< Rurouni Kenshin

Rurouni Kenshin/Characters


A list of notable characters from the manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin.

Note: All name are in Eastern Order

Main Characters / The Kenshingumi

Himura Kenshin (Birth Name: Himura Shinta)

Voiced by: Mayo Suzukaze (JP - Anime), Megumi Ogata (JP - Drama CD), Richard Cansino (EN - Anime), J. Shanon Weaver (EN - OVA)

"A sword is a weapon, and swordsmanship is learning how to kill. That is the truth. What Mistress Kaoru says is play-talk that only those that have never stained their hands can say. However, I prefer Mistress Kaoru's play-talk more than the truth. And I wish that in the world to come, her play talk shall become the truth."

The titular and main character of the series. He is a wanderer formerly known as the Hitokiri Battosai, a deadly man-slayer who slaughtered many men in the war before the Meiji era.

Kenshin's fighting style is Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, now an ancient study. With this dangerous sword style, he uses his Sakabato (a sword with a reversed edge) to restrain himself from killing anyone ever again, and renounces the title Hitokiri.


Kamiya Kaoru

Voiced by: Miki Fujitani (JP - Anime), Tomo Sakurai (JP - Drama CD), Dorothy Elias-Fahn (EN - Anime), Katherine Catmull (EN - OVA)

A seventeen-year-old dojo instructor. Kaoru is a teacher of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu style, a swords style used to protect people, and not harm others. Since her father was killed in the war, responsibility for running the family dojo fell to young Kaoru. After defending Kaoru from the fake Battōsai and his allies, Kenshin is invited to live at the dojo. Kaoru quickly develops a crush on Kenshin, soon falling in love with him, although she tends to violently deny it.


Sagara Sanosuke / Higashidani Sanosuke

Voiced by: Yuji Ueda (JP - Anime), Tomokazu Seki (JP - Drama CD), Lex Lang (EN - Anime), Gray G. Haddock (EN - OVA)
Child Sanosuke: Yuriko Fuchizaki (JP), Brianne Siddall (EN)

A street fighter who befriends Kenshin early in the series. As a youth, Sanosuke ran away from home to join the Sekiho Army, a group of farmers and merchants who fought for the Ishin Shishi during the Meiji Revolution. When the Sekiho were betrayed and executed by the other revolutionaries, Sanosuke escaped and becomes a fighter-for-hire to vent his anger. He is hired to attack Kenshin, a former Ishin Shishi, but when Sanosuke is defeated he becomes Kenshin's best friend and fighting partner.

  • Alliterative Name If he's using his adoptive father's surname that is.
  • Animal Motifs: The rooster.
  • Badass Normal: Compared to everyone else.
  • Big Brother Mentor: To Yahiko. Captain Sagara Souzo was one to him; Sanosuke would take his surname out of respect.
  • BFS: Sano wielded a massive zanbato as his trademark weapon when he made his first appearance. Deconstructed (literally) by Kenshin, who notes that the zanbato's size makes it impossible to wield effectively and limits its' usage to horizontal and overhead swings.
  • Blood Knight -> Boisterous Bruiser
  • Charles Atlas Superpower
  • Chekhov's Gun: Sano's zanbato is broken in his debut battle with Kenshin and is never seen again... until the Jinchuu arc comes around and Sano breaks it out again to knock one of Kujiranami's cannon shells right back at him.
  • Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Mastery of the Two Layers becomes this after overusing it causes Sano to break his hand, and every subsequent usage re-breaks it. Subverted in that Sano eventually devises an alternate version that uses both hands to reduce the attack's backlash.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Particularly in the manga.
  • Defeat Means Friendship
  • Determinator
  • Dude, Where's My Respect?: In his interactions with Saito.
  • Estrogen Brigade Bait
  • Generation Xerox: Just look at his dad... The biological one, Higashidane Kamishimoemon. Not the adoptive one, Sagara Souzou from the Sekihoutai.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: Sano's choice of fighting technique after the zanbato breaks. Somewhat subverted in that certain really skilled characters can crush him with no problem, but if they aren't at Kenshin's or Saito's level, no amount of martial arts mastery or pressure point knowledge will do anything to put him down.
  • Hot-Blooded
  • Idiot Hero: Well... Idiot Lancer.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold
  • The Lancer
  • Lex Lang
  • Made of Iron: The first character in the series to take one of Kenshin's attacks and stand up again; this was practically his trademark ability for the entire series. Also a source of several Crowning Moments Of Awesome, usually when a Villain of the Week hits him with their strongest attack only for Sano to nonchalantly brush it off; if they were particularly powerful Villains Of The Week, they might give him a bruise or two before Sano demolished them with Good Old Fisticuffs.

Sano: What's this? You thought you could kill things with this?

