This wasn’t my family. They were slave traders. I was sold to them, after my parents died. Last night they stopped being traders, or murderers, they were all just victims. Sakura, Kasumi, and Akane. I only knew them for a few days, but they protected me like I was their own. I am just a boy, but I should have protected them. They’re gone. I have to live, because they died for me! I wanted their graves to be beautiful, all I could find were these ugly rocks, but it’s the best I can do. I wish I had flowers... They all deserve flowers.
Kasumi. Akane. Sakura. All three forcibly taken from their parents as payment for their debts. I only knew them for a day, but I was the only one here, and I have no parents. So I thought, even if it costs my life…I’ll have to protect them. But...I couldn’t find the right stones to make a nice grave for them, like I wanted. I looked for flowers to offer, but I couldn’t find even one.
Perhaps... Even so, my hands will bring relief to those who have learned to live without hope. A human being who feeds on his brother is not a man anymore, he is a mad dog...and should be dealt the same fate.
If when I finally lay down my blood-stained blade... there is truly an era of peace... then...
„
~ Kenshin Himura to Katsura Kogorō
“
I've lost you. And now that my heart feels this pain, I know the nightmare I made you endure with my actions. You suffered a pain like this when I killed your love, and now it's all over. Mine has just begun, as I seek a way to atone for my wrongs. I must repay the people who's lives I've destroyed. I will do this to honor your memory. For now, I carry this with me as I carried your body back to our home. I will live honorably for you. You showed me how to live like a man. You encouraged a calm in my inner self. I didn't fully appreciate the value of other people until you taught me to see the value of my own life. You saved me. You... you were the first person to want me, not for what I could do for them, but for what I was as a human being. And for that I will always adore you, my love, I swear. I will have to leave you soon, but let me have a few moments here with you, together. Please. Goodbye, my dearest love, Tomoe...
You asked me a long time ago... Would I kill you if you held a sword? The answer is... "I wouldn't." I will not kill you. No matter what may happen, I will never kill you. Never... you...
The name "Kenshin" was given to me by my master. It was a name for a man, of swordsmanship. That time is past me now, and the name is no longer appropriate. The name my parents gave was different. "Shinta." That is my real and true name. When I come back, will you instead call me by that name?
Kaoru. I've thought much since I left my sword. The days are peaceful, and yet unhappiness still lingers. So many wounds healing, but the scars of disaster, poverty, illness... No matter how much times change, these scars fail to fade away. With my sword gone, I've lost the power to protect people, but I still suffer, and share their pain. I am not certain it can be enough to suffer silently for others with no action to alleviate it. But I think it must be of some value to try to bear the pain of others. What strength I have, I should give for their encouragement, to try to...help them, don't you think?
Kenshin Himura, born Shinta, is the main protagonist of the manga and anime series, Rurouni Kenshin. Having been trained since he was a child in the ways of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū, Kenshin was a prodigious swordsman who fought as a patriot in the Meiji Revolution, under the title of the legendary Hitokiri Battōsai. He killed dozens of people in hopes of paving the way for a brighter era of peace, until his career as an assassin led him to the accidental murder of his wife, Tomoe Yukishiro.
With Tomoe's death shaking Kenshin to his core, his entire worldview was flipped on its head, and he vowed to never again take another life, in honor of her. Kenshin entered the Meiji Era no longer as a Hitokiri, but instead as a peaceful Rurouni, and held with him a peace-bringing Sakabatō reverse blade. After meeting several new friends during his visit to Tokyo, Kenshin did all he could to preserve the peace of the world and subdue all those who sought to resume the war.
