Rakshasa

The Rakshasa is a pair of new weapons in the second game, Bayonetta 2, that can be equipped to either the hands or feet. They are modeled after Sosun Pattah (curved Indian swords) and serve as an equivalent for the Shuraba from the first game.

In-Game Description
"'A pair of swords that absorbed the demon god Rakshasa and were cleansed with Soma."

"Energy from Rakshasa's chakra flows from the swords into their user, making them easy to handle.'"

How to Obtain
Rakshasa is one of the first alternate weapons that can be obtained in Bayonetta 2. In Chapter 1, after defeating the angels in the courtyard area, the Entrance of the Gladiators Angelic Hymns Gold LP will appear where Rodin will create the weapon if you take it to him. The alternative set of Rakshasa can then be purchased at the Gates Of Hell for 29800.

Unique Traits
Like 修羅刃 Shuraba before them, the Rakshasa are quick to swing, with dynamic combos that allow it to excel against nearly every enemy in the game, making these blades a popular choice among players of all skill levels, and are usually the go-to weapon during the first playthrough. In addition, they have a particularly strong and varied move-set when equipped to the feet, making them an exceptionally dynamic melee weapon.

Charge Modifier: A three-stage charge, almost exactly like Shuraba's, though it's slightly faster to charge. The first stage will cause Bayonetta to slash at everything immediately around her for low damage. The second stage deals significantly more damage in a larger area, while the third and final charge stage will slice through everything around Bayonetta in a huge area, dealing significant damage to virtually all enemies on the screen. The Charge Modifier for the feet slot seems to award more combo points than on the hands, due to both blades hitting instead of just one, despite this, it does the same damage.

Bullet Climax: Bayonetta will spin with swords out-stretched, dealing damage repeatedly to enemies around her. If is pressed repeatedly while Rakshasa is equipped to the hands, she will continue spinning for a moment longer. While equipped to the feet, Bayonetta will do a handstand and slash everything around her with each blade. Compared to the hands Bullet Climax this attack deals slightly more damage per strike, but comes out slower and can't be extended, making is largely inferior.

Unique Combos: Rakshasa's combo chains are unlike other weapons in Bayonetta 2 in that the finishing strikes have very little ending frames, meaning that as the finishing Wicked Blade appears, Bayonetta can immediately continue into a second combo without interruption, especially if used on both hands and feet simultaneously. A good example of this is, which while listed as two separate full-length combos, can be executing in succession without a break between them.

Wicked Weaves & Umbran Climax: Like Shuraba and Chernabog, Rakshasa summons forth spectral blades to slice and skewer enemies, with the launchers even lingering to impale enemies in the air for a moment. During Umbran Climax these ghostly pink blades will slash through the battlefield in horizontal and vertical motions, sometimes even counter-clockwise to each other, with the finishers summoning Mictlantecuhtli to dive across the battlefield when used in punching finishers, and Diomedes to lunge and stab when used with kicking finishers.

Comparison to 修羅刃 -Shuraba-: In a direct comparison, Shuraba deals slightly more damage per attack (33% more,) and swings slightly faster in most combos, though Rakshasa does have a few attacks that deal slightly more and swing faster. In particular, Rashasa's "barrage" combo (/) deals much more damage than Shuraba's equivalent. In addition, while Rashasa can chain together exceptionally long combos, this becomes much less effective against stronger late-game enemies and on harder difficulties, giving Shuraba a very slight edge in more difficult encounters.

Despite this, the difference between the two blade weapons is rather negligible, and player comfort while wielding one of them will largely be the deciding factor in preference between the two. The "shortcomings", if they can even be called then, between a comparison of the two weapons can be entirely mitigated by simply equipping Shuraba to the hands and Rakshasa to the feet.

羅刹 Rasetsu
The Rasetsu is Jeanne's equivalent to Rakshasa. The hilt of each blade is colored silver to match Jeanne's preference.

In-Game Description: 

"'A mesmerizing, sharp-edged pair of swords that seal the goddess of destruction and ruin, Rasetsu. When a female has these weapons in her hands, demonic energy causes her power to increase tenfold and can send lost souls away from this world to where they belong.'"

Trivia

 * Rakshasa are demons from Hindu mythology, whose existence is recorded in the epics Ramayana and the Mahabharata. They are beings born from the breath of the deva Brahma, who were born of such bloodlust that they began eating him, and were cast out onto the earthly realm by Vishnu upon his panic. They soon became renowned for their powers over sorcery, shapeshifting, and illusion, becoming mighty warriors for both the forces of good and evil, and were infamous for their man-eating, consumption of un-savattic articles, and carnage fanatical ways, especially when wars and large battles became at their worst.
 * Jeanne's equivalent, Rasetsu (羅刹), is literally the Japanese term for Rakshasa. In Japanese Buddhism, the most famous of Rasetsu was known to be a family of eleven demonesses, whom its ten daughters ravaged the land in search for children to feast upon; knowing of this horrific custom, Siddhartha Gautama hid one of the daughters to let the mother know of the pain and sorrow she had caused to countless mothers and families, and in penance, she renounced her ways to become the Buddhist goddess Kariteimo.
 * If you taunt with this weapon equipped, Bayonetta will take the same pose she does in the secret dance video.
 * The Rakshasa have an Umbran Elegance that gives Bayonetta a traditional Indian themed dress and veil.
 * Before their name was revealed, Rakshasa was given the fan name "Vorpal Blades". The word Vorpal originates from Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky" as "nonsense" adjective used to describe the weapon that the hero must use to slay the poem's namesake. In the last few decades, it has spread to other media, particularly table-top RPG settings, where it is usually given to powerful and/or enchanted swords with a particularly keen edge that might even have the ability to slay an enemy in a single strike.