Benimaru

"I know nothing about government myself, but when it comes to military issues, I believe there are few who could equal me."

- Benimaru, on his role in Tempest

Benimaru (紅丸) is a Majin in the service of Rimuru Tempest. He is the Minister of Defense for the Jura Tempest Federation, acting as the Commander-in-Chief for its military during wartime. He holds a place in the Twelve Guardian Lords, as well as the Big Four, being its leader and being counted as one of Rimuru's top three strongest subordinates, alongside Diablo and Zegion.

Ogre
As an Ogre, he had a tall, burly build. He had flame-like lightly wavy crimson hair from which two large jet-black horns protruded. He has a pair of iconic tear-like red markings that flow down from the bottom of his eyes over his cheeks, which persists throughout all his evolutions. His eyes are incredibly sharp and fierce-looking and has orange-red iris. He wore black clothing with a thick woolen collar, covered by armor (matching his color scheme) that the Ogre tribe had learned to wear from a human warrior who visited them a couple of centuries ago. He also carried a Japanese-style katana.

In the anime, his skin tone has a reddish tint as a sort of color scheme matching his hair, and his canines are large enough to peek out from his mouth.

Kijin
After evolution Benimaru's build shrunk to a height of 180 centimeters and had the appearance of a lean young man in his early twenties or younger. His hair turned less wavy and more straight and pointy. His horns also shrunk slightly and became more narrow, glowing more brilliantly than obsidian. His eyes became more laxer, making him look both more confident and laid back at the same time. Furthermore, his skin tone changed to that of a human, meaning, if his horns and drastically increased aura was hidden, one may not be able to distinguish him from humans at all either.

Thanks to Shuna and the team of weavers (Goblinas and the Dwarves), Benimaru and everyone else received new clothing, weapons, and armor, his being a kimono that turned blood red to match his aura and a new katana.

Personality
Benimaru has a carefree personality, that of an excited and confident man. Even so, he is actually really cautious and cunning as well. He has no interest in serving anyone who he doesn't deem worthy, however, he doesn't belittle those weaker than him either.

Benimaru felt hesitant when faced with the responsibility to take over the position of the Ogre Tribe village chief. Thus, he is content with his current position with Rimuru as the Lord he serves. As the military commander, he merely wishes to rampage to his heart's content. Had he become chief, he could not ride off to battle, but now it was different. He can participate without any concerns.

He was originally a very hot-headed person but after taking the role of general of the army under Rimuru he becomes more rational and calm in decision making. He is a battle maniac, challenging others who are stronger than him to see where he stands in the world.

Background
Benimaru was originally a nameless Ogre born into the Ogre Village's royal family as its sole prince, set to one day take over the duties of the Chief. He grew up receiving combat instruction from the Sword Oni, alongside the many other ogres around his age.

One day, without warning, his village was razed by an army of Orcs, forcing him to flee with a small company of other survivors, including his sister. While seeking refuge in the forest, he encountered a masked majin and immediately attacked them alongside his brethren, assuming them to be affiliated with the perpetrators behind the slaughter of his people. The ogres were met with overwhelming resistance from the majin and forced to acknowledge they were outclassed. Still hellbent on seeking revenge, Benimaru mustered the resolve for one last act in exchange for his life, but was stopped by his sister who sensed they may have falsely accused the majin. Benimaru listened to the majin plead their case one last time, and after seeing the error of his ways, apologized, bringing the situation to a close.

The majin, who introduced themself as Rimuru Tempest, offered refuge to Benimaru and his companions, to which he acquiesced. They formed a temporary alliance with the majin as his mercenaries and received names from him, resulting in all the ogres evolving into Kijin. After the defeat of the orc army, Benimaru and his brethren offered their permanent loyalty to the majin, going on to serve important positions in the slime's nation of monsters.

Etymology

 * The name Benimaru means "crimson, deep red" (紅) (beni) and "round, circle, pills, purity" (丸) (maru).

Trivia

 * As the appointed food-taste tester for Shion's cooking; Benimaru has an intense fear of her cooking, often dramatically becoming downtrodden or questioning his "early demise". It's the few instances of Benimaru showing his meek and depressed side.
 * Benimaru seemed to get smarter after evolving; he didn't keep mistaking masked Majin for Footman. In fact, his mistaking Rimuru for him was poked fun at in a parody.
 * In The Slime Diaries, Benimaru is shown to hate carrots. He also tends to show panic because of Shuna's fierce smile.
 * He is shown to be a heart throb to many prominent women in the world.
 * He has an insatiable battle lust. Making many who know him worried he might start a war over testing his strength.
 * Tends to forget to be polite, and speaks his mind when told to go "all out"
 * Has a causal relationship with Rimuru. Despite being a subordinate he still retains a sense of equality with Rimuru, making others think Benimaru is fearless.
 * Tends to call Rimuru "The World's Strongest Slime" as an unofficial title. Benimaru is weirdly proud to serve the unique slime because of this fact.
 * A running gag is that Benimaru will tend to do something seen as noble or humble, only for him to completely ignore those facts and cause drama in public relations. I.E. meeting Carrion and challenging him to a fight after saying that Rigur could be trusted to handle the diplomatic mission by himself.
 * Benimaru and in essence Souei are loosely based on the Red Ogre and the Blue Ogre, having similar personality quirks of the popular children's book in Japan. Where Benimaru is carefree, has a fierce look yet is extremely kind hearted and loves making new friends, where Souei is an extremely dedicated and quiet individual who is very responsible, but has a very close friendship with Benimaru, knowing each other's true personality when not in work mode.