Benkei

Benkei (弁慶) is a character appearing in Warriors Orochi Z. Historically, he was a former warrior monk who became Yoshitsune Minamoto's devoted companion after the latter became the first person to ever beat Benkei in a fight. He's voiced by Junichi Suwabe in the Japanese track.

Role in the Game
Benkei hails from the same world as Yoshitsune but the two got separated in the world created by Orochi. A collector of fine weapons, he desires to add more additions to gallery while he is searching for his friend. During his travels, he met Himiko and Da Ji, the latter promising to quench his wish for weapons if he helped her in battle. Unwittingly serving in the Orochi army, he meets Yoshitsune, who is upset to see his friend join forces with the villainous Da Ji. Due to the misunderstanding, Benkei is forced to defend himself from Yoshitsune. It's unknown if the two friends ever reconcile.

Personality
Confident and fearless, Benkei is a hot blooded guy who wants to get in the action. He is relatively impatient with others but has a good eye for weapons. Confident in his abilities, he states that taking his opponents' weapons is a trade; he beats them and takes their weapon in exchange for their lives. He remains unaware of the war with Orochi and merely wants to find Yoshitsune again. After he clashes with his friend, Benkei is confused by Yoshitsune's outburst and wonders what could have gotten into him. Himiko, who gradually warmed up to him, sympathizes with him and tries to cheer him up. Benkei appreciates her concerns but mispronounces her name at times, calling her "Himako" or "Humuko".

Fighting Style
Benkei's weapon, like Yoshitsune's, is a multi task weapon that can transform into a flamethrower, a cannon, and a flail. It also allows him to drill underneath the ground like the Sky Ninja from Samurai Warriors.

Historical Information
Stories about Benkei's birth vary considerably. One tells how his father was the head of a temple shrine who had raped his mother, the daughter of a blacksmith. Another sees him as the offspring of a temple god. Many give him the attributes of a demon, a monster child with wild hair and long teeth. In his youth Benkei may have been called Oniwaka — "demon/ogre child".

He joined the cloister at an early age and travelled widely among the monasteries of Japan. During this period, the Buddhist monasteries of Japan were important centres of administration and culture, but also military powers in their own right. Like many other monks, Benkei was probably trained in the use of the naginata. At the age of seventeen, he was said to have been over two metres (or 6.6 feet) tall. At this point he left the Buddhist monastery and became a yamabushi, a sect of mountain monks, who were recognised by their black caps. Japanese prints often show Benkei wearing this cap.

Benkei is said to have posted himself at Gōjō Bridge in Kyoto, where he deprived every passing swordsman of his weapon, eventually collecting 999 swords. On his 1000th duel, Benkei was defeated by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a son of the warlord Minamoto no Yoshitomo. Henceforth, he became a retainer of Yoshitsune and fought with him in the Genpei War against the Taira clan. Yoshitsune is credited with most of the Minamoto clan's successes against the Taira, especially the final naval battle of Dannoura. After their ultimate triumph, however, Yoshitsune's elder brother Minamoto no Yoritomo turned against him.

During the two year ordeal that followed, Benkei accompanied Yoshitsune as an outlaw. In the end they were encircled in the castle of Koromogawa no tate. As Yoshitsune retired to the inner keep of the castle to commit ritual suicide (seppuku) on his own, Benkei fought on at the bridge in front of the main gate to protect Yoshitsune. It is said that the soldiers were afraid to traverse the bridge to confront him, and all that did met swift death at the hands of the gigantic man. Long after the battle should have been over, the soldiers noticed that the arrow-riddled, wound-covered Benkei was standing still. When the soldiers dared to cross the bridge and look more closely, the giant fell to the ground, having been dead in a standing position for some time before that. This is known as the "Standing Death of Benkei" (弁慶の立往生, Benkei no Tachi Ōjō). It's speculated that this was due to the physical actions of the battle, which would have greatly hastened rigor mortis.

It is Benkei's loyalty and honour which makes him most attractive in Japanese folklore. One kabuki play places Benkei in a moral dilemma, caught between lying and protecting his lord in order to cross a bridge. The critical moment of the drama is its climax, where the monk realises his situation and vows to do what he must. In another play, Benkei even slays his own child to save the daughter of a lord. In the kabuki play Kanjinchō, filmed by Akira Kurosawa as The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail, Benkei must beat his own master (disguised as a porter) in order to avoid breaking his disguise.

Trivia

 * Though it isn't really his theme, a song that plays during one of his Dream Modes is called, "The Rule of Benkeism".

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