{"id":106,"date":"2020-12-17T20:53:11","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T20:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitouhajime.com\/?page_id=106"},"modified":"2020-12-21T21:05:49","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T21:05:49","slug":"the-shinsengumi","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/saitouhajime.com\/index.php\/sample-page\/the-shinsengumi\/","title":{"rendered":"The Shinsengumi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Saitou Hajime \u2013 See our fan page tribute to the wolf here . He exists in the series both in flashbacks to the old days and in the current era of the main storyline. Although he plays a secondary role, he is an important catalyst that drives the Kyoto arc and ties the past to Kenshin\u2019s present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okita Souji \u2013 The other featured member of the Shinsengumi. One of his fights with Kenshin is interrupted by Saitou, who points out Souji\u2019s illness. He is depicted as a short, cheerful man with a very youthful look, which is exaggerated by how he addresses Saitou (Saitou-sensei). In the OAV Trust\/Reflection we see more of him at Ikedaya and with the rest of the Shinsengumi, but his personality is very much the same. Such is Okita\u2019s popularity that even though he only appeared briefly, he rated high in character polls throughout the end of the manga series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kondou Isami \u2013 Seen only briefly in the manga and not at all in the TV series, he does get some screentime in the Trust\/Reflection but he\u2019s still not a major character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hijikata Toshizo \u2013 Like Kondou only really seen in the OAV, he is seen addressing the Shinsengumi prior to the Ikedaya raid and in making plans beforehand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harada Sanosuke, Takeda Kanryusai, Yamasaki Susumu, Inoue Genzaburou , Shimada Kai and another member identified as \u201cEikura\u201d are also in a \u201cgroup\u201d shot in the 7th volume of the manga when Kenshin talks about the Shinsengumi. The same image was done for the artbook by the anime staff with Shimada left out.
It can also be speculated that two of the Shinsengumi seen in volume 20, chapter 170 leaving the Ikedaya raid could be Nagakura Shinpachi and Toudou Heisuke. The man on the far left side has a bandaged hand, which matches up to the injury Nagakura received at that battle, just as a character on the right has a head injury, again, matching with what is known about what happened to Toudou that night. A wink to Shinsengumi fans in the know? *grins*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nagakura Shinpachi \u2013 Other than a possible cameo in volume 20, the captain of the 2nd unit is mostly notable for his absence, especially as Kenshin says in volume 7 that Nagakura, along with Okita and Saitou, was \u201castonishing\u201d. Historically, he lived to through to the Meiji era and lived in Hokkaido, working as a prison guard. It is known that at one time that Watsuki did not intend to end RK at volume 28 at the end of the Jinchuu arc, but to continue on with the \u201cHokkaido arc\u201d, which would have been a rich setting for further adventures. Seta Soujirou was said to be wandering north, Fuji was there working on railroads and Anji was in a prison\u2026 in Hokkaido! Was the stage being set at the end of the Kyoto arc with putting some of the characters there? Was there a connection to the prison where Anji was and the one where Nagakura worked? Is this why in the \u201cKaiden\u201d story Saitou was said to be in Hokkaido? It\u2019s only fangirl speculation\u2026 but one can always wonder what Watsuki had in mind\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Udou Jin\u2019e aka Kurogasa \u2013 Original Character \u2013 A former Hitokiri for the Shinsengumi, Jin\u2019eh was so bloodthirsty that he turned on his own comrades in the Shinsengumi. He lived to the Meiji era, killing politicians and those in power, until he was stopped by Kenshin. Watsuki\u2019s notes talk of a similarity to a version of Serizawa Kamo from an unnamed, older Shinsengumi manga. \u201d If you by chance happen to already have known this, then you have passed beyond the realm of mere Shinsengumi otakudom. You, my friend, are a Shinsengumi master.\u201d Yet the true meaning of Jin\u2019e was to be someone who was at one time similar to Kenshin but was now his total opposite.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saitou Hajime \u2013 See our fan page tribute to the wolf here . He exists in the series both in flashbacks to the old days and in the current era of the main storyline. Although he plays a secondary role,…<\/p>\n

Continue reading ➞ The Shinsengumi<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-106","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitouhajime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitouhajime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitouhajime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitouhajime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitouhajime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/saitouhajime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108,"href":"https:\/\/saitouhajime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/106\/revisions\/108"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitouhajime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitouhajime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}