OVA
Description
Bandō is an operative in his mid-thirties for the National Police Agency's Special Assault Team, an elite tactical unit. He is a fully human soldier but displays a level of aggression and apathy that rivals the Diclonii he is sent to hunt. From his first appearance, Bandō is defined by a sadistic, arrogant, and bloodthirsty personality. He craves violent combat and becomes frustrated with training exercises that do not involve real killing. This desire for a genuine challenge initially excites him when he is assigned to recapture Lucy, a Diclonius who has escaped from a research facility.
Bandō’s primary role in the story is as an antagonist driven by a personal vendetta. In his first confrontation with Lucy, he attacks the amnesiac Nyu personality, which provokes the emergence of Lucy's ruthless alter ego. In the ensuing battle, Lucy easily overpowers him, severing his right arm, breaking his left arm, and destroying his eyes with her vectors. Left blind and bleeding, Bandō is saved by a homeless girl named Mayu, who applies a tourniquet and calls for help. This humiliating defeat becomes the central motivation for his character, transforming him from a government operative into a man obsessed with revenge.
Following his recovery, Bandō undergoes surgery to receive biomechanical implants, including bionic eyes and a myoelectric prosthetic hand. He escapes the hospital before a forced castration can be performed, as he has been infected with the Diclonius virus and any children he fathers would be born as Diclonii. His quest for vengeance leads him to acquire powerful custom.50 Action Express handguns, whose rounds are too powerful for Lucy's vectors to deflect at close range. He spends his time clearing a beach of debris to deprive Lucy of any projectiles she could use as weapons in their next encounter.
Despite his brutal nature, Bandō develops several key relationships that reveal a more complex personality. He forms a grudging bond with Mayu, whose kindness in saving his life creates a sense of obligation he cannot ignore. Though he maintains a gruff and violent exterior, he comes to her defense when she is attacked, demonstrating a protective instinct. He also forms a loose alliance with the Diclonius Nana, bonding over their shared experience of being maimed by Lucy. Furthermore, he prevents Chief Kurama from committing suicide after the death of Kurama's daughter, showing an unexpected capacity for compassion. Throughout the manga, Bandō’s character develops significantly as he begins to confront his own isolation and desire for human connection.
In the final battle of the manga, Bandō sacrifices himself to save Mayu from a fatal attack by Lucy, taking a blow that cuts him in half at the torso. As he dies in Mayu's arms, he reflects that he had always wanted someone to mourn for him, a wish he thought impossible due to his self-imposed isolation. In a final chapter, he is revealed to have survived, with his lower body replaced by bionics, and he returns to Mayu on the beach. The anime adaptation significantly reduces his role, omitting much of this development and his relationship with Mayu, leaving his fate more ambiguous after a second defeat by Lucy. Bandō’s notable abilities include expert combat training, high physical resilience, and after his surgery, enhanced vision and a powerful prosthetic arm. His true strength, however, lies in his tactical cunning and an unbreakable, obsessive will to fight.
Bandō’s primary role in the story is as an antagonist driven by a personal vendetta. In his first confrontation with Lucy, he attacks the amnesiac Nyu personality, which provokes the emergence of Lucy's ruthless alter ego. In the ensuing battle, Lucy easily overpowers him, severing his right arm, breaking his left arm, and destroying his eyes with her vectors. Left blind and bleeding, Bandō is saved by a homeless girl named Mayu, who applies a tourniquet and calls for help. This humiliating defeat becomes the central motivation for his character, transforming him from a government operative into a man obsessed with revenge.
Following his recovery, Bandō undergoes surgery to receive biomechanical implants, including bionic eyes and a myoelectric prosthetic hand. He escapes the hospital before a forced castration can be performed, as he has been infected with the Diclonius virus and any children he fathers would be born as Diclonii. His quest for vengeance leads him to acquire powerful custom.50 Action Express handguns, whose rounds are too powerful for Lucy's vectors to deflect at close range. He spends his time clearing a beach of debris to deprive Lucy of any projectiles she could use as weapons in their next encounter.
Despite his brutal nature, Bandō develops several key relationships that reveal a more complex personality. He forms a grudging bond with Mayu, whose kindness in saving his life creates a sense of obligation he cannot ignore. Though he maintains a gruff and violent exterior, he comes to her defense when she is attacked, demonstrating a protective instinct. He also forms a loose alliance with the Diclonius Nana, bonding over their shared experience of being maimed by Lucy. Furthermore, he prevents Chief Kurama from committing suicide after the death of Kurama's daughter, showing an unexpected capacity for compassion. Throughout the manga, Bandō’s character develops significantly as he begins to confront his own isolation and desire for human connection.
In the final battle of the manga, Bandō sacrifices himself to save Mayu from a fatal attack by Lucy, taking a blow that cuts him in half at the torso. As he dies in Mayu's arms, he reflects that he had always wanted someone to mourn for him, a wish he thought impossible due to his self-imposed isolation. In a final chapter, he is revealed to have survived, with his lower body replaced by bionics, and he returns to Mayu on the beach. The anime adaptation significantly reduces his role, omitting much of this development and his relationship with Mayu, leaving his fate more ambiguous after a second defeat by Lucy. Bandō’s notable abilities include expert combat training, high physical resilience, and after his surgery, enhanced vision and a powerful prosthetic arm. His true strength, however, lies in his tactical cunning and an unbreakable, obsessive will to fight.