Iwanbō

Iwanbō
Characteristics
Kanji	夷腕坊
Birth	November 6th
Gender	Male
Background
Occupation	Juppongatana member
Affiliation	Juppongatana
Media Portrayal
Manga Debut	Act 86
Anime Debut	Episode 41 (1996 Anime) Episode (2023 Anime)
Seiyū	Norito Yashima
Voice Actor	Lex Lang

Iwanbō (夷 (い) 腕 (わん) 坊 (ぼう) ) is the name of a series of intricate battle puppets created and piloted by Gein. Iwanbō version 1 was a member of the Juppongatana.

Versions

Version 1

The Iwanbō’s only weapons are thin, sharp blades attached to the tips of his fingers on both hands.

Mechanism

• Impact Absorption - The Iwanbo's thick skin is hard to perforate, has shown in battle at the Aoi-ya, where the Kyoto Oniwabanshū engage him with several shurikens, only to see they had no effect.

Version 3

The Iwanbo's version 3 possesses no weapons and is mainly uses to fight in hand to hand combat. Gein developed the version 3 to mainly combat against Kenshin Himura.

Mechanism

• Impact Absorption - The version 3's thick skin is designed to be hard to penetrate. Most strike will have no effect and will just bounce off.
• Unrestricted Joint Movement - The version 3's joint can turn freely, both horizontally and vertically. This mechanism is the core to version 3's offense.
• Unrestricted Attach/Detach Movement - This mechanism allows the user to detach and attach the framework of the version 3. By detaching the framework, leaving only the elastic rubber skin and the steel control lines, the user has it so that the version 3's arms can't be cut off. Gein added this new mechanism to the version 3 just to combat Kenshin Himura. This mechanism is the core to version 3's defense.
• Anti-Piercing Armor - The version 3 possesses an armor made of interlocking woven steel, that is both durable and flexible, that will not let any thrust through.

Techniques

• Senwangeki (Piercing Arm Attack) - After Gein twists the version 3's arm, the version 3 preforms an arm thrust that causes the target to be throw back and hit the ground multiple times if the target is hit.
• Senshi Senwangeki (Piercing Fingers Attack) - The is version 3's hidden move. After Gein twist the version 3's arm and fingers, the version 3 preforms an arm thrust. The full technique was not shown since the technique was stopped before the full technique was preformed.

History

Iwanbo is silent with the occasional laugh. In the disbanding of the Juppongatana, he is shown laughing atop an unknown plateau. In the Jinchuu Arc, Iwanbo is shown to actually be an advanced mechanical puppet created by Gein for combat purposes. Gein also constructed Iwanbo version 3, which had a much different appearance and was much stronger than the first puppet.