  • Man in White
  • Megaton Punch: Mastery of the Two Layers is a rare serious use of this trope, as well as Sano's only named technique and his other trademark ability after he learned it from Anji.
  • New Media Are Evil: In the anime. He's terrified and superstitious of photography, believing the camera steals people's souls. To be fair, it is documented that some Japanese during the late Tokugawa and early Meiji period held these superstitions, even when Japanese photographers are already being trained in the craft.
  • No Sense of Direction: Gets lost even when he has a map and compass handy.
  • Oral Fixation Fixation: Always seen chewing something (his namesake, Harada Sanosuke of The Shinsengumi, is portrayed the same way in the flashback chapter).
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: He's the manly man to Kenshin's sensitive guy.
  • Spanner in the Works: During the Kyoto arc, Shishio watches Kenshin, Saitou, and Sano from the deck of his ironclad battleship, the Rengoku (that he had sunk fully 3/5ths of his finances into acquiring) and dismisses Sano as a mere tagalong. Sano then does him the favour of throwing a few bombs that his friend Katsu had given him right before leaving Kyoto at the Rengoku, which sinks pretty shortly afterwards.
    • He does it again during the raid on Shishio's base: Shishio was counting on Monk Anji, Seta Soujiro, and Aoshi Shinomori to weaken Kenshin, while Blind Sword Usui weakened Saito. Instead, Sanosuke was able to beat Monk Anji alone, keeping Kenshin from taking internal damage before his fight with Shishio.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: Speced up with a Sarashi.
  • Walking the Earth: At the end of the series.
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Terrified of trains and photographs in the anime. The scene where these fears are revealed and Kaoru fails to dispel them is a Crowning Moment of Funny.
  • The Worf Effect: While he's not defeated often, his utter loss to Saitou TWICE prompts him to train himself. Plus in the anime, Aoshi takes him out in a single blow as does Shishio in the manga and anime.
    • Worf Had the Flu: His loss to Shishio, while inevitable given who he was, makes a lot of sense considering the condition he was in. Nobody's ready to fight a master swordsman after trading hits with someone like Monk Anji.
      • A fact that was actually pointed out by Shishio himself-- he kept Monk Anji as the first line specifically because, in his words, nobody could walk away from him unscathed. And given the way Monk Anji fought, it's very likely he would have crippled Kenshin or Saito, who are more skilled than Sanosuke but can't just stand there and tank hits.


Myojin Yahiko

Voiced by: Mina Tominaga (JP - Anime), Minami Takayama (JP - Drama CD), Wendee Lee (EN)

A young boy at ten years old and the son of a samurai. When he was younger, both of his parents died, and he was taken in by the Yakuza, who forced him to live as a pickpocket. Once he meets up with Kenshin and Kaoru, he decides to stand up to the Yakuza, and escapes with Kenshin's help. He joins Kaoru's dojo to become a stronger swordsman, becoming the first graduate of Kamiya Kasshin-ryū. Over the course of the series, he becomes a strong warrior.

Supporting Characters

Sekihara Tae

Voiced by: Sumi Shimamoto (JP - Anime), Michiko Neya (JP - Drama CD), Michelle Ruff (EN - Anime)

The manager of the beef hot pot restaurant, the Akabeko. She has a twin sister named Sae managing in a similar restaurant called the Shirobeko in Kyoto. Sagara Sanosuke also owes her a seemingly large sum of money in which interest is accounted for. In the anime, and a bit in the manga, she has also tried to push the relationship between Himura Kenshin and Kamiya Kaoru since it seemed it to her that it was not working.

Kaoru: Don't lecture me about getting married, Tae!! You're already twenty-XXXXX' year's old!!
Tae literally turns to stone at that comment.


Sanjou Tsubame

Voiced by: Yuri Shiratori (JP), Michelle Ruff (EN)

A waitress at Tae's restaurant and Myojin Yahiko's sweetheart. She was saved by him from the ronin her family worked for as Yahiko stopped them from robbing the Akabeko.

  • Expy: Of Hotaru Tomoe from Sailor Moon.
  • Friend to All Living Things: Very briefly shown in the manga just as the Revenge arc begins; walking past a bamboo grove, she greets some singing birds as they flutter around her. Then she holds out a finger and one lands on it.
  • Meet Cute: Finds Yahiko training, watches him and then repairs his broken sandal. They meet up again as Kenshin's group goes to the Akebeko, where Tsubame is working part-time.
  • Rescue Romance: Yahiko has to defeat the Jerkass who took Tsubame in after her parents died and abused her both physically and emotionally.
  • Shrinking Violet: She even wears a purple kimono in her first episode.
  • Talking To Herself: She and Tae are voiced by Michelle Ruff in english dub.
  • Yamato Nadeshiko: One in training, thanks to her boss/adoptive mother Tae.

Takani Megumi

Voiced by: Mika Doi (JP - Anime), Mari Devon (EN - Anime), Rebeca Robinson (EN - OVA)

A woman who was originally forced to make opium for an industrialist. With Kenshin and Sanosuke's support and encouragement, she becomes a doctor to atone for her past misdeeds.

