History Manga / KazeHikaru

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Ito, ''in spades''. Even Utsumi, his right-hand-man and long-time acquaintance, more than once has voiced aloud his amazement that such a dignified, charismatic, discerning advisor-scholar persona [[spoiler:and fearsome manipulator who plots the destruction of Shinsengumi]] can inhabit the same body as the goof who shamelessly harasses and chases after Hijikata. And eventually, he's even learned to played up his quirks to distract or outright side-step Hijikata's suspicions regarding his sneaky business.

** Also, Soda and Yamaguchi can be interpreted as this. The "heterosexual" part is debatable since they both are attracted to Sei who they genuinely believe to be male, but they're almost never seen without each other, and at least don't appear to be interested in each other in that sense.

* SecretKeeper - Okita finds out Sei's a girl early on and chooses to look the other way. Other individuals that come to be privy to Sei's true gender are: Akesato, a Shimabara coutesian who once was in a relationship with Sei's brother Yuma. Yamanami, who finds out through Akesato. And Doctor Matsumoto, who was a colleague of Sei's father. [[And Saito is the latest addition, who deduced Seizaburou's true identity through her slip of tongue about a secret which was supposed to be only between her brother (also Saito's old friend) and "Sei".]]

* SecretKeeper - Okita finds out Sei's a girl early on and chooses to look the other way. Other individuals that come to be privy to Sei's true gender are: Akesato, a Shimabara coutesian who once was in a relationship with Sei's brother Yuma. Yamanami, who finds out through Akesato. And Doctor Matsumoto, who was a colleague of Sei's father.

* UnsettlingGenderReveal - Yukiya, whom Saito at first thiks is a girl that highly resembles "Kamiya" (Sei), only to find out he's actually a male prostitute.

* UnsettlingGenderReveal - Yukiya, whom Saito at first thiks is a girl that highly resembles "Kamiya" (Sei), only to find out he's actually a male prostitute.

* ArrangedMarriage: A common occurrence in the era this story is set in. It happens to Okita's two older sisters, it's implied to have happened to Kondo with his wife, and Hijikata breaks off his planned engagement over the course of the story. Kondo and Hijikata attempt at one point to arrange one for Okita but he manages to unwittingly screw up their plans spectacularly.

* CelibateHero - Sei's situation requires this of her, while Okita is this way because of his {{Backstory}}.

* EveryoneIsBi - or at at least all the men are ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shudo#Military_same-sex_love historically]], this is TruthInTelevision).

* NoPeriodsPeriod - deliberately averted by the mangaka, who makes it clear she wanted Sei's situation to be portrayed as realistically as possible, which means she gets her period every few story arcs and think of creative ways to deal with it without it becoming noticed.

* Tsundere - Hijikata is a heavy-on-the-tsun type A. He easily blushes to his ears if he shows any sort of fondness or admiration for someone, or if a person sees through his NobleDemon mask, which he effectively tries to cover up with his trademark aggressive anger.

* UnsettlingGenderReveal - Yukiya, whom Saito at first sees as a girl that highly resembles "Kamiya" (Sei), only to find out he's actually a male prostitute.

** Also, Soda and Yamaguchi can be interpreted as this. The "heterosexual" part is debatable since they both are attracted to Sei who they genuinely believe to be male, but they don't seem to be interested in each other in that sense even though they're almost never seen without each other.

** Also, Soda and Yamaguchi can be interpreted as this, considering they're almost never seen without each other.

* BigDamnKiss - between, of all people, [[spoiler: Hijikata and Ito.]] Although, because of that, it's both played for laughs and subverted, considering that while [[spoiler: Ito has been infatuated with Hijikata from the get-go, Hijikata hates Ito's guts. The reason why this even occurs is because at one point, Ito could've easily swayed one of the major Shinsengumi members turn against them but chose not to, and rather than wanting to owe Ito for it later, Hijikata (angrily) planted a big one on his smacker]].

* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass - It's not hard to forget, but that idiot who loves sweets, adores children, and spends most of his time with a goofy smile on his face is one of the most feared and ruthless members of the Shinsengumi and could kill you in less time than it takes to blink and without a hint of remorse.

* SubordinateExcuse - One of the reasons Sei is intent on staying with the Shinsengumi is so she can stay by Okita's side.

