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Hiruma Gohei and Hiruma Kihei
Gohei voiced by: Tetsuo Komura (JP, 1996 TV series), Shigezo Sasaoka (JP, drama CD), Wataru Takagi (JP, 2023 TV series) ; Beau Billingslea (EN), Jason Marnocha (EN, 2023 TV series)
Kihei voiced by: Takeshi Aono (JP, drama CD), Yuichi Nagashima (JP, 2023 TV series); Frank Todaro (EN, 2023 TV series)
The first villains in the series. In the manga and the 2023 anime, Hiruma Kihei wanted to sell the land that the Kamiya dojo sits on. To do so, he wormed his way into becoming Kaoru's caretaker while using his brother Gohei to aid him in his goals. In the 1996 anime, Gohei is a Composite Character of the two and is instead a bitter ex-student of Kaoru's father who wanted revenge. Regardless of the motivation, Gohei impersonates the legendary Hitokiri Battousai while claiming to use the swordsmanship of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu to stain Kaoru's family name. He might have actually slain Kaoru and taken her home as Hitokiri Battousai if the real deal himself didn't blunder into Tokyo on that misty afternoon...- Adaptational Badass: Gohei, of sorts, in the 1996 anime. Because he isn't the Dumb Muscle his manga counterpart is, he's treated more seriously. This is especially shown when Sanosuke comments that Gohei looks fairly strong in the anime. Sano is nowhere near as impressed with Gohei in the manga.Sano (1996 Anime): Well, from where I see, you don't look like an unworthy opponent yourself.Sano (Manga): Fool! Killing you ten thousand times wouldn't be proof of anything!
- Adaptational Intelligence: In addition to his more competent and villainous portrayal in the TV series, due to being a composite character Gohei does much of the scheming that Kihei did in the original manga and on top of that his final appearance in the TV series shows he had become a successful businessman after Kenshin permanently put him out. In the manga, he merely remains a bodyguard working for random thugs with Kihei doing all the planning.
- Adaptational Villainy: While not above injuring people and possibly murdering for his criminal goals, the Gohei of the manga was originally a comic relief Dumb Muscle. Whereas in the manga hurting Kaoru was simply a means to an end for his criminal enterprises and something he preferred to avoid, the 1996 anime puts his conflict with the Kamiya dojo as a personal vendetta because of an injury Kaoru's father gave him. Even before turning to criminal enterprises, he was already shown as being a blood-thirsty student of the Kamiya style who spat on its philosophies and enjoyed hurting other students with live blades. When he attacked Kaoru's dojo, he ripped out Kaoru's upper sleeves and offered his men to to do whatever they pleased to her. In addition, he makes several more attempts to get revenge on Kenshin after his duel with Sano, and it is implied he went into shady business after being permanently injured.
- Adapted Out: Kihei was completely left out of the original anime and his role of caring for Kaoru was given to Dr. Gensai Oguni instead, who became an Ascended Extra there. 1996 anime Gohei seems to have taken a bit of Kihei's scheming (despite not being nearly as crafty) and also becomes a merchant in his third appearance, similar to his manga brother's scheme of selling off the Kamiya property. Kihei eventually makes his animated debut in the 2023 anime.
- Beard of Evil: Gohei sports a massive one.
- Blood Knight: In the anime, he was a blood-thirsty student and had maimed at least one of his fellow students with a live blade before Kaoru's father broke his right thumb. He never loses his blood-lust, which is compounded by having a vendetta towards Kaoru and eventually Kenshin.
- Brains and Brawn: In the manga, Kihei does all the scheming while the much larger Gohei provides the muscle.
- The Bus Came Back: Gohei and Kihei disappear early in the Tokyo Arc after they hire Sanosuke but come back much later in the Jinchuu Arc when they reappear in Sanosuke's hometown.
- Butt-Monkey: Any real threat either iteration may have held in their first appearance plummets with each appearance, especially in the manga, where the brothers' only purpose in the Jinchuu arc is for Sanosuke to hand them their asses.
