Bantu

Bantu Artwork of Bantu from Mystery of the Emblem. A survivor of the Fire Dragon tribe. Fought alongside Marth in the War of Shadows.

Gender Male Race Manakete (Fire Dragon) Starting class Manakete Voiced by Joe J. Thomas (English, Heroes) Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese, Heroes) Appearance(s) Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light Mystery of the Emblem Shadow Dragon New Mystery of the Emblem Heroes

“	...This will be a most perilous journey. Ever since the Medeus episode, man has started to view us Manaketes as dangerous. And therefore, no matter the reason, we must not wield our dragonstone. So, we have no choice but to stand between man and Manakete.	”	— Bantu, to Tiki

Bantu (Japanese: バヌトゥ Banutu) is an Archanean manakete and a survivor of the fire dragon clan. He acted as a guardian and surrogate parent to Tiki, the divine dragon princess, having freed her from her endless sleep in the Ice Dragon Temple after taking pity on her plight. The two traveled the world until they were twice separated, first by Gharnef abducting Tiki in the War of Shadows, and again afterward in the War of Heroes when Gotoh retook custody of Tiki from him; in his quests to find her again, he allied with the Hero-King Marth in his liberation army.

Biography

Bantu taking Tiki away from the Ice Dragon Temple.

Bantu acted as a servant of the Divine Dragon King Naga. For centuries, he was the guardian of Tiki, Naga's daughter, at the Ice Dragon Temple: a building that harbored Tiki during her deep slumber, as wished by Naga. Eventually, Bantu decided to defy the deceased Naga and take Tiki away to a human village.

After a decade away from the Ice Dragon Temple, Tiki was kidnapped by Gharnef, causing Bantu to go on a search for her. During the War of Shadows in 604 AC, he met Prince Marth in a village at Lefcandith and proceeded to accompany the prince's army, the Archanean League, during his search. Bantu had also retrieved his firestone from Marth, which he had lost at Pyrathi previously. Eventually, Tiki was located within the Fane of Raman, where she was mind-controlled by Gharnef to attack the League. Bantu managed bring her back to her senses and finally reunite with her. After the war, Bantu sealed his dragonstone and proceeded in living peacefully with Tiki; he also had a personal desire to live out his years in the Dolhrian countryside.

During the War of Heroes, Bantu lost custody of Tiki, who was now looked after by Gotoh. In a village on the central islet of the Chiasmir Strait, he met with Marth and joined with his army. After the war, Bantu sealed his dragonstone again and disappeared with the intent to silently watch over the world. Previously, he had decided to seek out lonesome Manaketes in distress and arranged for Tiki—relieved of Gotoh's care—to live in Archanea's capital, rather than take her with him; though at some point, he also evidentially brought Tiki back to the human village after the war.

In approximately the year 2600, during the events of Awakening, Bantu is implied to still be alive and has interacted with the fellow manakete Nowi.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light

Role

Bantu had traveled to a small village in Lefcandith Valley in his search for Tiki, who had been separated from him and abducted by Gharnef some time earlier. When Marth visited the village, Bantu told him how crucial finding Tiki is and joined his army, although having lost his firestone during his travels in Pyrathi he was initially unable to fight.

Bantu was reunited with Tiki during Marth's raid on the Fane of Raman, where he freed her from Gharnef's hypnosis and took her back into his care in Marth's army.

Starting stats and growth rates

Manakete
Level	1
Movement	6
Experience	0

Recruitment: Chapter 7, visit the village

Stats Growth Rates

Max HP	18	Speed	4
Strength	2	Luck	1
Skill	3	Defense	3
W. Level	2	Resistance	0

Max HP	10%	Speed	0%
Strength	0%	Luck	10%
Skill	10%	Defense	0%
W. Level	0%	Resistance	0%

{{{content3}}}

{{{content4}}}

{{{content5}}}

{{{content6}}}

{{{content7}}}

{{{content8}}}

{{{content9}}}

{{{content10}}}

{{{content11}}}

{{{content12}}}

{{{content13}}}

{{{content14}}}

{{{content15}}}

Inventory
--
Weapons Sword ✘ Lance ✘ Axe ✘ Bow ✘ Tome ✘ Staff ✘ Ballista ✘ Stone ✔

Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem

Part One

Role

Bantu had traveled to a small village in Lefcandith Valley in his search for Tiki, who had been separated from him and abducted by Gharnef some time earlier. When Marth visited the village, Bantu told him how crucial finding Tiki is and joined his army, although having lost his firestone during his travels in Pyrathi he was initially unable to fight.

