—Bantu in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon.
Bantu is a playable character in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, and their remakes.
Profile
Little is known about Bantu's background outside his history with Tiki and his strong resistance to madness, unlike other Manaketes.
Prior to the events of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and its remakes, Bantu took pity on the Divine Dragon Tiki, who was sent to sleep in the Ice Dragon Temple by her mother to protect her from lapsing into insanity. He then chose to, against Gotoh's strict instructions, rouse her from her slumber and thereafter explore the human realm with her. At some point of time during his travels with her, the two were separated. When Marth visits the Lefcandith village that he later takes up temporary residence in in Chapter 7, Bantu, in a state of panicked agitation, urges him to aid him in locating Tiki. The pair is reunited in the Fane of Raman in Chapter 19, where he is instrumental in freeing her from the spell of hypnosis that Gharnef had placed on her. After the end of the War of Shadows, Bantu seals the power of the dragonstones and takes Tiki to live a life of tranquility in the Dolhrian countryside.
Some time preceding the events of Book 2 of Mystery of the Emblem and its remake, Bantu and Tiki are separated yet again, as Gotoh makes the decision to return her to sleep in the Ice Dragon Temple. When Marth later encounters Bantu in the eastern village on an island by Cashmere Bridge in Chapter 8, Tiki's fate is made known to him, and Bantu thereafter chooses to enlist in his army. Bantu will then aid Marth in bringing the War of Heroes to an end, and after abandoning his Firestone, sets out for parts unknown. Some light on this journey is shed in his final base conversation with Tiki in New Mystery of the Emblem, where that he seeks to find, and help other kindhearted Manaketes similar to himself, who are viewed more then ever with fear, and loathing by mankind in light of Dolhr's actions in the past two wars. Bantu explains he intends to provide moral support to those Manaketes in their desolation, and show to humanity that not all Manaketes are bad. Before this journey, Bantu promises to return by the time Tiki is a little bit taller, roughly his height.
Apparently, Bantu has lived and endured long enough to meet Nowi, a Manakete born 1000 years after the events of the War of Shadows and Heroes.
Personality
Bantu can best be perceived to be in possession of a gentle, docile disposition, a fact made evident through the mild register that he employs in his speech. An example illustrating this is that of the second recruitment conversation with Marth, where, despite being aware of the ongoing chaos outside the village he has taken up residence in, he still speaks in an affable manner nevertheless.
Further bolstering Bantu's personality is the fact that he is rather tender-hearted, where he uses his heart as a moral compass more than he does his mind. This is proven through his taking pity on Tiki's plight, electing to defy Gotoh's orders by rousing her from her slumber and taking her away from the Ice Dragon Temple to explore the human realm. Bantu's interactions with Tiki also reveal an inclination to be patient, one that he exercises in obliging to her whims. His first base conversation with Tiki, for one, sees him not reprimanding her for having broken Marth's mirror, choosing instead to calm her down and coax her into believing that she had been forgiven by Marth.
In spite of his forbearing countenance, Bantu evidently wields a very strong will; one that is strong enough to resist being driven to madness like the bulk of his kin was. Bantu is shown to possess a strong moral compass, and unlike many of his kind, refuses to hate humans.
In Game
Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
Recruitment
| Name | Class | Chapter | Affiliation | Recruit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bantu | Manakete | 7 | None | Visit the southern Village enclosed within the circular mountain range. |
Base Stats
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Manakete | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Wlv | Mov |
| 1 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
| Dragonstone | - | ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Wlv | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | 0% | 10% | 0% | 10% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Overall
Bantu is an interesting unit; he possesses extremely low growths and seemingly low base stats, but his unique weapon makes him a powerful unit for much of the game. When wielding his exclusive weapon, the Firestone, Bantu gains a massive 12 stat boost to his Defense, giving him 15 defense. Bantu's massive defense makes him a perfect tank, able to shrug off attacks from the majority of enemies in the game, with magic users being the only regular threat to his scaly hide.
Not only does the Firestone give defense to Bantu, the weapon has a might of 16, significantly higher then silver weapons and thus allowing Bantu to deal significant damage to enemy units throughout the game. The Firestone has a very low weight of 3, giving Bantu opportunities to Double Attack. Best of all, the Firestone is entirely unbreakable, meaning the player can use it to their hearts content.