- Composite Character: The Gohei in the 1996 anime is essentially Gohei with a bit of Kihei's brain. In turn, the 90's anime version is fused with Udo Jin-e in the live-action films.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Gohei has the misfortune of being the receiving end of every fight he takes part in. In the anime, he attacked Kaoru's father with a real sword, and his teacher beat with a single blow to the hand that permanently broke his thumb, and he was only using a bokken. His fight with Kenshin ends with every finger on his left hand broken.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: In the Anime, after losing his sword abilities and failing to kill Kenshin again, Gohei apparently goes into business as a merchant and makes quite a bit of money. He even remarks that he's surprised he didn't think of this sooner, but after a fashion, he goes back to his plans to kill Kenshin by sinking his newly acquired fortune into it.
- Deceptive Disciple: In the anime, Gohei only wanted Kaoru's father's dojo in order to get the authority that comes along with it.
- Dirty Coward: Once a real warrior shows up, these are the true colors the brothers will show.
- Dumb Muscle: Gohei, especially in the manga. In the 1996 anime, Gohei is an unsuccessful Manipulative Bastard and Evil Genius.
- Evil Is Bigger: Gohei, on top of being evil, is a significantly large man, dwarfing much of the cast.
- Faux Affably Evil: Kihei. He acts like a kind old man trying to repay Kaoru for nursing him back to health. He's really trying to take her land away and once Kaoru gets close to discovering the truth, he drops the act for good.
- Game-Breaking Injury: Kaoru's dad broke Gohei's right thumb in the anime. He trained in the following years to perfect left-handed swordsmanship to get revenge. Kenshin broke his left fingers in response. When he took Kaoru and Yahiko hostage during Kenshin's fight with Sanosuke, Sanosuke broke his right leg. And to top it all off, his final appearance in a filler episode ends with him crawling on the ground after Yahiko broke his nuts.
- Groin Attack: His final appearance ends with him on the receiving end of one courtesy of Yahiko. It is followed up by an Overly Long Gag that involves images of various round shapes being broken to give the audience a good idea of the pain he's going through.
- Murderers Are Rapists: Gohei picks up Kaoru and asks his men, "Whose sword would like to be the first to get a taste of her flesh?" (All the men are leering at Kaoru and beg to be first.) It never actually happens, though it is heavily implied. This also is an anime-only scene; it doesn't show up in the manga.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Kihei is the planner and schemer who's plotting to take over the dojo and has Gohei and a good number of other thugs working for him to carry out his villainous plans, while not being a fighter himself.
- Obviously Evil: Between the villainous appearance (especially his Beard of Evil) and his rather open thirst for drawing blood, it makes you wonder why Kaoru's father even let Gohei set foot on the dojo grounds much less take him in as a student in the 1996 anime.
- Scars Are Forever: Gohei got a large facial variety courtesy of Sanosuke's zanbatou when he and Kihei interceded with Sano and Kenshin's duel in the manga. It's plainly visible on his face during the brothers' return in the Jinchu arc. This got softened to Gohei's leg getting comically dislocated by the weapon in the anime.
- Smug Snake: Especially Kihei. Gohei inherits some of these traits in the anime.
- Starter Villain: The hilarious incompetence of Gohei's swordsmanship demonstrates just how powerful the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu style is in comparison to "normal" Kenjutsu.
- Token Motivational Nemesis: To Kaoru. It was the Hiruma brothers' plot that disgraced the Kamiya Dojo and drove it into financial ruin for the entire series, but once ran out of town by Kenshin, they are never mentioned again outside of one pathetic reappearance in the Jinchuu arc where they are easily beaten down twice by Sanosuke. The 1996 anime version of Hiruma Gohei fares no better with his last appearance being on the receiving end of a Groin Attack thanks to Yahiko.
- Villain Decay:
- Gohei in the Anime. While in the Manga Gohei was more inept (and comical), in the anime he's introduced as a ruthless fighter, with a personal grudge against Kaoru. He was a Cop Killer and very nearly killed Kaoru and destroyed her family's reputation. Even after Kenshin crippled his hands, he was still able to use underhanded tactics during his next appearance, though the seeds of this trope were already planted as he was comically shown up by Sanosuke. His third appearance cements him like this since the once ruthless murderer is now reduced to a weenie cowering from real opponents, enacting zany schemes, fighting a kid with an umbrella, and getting kicked in the crotch so hard a montage of cracked balls and nuts starts rolling.