Bantu was reunited with Tiki during Marth's raid on the Fane of Raman, where he freed her from Gharnef's hypnosis and took her back into his care in Marth's army.

Starting stats and growth rates

Manakete
Level	1
Movement	5
Experience	0

Recruitment: Chapter 6, visit the village

Stats Growth Rates

Max HP	18	Luck	1
Strength	2	W. Level	2
Skill	3	Defense	3
Speed	4	Resistance	1

Max HP	10%	Luck	10%
Strength	0%	W. Level	0%
Skill	0%	Defense	0%
Speed	0%	Resistance	3%

{{{content3}}}

{{{content4}}}

{{{content5}}}

{{{content6}}}

{{{content7}}}

{{{content8}}}

{{{content9}}}

{{{content10}}}

{{{content11}}}

{{{content12}}}

{{{content13}}}

{{{content14}}}

{{{content15}}}

Weapons	Items
--	--
Weapons Sword ✘ Lance ✘ Axe ✘ Bow ✘ Tome ✘ Staff ✘

Part Two

Role

During Marth's crossing of the Chiasmir bridge following his visit to the Fane of Raman, Bantu awaited him in a village, his firestone again stolen by a thief. When Marth visited the village, Bantu told him of how Tiki had been taken back into Gotoh's custody, then joined his army once more.

Starting stats and growth rates

Manakete
Level	3
Movement	5
Experience	0

Recruitment: Chapter 8, visit the village

Stats Growth Rates

Max HP	18	Luck	1
Strength	2	W. Level	2
Skill	3	Defense	3
Speed	4	Resistance	1

Max HP	10%	Luck	10%
Strength	0%	W. Level	0%
Skill	0%	Defense	0%
Speed	0%	Resistance	3%

{{{content3}}}

{{{content4}}}

{{{content5}}}

{{{content6}}}

{{{content7}}}

{{{content8}}}

{{{content9}}}

{{{content10}}}

{{{content11}}}

{{{content12}}}

{{{content13}}}

{{{content14}}}

{{{content15}}}

Weapons	Items
--	--
Weapons Sword ✘ Lance ✘ Axe ✘ Bow ✘ Tome ✘ Staff ✘

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

Role

Bantu had traveled to a small village in Lefcandith Valley in his search for Tiki, who had been separated from him and abducted by Gharnef some time earlier. When Marth visited the village, Bantu told him how crucial finding Tiki is and joined his army, although having lost his firestone during his travels in Pyrathi he was initially unable to fight.

Bantu was reunited with Tiki during Marth's raid on the Fane of Raman, where he freed her from Gharnef's hypnosis and took her back into his care in Marth's army.

Starting stats and growth rates

Manakete
Level	1
Movement	6

Recruitment: Chapter 7, visit the village

Stats Growth Rates

Max HP	20	Speed	4
Strength	2	Luck	1
Magic	0	Defense	3
Skill	3	Resistance	1

Max HP	40%	Speed	10%
Strength	20%	Luck	10%
Magic	10%	Defense	10%
Skill	20%	Resistance	0%

{{{content3}}}

{{{content4}}}

{{{content5}}}

{{{content6}}}

{{{content7}}}

{{{content8}}}

{{{content9}}}

{{{content10}}}

{{{content11}}}

{{{content12}}}

{{{content13}}}

{{{content14}}}

{{{content15}}}

Inventory
--
Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Analysis

This character analysis section may not be accurate to every player's experience.

