Who is the shaved-headed swordsman in Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram?
And why is he so overwhelmingly strong at kendo?
Near the end of Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram, a shaved-headed swordsman suddenly appears and fights beside Soshi Okita. He cuts through the armed men in their path, yet the movie gives him almost no introduction. If you know him only from the film, wondering who he is comes naturally.
That swordsman is Takeshi Onimaru, a high-school kendo champion and a major rival from YAIBA. This article explains his identity, the basis for his strength, his connection with Okita and Toshizo Hijikata, and his earlier Detective Conan appearances. Mild spoilers follow.
The Shaved-Headed Swordsman in The Million-dollar Pentagram Is Takeshi Onimaru
The shaved-headed fighter who joins the final battle is Takeshi Onimaru. His imposing build can make him look like an adult at first glance, but he is a high-school student and an elite kendo competitor.
- Name: Takeshi Onimaru
- Position: High-school kendo competitor
- Original work: YAIBA
- Role in YAIBA: Yaiba Kurogane’s destined rival
- Detective Conan and movie voice: Kenjiro Tsuda
- Shin Samurai-den YAIBA voice: Yoshimasa Hosoya
Onimaru is not an original character created only for this movie. He is a central figure who repeatedly clashes with Yaiba Kurogane in YAIBA, and he had already appeared in the Detective Conan manga and television anime. The film drops him into the action with little explanation, so newcomers see an extraordinarily powerful stranger. For viewers who know his history, however, the skill on display is the payoff to a reputation established long before the movie.
Takeshi Onimaru Is Yaiba Kurogane’s Destined Rival in YAIBA
Takeshi Onimaru is one of the principal characters in Gosho Aoyama’s manga YAIBA. Its hero, Yaiba Kurogane, is a boy devoted to sword training. Onimaru repeatedly collides with Yaiba and is portrayed as one of his greatest rivals.
Onimaru is proud and reluctant to accept defeat, but that pride is backed by discipline rather than empty boasting. He trains relentlessly and reaches the top level of national high-school kendo through his own effort. Yaiba and Onimaru differ in personality and fighting style, yet both devote themselves intensely to the sword. They resist each other while remaining unable to dismiss the other’s ability.
The movie’s minimal introduction may have been designed as a surprise for readers familiar with YAIBA or Onimaru’s earlier Detective Conan appearance. Seeing Yaiba’s rival unleash his swordsmanship in a Detective Conan climax gives the scene its crossover appeal without requiring the film to retell his entire background.
He Arrives with Soshi Okita as Reinforcement in the Final Battle
Onimaru enters the chaotic final battle alongside Soshi Okita as reinforcement. Kadokura’s side has gathered a large group of armed men, leaving Heiji Hattori and the others facing an obstacle they cannot easily break through alone. Okita then brings Onimaru into the fight.
Onimaru does not flinch at the size of the opposing force. He uses his polished swordsmanship to drive opponents back one after another, changing the momentum almost as soon as he arrives. Earlier Detective Conan material had emphasized his tournament record more than extended combat, so the film makes his exceptional level much easier to see.
Onimaru was in Hakodate to compete in the kendo tournament being held there. This places him close enough to answer Okita’s call. The final battle then confirms that Okita sought his help and that Onimaru joined him in combat.
Kenjiro Tsuda Voices Him, While Yoshimasa Hosoya Leads the New YAIBA Anime
Kenjiro Tsuda voices Takeshi Onimaru in Detective Conan and The Million-dollar Pentagram. He also performed the role in international Episodes 971-972 (Japanese episodes 916-917), The Kendo Tournament of Love and Mystery (Parts 1-2). His deep delivery suits Onimaru’s strength and uncompromising personality.
Tsuda also voices Toshizo Hijikata in The Million-dollar Pentagram. By sharing the voice and visually linking the two swordsmen, the movie invites viewers to notice a suggestive parallel. A descendant connection is strongly implied by the shared voice actor and the movie’s brief flashback-like visual, although the film never states the blood relationship outright.
In the television anime Shin Samurai-den YAIBA, which began in 2025, Yoshimasa Hosoya voices Onimaru instead. The performances serve different series: Tsuda gives the Detective Conan version a weighty presence, while Hosoya plays the younger rival whose conflict with Yaiba develops over time. The change of actor does not mean that the characters have different names or roles.
Why Is Takeshi Onimaru So Strong? A National-Class High-School Kendo Fighter
Onimaru was not suddenly made powerful for the movie. He had already been presented as a competitor capable of winning at the national level in high-school kendo. The final battle turns that long-established reputation into visible action.
A Swordsman with Back-to-Back National Championship Results
Onimaru is described as having won the All-Japan High School Kendo Tournament twice in succession. Reaching the top repeatedly against competitors from across the country places him among the leading figures in high-school kendo.
In The Kendo Tournament of Love and Mystery, he is identified as the Tokyo representative with an exceptional competitive record. Heiji and Okita are both highly skilled, but Onimaru’s national results give his resume particular weight. His ability is also presented as the product of persistent training: his dislike of losing and his pride push him to keep refining himself.