- Gohei and Kihei eventually go through this in the manga when they show up once more in the Jinchuu Arc of the manga. They appear again in Sanosuke's hometown as bodyguards for the yakuza but in all that time, they haven't done anything to improve their abilities or fighting skills. Naturally, Sanosuke beats the crap out of the two with zero effort.
- Villain Forgot to Level Grind: In the manga, by the time Sanosuke meets Gohei and Kihei back in his hometown late in the series, they're still at the exact same level as they were in the early series, judging from how Sanosuke beat them with almost zero effort. While Kihei was a Non-Action Big Bad, Gohei could've used all that time to train and get better but evidently didn't put in much, if any effort. In the anime, it's justified more by Gohei getting crippled by Kenshin and thus, can't take his training any further.
- The Worf Effect: They're frequently used to show how much stronger Kenshin and Sanosuke are when they appear.
Kurogasa/Udo Jin-e
Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka (JP, 1996 TV series), Tomokazu Sugita (JP, 2023 TV series), Unshō Ishizuka (JP, drama CD); Dave Mallow (EN, TV series), Martin Blacker (EN, OVA), John Swasey (EN, live-action), Yong Yea (EN, 2023 TV series)
Portrayed by: Koji Kikkawa (live-action)
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 kill members of his own squad), killing anyone who stood in his way.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: While Jin-e was still a member of the Shinsengumi during the Bakumatsu, the 2023 anime adds an additional scene where Jin-e witnessed the Hitokiri Battousai's terrifying skill firsthand. It is implied that he was not an Ax-Crazy killer before, but his brush with the Battousai forever changed him.
- Adaptational Badass: In Restoration, on the one hand, he lacks his Shin no Ippo. On the other hand, he keeps on fighting Kenshin for a longer time, even with his arms broken, blocks Kenshin's super technique (though in this adaptation its role as the secret technique is swapped for the Kuzuryuusen) and needs a full Kuzuryuu Sen to relent. He even stabs Kaoru in front of Kenshin, though she survives because the blades dislodged during the combat and he missed her vitals, but still...
- Advance Notice Crime: He is introduced as an assassin targeting officials of the Meiji government. He often announces his Assassination Attempts beforehand because he enjoys cutting his way through the bodyguards on his way to the target.
- Anachronism Stew: The full-body black suit he's wearing.
- Arc Villain: The first enemy to last longer than a Monster of the Week and the first true threat to Kenshin.
- Ax-Crazy: Even as a Shinsengumi, he was psychotic.
- Badass Longcoat: Forced Kenshin into Battousai mode.
- Black Eyes of Evil/Black Eyes of Crazy: Inverted when he activates the Magical Eye on himself, he gains normal-looking eyes. For some reason, he normally has Black Eyes of Crazy.
- Blood Knight: All he cares about is a good fight. Fighting weaker opponents is boring.
- Body Horror: In the Restoration manga he was stabbed in the arms during the war leaving two long holes in them. He uses them to hold his blades in the present era.
- Combat Sadomasochist: He thought the feeling of him stabbing himself was "sweet."
Pleasant.- Restoration: swords through both his hands? Pleasurable. His new fighting style? He used said open wounds to hold his swords. Kenshin snapping his arms to prevent him from fighting? He thanks him for giving him two more joints before continuing to fight using his broken arms as flails.
- Composite Character: Not in characterization, mind you, but for the live-action film's plot purpose he takes the role of the "fake Battousai" from Hiruma Gohei.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Is either dishing it or receiving it. Kenshin is no match for him in their first encounter, and even after Jin-e kidnapped Kaoru, Kenshin is still no match for him. The tables are turned when Kenshin does revert back to his Battousai and breaks Jin-e's nose. Even when Jin-e goes full out, Kenshin breaks his arm, with his scabbard, before he can land a single blow.
- Deadly Gaze: His secret technique, Shin no Ippo, allows him to channel his battle aura through his eyes, allowing him to paralyze anyone who gets caught. It doesn't work on people with a strong will though.