Makimachi Misao

Voiced by: Tomo Sakurai (JP), Philece Sampler (EN)

A kunoichi who was raised by the Oniwabanshū. She appears in the story after Himura Kenshin leaves Kamiya Kaoru and his friends and goes to Kyoto alone.


Kashiwazaki Nenji (aka Okina)

Voiced by: Koichi Kitamura (JP), Michael McConnohie (EN)

An elder member of the Oniwabanshu, and during the Bakumatsu, he operated at the Kyoto Investigator in order to analyze the movements in the city's political world. After the Restoration, he raised Misao, who was handed over by Aoshi.

Tsukayama Yutaro

Voiced by: Mayumi Tanaka (JP), Michael Lindsay (EN - Raijuta arc), Brian Donovan (EN - Black Knights arc)

A young boy who wishes to become a better swordsman.

Hiko Seijuro XIII

Voiced by: Shuichi Ikeda (JP), Richard Epcar (EN - Anime), Joe York (EN - First OVA series), James Brownlee (EN - Second OVA series)

Kenshin's swordsmanship instructor, and passed down his signature style to Kenshin, the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū.

  • The Ace
  • Badass: Possibly the biggest badass in the series.
  • Big Damn Heroes: His only fight in the series starts this way.
  • Brilliant but Lazy: Although he isn't lazy so much as jaded.
  • Catch Phrase: "My stupid/idiot apprentice" when speaking of Kenshin.
  • Cynical Mentor
  • Deus Ex Machina: His arrival at the Aoi-Ya.
  • Heroic Neutral: Content to live a quiet life as a potter, but will come out of retirement to help his pupil.
  • Insufferable Genius: He loves bragging and calls himself a genius, but it doesn't change the fact that he really is the best swordsman in the series.
  • Jerkass Facade / Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's arrogant and condescending, but shows a surprising amount of warmth towards Kenshin when he thinks Kenshin's mortally wounded him and later talks and fights Fuji out of being a member of the villainous Juppongatana.
  • Knight in Sour Armour: With the emphasis on sour; He berates Kenshin that yes, the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu successor is meant to protect the innocent and uphold justice, but as a warrior unbound by political prejudices, not a political tool. He knows the age of the the swordsmen is over, and is quite bitter about it.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Faster, stronger, and more skilled than any other character in the series.
  • The Obi-Wan: Subverted twice. Firstly when Kenshin disobeys him and storms off before finishing his training, secondly when he survives Kenshin's ultimate attack.
  • Old Master: He saw in Himura Shinta's kindness the potential of a true warrior, and adopted him as Kenshin to create one... though the results were not exactly what he intended or liked... until much later.
  • Older Than They Look: Reinforces the running gag of practitioners of the the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu being much older than they look. Yahoo and Misao have a minor freak out after hearing his age, wondering if the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu is some kind of fountain of youth.
  • Power Limiter: That cape does more than just look badass. In addition to being quite heavy, it's also outfitted with several springs that provide resistance in opposition to muscle movement to limit the wearer's strength. It's a testament to how strong Hiko is that he only takes the darn thing off once in the entire series. And that was just for his pupil's final exam.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Makes his living... as a potter. Pottery in Japan is very Serious Business.
  • Retired Badass
  • Richard Epcar
  • Sexy Mentor
  • Shout-Out: His cloak is based on Spawn's.
  • Split-Second Blade Spam: As the 13th master of the Hiten Mitsurugi style, he naturally is capable of using the same Kuzuryusen that he taught Kenshin just before he went off to face down Shishio and his Juppongatana at their HQ.
  • Story-Breaker Power: In Watsuki's own words, he's the "Joker in the Card Deck" and Watsuki wrote himself into a corner with him, which is why he's reserved for use as a Deus Ex Machina.
  • Tall, Dark and Handsome
  • Tall, Dark and Snarky
  • Warrior Therapist: Just watch his fight with Fuji.

Okita Souji

Voiced by: Yoko Ogai (JP)

Leader of the first squad of the Shinsengumi during the revolution. He suffers from tuberculosis as seen when he fought Kenshin in a flashback, though he was still able to hold his own with the Battosai.

Yukishiro Tomoe or less commonly, Himura Tomoe

Voiced by: Junko Iwao (JP), Rebecca Davis (EN)

Kenshin's first love and Enishi's sister. She was the elder daughter of a samurai, a low-level bureaucrat who served the Tokugawa Shogunate in Edo. Tomoe left home and joined the Yaminobu with the intention of killing Kenshin in order to avenge her fiancé's death, but ultimately fell in love with him... and sacrificed her life to save him.


Kiyosato Akira

Voiced by: Tetsuya Iwanaga (JP)

The second son of a shōgun retainer, he was the childhood friend and fiancé of Yukishiro Tomoe. Fearing that his own meager position would not be enough to impress his betrothed, Akira postponed the wedding and left Edo for Kyoto to join the Mimawarigumi, where he became a bodyguard for the high-ranking samurai Shigekura Jūbei. But in the first year of Genji (1864), after a night of drinking with Shigekura and fellow bodyguard Ishiji, Akira came face-to-face with the infamous Ishin Shishi hitokiri Himura Battōsai and met his demise.