That record is what makes his effect on the movie’s battlefield convincing. He is still a student, but his arrival changes the atmosphere because the story has already framed him as a disciplined champion rather than a conveniently powerful newcomer.
The Movie Gives His Strength Its First Major Action Showcase
The Million-dollar Pentagram provides the clearest animated showcase of Onimaru’s strength in Detective Conan. In The Kendo Tournament of Love and Mystery, he appears as a leading contender, but a case pulls attention away from the tournament. The anticipated official matches involving Heiji, Okita, and Onimaru therefore do not deliver a settled ranking.
The audience is told that Onimaru is strong, but sees relatively little of how he fights. The movie answers that frustration through movement: he faces numerous armed opponents without hesitation and defeats them in succession. He needs few words because the action communicates his level directly.
This is not the arrival of a newly invented powerhouse; it is an established champion finally receiving a substantial action sequence. The national-class reputation from the manga and anime is made tangible in the film’s climax.
The Strongest of Heiji, Okita, and Onimaru Has Not Been Confirmed
The story does not establish a confirmed ranking of Heiji Hattori, Soshi Okita, and Takeshi Onimaru. Onimaru has the most striking national tournament record described here. Okita has shown that he can press Heiji hard, while Heiji combines strong kendo technique with practical judgment under pressure.
- Takeshi Onimaru: national-class tournament results
- Soshi Okita: a swordsman capable of fighting Heiji at a very high level
- Heiji Hattori: strong kendo skill combined with practical decision-making
The three have not completed a formal round-robin under equal conditions. Onimaru’s expected match with Okita does not settle the issue, and Onimaru and Heiji have not reached a decisive result in an official match. Those results do not establish Onimaru as unquestionably number one. The movie places them on the same side, postponing the direct comparison again.
Takeshi Onimaru’s Connections to Soshi Okita and Toshizo Hijikata
Takeshi Onimaru and Soshi Okita are both swordsmen who originated in YAIBA and later appeared in Detective Conan. The movie has them fight together and then overlays Onimaru with imagery of Toshizo Hijikata. The confirmed relationship between the characters must nevertheless be kept separate from what the presentation merely suggests.
Onimaru and Okita Are Swordsmen Brought Over from YAIBA
Onimaru and Okita both appear in YAIBA and are depicted again in Detective Conan as highly skilled high-school kendo competitors. Their principal shared Detective Conan story is manga Volumes 93-94 and international Episodes 971-972 (Japanese episodes 916-917), The Kendo Tournament of Love and Mystery (Parts 1-2).
Onimaru enters the tournament with an elite record and shows interest in facing Okita. A murder case interrupts the event, however, and the expected contest does not take place. The Million-dollar Pentagram reverses that setup: instead of meeting as opponents, the two swordsmen stand on the same side.
They are not friends, schoolmates, or members of the same dojo; they represent rival schools and meet as competing swordsmen. Their shared origin and mutual awareness explain the crossover appeal.
They Fight Together, but the Details of Their Relationship Remain Unknown
In The Million-dollar Pentagram, Okita brings Onimaru as reinforcement. This establishes that they know each other and that Okita regards Onimaru as capable enough to help change the battle. Onimaru’s response also shows that he is willing to support Okita in that situation.
Their relationship is that of rival-school swordsmen rather than friends or dojo mates. The movie confirms their cooperation when Okita calls on Onimaru and Onimaru joins him in battle.
The safest description is that they are acquainted elite swordsmen. Okita calls on Onimaru, and Onimaru answers; the brief exchange conveys trust without revealing the missing details. Nothing shown permits a more precise account of when or how that trust developed.
Is Onimaru a Descendant of Toshizo Hijikata? The Movie Strongly Implies It
The movie uses staging that makes a connection between Onimaru and Toshizo Hijikata feel possible. Near the end, Onimaru calls, “Okita!” (unofficial translation), and the film follows this with imagery that overlays or evokes Hijikata through Onimaru.
Kenjiro Tsuda voices both characters, adding another deliberate parallel between their voices, appearances, and positions as swordsmen. A descendant connection between Onimaru and Hijikata is strongly implied, even though the movie stops short of a direct statement.
No dialogue explicitly names a blood relationship. Even so, the deliberate use of the same voice actor and the brief visual callback make the descendant reading the strongest interpretation. Onimaru’s cooperation with Okita is confirmed, while his Hijikata ancestry is strongly implied rather than directly stated.
Takeshi Onimaru’s Detective Conan Appearances in Manga, Anime, and Film
Onimaru did not enter the Detective Conan setting for the first time in The Million-dollar Pentagram. His main earlier story spans manga Volumes 93-94 and international Episodes 971-972 (Japanese episodes 916-917). The film later gives his swordsmanship a larger animated showcase.
Manga Volumes 93-94 and Episodes 971-972: The Kendo Tournament of Love and Mystery
Onimaru’s representative Detective Conan storyline begins in Volume 93, File 9, and continues through Volume 94, File 1. The anime adaptation is international Episodes 971-972 (Japanese episodes 916-917).