- Dragon-in-Chief: Of the first live-action movie. Kanryuu may be orchestrating the Opium trade but it's clear that Kenshin's biggest threat in the film is him.
- Dragon Their Feet: In the film. It is only after Kanryu is defeated that Kenshin realizes he forgot one of his opponents.
- Driven to Suicide: In both the mangas and the film, he kills himself after being defeated by Kenshin, preferring death to being shown mercy by his enemy. As he states "Live by the sword, die by the sword."
- Dual Wielding: In the Manga, it's explained that the Nikaidou Heihou mostly focuses on dual swords, with three of the main formations being based on the kanji for numbers 8 and 10. Played for horror in Restoration where he uses the gaping holes in his hands to wield two katana blades (without the actual hilt and handle, mind you).
- Evil Counterpart: A fellow Hitokiri, he's stated to be Kenshin's evil opposite as someone who has continued killing for fun and refuses to let go of the Bakumatsu
- Evil Laugh: Jine has a signature giggle that echoes even after his death, especially in the case of the anime recap portion of Seisouhen.
- Eviler than Thou: In Restoration, he butchers the Yaminobu in cold blood because he believes them to be too weak for Battosai. He then makes a shishkebob with their heads just to make his point.
- Expy: Physically, he's very similar to Remy LeBeau aka Gambit. Watsuki also based his background and attitude from one of the Four Hitokiri/Manslayers of the Bakumatsu era, Okada Izou.
- Final Boss: Of the Restoration manga.
- Final Speech: Jin-e tells Kenshin before dying that a manslayer is always a manslayer. Kenshin grapples with his final words at later points in the series, in the anime Kenshin recalls Jin-e and his final words almost like a ghost taunting him before leaving for Kyoto, and in the manga, during Kenshin's trauma in the Enishi arc he recalls Jin-e's final words when flashing back through significant points in his life.
- Gamebreaking Injury: Kenshin broke his arm in their rematch.
- Giggling Villain: He snickers constantly, showing how unstable he is
- Go Out with a Smile: He dies with a psychotic grin on his face after promising to watch Kenshin from the edge of Hell.
- Kick the Dog:
- First, he kidnaps Kaoru just to piss Kenshin off. Then, to make sure he's turned back to the "Battosai" he uses his eye power to completely paralyze Kaoru, breath included.
- In the film, he takes the trope to its literal extreme by doing all of that plus kicking a bound Kaoru down the stone steps.
- Knight of Cerebus: The moment he appears is when the series takes its turn, as the first person to make Kenshin revert to Battousai.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: He uses his Shin no Ippo to paralyze Kaoru, and it can only be broken by his death or a strength of will greater than his own. Kaoru manages to willpower her way out of it after a while, and Jin-e regards her with some disgruntlement but, unusually for a manga/anime villain, he doesn't deny the feat.
- Large Ham: Being subtle? What's that word supposed to mean?
- Muscles Are Meaningless: When he uses the Shin no Ippo on himself, he gets increased muscle mass and strength to go with it, being able to turn a boulder into dust in a few swings. Yet, in spite of that, all it took was one good swing of Kenshin's scabbard to permanently cripple him (on the other hand, he aimed for the elbow bone).
- One-Winged Angel: His Hyouki technique is essentially this, using the hypnotic suggestion of the Shin no Ippo on himself to make him stronger. By doing this, he gets increased muscle mass and removes his Black Eyes of Crazy.
- Psycho for Hire: He was hired to kill high-ranking officials for a corrupt politician named Shibumi in the original manga, who would later go on to hire Saito. The film and the Restoration change his employer to Kanryu.
- Seppuku: After being defeated by Kenshin, he spitefully goes through this rather than try another hopeless fight with the hero or let the authorities take him away. However, he does it by just stabbing himself rather than going for full disembowelment.
- Serial Killer: Specifically, of high-ranking government officials who fought on the side of the Meiji movement during the war, though really anybody was game for him. It's later revealed he was hired to commit those political killings by the same corrupt politician who hired Saito.
- Starter Villain: A proper example, as the first character to force out the Battousai, which proves to be his undoing.