Alignment:Chaotic Neutral (As an assassin, Kenshin is highly unemotional and solely focused on whatever mission that comes his way. He cares very little for the lives of others and can kill without a shred of remorse, purely acting out of a need to complete his goals. Despite his life as the Hitokiri Battōsai having stripped him of most emotion, however, Kenshin does retain a sliver of humanity. He does care deeply about the future of the world and ensuring peace to mankind, and has the capability of falling in love, as shown with Tomoe Yukishiro. This love can blind him at times to acting selfishly, overriding his cold exterior entirely)
Stamina:Peak Human (Having trained as an assassin all his life, Kenshin is fully used to living in the roughest of conditions, staying up for multiple days, and performing incredibly taxing fights for hours on end. Even when suffering through intense emotional turmoil, eye damage, and deafness from nearby explosions, Kenshin was still able to defeat four enemies consecutively. Suffering slash wounds and stab wounds do little to stop him from fighting)
Range:Standard Melee, Extended Melee with twin katana
Intelligence:Gifted Intelligence in combat (Kenshin is extremely intelligent in the field of battle, being noted to be a prodigy of his time, and later becoming known as the greatest swordsmen of the entire Edo period. He has exceptional skill, capable of out-dueling seasoned warriors with several years of experience, even when suffering severe wounds like temporary blindness and deafness. His training with Seijuro Hiko XIII has honed his skills into becoming the best, and made him malleable enough to be able to learn new sword techniques in a short amount of time)
Key:Rurouni Kenshin | The Hokkaido Arc | Reflection
Alignment:Chaotic Good (After abandoning his ways as a ruthless Hitokiri and becoming a Rurouni, Kenshin's life turned around completely, and shaped him into a good man. He greatly dislikes having to kill anyone, and will only do so if pushed to his absolute limit. Kenshin will do whatever it takes to protect those who are in trouble, as it has become his nature to do so. Regardless of his noble intentions, however, Kenshin still paves his own path and freely does things such as carry around a sword, which is against the law)
Dual Katana: A pair of two standard katana that Kenshin wears on the left side of his hip, and wielded during his time as the Hitokiri Battōsai. Both of these blades are intricately designed, made to have the sharpest edge possible in order to grant Kenshin the cleanest of kills. He's used both of these katana multiple times in assassinations, often cleaning the blood off of them with a white cloth. After these blades were used in the accidental murder of his wife, Kenshin discarded them and vowed to never use a katana of this style again.
Dual Katana
Sakabatō Kageuchi: Kenshin's first blade after abandoning the katana he wielded during the Bakumatsu. This was gifted to him by Shakkū Arai, and designed specifically to fit Kenshin's new way of life. Due to his new vow to never take life, the Sakabatō (or reverse-edge katana) is specifically designed to have the blunt edge face the opponent, while the edge facing Kenshin is sharp. It is, as the name implies, completely opposite to a standard katana, and allows for him to protect life instead of taking it. This sword was broken during Kenshin's duel with Sōjirō Seta.
Sakabatō Kageuchi
Sakabatō Shinuchi: The replacement for Kenshin's previous Sakabatō. This blade, identical to the former, was also crafted by Shakkū Arai. On his death bed, desiring for his legacy to not be of creating weapons that kill others, Shakkū created one final Sakabatō, the "sword that protects life". Kenshin received this blade during a dire battle, and later refitted it to mirror his former blade. He wields this sword long into his adulthood.
Sakabatō Shinuchi
Notable Techniques
Dragon Coil Flash: A technique that is best used when surrounded by enemies, or when attacked by a thrust attack. With this move, Kenshin attacks by spinning around, gathering force through momentum, before striking at the opponent's back. This techniques has several variations, though this is the most basic and easy to preform.
Dragon Coil Flash
Dragon Coil Flash ● Wintry Wind: An alternate version of the standard Dragon Coil Flash. This has Kenshin perform a slight side-step, before quickly turning back at the opponent and slashing at them with a back-handed strike, which results in the foe being knocked away. This variation is easily the quickest for Kenshin to perform, but unfortunately is also the weakest.
Dragon Coil Flash ● Wintry Wind
Dragon Coil Flash ● Storm: Instead of the usual horizontal spin seen with the Dragon Coil Flash, this variation instead has Kenshin spin vertically, almost like a somersault. While descending from the sky, or when faced against an incoming downward strike, Kenshin will build momentum by spinning vertically, using his outstretched sword to bat shred the opponent after a flurry of spins.
Dragon Coil Flash ● Storm
Dragon Hammer Flash: This technique functions as an overhead strike, for when Kenshin finds himself falling towards a target from above. Using the momentum of the fall, Kenshin unleashes a powerful downward-strike with both of his hands, usually striking at the head or shoulder. This is often noted to be Kenshin's favorite technique, due to how often he is seen using it.
