Banzai Charger

"Long live the Emperor! (TennōHeika Banzai!)."

- Banzai Chargers

Banzai Chargers are Japanese soldiers in Call Of Duty: World At War and Call of Duty: World at War Final Fronts 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!"

Call of Duty: World at War
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.

When knocked down by the Banzai Charger, even if the player has taken damage, the player's screen will clear and then return back to red after the Banzai Charger has been stabbed. This clearing of the screen can actually be a nice relief in the heat of battle and carnage.

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 Xbox 360 and a bronze trophy on the PS3.

Achievements/Trophies
Close Shave (10 / Bronze Trophy ) - Survive a Banzai attack.

Snake in the Grass (15 / Bronze Trophy ) - Take out a Japanese soldier while he is lying in wait in the grass.

No Safe Place (15 / Bronze Trophy ) - Burn a Japanese sniper out of a tree with the flamethrower in "Hard Landing".

Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts
Banzai Chargers only come out and ambush the player from behind with an Type 99 with a Bayonet. They do not stab the player to the ground, but instead charge at the player and deplete the player's life rapidly when they come in contact.

Call of Duty: World at War

 * On Hard Landing, if the player is knocked down at the beginning they can sometimes go underwater and the sound will be garbled.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * When knocked down by a Banzai charger, the player is immune to all damage (excluding his killing stab) until he stands up.
 * Through glitches or mods, important NPCs have been known to lose their plot armor to Banzai Chargers. This, however, does not allow the player to progress further in the missions, and a simple restart will fix this.

Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts

 * There is no counter-attack animation for the Banzai Chargers.
 * The Bayonets of the Banzai Chargers cannot be used by the player.

Call of Duty Black Ops

 * In S.O.G., the North Vietnamese soldier that charges at the marine near the beginning of the level holds his gun like a banzai charger.
 * Much of the suicidal charging and ambush tactics of the Banzai Charger have been handed down to the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Videos
Video:Call of Duty 5 Banzai|This shows you how to be killed by a Banzai, how to survive, and how to kill a banzai Video:Call_of_Duty_World_at_War_(Banzai_charge)|Banzai Charger Counter-attack animation Video:Call_of_Duty_World_at_War_-_Banzai|This shows the player killing banzai attackers