Katsura Kogoro

Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (JP)

Takasugi Shinsaku

Voiced by: Wataru Takagi (JP)

Iizuka-san

Voiced by: Ryusei Nakao (JP)

Rivals and Miscellaneous Villains

Kurogasa / Udo Jin-e

Voiced by: Akio Ohtsuka (JP), Dave Mallow (EN)

A hitokiri during the Revolution, and there is evidence he continued killing people well after the end of the Revolution. A master of the Nikaidō Heihō technique, attacked high-ranking Imperialist officials of the Meiji government (leading some to believe he fought for the Tokugawa shogunate during the war, since he did state that he was a member of the Shinsengumi, though his thirst for blood led him to killing members of his own squad), killing anyone who stood in his way.


Shinomori Aoshi

Voiced by: Yoshito Yasuhara (JP), Terrence Stone (EN)

The genius young leader of the Oniwabanshū onmitsu. Known to his followers as the "Okashira", Aoshi's skills in combat, stealth and information gathering are without parallel, but having missed his chance to gain glory for the Oniwabanshū during the bakumatsu, he led a group of his men in serving as enforcers for the wealthy industrialist and opium dealer Takeda Kanryū in the hopes of finding a new battlefield in the Meiji era.

When Kanryū made himself the enemy of the legendary Hitokiri Battōsai, Aoshi believed that his long-missed chance to prove the superiority of the Oniwabanshū had finally come. Unfortunately, Kanryū's wicked deception and greed cost Aoshi's men their lives and the shame of being defeated and then rescued by Battōsai drove the Okashira to a new vow: he would defeat Battōsai at any cost in order to gain the title of "the strongest" and offer that title at his comrades' graves.

Takeda Kanryuu

Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita (JP), John Snyder (EN)

A cunning money-minded industrialist and opium dealer. He hired Shinomori Aoshi and his Oniwanbanshu, as well as numerous lesser warriors, as personal bodygaurds and hitmen.


Isurugi Raijuta

Voiced by: Ryunosuke Obayashi (JP), Richard Epcar (EN)

The leader and founder of the Shinko-ryū "school" of kenjutsu - an organization whose purpose is to revitalize Japanese kenjutsu through force.

  • Anticlimax Boss: He's a big, muscular man who appears to be a genuine threat when he first appears, but as the story progresses he's eventually shown up for the weakling he really is compared to Kenshin. This is even more obvious in the manga; in the anime, he at least had an imposing force of samurai warriors to back him up.
  • Evil Gloating: He does this during his fight against Kenshin. It's more jarring in the manga than in the anime, as only it serves to prove just how weak he really is as a fighter.
  • Informed Ability: Claims his Izuna technique is the "ultimate killing technique." Kenshin proves him very, very wrong.
  • Manipulative Bastard: He utilizes Yutaro's hero-worship of him to his own advantage, pretending to be the boy's sword instructor while accessing Yutaro's family fortune for his own ends.
  • Straw Hypocrite: In the manga, Kenshin (correctly) guesses that despite Raijuta's ambition to restore the "killing sword" philosophy and his claims of Izuna being the "ultimate killing technique," Raijuta himself has never actually killed anybody. The fact that Raijuta celebrates at being able to nick Kenshin on the wrist with said technique, instead of expressing disappointment that the blow wasn't a fatal one, cements the point.
  • Villainous Breakdown: In the manga, following a "The Reason You Suck" Speech from Kenshin.
  • The Worf Effect: He fights Kenshin in one-on-one combat following the Kick the Dog scenario above. It goes about as well for him as you'd expect (totally one-sided against him in the manga).


Saito Hajime (aka Fujita Goro)

Voiced by: Hirotaka Suzuoki (JP -Anime), Ken Narita (JP - 2011 OVA), Kirk Thornton (EN)

The former captain of the third unit of the Shinsengumi and currently a special agent for the Meiji Government's Department of Internal Affairs. Having a long-standing rivalry with Himura Kenshin since their days on opposite sides of the Bakumatsu, Saitō nevertheless holds a begrudging respect for the rurouni and has come to his aid on assignment more than once, acting as a ruthless ally and the voice of cynical reason in the Kenshin-gumi's major battles.


The Ten Swords / Juppongatana

Shishio Makoto

Voiced by: Masanori Ikeda (JP), Steve Blum (EN)

The primary antagonist of the "Kyoto arc" in the Manga and the second season of the anime. Like Kenshin, Shishio was an assassin during the Revolution. He aspires to conquer all Japan by re-creating the chaos of the Revolution. He was known as the successor of the legendary Battōsai, replacing Kenshin after he retired. He possessed skills equal or even greater to Himura, but none of the conscience.