* SweetOnPollyOliver - an unusual form of this phenomenon: The vast majority of Sei's many admirers [[EveryoneIsBi embrace]] the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shudo#Military_same-sex_love samurai tradition of ''shudo'']], and are perfectly happy to [[{{Ephebophile}} chase after a pretty boy]]. Saito is a more straight example who initially agonized over his feelings because he didn't think he was the type to be interested in Shudo.

* BigDamnKiss - between, of all people, [[spoiler: Hijikata and Ito.]] Although, because of that, it's subverted, considering that while [[spoiler: Ito has been infatuated with Hijikata from the get-go, Hijikata hates Ito's guts. The reason why this even occurs is because at one point, Ito could've easily swayed one of the major Shinsengumi members turn against them but chose not to, and rather than wanting to owe Ito for it later, Hijikata (angrily) planted a big one on his smacker]].

** Sei has ironically become this. Due to her "cute boyish looks" she attracts both women [[EvenTheGuysWantHim and men]] and is at least mildly more aware that she has admirers, if only because hers are more forward with it. Still, it came as a shock when she learned virtually everyone in the first troop had fallen for her as a man.

* BigDamnKiss - between, of all people, [[spoiler: Hijikata and Ito.]] Although, because of that, it's subverted, considering that while [[spoiler: Ito has been infatuated with Hijikata from the get-go, Hijikata hates Ito's guts. The reason why this even occurs is because at one point, Ito could've easily swayed one of the major Shinsengumi members turn against them but chose not to, and rather than wanting to owe Ito for it later, Hijikata (angrily) put a big one on his smacker]].
* BungledSuicide - Sanosuke Harada, who is proud of his scar from a failed seppuku, as well as [[spoiler:Okita's first love]]

* WarriorPoet: Quite a few major characters. Particularly standout examples include Ito, who prides himself for being both a master of swordfighting and a highly educated academic, Yamanami, who also is a well learned and philosophical individual, and Kondo, who despite his farmer roots studies as much as he can and has a strongly developed desire for truth and to protect Japan. And then there's Hijikata, who tries his darnedest to hide the fact that under his merciless personality is a man who's favorite hobby is to write Haiku.

* Tsundere - Hijikata is a heavy-on-the-tsun type A. He's been proven to easily blush to his ears when showing any sort of fondness or admiration for someone, which he effectively covers up with the harsh anger that made him famous as the "oni" of the Shinsengumi.

* [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Why Did It Have to Be Gays?]] - Hijikata is a raging homophobe, and his extreme discomfort with the notion of same-sex relationships is often played for laughs. The story goes is that a male sales clerk once tried to come onto him, which left him permanently traumatized. Unfortunately for Hijikata, his looks and personality have made him the object of affection of several men over the course of the story.

* [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Why Did It Have to Be Gays?]] - Hijikata is a raging homophobe, though not in the stereotypical, militant sense. His extreme discomfort with the notion of same-sex relationships is often played for laughs. The story goes is that a male sales clerk once tried to come onto him, which left him permanently traumatized. Unfortunately for Hijikata, his looks and personality have made him the object of affection of several men over the course of the story.

** On the flipside, for many civilian characters, the only name they have is their given name, as it is explained that during the time period you had to be of a certain class to be granted the use of a family name.

* Tsundere - Hijikata is a heavy-on-the-tsun type A. It's been noted several times he's quite the shy man who easily blushes to his ears when showing any sort of fondness or admiration for someone, which he tends to effectively cover up with the harsh anger that made him famous as the "oni" of the Shinsengumi.

* WarriorPoet: Quite a few major characters. Particularly standout examples include Ito, who prides himself for being both a master of swordfighting and a highly educated academic, Yamanami, who also is a well learned and philosophical individual, and Kondo, who despite his farmer roots studies as much as he can and has a strongly developed desire for truth and to protect Japan. And then there's Hijikata, who tries his darnedest to hide the fact that under his gruff, merciless personality is a man who's favorite hobby is to write Haiku. Incidentally the series name comes from a haiku written by the real-life Hijikata.

* AttemptedRape - Many, many times on Sei, whether it's as a man ''or'' a woman. It's happened to other women in the series as well, and has been implied or mentioned to have happened to Hijikata Toshizo and Nakamura Goro in the past.