- Volume 93, File 9
- Volume 93, File 10
- Volume 93, File 11
- Volume 94, File 1
The English episode titles are The Kendo Tournament of Love and Mystery (Part 1) and The Kendo Tournament of Love and Mystery (Part 2). The competition is held at the Toto Gymnasium as a national high-school spring kendo tournament. Heiji hopes to settle matters with Okita, while Onimaru is involved as a national-class competitor.
A murder occurs at the venue, shifting the story’s priority from the matches to solving the case. Consequently, Onimaru’s long action scenes are limited while his achievements and presence are emphasized. The sequence starts in Volume 93 rather than existing only in Volume 94, so following it from Volume 93, File 9 preserves the full progression.
A Full Action Role in The Million-dollar Pentagram
The 27th Detective Conan feature, The Million-dollar Pentagram, brings Onimaru into a theatrical action sequence. Earlier manga and anime material foregrounded his record; here he actually demonstrates his swordsmanship against a large group.
He enters the final conflict with Okita and defeats members of Kadokura’s armed group in succession. His screen time is short, but the balance of the fight changes visibly after he arrives. Long-time readers receive the payoff of seeing his ability, while first-time viewers encounter a mysterious champion whose background is left largely unstated.
The same scene functions both as a surprise and as the realization of an older reputation. That dual effect is the main reason such a brief role leaves a strong impression.
How Does Takeshi Onimaru Differ Between YAIBA and Detective Conan?
Onimaru appears in both YAIBA and Detective Conan, but not every element of the original work is automatically established in the Detective Conan version. His core identity as a proud, exceptionally skilled swordsman carries across, while the scope of what each story depicts is very different.
A Cross-Series Guest Appearance, Not Reincarnation
Onimaru is not described as someone who died in YAIBA and was reincarnated into Detective Conan. The natural reading is that a character from another Gosho Aoyama work makes a cross-series guest appearance.
Detective Conan also includes characters connected with YAIBA and Magic Kaito, including Soshi Okita, Aoko Nakamori, and Kaito Kuroba, who is also known as Kaitou Kid. That does not prove that every detail of all those fictional settings is identical. Familiar character traits should therefore be distinguished from continuity claims that remain unsettled.
Within the Detective Conan material discussed here, Onimaru is firmly presented as a national-class high-school kendo fighter. Knowing YAIBA enriches his background, but his movie role works on the simpler premise that he is an exceptionally capable student swordsman.
Demon King Onimaru and Supernatural Powers Are Unconfirmed in Detective Conan
YAIBA gives Onimaru a much more fantastical story. In that series, he becomes involved with the Wind God Sword, transforms into an oni, and gains power on the scale associated with Demon King Onimaru. His conflict with Yaiba goes far beyond an ordinary kendo tournament and enters a world of magical swords and supernatural battles.
Detective Conan presents him as a high-school kendo champion. He does not transform or use supernatural power in either The Kendo Tournament of Love and Mystery or The Million-dollar Pentagram. It remains unconfirmed whether the Detective Conan version shares Onimaru’s Demon King history from YAIBA.
The distinction matters because skill with a sword is not evidence of supernatural continuity. YAIBA contains the fantasy-scale biography; Detective Conan establishes only the champion swordsman seen on the page and screen.
The 2025 Shin Samurai-den YAIBA Explores Onimaru More Deeply
For viewers who want Onimaru’s original story, Shin Samurai-den YAIBA offers a direct route into his rivalry with Yaiba. The series began on April 5, 2025, and its first season ran for 24 episodes, with Yoshimasa Hosoya voicing Onimaru.
The anime develops his meeting with Yaiba, his pride as a swordsman, and the way the two rivals become intensely aware of each other. That context helps explain why the brief reinforcement seen in the Detective Conan film carries the confidence of a character who supports a much larger story elsewhere.
A second season covering the Kaguya arc has been announced. A teaser visual appeared in March 2026, while a specific broadcast date remained unconfirmed. The announcement establishes no more specific broadcast schedule.
Summary
The shaved-headed swordsman in The Million-dollar Pentagram is Takeshi Onimaru. To a viewer meeting him only in the movie, he may look like an unexplained fighter who appears near the end. In context, he is Yaiba Kurogane’s major rival from YAIBA and a national-class competitor already introduced in Detective Conan.
His earlier appearance is the manga story spanning Volumes 93-94, adapted as international Episodes 971-972 (Japanese episodes 916-917), The Kendo Tournament of Love and Mystery (Parts 1-2). That story establishes his tournament stature but does not settle the expected contests. The movie later converts that reputation into a concentrated action scene against Kadokura’s group.
His alliance with Okita is clear, and they are rival-school swordsmen rather than friends, schoolmates, or dojo mates. The visual and vocal parallel with Hijikata strongly implies a descendant connection, although the film never states it directly. Likewise, no official result ranks Onimaru above both Heiji and Okita under equal conditions.
The appeal of Onimaru’s cameo lies in that balance: his extraordinary skill has a real foundation, while the movie leaves room to wonder about the relationships around him. A short appearance changes the entire fight and encourages viewers to discover the much larger rivalry he carries from YAIBA.
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