Seta Soujirou

Voiced by: Noriko Hidaka (JP), Tara Jayne (EN - Episodes 31-47), Melissa Fahn (EN - Episodes 54-56, 61)

A teenage boy who is Shishio's right-hand man. He is noted in the series for always smiling, and apparently displaying no emotions in battle. He met Shishio when he was a small boy. After his parents died in the war, he stayed with his abusive relatives that treated him as a slave. He witnessed Shishio killing police men, after carrying large amounts rice packages back and forth, Shishio was about to kill him but didn't because of his habit to smile when he is in danger. Shishio orders him to keep him in a safe house and to provide for him. Days pass and Soujirou tended to him and explained his situation with his relatives. Shishio then explained his creed of survival of the fittest and gives him his sword. When Soujirou is blamed for wasting rice his older relatives try to kill him thinking that they can pin it on Shishio. In the end, Soujirou killed his relatives and went of with Shishio to become his protégé.

Soujirou's apparent lack of emotion, his simple, insensitive mentality that the strong will live and the weak shall die, and his skills make him a formidable foe for Kenshin. As a master swordsman of his own style, Sōjirō's abilities have earned him the nickname of "Heaven's Sword".

Soujirou: "You... Himura-san, you say you strive to protect people... Then... WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE TO PROTECT ME WHEN I NEEDED YOU!?"


Komagata Yumi

Voiced by: Kanako Irie (JP), Wendee Lee (EN)

An oiran, a courtesan in Yoshiwara, formerly an akasen. Because of that, she is beautiful, intelligent, dignified, well-cultured, and was brought up in a comfortable life. She was always interested in social issues and occurrences in Japan, and became revolted at the Japanese government's stance regarding prostitutes. She came to love Shishio Makoto with an utmost passion, which he returned. Thus, she joined Shishio's conspiracy to bring down the Meiji government. She is constantly concerned about Shishio's medical state.


Honjou Kamatari

Voiced by: Junko Takeuchi (JP), Sonja S. Fox (EN)

A crossdresser. He loves Shishio Makoto deeply, but knows that he will never be loved like Komagata Yumi nor will he ever become as talented as Seta Soujirou, who serves as Shishio's right hand man.

Kamatari uses a very heavy scythe-like weapon, a reaper, with a chain ball on the end of the weapon; this is called Ogama. He practices Honjou-ryu, his own style of martial arts with his scythe.


Fuji

Voiced by: Unsho Ishizuka (JP), Beau Billingslea (EN)

A giant, considered a freak by everyone around him; his real name is not stated in the series. One day he was attacked and almost killed but the old man Saizuchi found him and took him in. The gentle, depressed Fuji was in an ideal state for Saizuchi to manipulate his emotions and turn him into an unbelievable fighter. Saizuchi keeps telling Fuji that he owes him for saving his life and uses that to control him.

  • All of the Other Reindeer: His enormous height terrified everyone, and once he was shot to almost death by scared guards.
  • Anti-Villain: A lot more sympathetic than his allies.
  • Break the Cutie: His backstory is completely heartwretching.
  • Expy: His armored form is noted in the manga's notes to be based off Evangelion Unit 01.
  • Gentle Giant: One who towered over buildings), and despite his terrifying armor, he's actually the sweetest character in the series.
  • Manly Tears: When Hiko adresses and treats him as a human and not a tool or a monster, Fuji takes off his mask and helmet and cries in joy. Then, they duel properly, and Hiko wins.
  • Mighty Glacier: Averted, though he is huge, he's so fast that the gang at the Oniwabanshu place until after he had cut it down, but hey, Hiko makes everyone seem slow compared to him.
  • Screaming Warrior
  • What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Or at least, a freakishly huge one. Misao lampshades the trope by wondering if he was a human man or not.
  • White-Haired Pretty Boy: He's actually not that bad looking under that armor...
  • Wild Card: When he was first mentioned, it is implied that he is ever a an overconfident brute or a simple-minded behemoth that uses strong, but slow punches. No could have expected he'd be a huge swordsman who's not only subtle, but not look menacing in his armor. In fact, it's implied only Hiko could face him on equal terms.
    • Shishio remarks that Soujiro is his strongest warrior under him, but it seems that Fuji has more raw power than all of his top men, even him. And is heavily implied that even Kenshin would lose to him, so Hiko the strongest character in the series had to face him.
  • Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds

Saizuchi

Voiced by: Ikuo Nishikawa (JP), Paul St. Peter (EN)

A cunning small old man who manipulates Fuji and lays out the battle plans for him; his real name is not stated in the series. He believes that his old age makes him the one who is right since he has lived so long. Saizuchi's talents lie not in battle-abilities, but his proficient use of words.


Yukyuzan Anji

Voiced by: Yasuyoshi Hara (JP), Michael McConnohie (EN)

Only the hands of men can save the world of men. But to do so they must surpass the gods.

A warrior fallen-monk who fights alongside Shishio to destroy the Meiji government who did nothing to stop the anti-Buddhist purge which resulted in the destruction of his home and the deaths of the five orphaned children he cared for in his temple, who came from families who opposed the Meiji restoration and were wiped away during the war.

