Banjuro Tokieda

A knife works best when nobody sees it coming, and that is the role Banjuro Tokieda plays inside the Bureau of Espionage. Behind his easy, unassuming smile sits a hitman's history stretching from Japan to Russia, and it shows in how casually he handles the messiest jobs handed to him.

Banjuro Tokieda’s Story Role

Before joining the Bureau, Tokieda made his living as a mercenary, fleeing to the mainland after crossing yakuza gangs and the police. His path took him through the Korean Peninsula and China before landing him in Russia, where he picked up the language and folded the martial art of Systema into his own fighting style. He returned to Japan once the Soviet Union collapsed, only to be gravely wounded while battling a mononoke bodyguard during an underworld job. That encounter pulled him into the Bureau’s orbit, and he now serves as a lieutenant to Toko Kusumi, just as comfortable behind the wheel of a car as he is in a fight.

Banjuro Tokieda’s Personality

Superiors once floated the idea of promoting Tokieda into a managerial role, then thought better of it given his past, and he agreed with the decision himself. He describes himself as a tool, something to be picked up and used rather than a leader of others. That soft-spoken, courteous exterior isn’t warmth so much as muscle memory from years spent surviving the underworld by staying likable.

Who Voices Banjuro Tokieda in Black Torch?

Mick Lauer provides the English dub performance, a voice actor also recognized for playing Yoriichi Tsugikuni in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Leone Abbacchio in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind. The Japanese performance comes from Hochu Otsuka, a veteran actor best known for voicing Jiraiya in Naruto and Sakonji Urokodaki in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.