In chapter 19, Bantu is able to recruit fellow Manakete, Tiki, a powerful unit and one of the only two units to possess a higher base defense then Bantu(the only other unit with a base defense above 15 is General Lorenz.
Due to Bantu's low growth rates, it is advisable not to let Bantu deal too many finishing blows on many enemies, instead it is best to use other units deal the coup de gras on Bantu's foe for the EXP. If the player needs another unit for the lategame, Bantu does well when given Stat boosters to further empower him, a single Speedwing allows him to keep up with the other lategame units.
All in all, Bantu is a unit that shouldn't be overlooked.
Mystery of the Emblem
Recruitment
Base Stats
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Wlv | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | 0% | 10% | 0% | 10% | 0% | 0% | 3% |
Overall
While Bantu's growth rates remain some of the worst in the game, his base stats as a Fire Dragon are higher than most Enemy Dragons in the early to mid game. Bantu's Fire Breath ignores enemy defense, his considerable stats for the period allow him to kill, or greatly weaken enemy units with ease early on, allowing others in your army to finish off the weakened enemies for the EXP.
Like all Dragon units, Bantu has his defense taken into account when attacked by breath weapons, this allows him to act as a tank against enemy dragons, and block dragon reinforcement points. Bantu's fire breath is extremely effective against enemy Ice Dragons, killing them in one attack, or weakening them enough for others to finish them off.
As mentioned, Bantu's stats are extremely poor, if Bantu is close to leveling, and no one else is in need of it, Starsphere Shards can be used to considerably boost his growths. Due to how dragons work in the game, it is recommended to give Bantu shards that increase Defense such as the Cancer shard(increases defense growth by 50%).
Unless Bantu has grown particularly well with Starsphere shards, it is recommended to retire him by the time Tiki is recruited. Unlike Tiki, Bantu is unable to use the Ice, Wyvern, and Magestones. While Bantu does gain higher stats when using the Firestone, it is not enough to keep up with Tiki.
Shadow Dragon
Recruitment
| Name | Class | Chapter | Affiliation | Recruit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bantu | Manakete | 7 | None | Visit the southern Village enclosed within the circular mountain range. |
Base Stats
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Manakete | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov |
| 1 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
| Dragonstone | - | ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40% | 20% | 10% | 20% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 0% |
Support Relationships
- Supported by
| Character | Initial points | Total points for | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | B | A | ||
| Tiki | 5 | 5 | 8 | 10 |
| Nagi | 5 | 5 | 35 | 35 |
- To increase support levels, characters must participate in chapters together
- One support point is gained for each chapter they both participate in
- Support levels that require 35 chapters cannot be reached normally
- Characters must be within a three tile radius of each other to receive support bonuses
Bonuses per level:
Overall
|
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
Bantu can be a decent Manakete to use for combat, but his horrible base stats and growth rates mar his usability considerably, causing him to be of lesser use when compared to Tiki or Nagi.
In the later stages of the games that he appears in, Bantu's mediocre growth rates makes him rather weak when compared to the rest of the playable cast. In spite of this fact, it is an absolute necessity for him to be utilised in order to recruit Tiki at a later stage, just as in the original.