Dragon Hammer Flash
Dragon Hammer Flash ● Disaster: A variant to the usual Dragon Hammer Flash, though one Kenshin hasn't used since his days fighting in the Bakumatsu. Kenshin, descending from the sky, uses the momentum of his fall to perform a stab, instead of a simple swing. This stab usually pierces the foe's head, for an immediate kill. It is likely that the standard Dragon Hammer Flash is actually a variation to this one, designed by Kenshin to preserve the technique without needing to murder his target.
Dragon Hammer Flash ● Disaster
Dragon Nest Flash: This technique has Kenshin unleash a massive flurry of blindingly fast strikes at the opponent. The slashes he delivers are so fast that they are usually too hard to counter or subvert, which is why the primary purpose of this technique is to throw an opponent off balance. It is extremely useful to use against opponents with high stamina, in order to whittle them down.
Dragon Nest Flash
Dragon Soaring Flash: As a direct opposite to the Dragon Hammer Flash, this move has Kenshin attack when he is below a target instead of above. By placing on hand at the base of his blade, holding it horizontally above him, he jumps upwards and strikes the foe with an uppercut-like attack. It works extremely well as an anti-air attack, and also can serve as a finishing blow. During the Edo era, Kenshin would use this technique to strike at an enemy's chin in order to slay them, though he has since modified the move to be less fatal, by striking with the side of his sword.
Dragon Soaring Flash
Earth Dragon Flash: One of Kenshin's very few means of ranged combat, Kenshin doesn't use this attack to directly strike an opponent, but instead attacks the earth itself. Through this blow to the ground, debris is sent flying upwards, which heads towards the opponent and pelts them. This technique proves as good covering fire for Kenshin before he goes in to attack directly.
Earth Dragon Flash
Quick Draw: The Quick Draw technique, or commonly referred to as Battōjutsu, is a fairly popular technique used by samurai of the Bakumatsu. After assuming a stance facing slightly away from the opponent, Kenshin sheathes his blade, while keeping one hand hovering over the hilt of said blade. Once the exact moment comes, Kenshin quickly draws the sword, which results in an extremely powerful, and sometimes fatal, blow. The Quick Draw is so quick that it is said to make the user two to three times faster than usual, which makes it extremely useful.
Quick Draw
Nine-Head Dragon Flash: Kenshin's penultimate attack, which he learned from his old master in preparation for his fight with Makoto Shishio. Using an incredible speed, known as Godspeed, Kenshin rushes towards his opponent and simultaneously strikes them in all nine of their vital points. This technique is said to be nearly unavoidable and unblockable, and as such is used by Kenshin to a great extent after he mastered it. Unfortunately, due to his nimble stature, this move pales in comparison to the versions used by bulkier foes, and will lose if pit up against them.
Nine-Head Dragon Flash
Flash of the Heavenly Flying Dragon: This is the secret ultimate technique of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū fighting style, and is thus Kenshin's most powerful technique. The secret to this technique, which allowed for Kenshin to fully master it, was realizing the significance of his own life, and finally being able to overcome his resignation to death. This technique is very unique in that, though it appears to be like a usual katana strike, it adds an extra step concurrent to the drawing of his blade, which adds a pinch of extra acceleration to his attack. Thus, the speed of this attack is insurmountable, and the odd timing of the blow can throw opponents off.
Flash of the Heavenly Flying Dragon
Other
Weaknesses: Although Kenshin appears to be an emotionless assassin during his time as the Hitokiri Battōsai, he actually has a lot of concealed emotions, and can be easily manipulated through playing the right cards. Tomoe Yukishiro, who was tasked with specifically getting close to Kenshin, succeeded in doing so and left him wide open to emotional manipulation. Following Tomoe's death, Kenshin was broken, and vowed to never kill again, which has been noted by many to have held him back from using his true strength. During his time as a Rurouni, his emotional state doesn't fail to be a weakness, as the fake-out death of his new love completely broke his will to live. In the fight against Makoto Shishio, Kenshin mastered the ultimate technique of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū, though this wasn't without its consequences; as the technique was designed for men of a bulky build, Kenshin's body cannot handle it, and slowly deteriorates his body with use. Come the time of the Hokkaido Arc, Kenshin's deterioration has worsened, and he is unable to use Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū to any regular extent.
