Banzai Charger

"Tennōheika BANZAI!"

- Banzai Chargers

Banzai Chargers are Japanese soldiers in Call of Duty: World at War that will rush at the player with bayonets attached to Arisakas during combat or when attempting an ambush, (as in the level Hard Landing) yelling "Tennōheika banzai!"(“天皇陛下万歳” "The honor of 10,000 years for the Emperor!") or just simply "Banzai!" Japanese soldiers were indoctrinated to believe that surrendering was dishonourable and cowardly, and were told to choose death over surrender. Thus, Banzai Chargers are often a final stand in the face of defeat so that they could die with honor.

Defending Against Banzai Chargers
Banzai Chargers will often jump out of tall grass, spider holes, jungles (as seen in the level Hard Landing), out of Japanese defenses, or they pretend to be dead. They will often attack when least expected, such as when a player is in the middle of reloading or when their back is turned. If a Charger reaches the player, he will knock the player down and impale them with their bayonet. To stop them, the player must press the melee button to stab the Charger when prompted. This results in the player pushing the rifle aside and stabbing the Charger in the neck. Players can also shoot the Chargers, or use their knife if they time the attack right (this often results in the player taking some damage as well). If the player presses the melee button too early, their attack will fail and the Charger will impale them.

Banzai Chargers are similar to dogs in many aspects, their purpose being to knock down the player and quickly kill them. They make no effort to attack the player, although, rarely, they will melee the player if close, rather than knocking the player down. They can be shot and knifed, but this can be a challenge against a fast-moving target.

On the Xbox 360 and PS3 version, players that successfully counter a Banzai Charger for the first time will unlock the trophy/achievement "Close Shave" worth 10 Gamerscore on the 360 and a bronze trophy on the PS3.

Getting the Trophy/Achievement
The key to getting this achievement/trophy is purely timing. As soon as the attacker fully draws back his bayonet (about a split second after being knocked over), click the Right Stick to stab the attacker, and survive.

Another way of getting the trophy/achievement involves a Banzai charge. To get this, you should have a flamethrower or a spread shot weapon. Banzai Chargers often hide in the grass. If you think that they will hide there, fire into the grass. If you kill a would-be Banzai Charger, you get the achievement/trophy "Snake In The Grass". This is best done in Hard Landing. After getting the flamethrower, keep moving. There will be a spot where you see a friendly plane crash from the Anti Aircraft guns. Fire the flame into the grass after moving up. You will get the trophy/achievement by doing this. Also, if you burn a sniper out of a tree with a flamethrower, you will get the trophy/achievement, "No Safe Place".

Glitches

 * Sometimes the player is knocked over by a Banzai Charger but instead of attacking, he reloads his Arisaka, and the player simply gets back up.
 * It is possible, when knocked over, two Banzai Chargers will be seen: one will be stuck reloading and the other attacking.
 * If you shoot at the right time the Banzai Charger will disappear and you will be lying on the ground staring at the sky, unable to move. After about 5-10 seconds you will get up again. This is probably the time it takes a Banzai charger to get stabbed in the neck. There are also some occasions that you do not get back up again; the only way to get out is to restart the level.
 * You will always see your hand being stabbed by a Banzai Charger while pushing his rifle aside, however, this doesn't damage you or affect gameplay in any way.
 * Sometimes, when the player is knocked down by an attacking banzai charger, an ally will shoot the attacker and the player will be left unable to move.
 * If you are attacked by a Banzai Charger with a grenade nearby, the player won't be damaged at all

Trivia

 * In Co-op, the player will not be knocked down.
 * Sometimes the important NPC's will get into fights and will bash the Banzai Charger with their weapon or flip the charger over and shoot them point-blank. (e.g.Polonsky, Roebuck). Generic AI units however have mixed results against Banzai Chargers.
 * Sometimes, soldiers without bayonets will charge at the player shouting "BANZAI!" but when the reach him, they will hit him with the gun, rather than knock him down. Other times, they will just stop next to the player and shoot him until he dies.
 * The player can use the bayonet on a rifle to attack their allies, too. They will scream like the Japanese and will have the same death scene.
 * Sometimes the player will hear a soldier shout "Tennōheika banzai!" but he will not charge the player. This is common if the player grenades the soldiers in the tunnel near the start of Breaking Point.
 * Normally, Banzai charges would only occur if defeat was imminent, as the Japanese rarely surrendered. It was not actually used as a normal battle strategy. In the game the only the realistic instance there would be charges was Breaking Point, where the Japanese were very close to being defeated on their own land. In that level, most everyone from Camouflaged soldiers, to plain infantry, and even officers will Banzai charge. The Japanese were ready to die for everything, also shown by the Rising Sun headbands worn by some of the infantry.
 * Banzai charges were considered an honorable way to die for the Japanese Emperor, much like Kamikaze attacks on U.S naval ships.
 * It is possible to choose something like a Banzai charge in Multiplayer. The player can equip his weapon with a bayonet, then run to the enemy's position to stab them. It almost never works, and should only be used during hopeless situations. However, Banzai Charging can be effective as a diversion by using Juggernaut as Perk 2 and using Tabun Gas or signal flare secondary grenades to blind the opposition.
 * On Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts, players can't counter the charge. Players can only shoot or melee the charger. The charger can't take the player down either. Chargers usually stab the player when they are close enough.