When he is equipped with a Firestone, Bantu gains +8 Strength, +4 Skill, +4 Speed, +9 Defense, and +4 Resistance. The Firestone itself also has 15 Mt, giving Bantu a total Atk of 25 at his base level.

Bantu deals heavy damage, has solid Defense, higher movement than the Armor Knights, letting him pass as a temporary tank on low difficulty levels. Unfortunately, he is very difficult to use long-term due to his horrendous growths and low HP and Speed. Once he starts getting double attacked, he becomes a liability in combat, even when fighting regular enemies. This problem grows more severe on harder difficulty levels, where enemies will double attack him even sooner and deal high damage despite his Defense. His low Luck also makes him vulnerable to low-percentage critical hits.

Despite being a lacking unit in his own right, Bantu is required to recruit Tiki, so he is worth recruiting and keeping alive for that reason alone.

Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

Role

During Marth's crossing of the Chiasmir bridge following his visit to the Fane of Raman, Bantu awaited him in a village, his firestone again stolen by a thief. When Marth visited the village, Bantu told him of how Tiki had been taken back into Gotoh's custody, then joined his army once more.

Starting stats and growth rates

Manakete
Level	3
Movement	6

Recruitment: Chapter 8, visit the village

Stats Growth Rates

Max HP	18	Speed	4
Strength	2	Luck	1
Magic	0	Defense	3
Skill	3	Resistance	1

Max HP	40%	Speed	10%
Strength	20%	Luck	10%
Magic	10%	Defense	10%
Skill	20%	Resistance	5%

{{{content3}}}

{{{content4}}}

{{{content5}}}

{{{content6}}}

{{{content7}}}

{{{content8}}}

{{{content9}}}

{{{content10}}}

{{{content11}}}

{{{content12}}}

{{{content13}}}

{{{content14}}}

{{{content15}}}

Inventory
--
Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Analysis

This character analysis section may not be accurate to every player's experience.

Bantu is the first Manakete who joins, making him the only unit who can use the mighty Firestone, which lets him deal good damage, albeit with mediocre hit. Unfortunately, just about everything else about Bantu is terrible. His base stats are atrocious, even with the help of a Firestone; while his defense is good his HP is very bad, so even on Hard mode he struggles to take more than 2 hits from an enemy, and on Lunatic enemies hit hard enough where he will be one-shot by every enemy in his join chapter, making him functionally useless on Lunatic' against any enemy who can attack at 1-range. His growths are similarly horrid, with only his HP surpassing 20%, causing him to quickly fall behind the enemies he was already struggling against. Due to being in a special class, Bantu cannot reclass and is trapped in a 6 movement, 1 range infantry class for the entirety of the game.

Fire Emblem Awakening

Role

Bantu does not personally appear, but is still alive in the era of Ylisse: Nowi claims to have met him during Chrom's campaign, although she struggles to remember his name properly.

Fire Emblem Heroes

Main article: Bantu/Heroes

There is one variation of Bantu available in Heroes.

Personality

Bantu possesses a kind, gentle and grandfatherly spirit, which motivated him to act as a surrogate parent to Tiki in light of her once-bleak life. In his gentleness he is also firm, never hesitating to reprimand or criticize Tiki should she do something wrong, but doing so in a way which guides her into learning what the correct course of action would have been and thus encouraging her to do the right thing. During the War of Heroes, Bantu came to believe that he has a responsibility to aid impoverished and suffering manaketes across Archanea, and so resolved to search for such manaketes and to convince them to cease using their dragonstones in a bid to keep the peace between humans and the dragonkin.

Bantu is skilled at a form of pickling vegetables, born of his determination to find a way to make Tiki like eating vegetables. His pickling method involves burying the vegetables underneath certain kinds of stones for roughly a century.

Supports

Mystery of the Emblem

Bantu Manakete Supports: None. [[{{{supportg1}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonusg1}}} [[{{{supportg2}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonusg2}}} [[{{{supportg3}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonusg3}}} Supported by: Tiki Manakete Bonus: 10 [[{{{supporto2}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonuso2}}}

See Support § Super Famicom games for more details on supports.