Anji is the third strongest and most merciful of the Ten Swords and has made an agreement with Shishio that Anji shall decide whether someone lives or dies. Despite being ranked as third most powerful, Uonuma Usui seems to fear him to some extent, having declined from Anji's challenge after the fallen monk protected Makimachi Misao from the Blind Murderer. He does not use a blade directly in combat, instead utilizing Futae no Kiwami (Double Layer Limit or "Mastery of Two Layers") to strike the blade into the ground to attack from a distance, or more usually directly with his fists.


Sadoshima Houji

Voiced by: Hiroshi Takahashi (JP), David Mallow (EN)

Shishio's second in command. He used to be an official in the Meiji government but lost faith in it when he saw no one in the government worthy of controlling the country. He abandoned his position in the government and eventually met Shishio. Houji, too, envisions Japan as a mighty power led by Shishio, ruling with the principles of basic animal survival. Hōji is indeed unique; although he is not proficient in any fighting style, he is a cunning organizer and possesses formidable leadership qualities. His skills as a staff officer figure are quite amazing; he even manages to purchase Rengoku on the black market. Houji's plan with the Rengoku fails when Sanosuke blows up the Purgatory with bombs provided by his friend Katsu. Houji was "baptized" by Shishio's intense body heat to kindle in him a belief in hell.

This world is dead to me. I will follow my master to Hell.

Uonuma Usui

Voiced by: Shou Ryuzanji (JP), Jamieson Price (EN)

The "Blind Sword", used to be a swordsman working for the shogunate government. However, in a fight against Shishio Makoto, he was blinded and eventually left to die.

He possesses the Shingan, which actually is superhuman hearing that lets him hear another's heartbeat thus enabling him to sense people around him and detect the emotions of others. This ability is so advanced that it appears to be similar to the sonar of a dolphin or bat.

  • Alliterative Name
  • Anticlimax Boss: Gets a huge build up, but is defeated by Saito in the space of less than ten minutes screen time.
  • Becoming the Mask: Has more or less given up on killing Shishio, despite his protestations otherwise. A major source of his self-loathing.
  • Blade on a Stick: His weapon of choice.
  • Career Killers: Was a government assassin before his Face Heel Turn.
  • Disability Superpower: His hearing more or less functions as a sonar, allowing him to read people's emotions and movements. He is convinced that recieved this power due to his near-death experience at Shishio's hands.
  • Face Heel Turn: Before the story. He was a government assassin sent to kill Shishio. Now he works for him.
  • Famous Last Words: Which more or less sum up the wreckage of his life:

"To hold onto one's beliefs, without even the smallest fraction of doubt. It seems easy, but what a difficult thing it is. Just how long will you last, in this new world of the Meiji? Can you live by the sword, holding true to your precious, Aku, Zoku, Zan...?"

  • Handicapped Badass: A previous battle with Shishio left him completely blind.
  • Informed Ability: We're told he is the strongest of Shishio's men after Soujiro, yet his battle with Saito is one of the shortest in the series, especially when compared to any of Kenshin or Sano's fights. It's a bit of a letdown.
    • His opponent was Saito. What else WOULD you expect?
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: By Saito. He ends up looking like a pinned butterfly.
  • Kick the Dog: Frequently. He breaks Houji's finger, attempts to stab Misao from behind, and constantly belittles the other members of his team. Saito implies that this is the result of Usui needing an outlet for his own self-hatred.
  • Like a Badass Out of Hell: Possibly. Yumi suggests finding and recruting him as she, Shishio and Houji plot to usurp control of Hell.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Uses a tortoise shell that is tough enough to withstand katanas. Until Saito uses Gatotsu Zeroshiki.
  • Red Baron: The Blind Sword.
  • Revenge: His reason for joining Shishio.
  • The Starscream: Joined Shishio's group under the condition that he be allowed to try and assasinate Shishio, whenever and as often as he wished. Subverted in that he has in fact, completely given up on taking over; he just keeps up his Starscream facade to save face.
  • Super Senses: His ears are sharp enough to compensate for his eyes, and allow him to easily read people's emotions.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Totally loses his cool when Saito reveals that he has given up on killing Shishio.
  • Villainous Fashion Sense: A yellow kimono completely covered in eyes.

Sawagejō Chō

Voiced by: Shinichi Fukumoto (JP), Derek Stephen Prince (EN)

Also known as "Sword Hunter", Chō possesses quite a collection of rare and unusual swords, including, his favorite, a long flexible sword he keeps hidden around his waist named urumi, and double bladed sword known as a renbatō. He is only a mediocre opponent when not using the former (despite using a master sheathing technique), but he will still begin battles with regular swords, preferring to toy with his opponents. Only if they prove a true challenge will he reveal his full ability. A native of Osaka, Chō has a very calm and cool exterior, and normally keeps one eye closed when talking, and only opens both eyes when excited in the heat of battle.

His fighting style is determined by the sword he uses, but he mainly uses the style Garyuorochi.

