Bando Spiders
Bando Supaidāzu (盤戸スパイダーズ)Bando is a team that placed second at last year's Autumn Tokyo Tournament, and their ace player, Hayato Akaba, was also named tournament MVP. Many of the good players from Bando were recruited by Teikoku, including Akaba, leaving only the team's special teams players. However, after a confrontation with the team's kicker Sasaki Kotaro, Akaba changed his mind, and rejoined Bando, helping the team to rebuild using a unique kicking-based strategy. After the Spiders lose in the semi-finals of the Tokyo Tournament to Ojo, Bando plays against the Deimon Devil Bats and loses 23-24 in the third-place consolation match.
Hayato Akaba
- Voiced by: Daisuke Hirakawa
Akaba Hayato (赤羽 隼人) Akaba is the tight end for the Spiders and the team's captain. He is obsessed with music and often plays his electric guitar and uses musical metaphors to state his opinions. While playing, Akaba wears a blue eyeshield, and he introduces himself to Sena as "the real Eyeshield 21". He was offered a place on the Teikoku team, and accepted because of the team's strength and his father transferring to Kansai. After a confrontation with teammate Kotaro, Akaba changed his mind and decided to return to Bando. Because of the school's policy, Akaba was forced to sit out for six months from the beginning of the school year, so he could not play with the team until the match against the Devil Bats. Instead, Akaba served as an adviser and instructor to his teammates, teaching them the blocking techniques he created through painstaking research. While Akaba has the upper hand on Sena through much of the game, he eventually loses in a direct confrontation with the younger player, and Sena scores the winning touchdown for the Devil Bats. Afterward, Akaba presents Sena with his blue eyeshield (in the anime he returns Sena's original green eyeshield to him), which Sena uses for the remainder of the manga, and states that Sena deserves to be called Eyeshield 21.
Akaba is a strong and swift player known for his ability as a lead blocker. His main technique, "Spider Poison", involves shoving against an opposing player at the moment that their center of gravity shifts, allowing Akaba to knock them over. On defense, Akaba uses a technique called "Run Force", in which he forces opposing blockers into certain positions to allow himself to be in position for a tackle. Akaba also teaches his teammates to use Spider Poison, making the entire team stronger.
Akaba is recruited to be part of Team Japan, and agrees to play on the condition that he will only play on special teams due to his desire to demonstrate the strength of Bando's philosophy as a kicking team. He also recommends that both Kotaro and Musashi be used as kickers, depending on the situation surrounding each kick.