* TitleDrop: The term "Kaze-Hikaru" comes from a Haiku that was written by the real-life Hijikata, and we even get to see him write it over the course of the story.

* WarriorPoet: Quite a few major characters. Particularly standout examples include Ito, who prides himself for being both a master of swordfighting and a highly educated academic, Yamanami, who also is a well learned and philosophical individual, and Kondo, who despite his farmer roots studies as much as he can and has a strongly developed desire for truth and to protect Japan. And then there's Hijikata, who tries his darnedest to hide the fact that under his gruff, merciless personality is a man who's favorite hobby is to write Haiku, and has dedicated many to his fellow Shinsengumi.

* BigDamnKiss - between, of all people, [[spoiler: Hijikata and Ito.]] Although, because of that, it's subverted, considering that while [[spoiler: Ito has been infatuated with Hijikata from the get-go, Hijikata hates Ito's guts. The reason why this even occurs is because at one point, Ito could've easily made one of the major Shinsengumi members turn against them but chose not to, and rather than wanting to owe Ito for it later, Hijikata (angrily) put a big one on his smacker]].

* DeadpanSnarker - Saitou, but his snark is almost entirely in his head.

* ForegoneConclusion - According to history, pretty much everyone in the story is going to die within the next few years of the time period.

* ImportantHaircut - Sei shaves her head in order to join the Shinsengumi. Okita takes it as proof of her resolve.

* {{Ladette}} - She drinks with them, she fights with them, she even has her own "woman." She is Bushi!

* ObliviousToLove - Souji; even the other characters notice it ("Is this idiot ''serious?''")

* VitriolicBestBuds - Okita and Saito, Type 1. Saitou is often found insulting Okita either in his head [[StealthInsult or aloud]], but it's clear that they're very good friends who hold each other in high regard and respect each other's skills, and would never want to truly hurt one another.
* [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Why Did It Have to Be Gays?]]: - Hijikata is a raging homophobe, though not in the stereotypical, militant sense. His extreme discomfort with the notion of same-sex relationships is often played for laughs. The story goes is that a male sales clerk once tried to come onto him, which left him permanently traumatized. Unfortunately for Hijikata, his looks and personality have made him the object of affection of several men over the course of the story.

* SweetOnPollyOliver - an unusual form of this phenomenon: Sei's many admirers [[EveryoneIsBi embrace]] the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shudo#Military_same-sex_love samurai tradition of ''shudo'']], and are perfectly happy to [[{{Ephebophile}} chase after a pretty boy]].

* VitriolicBestBuds - Okita and Saitou, Type 1. Saitou is often found insulting Okita either in his head [[StealthInsult or aloud]], but it's clear that they're very good friends who hold each other in high regard and respect each other's skills, and would never want to truly hurt one another.
* [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Why Did It Have to Be Gay's?]]: - Hijikata is a raging homophobe, though not in the stereotypical sense. His extreme discomfort with the notion of same-sex relationships is played for laughs. The story goes is that a male sales clerk once tried to come onto him, which left him permanently traumatized. Unfortunately for Hijikata, his looks have made him the object of affection of several men over the course of the story.

* AttemptedRape - Many, many times on Sei. It's happened to other women in the series as well.

* DepravedBisexual - Itou is married, but he outrageously chases after pretty men AND women and the later volumes show him [[spoiler:more than willing to use his sexuality to manipulate others for his plans]]

* [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Historical Domain Characters]] - TheShinsengumi, as well as a number of other characters.

** Of course, this can at least be partially attributed to the fact this is a historical piece, and the mangaka based many character's designs on existing photos and/or descriptions of the individuals they're based on.

Kaze Hikaru (風光る) is a historical shoujo manga by Taeko Watanabe, set during the time of the Meiji Revolution in the 1860s. Tominaga Sei is the story’s crossdressing heroine. She shaves the top of her head in a boy's hairstyle, takes on the name "Kamiya Seizaburo," and joins the Shinsengumi (a shogunate police force) in order to avenge her family’s death at the hands of anti-shogunate rebels. After her family’s murderer is killed, she stays with the Shinsengumi out of a sense of loyalty and duty, and because of her budding feelings for Shinsengumi Captain Okita Souji.

Kaze Hikaru is being published in English by Viz (Shojo Beat).

* XMeetsY - PeacemakerKurogane meets RoseOfVersailles.