  • Anime Hair: He says its "The hair of sacered fire". Everyone else says that it looks like "The hair of insane broom."
  • Evil Counterpart: As showcased in an amusing meeting between the two, he looks/dresses very similarly to Sanosuke and gives an idea of what he would be like absent morals (while Sano loves a good fight, Cho is a Blood Knight).
  • Eye Always Shut: And when he opens it, it means he's about to get serious.
  • Heel Face Turn: Sort of.
  • The Idiot From Osaka: Has a strong Kansai Regional Accent and he's not all that bright.
  • Platonic Life Partners: With Yumi. They used to go out and drink together, according to him.
  • Whip Sword: His urumi.
  • Would Hurt a Child: During his introduction, he tries to pressure someone into supplying a sword by threatening the guy's infant son. It's kind of played for dark humor.

Kariwa Henya

Voiced by: Eiji Takemoto (JP), Jake Martin (EN)

Known as Henya the Flighted, aids the attack on Aoi-Ya, the Kyoto secret headquarters of the Oniwabanshu, with four other Juppongatana members. His battle technique is called Hiku Happa, in which he uses dynamite to lift himself into flight and attack with from above. He can descend to attack the opponent with a blade on his arm and then blow himself back into the air. The power of flight is harnessed because Henya starves himself and is very emaciated; he is so light that the constant uplift from the explosions can easily keep him in the air, and a cape allows him to control his movement.

Iwanbou

Voiced by: Norito Yashima (JP), Lex Lang (EN)

A fat oaf who uses his immense size, his strength, and his ability to entrap weapons in his flab. He is armed with small blades worn on his fingertips. He is very stupid, and, apart from taking part in the battle of Aoi-Ya as well as grinning like an utter idiot, he does not say anything, and he does not do anything.

He is in reality a mechanical puppet, a primitive mech, controlled by Gein, the puppetmaster.


The Six Comrades

Yukishiro Enishi

Voiced by: Nozomu Sasaki (JP), Bill Wise (EN)

The brother of Yukishiro Tomoe and the primary antagonist of the Jinchu arc, the last major story arc of the manga. Enishi wants revenge against Kenshin since Kenshin killed Tomoe.

Gein

The last remaining descendant of a small group of people who mastered the art of mechanics in the Middle Ages. He creates puppet like suits out of corpses, most notably the Iwanbou series. He is actually an old man yet he is very strong due to controlling his heavy puppets for so long. The diamond edged steel wires he uses (Zankosen) to control his puppets can also be used as a weapon as they are sharp enough to cut flesh and break bone. Gein just wants to test out his creations and needs to be around men of battle to do it since according to him, the forefront of technology is always in battle.

  • Badass Grandpa: He's revealed to be quite old under his mask.
  • Blood Knight: Interesting variation, and one that proves how scary it can be when Blood Knight and Smart Guy/Evil Genius get together. He doesn't like war for it's own sake, but does see it as an opportunity to test his creations against appropriately strong opponents. And if he can make a buck doing it...
  • Crazy Prepared:The various mechanisms he installs in Iwanbou 03,to prepare for fighting Kenshin
  • The Dragon: To Enishi. Unusual in that he's much, much older than the Big Bad.
  • Evil Genius: While he's not the Evil Genius in a Five-Bad Band sense, functioning instead as Enishi's Dragon, he's certainly an Evil Genius, with shades of 19th Century Steampunk Mad Scientist, all wrapped up in one skull-masked package.
  • Giant Robot: Several of his puppets border on this.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Killed in a trap he set for Aoshi. Good riddance.
  • Kill It with Fire: He's burnt to a crisp by Aoshi. With his own oil.
  • Mad Artist: Listen to one of his rants about the functional beauty of his puppets. He even refers to himself as a "Mechanical Artist", thus combining this trope with Mad Scientist for a truly screwed-up time. Heck, when Aoshi kills him it's while he's trying to get back his Kaoru doll, which he regards as his greatest masterpiece, one that can "rival the creations of god." Complex much?
  • Mask Power: Spends most of the series wearing a concealing facemask that hides both his identity and age.
  • Marionette Master: Uses his puppets as his main weapons, fighting from inside of them. Made even worse by the fact that they're built from corpses.
  • Meaningful Name: Watsuki derived his name from American serial killer Edward Gein, who actually flayed his victims' corpses and made upholstery from them.
  • The Mole: Infiltrated Shishio's group for Enishi disguised in one of his puppets so that he could keep an eye on Kenshin.
  • Older Sidekick: To Enishi.
  • Psycho for Hire: A more subtle example than most. He's not in it for the sadism (although that's certainly a part of it). But he needs opportunities to test out the Iwanbou series and working for whack-jobs like Enishi provide plenty of them. If a normal Psycho for Hire sees the job as a way to get off, Gein sees it as a chance for intellectual masturbation. In a way, it's almost worse.
  • Razor Floss: When outside of his puppets, he uses their wires as offensive weaponry. He's good enough to slaughter a boatload full of thugs, and give Aoshi a run for his money.

