Bunbou () [Ryo Urawa ()]

History: The story of the inhuman creature known as Bunbou actually begins during the time of the Silver Millennium when he was a member of the Seven Great Youma of the Dark Kingdom, a heptet of monsters of unknown origin who were loyal to Queen Beryl and participated in her invasion and attempted conquest of the Moon Kingdom hundreds of years ago. Thanks to the power of Queen Serenity, however, he and his six compatriots were each imprisoned within seven separate shards of the Illusion Silver Crystal - fragments that eventually came to be known as the Rainbow Crystals due to the correspondance of their individual hues with one of the seven primary colors - and carried to Earth where they were reincarnated centuries later with no memories of their prior existences as Youmas. In this particular instance, Bunbou - sealed within the yellow Rainbow Crystal - was reborn in the latter half of the 20th century as a human being with the given name of Ryo Urawa.
                Little is known about either the history or the personal life of Ryo Urawa, save that he has apparently spent much of his youth moving from one location in Japan to another due to the nature of his father's profession. Also, at a young age and under circumstances which have yet to be fully revealed, he learned that he possessed the power of precognition: the psychic ability to perceive what will happen in the future, a power which seemed to grow stronger with the passage of time.      
                While taking part in the Japanese national exams when he was a teenager, Urawa happened to meet Ami Mizuno, who was seated next to him during the test and took a moment of her time to ease his visible nervousness by returning the eraser that had accidentally bounced onto her section of the elongated desk they were sharing to him when it slipped from his grasp while he was making frantic use of it, telling him to take it easy, and, with a friendly smile, wishing him good luck. Both this small gesture of kindness on her part as well as her highly commendable performance on the exam - which caused her to be ranked as the number one student in all of Japan - had a profound effect on him, for he strived to match her academically one day and kept the newspaper clipping reporting the test results which featured a picture of her as an inspirational momento. In the process of attempting to attain his goal, however, Urawa became quite smitten with Ami and, upon learning that he would soon be transferring to Juuban Junior High, the same school that she was going to, promised himself that he would tell her of his feelings for her once he scored higher on an exam than she did.        
                Though the two of them were reunited and became classmates, Urawa's life became troubled and hopelessly complicated by his prophetic visions, for, through them, he not only discovered that Ami Mizuno had become Sailor Mercury but also learned of his sinister true nature as well as the fact that Zoisite would soon be coming after him in order to obtain the yellow Rainbow Crystal inside of him for the benefit of the Dark Kingdom and that they would end up on opposite sides when he was transformed into Bunbou once more. Still, his ability to predict the future did have its advantages, for it allowed him to distract her at a key moment to prevent her from being crushed to death by a falling iron girder while she was passing a construction site, though he managed to do so in a way that did not betray his secret. He was, however, left with mixed feelings when his special powers allowed him to seemingly achieve his goal of outscoring Ami on an exam as the circumstances which contributed to his victory made it seem hollow, a truth which he indirectly hinted at to Usagi Tsukino when she confronted him about his secret crush on the rooftop of the school - his affection not having gone unnoticed by her - by voicing his belief that Ami was still smarter than him, a statement whose full inplications she did not grasp. Determined to play matchmaker for the two of them - an enthusiasm undeterred even after Urawa's warning to stay away from water came too late to prevent her from being soaked by the actions of a thoughtless janitor - Usagi later met him at a small restaurant, Parlor Bear, and not only gave him a photograph to replace the worn article he had been carrying with him but left almost immediately after he told her of the conditions of the promise he had made to himself to arrange a meeting between the two would-be lovebirds before he had a chance to object.      
                Shortly after picking up the check and leaving Parlor Bear, Urawa was confronted by Zoisite while passing in front of the Juuban District Corporated House, managing to surprise the latter with his knowledge of both the Dark General's name and intent. Preferring death over becoming a Youma once more, he attempted to attack his adversary but was hopelessly outmatched and may well have been deprived of the Rainbow Crystal residing within him had it not been for the timely intervention of Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury - who happened to be nearby in their respective secret identities of Usagi and Ami - the latter of whom carried the dazed Urawa to safety while the former stayed behind with Luna in a short lived attempt to hold Zoisite at bay.      
                After taking refuge with him in a nearby park, Sailor Mercury tended to the dazed Urawa by placing a damp cloth on his forehead. A short time later, he lost consciousness - though not before thanking her for rescuing him by her civilian name - and was once more plagued by his nightmare in which he was transformed into a monster and killed her. Upon awakening, he confessed the existence of his psychic abilities to her in addition to the real reason why he had performed so well on the exam they had taken. Though somewhat frustrated by her attempt to convince him that she wasn't who he thought she was, adamant in his belief that what was to come could not be changed and insistant in his wish that she kill him if he was transformed into a Youma, Urawa gained at least some confidence that he was indeed able to guide his own destiny when Sailor Mercury managed to halfway convince him that the future was something he had to make for himself. Unfortunately, his newfound faith was soon put to the ultimate test when Zoisite suddenly appeared and proceeded to remove the yellow Rainbow Crystal from his body, thereby causing him to revert back to his original form of Bunbou. Despite his transformation, however, Bunbou retained his human mind and heart, and pretended to attack Sailor Mercury but ended up tackling Zoisite instead, catching him completely by surprise in the process and causing him to lose the Rainbow Crystal he had just acquired to his adversary.    
                Unfortunately, Bunbou's rebellion was short lived, for Zoisite used the power of the Black Crystal to affect the Youma's mind - causing him to grow in strength, size, and aggressiveness to the point that Sailor Moon's "Moon Healing Escalation" was initially unable to change him back - and sent him to retrieve the Rainbow Crystal from Sailor Mercury. After pursuing both the former as well as the newly arrived Sailor Moon and Luna, the monster managed to corner them by felling a tree in their path and may well have ended up eliminating them had it not been for the timely intervention of Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter, who nullified his attacks with their own. Distracted by Sailor Mercury's "Shabon Spray" and weakened after Sailor Moon employed a variation of her "Moon Tiara Action" to cause her tiara to land on his head and decrease the level of evil energy within his body, Bunbou was subsequently transformed back into Ryo Urawa through a second application of the latter's "Moon Healing Escalation", apparently no worse for the wear in spite of his nightmarish ordeal.    
                A short time later, Urawa was forced to bid farewell to his newfound friends Usagi, Ami, and Makoto after his father's work forced him to depart Tokyo and transfer to another school. On the day of his departure at the train station, he returned to Ami the picture that Usagi had given him, vowing to return for it on the day when he had finally succeeded in besting her academically without the help of any crutches. He found himself pleasantly surprised when she gave him a better photograph of herself as a keepsake and extended to him the invitation to come back and visit anytime he wished, regardless of his marks or performance in school.    
                Several months later, Urawa did indeed return to Tokyo, though only to phone Ami in order to warn her that he and his fellow Rainbow Crystal carriers were being systematically abducted and imprisoned within the Black Crystal by Prince Endymion - then a brainwashed servant in the thrall of the Dark Kingdom - as part of an attempt to reunite the Seven Great Youma so that they would come together and unite to form a single, unimaginably powerful monster capable of eradicating the Sailor Soldiers once and for all, and that he would be the Dark Kingdom's next target. Determined to not have to always depend on the Sailor Soldiers' help - though he did indeed want it - he instructed her to protect the only other Rainbow Crystal carrier that had thus far eluded capture, Rei grandfather Ojii-chan, and hung up without informing her of his location. Fortunately for him, however, he was spotted by Makoto while wandering around the Azabu Juuban district, and, though he managed to elude Endymion's clutches once on his own, he was subsequently rescued from being caught by him by both her in her Sailor Jupiter identity as well as Sailor Mercury, the former of whom stayed behind to fight their onetime ally while the latter took Urawa to safety.    
                After seeking refuge in a small amusement park, Juuban Land, Urawa told Sailor Mercury that he had always dreamed of taking her there, and that the two of them should part ways now that that wish had been fulfilled, as she had a mission to complete as a Sailor Soldier and he was willing to sacrifice his own life, inhuman as it essentially was, in order that the world might be saved. In doing so, however, Sailor Mercury realized that what Makoto had told her a short while before in a heart-to- heart conversation was true: that she and Urawa were alike in that they were running away from their problems and weren't being honest to themselves, he in his resignation to die and she in her inability to admit her feelings for him. In spite of the fact that she once again managed to convince him to see things her way while indirectly implying how she felt about him in the process, their discussion was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Prince Endymion, who had managed to track them down in the interim and succeeded in imprisoning Urawa within the Black Crystal despite Sailor Mercury's best efforts, though, thanks to some clever outmaneuvering on her part, the crystal was destroyed and both he and the other five captured Rainbow Crystal carriers were freed from the Dark Kingdom's clutches, apparently suffering from no ill effects in spite of their ordeal.  
                In light of the revelations that these events helped bring about, Ryo Urawa and Ami Mizuno did manage to gather up enough courage to go to Juuban Land together on a date. While the current status of their relationship, romantic or otherwise, remains unknown, his life, at least, is presumed to have finally returned to a state of normalcy.    