Shadow Dragon

Bantu Manakete Mutual supports: None. [[{{{supportm1}}}]] Bishop C: {{{cm1}}} B: {{{bm1}}} A: {{{am1}}} [[{{{supportm2}}}]] Bishop C: {{{cm2}}} B: {{{bm2}}} A: {{{am2}}} [[{{{supportm3}}}]] Bishop C: {{{cm3}}} B: {{{bm3}}} A: {{{am3}}} [[{{{supportm4}}}]] Bishop C: {{{cm4}}} B: {{{bm4}}} A: {{{am4}}} [[{{{supportm5}}}]] Bishop C: {{{cm5}}} B: {{{bm5}}} A: {{{am5}}} Supported by:* Tiki Manakete C: 5 B: 8 A: 10 Nagi Manakete C: 5 B: 35 A: 35 [[{{{supporto3}}}]] Bishop C: {{{co3}}} B: {{{bo3}}} A: {{{ao3}}} [[{{{supporto4}}}]] Bishop C: {{{co4}}} B: {{{bo4}}} A: {{{ao4}}} [[{{{supporto5}}}]] Bishop C: {{{co5}}} B: {{{bo5}}} A: {{{ao5}}}

See Support § Nintendo DS games for more details on supports.

New Mystery of the Emblem

Bantu Manakete Mutual supports: Tiki Manakete C: 5 B: 10 A: -- [[{{{supportm2}}}]] Bishop C: {{{cm2}}} B: {{{bm2}}} A: {{{am2}}} [[{{{supportm3}}}]] Bishop C: {{{cm3}}} B: {{{bm3}}} A: {{{am3}}} [[{{{supportm4}}}]] Bishop C: {{{cm4}}} B: {{{bm4}}} A: {{{am4}}} [[{{{supportm5}}}]] Bishop C: {{{cm5}}} B: {{{bm5}}} A: {{{am5}}} Supported by:* Kris Mercenary C: 5 B: 10 A: 16 Nagi Manakete C: 2 B: -- A: -- [[{{{supporto3}}}]] Bishop C: {{{co3}}} B: {{{bo3}}} A: {{{ao3}}} [[{{{supporto4}}}]] Bishop C: {{{co4}}} B: {{{bo4}}} A: {{{ao4}}} [[{{{supporto5}}}]] Bishop C: {{{co5}}} B: {{{bo5}}} A: {{{ao5}}}

See Support § Nintendo DS games for more details on supports.

Base conversations

Main article: Bantu/Conversations

Endings

Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light

Bantu
Put away his firestone. Spends his time in the countryside of Dolhr.

Mystery of the Emblem

Part One

Bantu, Fire Dragon
Bantu sealed his dragonstone and disappeared. But his wish was to live out his years quietly in the Dolhrian countryside.

Part Two

Bantu, Tiki's Guardian
He cast away his dragonstone, leaving for parts unknown. Even as centuries pass, rumors abound that he yet lives...

Shadow Dragon

Bantu - Fire Dragon
Bantu sealed the dragonstones' power and disappeared, but his wish was to live out his years in the Dolhrian countryside.

New Mystery of the Emblem

Bantu - Tiki's Guardian
Bantu left after discarding his dragonstone, his whereabouts unknown.

Quotes

Death quotes

“	Tiki...	”	— Bantu, in Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.

“	Tiki... Forgive me...	”	— Bantu, Mystery of the Emblem.

“	Forgive me, Tiki...	”	— Bantu, in Shadow Dragon.

“	Forgive me... Tiki...	”	— Bantu, in Classic Mode in New Mystery of the Emblem.

“	How terrible... It seems... I must retreat...	”	— Bantu, in Casual Mode in New Mystery of the Emblem.

Everyone's Conditions quotes

“	Hoho, how splendid. I feel like I'm young again... Well, maybe not that much.	”	— When receiving a temporary stat boost in New Mystery of the Emblem.

“	Training is a bit difficult for my age... Oooh, I think I need to lie down for a bit.	”	— When receiving experience in New Mystery of the Emblem.