New Mystery of the Emblem
Recruitment
| Name | Class | Chapter | Affiliation | Recruit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bantu | Manakete | 8 | None | Visit the Village located near the vantage point. |
Base Stats
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Manakete | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov |
| 3 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
| Dragonstone | - | ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40% | 20% | 10% | 20% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 5% |
Support Relationships
| Number | Importance | Name | Chapters Needed | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 175 | * | Bantu and Kris 1 | 3 | - |
| 176 | * | Bantu and Kris 2 | 6 | - |
| 177 | * | Bantu and Kris 3 | 10 | Defense Bond |
| 334 | * | Bantu and Tiki 1 | 3 | - |
| 335 | * | Bantu and Tiki 2 | 6 | - |
| 336 | * | Bantu and Tiki 3 | 10 | Magic Bond |
- To obtain the conversations, characters must participate in chapters together
- The requirements for unlocking support conversations are separate from the support bonus system
Support Bonus
- Supports
| Character | Conversations | Total points for | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | B | A | ||
| Tiki | 1, 2, 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
Supported by
| Character | Conversations | Total points for | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | B | A | ||
| Kris | 1, 2, 3 | 5 | 10 | 16 |
| Tiki | 1, 2, 3 | 5 | 10 | - |
| Nagi | None | 2 | - | - |
- To increase support levels, characters must participate in chapters together
- One support point is gained for each chapter they both participate in
- A hyphen (-) indicates the support level cannot be reached
- Characters must be within a three tile radius of each other to receive support bonuses
Bonuses per level:
Overall
|
|
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
Bantu's reappearance in the DS remake of Mystery of the Emblem does not see any of his flaws ironed out, and further adding on to these flaws is the fact that the enemy dragons now have significantly higher stats than him. To give some perspective on Bantu, he has worse stats when wielding his Firestone than Arran: a character who joined seven chapters earlier with similar growths, better movement, and a high lance rank. The Firestone is used up faster in the DS games, and New Mystery of the Emblem only contains 3 obtainable Firestones, making things harder for him as Tiki may want to use the Firestone herself. Unlike in Shadow Dragon, the Starsphere does not prevent dragonstones from breaking. Bantu can use other dragonstones for combat, but none of them do much for him when his start is simply too bad to make him worth considering and his potential is almost nonexistent.
Fire Emblem Heroes
- Tiki's Guardian
- A manakete of the Fire Dragon clan, and Tiki's guardian. He released Tiki from the Ice Dragon Temple, where she had been kept hidden away. Appears in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.
Base Stats
Rarity:
 | Title | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiki's Guardian | |||||
| Group | |||||
 Infantry | |||||
| Level | HP | Atk | Spd | Def | Res |
| 1 40 | 15/16/17 38/41/44 | 8/9/10 27/30/33 | 4/5/6 21/24/27 | 7/8/9 28/31/34 | 5/6/7 20/23/26 |
| Skills | Weapon | ||||
 Fire Breath+ |  Breath | ||||
| Title | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiki's Guardian | |||||
| Group | |||||
| Infantry | |||||
| Level | HP | Atk | Spd | Def | Res |
| 1 40 | 15/16/17 39/42/45 | 9/10/11 29/32/35 | 4/5/6 22/25/28 | 8/9/10 30/33/36 | 5/6/7 21/24/27 |
| Skills | Weapon | ||||
Dark Breath Dragon Gaze | Breath | ||||
Skills
| Type | Name | Prerequisite | Default | Unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Fire Breath | - | - | - |
| Fire Breath+ | - |  | - | |
| Dark Breath | - |  | | |
| Dark Breath+ | Dark Breath |  | | |
 | Dragon Gaze | - | | |
| Dragon Fang | Dragon Gaze | - | | |
| A |  Fierce Stance 1 | - | - | |
 Fierce Stance 2 | Fierce Stance 1 | - | ||
 Fierce Stance 3 | Fierce Stance 2 | | ||
| C |  Savage Blow 1 | - | - | |
 Savage Blow 2 | Savage Blow 1 | - | ||
 Savage Blow 3 | Savage Blow 2 | |
Overall
|
|
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
Base Set
Counters
Skill Inheritance
Quotes
Death Quotes
—Bantu's death quote from Shadow Dragon
Heroes
Possible Endings
Shadow Dragon
- Fire Dragon
- "Bantu sealed the dragonstones’ power and disappeared, but his wish was to live out his years in the Dolunian countryside."
New Mystery of the Emblem
- Tiki's Guardian
- "Bantu left after discarding his dragonstone, his whereabouts unknown."
Non-Canon Appearances
Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)
Bantu is illustrated in the trading card game with the following card:
Trivia
- Bantu's portrait is an edited version of Gharnef's in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.
- Bantu is the only playable male character of the Manakete class. Additionally, Bantu is the only non-Divine manakete to support Marth and the Archanean League.
- Bantu is randomly mentioned in Awakening by Nowi in passing when she stands on an Event Tile, where she erroneously refers to him as "Banter" and "Banta", hinting that he might still be alive during Awakening's time period.
- Additionally, he is also mentioned by Nowi once again on her Summer Scramble with Sully where he told Nowi the story of the old manakete king.
- He shares his voice actor Joe J. Thomas with Pallardó from Three Houses, Deen and Randal from Shadows of Valentia and Tibarn in Heroes.
Gallery
- See main article: Bantu/Gallery.