The Six Comrades

Enishi's team, consisting of himself, Gein and four others: Kujiranami Hyogo, Inui Banjin, Otowa Hyoko, and Yatsume Mumyoi. All of them join with Enishi in order to exact revenge on Kenshin for past wrongs.

  • Arm Cannon: Kujirinami has an Armstrong cannon built into his missing arm. Later becomes a grenade launcher
  • Avenging the Villain: Averted with Banjin and Hyoko. They claim to want revenge for the deaths of a mentor (Tatsumi) and a friend (Nakajo) respectively (both were members of the group that tried to assassinate Kenshin during the flashbacks with Tomoe). Though it's later revealed that neither of them actually care about revenge and are only using it as an excuse to fight: Banjin to prove how strong he is and Hyoko for pleasure.
  • Berserk Button: Kenshin is Kujiranami's. Also, don't call Yatsume a freak.
  • The Berserker: Kujirinami alternates between this and The Juggernaut.
  • The Brute: Kujirinami and Inui Banjin fullfill this role. Of the two Banjin is a more classic example.
  • Career Killers: Otowa is a former hitman.
  • Dark Chick: Yatsume is...weird.
  • Dumb Muscle: Banjin. He makes Sano look like a genius.
  • Evil Genius: The dependent on technology Otowa.
  • Expy: Of Apocalypse (Kujirinami) and Venom (Yatsume).
  • Five-Bad Band
  • Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: How Kenshin manages to beat Kujirinami by cutting off the arm cannon. This oddly enough snaps his sanity back to normal.
  • Honour Before Reason: Kujirinami's reason for wanting revenge: Kenshin severed his arm, leaving him incapable of continuing on as a samurai, but refused to kill him. Kujirinami considers himself shamed by this, and wants to take the price of his humiliation it out of Kenshin's hide. And he shows no reason whatsoever in doing it.
  • The Juggernaut: Kujirinami. He's damn near unstoppable, and bigger than Anji.
  • Kick the Dog: Otowa and especially Banjin, who makes a point of only fighting people weaker than himself.
  • Ninja: Yatsume.
  • Power Fist: Banjin. He wears a pair of tekkou (basically metal gauntlets) in order to beat his opponents to death with ease. They don't do so well against Sano's special move.
  • Revenge
  • Samurai: Kujirinami's former profession.
  • Sissy Villain: Otowa. Bordering on Villainous Crossdresser.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: Banjin, which Sano repeatedly points out.
  • Spell My Name with an "S": Banjin, Banshin?
  • Villainous Breakdown: Otowa, who gets knocked out with a grin on his face in utter disbelief that Yahiko, a child not even half his age, managed to beat him.


Anime-only Characters

Muto Sayo aka Magdaria

Voiced by: Hiroko Kasahara (JP), Lia Sargent (EN)

Shougo Amakusa's younger sister. She serves as a holy mother to their crowd of followers and a teacher to the young children. She has suffered from consumption ever since she was a child (which she most likely obtained from her and Shougo's dead mother, who suffered the same illness). She is often seen accompanied by Shozo, a childhood friend whom she and her brother saved from persecution.


Muto Shougo aka Amakusa

Voiced by: Junichi Inoue (JP), Crispin Freeman (EN)

A Christian, and sought revenge for Christianity, and to make the Holy Land, after his parents were killed for their beliefs, when Christians were persecuted during the Shogunate. He mastered "God Speed" by the age of 14, and according to Kenshin, had surpassed even God Speed. His followers believe that he is the "Son of God". Some of his "miracles" were really just due to his education in Western Medicine, and other sciences.


Lorenzo Shouzo

Voiced by: Hozumi Gouda (JP)

A Chinese young man who was taken in by Shougo and Sayo's group after being bullied and beaten up by his Christian beliefs. Due to this he holds Undying Loyalty for both of them and acts as Magdaria's bodyguard, eventually seeing Sanosuke as his Worthy Opponent.


Gentatsu Takatsuki

Voiced by: Nozomu Sasaki (JP)

A young samurai whom we meet in the Ishinshishi e no Requiem movie. As a Posthumous Character, since Kenshin killed him in battle during the war, which drives a good part of the conflict.

Shigure Takimi

Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue (JP)

Gentatsu's best friend, whom also befriends Kenshin. He witnessed the death of Gentatsu and swore revenge for it. After raising Gentatsu's sister Toki, he started brewing a plan to take down the Meiji government alongside a small group of ex-Samurais...

Toki Takatsuki

Voiced by: Yuko Miyamura (JP)

Shigure's ward and a local school teacher, as well as Gentatsu's younger sister. Shigure raised her in the dead Gentatsu's place.

Yasuharu Musashino

Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi (JP)

A teenage boy who works for Shigure and quickly makes friends with Yahiko. He dies in the middle of Shigure's rebellion.

Sadashiro Kajiki

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (JP)

One of Shigure's supporters. Actually The Mole.

Ebin Tamono

Voiced by: Jurota Kosugi (JP)

Another of Shigure's supporters. Yet another mole.

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