“	Hmm? What is this...? I wonder if it could double as a pickling stone...	”	— When finding an item in New Mystery of the Emblem.

“	...Hmm? What was I going to do again?	”	— When failing to receive a bonus in New Mystery of the Emblem.

“	Ahh, I do wonder about that young one. Huh, what was their name...? Err... Kris... was it?	”	— When receiving support with Kris in New Mystery of the Emblem.

Heroes quotes

Main article: Bantu/Quotes (Heroes)

Other appearances

Fire Emblem Cipher

Bantu is featured on one card in Fire Emblem Cipher.

Fire Emblem Cipher data for Bantu
	Guardian of the Dragon Princess, Bantu
		"Hey, you. Did you see a young girl named Tiki?"
		Attack: 30	Support: 20	Range: 1	Deploy Cost: 2
		Class: Manakete		Tier: Base	Class Change Cost: --
		Servant of the Divine Dragon: [Always] While you have an allied "Tiki", this unit gains 30 attack. Lost Dragonstone: [Trigger] [Once per turn] When this unit finishes a battle with an attacking unit, this unit loses 30 attack and the and affinities until the end of the turn.
	Card #P02-003PR • Artist: Mikihiro Taguchi/Crowd Gate Co., Ltd.
Some card information translation provided by Serenes Forest. For more detailed strategic information on these cards, see their TCG wiki article on Bantu .

Flavor text

Game	Text (English)	Text (Japanese)
New Mystery of the Emblem	A survivor of the Fire Dragon tribe. Fought alongside Marth in the War of Shadows.	火竜族の生き残り。 暗黒戦争では、マルスの仲間として戦った。

Trivia

• Bantu is the only male playable character of the Manakete class in the entire Fire Emblem series. While Xane and Gotoh are both manaketes, they have discarded their dragon powers and taken other classes.
• Bantu is depicted with red eyes in Mystery of the Emblem, but has blue eyes in Shadow Dragon and New Mystery of the Emblem.
• In Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, Bantu's portrait is an edited and recolored variation of Gharnef's portrait.
• In the Mystery of the Emblem Hideo Takayashiki novels, "Bantu" is actually Bantu's surname and what he goes by; "Meola" (Japanese メオラ) is his given name.

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language	Name	Definition, etymology, and notes
English	Bantu	Bantu can refer to the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages or the peoples speaking those languages.
English (unofficial)	Banutu	Popularly known by this name prior to the English release of Shadow Dragon.
Japanese	バヌトゥ	Officially romanized as Banutu.
Spanish	Bantu	--
French	Bantu	--
German	Bantu	--
Italian	Bantu	--
Portuguese (Brazil)	Bantu	--
Traditional Chinese	巴努托	Banutu

Gallery

Official artwork

• 
  Artwork of Bantu, Tiki, and Xane from All of Fire Emblem.
• 
  Artwork of Bantu from Mystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Artwork of Bantu and Tiki from Memorial Book Akaneia Chronicle.

CG images

• 
  CG image featuring Bantu from New Mystery of the Emblem.

Portraits

• 
  Portrait of Bantu: Tiki's Guardian in Heroes.

Heroes artwork

Character artwork

• 
  Artwork of Bantu: Tiki's Guardian.
• 
  Artwork of Bantu: Tiki's Guardian.
• 
  Artwork of Bantu: Tiki's Guardian.
• 
  Artwork of Bantu: Tiki's Guardian.

Meet some of the Heroes artwork

• 
  Artwork of Bantu: Tiki's Guardian.
• 
  Artwork of Bantu: Tiki's Guardian.
• 
  Artwork of Bantu: Tiki's Guardian.
• 
  Artwork of Bantu: Tiki's Guardian.
• 
  Bantu in artwork of Tiki: Dragon Scion.
• 
  Bantu in artwork of Tiki: Torpid Dragon.
• 
  Bantu in artwork of Tiki: Fated Divinity.

Cipher artwork

• 
  Artwork of Bantu.
• 
  Bantu in artwork of Tiki.

References

This article is part of Project Characters, a project focused on writing articles for every character present in the Fire Emblem series.