Daigoro Banjo / Lariat

Hero Name: Lariat

Real Name: Daigoro Banjo

Gender: Male

Quirk (innate): Blackwhip

Inherited Quirk: One For All

Status: Deceased

Occupation: Pro Hero (former)

Voice Actor (anime): Hiroki Yasumoto

Daigoro Banjo is a pro hero from an older generation, active long before the main timeline of My Hero Academia.

He became the fifth successor of One For All, carrying the torch before passing it on to the sixth inheritor.

He has a bold, punk-inspired appearance: a shaved head, protective goggles, and a black leather jacket covered with metal studs.

His overall design emphasizes his muscular build and wild, energetic personality.

Banjo is most recognized in the present narrative as one of the previous One For All users who appear within the Quirk’s inner world.

There, he guides Izuku Midoriya and helps reveal the true nature and potential of One For All.

General Traits

Daigoro Banjo is loud, funky, and larger-than-life, with a relaxed but intimidating aura.

He speaks in a casual, blunt way and has a habit of adding a distinctive tag at the ends of his sentences, giving his speech a unique rhythm.

Despite his rough look—muscles, leather, and studs—Banjo is fundamentally caring and protective.

He shows tough love, preferring to motivate others by scolding, hyping them up, and pushing them to control their power.

He comes off as the kind of veteran who has seen real danger and coped with it through humor and swagger.

Underneath his joking attitude lies sharp insight into battle, Quirks, and the mindset a hero needs.

In the Present Timeline

In the current era, Banjo only exists as a vestige within the spiritual world of One For All.

Izuku Midoriya meets him there after a dangerous loss of control during a joint training battle between Class 1-A and Class 1-B.

During this event, Midoriya’s Quirk suddenly goes berserk, causing Blackwhip-like energy to rampage out of control.

Thanks to Hitoshi Shinso’s brainwashing, Midoriya’s consciousness is dragged into the inner world of One For All, where Banjo appears directly before him.

Banjo firmly scolds Midoriya for his lack of control while also encouraging him.

He explains that the rampaging energy is his own Quirk, Blackwhip, manifesting through Midoriya thanks to One For All.

He reveals a critical truth: One For All can store not only raw power but also the Quirks of its previous users.

Banjo tells Midoriya that more Quirks will awaken in him over time and that the key to controlling them is mastering his emotions and heart.

As Midoriya’s consciousness returns to the real world, Banjo sends him off with a powerful shout of support.

After this, Midoriya begins using Blackwhip as a versatile tool in both mobility and combat, honoring Banjo’s teachings.

During the Paranormal Liberation War (the all-out conflict against the Paranormal Liberation Front), Banjo continues to support Midoriya from inside the vestige world.

While he cannot physically intervene, his experience and resolve help bolster Midoriya’s will in the face of overwhelming enemies such as All For One and Tenko Shimura.

In Flashbacks

In Banjo’s own time, he confronted All For One and was completely overwhelmed.

All For One attempted to steal One For All from him, pressing him to his absolute limit.

However, Banjo’s willpower proved stronger than expected.

Even as he was on the verge of having his Quirk taken, his determination rejected All For One’s theft.

This clash of wills caused the power to rebound, preventing All For One from fully seizing One For All.

Because of this, Banjo was ultimately able to pass the Quirk on to the sixth user.

His resistance against All For One, even in defeat, helped keep the lineage of One For All alive.

That defiance becomes part of the mental and emotional foundation Midoriya inherits from the previous users.

Original Quirk: Blackwhip

Banjo’s innate Quirk is called Blackwhip.

It allows him to emit black, rope-like energy from his body—most notably from his arms.

With Blackwhip, he can grab distant objects, restrain enemies, and swing through the air like a grappling hook.

This makes him highly mobile on the battlefield and excellent at mid-range capture tactics.

Blackwhip combines offense, defense, and mobility, giving Banjo an incredibly flexible fighting style.

He can pull targets toward himself, anchor himself to structures, and manipulate the battlefield by controlling distance and position.

In the modern era, Blackwhip becomes the first inherited One For All Quirk that Izuku Midoriya awakens.

Because of its versatility, it quickly becomes one of Midoriya’s main tools for movement, restraint, and support in combat.

Banjo’s instructions help Midoriya shift Blackwhip from a dangerous, uncontrollable surge into a reliable technique.

Through training, Midoriya adapts it for everything from aerial maneuvering to protecting allies.

Inherited Quirk: One For All

Banjo is also the fifth wielder of One For All, a Quirk that stockpiles power and passes from one user to the next.

This Quirk greatly enhances his physical abilities, granting superhuman strength and durability.

In Banjo’s era, One For All had not yet fully revealed its capacity to store the Quirks of its previous users.

Even so, he used it as a raw power amplifier, reinforcing his physique and boosting the effectiveness of Blackwhip.

As a successor, Banjo’s role was not only to fight but to protect and eventually pass One For All on safely.

By resisting All For One and ensuring the succession, he secured the future of the Quirk’s mission.

Banjo stands out with his shaved head, thick muscles, and imposing frame.

He wears goggles over his eyes, adding both practicality and a distinctive visual identity.

His signature outfit is a black leather jacket with metal studs driven into it.

This gives him a rough, rebellious look, reinforcing his “funky” and fearless persona.

His design has been compared to characters such as Hellboy and Jack from MadWorld.

These visual similarities emphasize his rugged, heavy-hitting presence and comic-book intensity.

Even his body language sells his character: wide stances, big gestures, and expressive poses.

He looks like someone who dives into battle headfirst and laughs in the face of danger.

Banjo’s habitual speech pattern—ending sentences with a distinctive tag—helps make his dialogue instantly recognizable.

It adds a playful edge to his otherwise intense and serious worldview.

He is the first previous One For All user whose Quirk visibly manifests through Izuku Midoriya in combat.

Because of that, many fans associate Banjo closely with the awakening of One For All’s “hidden” abilities.

His combination of a rough exterior and a supportive, mentoring heart makes him a fan-favorite among the One For All predecessors.

While he appears relatively briefly, his impact on Midoriya’s growth is major and long-lasting.