone would suggest. Akira Udō possesses the same condition.

He combines this natural strength with Air Treck acceleration to produce devastating punches. During the Behemoth battle his combat level is measured at 78, reflecting the danger of his direct physical attacks even without a named Regalia.

His enormous forearm musculature also creates a weakness: his fingers move slightly more slowly than expected. Ikki notices this during their rock-paper-scissors-based exchange and uses the tiny delay to read Mitsuru's choices.

Mitsuru continues improving after Behemoth's dissolution and eventually reaches A-Class as leader of his own team, DIG.

Mitsuru appears as one of Behemoth's four major fighters when Kogarasumaru accepts the team's challenge. His matchup with Ikki initially appears heavily weighted in Mitsuru's favor because his raw punching power greatly exceeds Ikki's.

Ikki refuses to contest that strength directly. He turns their confrontation into a variation of rock-paper-scissors, exploiting Mitsuru's slower finger movement to predict his choices and counter him.

After Akira's defeat and Behemoth's dissolution, Mitsuru forms DIG and continues riding rather than disappearing with the old team. His progression from D-Class within Behemoth to an A-Class team leader shows that his loss to Ikki becomes a starting point for further development.

Itsuki Minami defeats Mitsuru during the Behemoth challenge. Mitsuru subsequently regards Ikki as his punching rival and wants another opportunity to surpass him.

Akira Udō is Mitsuru's leader in Behemoth and shares his unusual muscle condition.

Yasuyoshi Sano, Ryō Mimasaka and Fūmei Goshogawara fight alongside Mitsuru among Behemoth's strongest riders.

[Following Behemoth's dissolution, Mitsuru separates from Akira Udō's organization and creates his own team, DIG.](#spoiler)