Height: Variable (as Bunbou); unknown (as Ryo Urawa)   
Weight: Variable (as Bunbou); unknown (as Ryo Urawa)   
Eyes: Orange (as Bunbou); dark brown (as Ryo Urawa)   
Hair: None (as Bunbou); dark brown (as Ryo Urawa)   
Skin: Green (as Bunbou)  

Abilities: In his human form, Ryo Urawa possesses the power of precognition, the psychic ability to perceive what will happen in the future by using the power of his mind, usually in the form of either visions, dreams, or nightmares and with remarkable clarity and detail. The inherant limitations of this ability remain unknown, though judging by indirect comments made by Urawa himself, it is believed that his powers may have reached their peak at the time of the extraction of his Rainbow Crystal grew closer and may have leveled off significantly following this event. Also, his visions are not absolute in that they are glimpses of a future that will come to pass unless a significant effort is made by those most directly involved to change the outcome of these events. In his Youma form, Bunbou could fire triangular razor-sharp blades from his open mouth capable of effortlessly slicing through solid wood. He could use the giant pair of scissors which comprised his right arm and the giant compass which made up his left one as either slicing or stabbing weapons or fire them off as projectiles, after which they would rapidly regenerate themselves, allowing him to do so again. He could apparently merge with his fellow Seven Great Youma to form a single, incredibly powerful, shadowy demonic entity, though, fortunately for the Sailor Soldiers, he never got the opportunity to demonstrate this ability. In addition, it should be mentioned that Ryo Urawa is one of only two Rainbow Crystal carriers who demonstrated any degree of control over their actions as Youmas and that Bunbou's exposure to the Black Crystal caused in strength, size, and aggressiveness.   
Paraphernalia: Bunbou employed triangular razor blades as well as giant scissors and compasses as projectile weapons. The latter two comprised his right and left arms - which were themselves shaped like giant Swiss Army Knives - respectively and could also be used as slicing or stabbing weapons.  

Japanese Voice Actor: Unknown  
North American Voice Actor: Eric Kimmel  
       
This entry first appeared on: December 10, 2000 
This entry was last modified on: December 10, 2000 

Back to B: "Baam" to "Buuton" 
Back to the Main Index