- Start of Darkness: In the manga and anime canon, he has always been characterized as a bloodthirsty asshole formerly working for the Shinsengumi. In the film, however, he seems like a warrior driven to madness by the general violence of the Meiji Revolution, with him picking up Kenshin-as-Battousai's abandoned katana supposedly giving him a "new" purpose in life: to truly accomplish what the symbol of "Battousai" means for him.
- Sympathy for the Devil: Kenshin expresses some pity for Jin-e for his inability to escape the bloody path he chose. Even more so as he lies dying from a self-inflicted fatal wound. However, the dying Jin-e demands that Kenshin not look at him with pity, as he preferred the eyes Kenshin had when he was prepared to kill him.
- This Cannot Be!: He's genuinely shocked (slightly less so in the movie) when Kaoru breaks free from his Shin no Ippo alone. In Restoration he throws a much bigger fit when he realizes that by intercepting the sakabato in his hand-wound he unlodged his sword and thus missed Kaoru's vitals when he stabbed her, and so she lived.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: A very powerful one. Not only does he prove too much for Kenshin without his Battousai persona, but he also proves stronger than any of Kenshin's subsequent opponents until Saito appears.
Takeda Kanryuu
Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita (JP, 1996 TV series), Mitsuaki Madono (JP, 2023 TV Series); John Snyder (EN, TV series), J. Michael Tatum (EN, live-action), Todd Haberkorn (EN, 2023 TV Series)
Portrayed by: Teruyuki Kagawa (live-action)
A cunning money-minded industrialist and opium dealer. He hired Shinomori Aoshi and his Oniwanbanshu, as well as numerous lesser warriors, as personal bodyguards and hitmen.
- 0% Approval Rating: Nobody likes this guy. Aoshi and the Oniwanbanshu make it clear they only work for him because he hired them. At one point Aoshi (Han'nya in the anime) threatens Kanryuu when he thinks the merchant's insulted his group. In the battle against Kenshin, Aoshi flat-out says he doesn't care what happens to scum like Kanryuu.
- Adaptational Badass: "Badass" might be too strong a word, but he's definitely not as cowardly and doesn't cry for his life in the live-action film. For comparison, when Megumi pins him down to stab him in the live-action film, his first reaction is to yell angrily at his subordinates for not doing anything whereas in the anime, his reaction is to shriek (to add insult to injury, Megumi doesn't even pin him down in the anime). Much of his cowardice seems to have instead been transferred to his army of Yes Men. In addition, he is a far more hands-on Big Bad in the live-action film where he not only spends some time directly observing his operations, he even tries to provoke Kenshin by himself several times. In the manga, he strictly stays in his mansion behind doors, and even the planning and high command functions he gives to his subordinate.
- Adaptational Villainy: Downplayed. He was easily one of the evilest villains in the original Manga, but the film ups his villainy. He's the one who hired Jin-E, so the dozens of police officers killed was his doing, and he later has the water supply to the village poisoned so he could lure out Meguminote , which in turn nearly kills a number of people. With that said, his biggest Kick the Dog moment killing the Oniwaba group via Gatling gun has been removed due to the characters in question being Adapted Out and the scene has a slightly more comical tone to it than in the original.
- Adaptational Wimp: Of a sort. His design was originally that of Starter Villain Nishiwaki, from the very first Kenshin pilot. That character was every bit the slimy schemer, but also a swordsman of at least decent caliber (even if he's no match for Kenshin and has to resort to guns when the chips are down).
- Big Bad: Of the first live-action movie as well as the Restoration manga. In the original manga and anime, he and Aoshi share the role. He's the Oniwabanshu's boss during his debut arc, but he's a major weakling physically.
- The Bus Came Back: Returns in the Hokkaido Arc, having escaped prison thanks to a member of the Kenkaku Heiki.
- Companion Cube: Kanryuu becomes very fond of the Gatling Gun. He sees the potential in the weapon as part of his business, but he becomes infatuated with it after getting a chance to fire it, especially in the 2023 anime. By the time of the Hokkaido Arc, not only has he gone by the alias "Gatou Ringu" in honor of it, but he makes a farewell speech to a Gatling Gun he comes across due to it being illegal and vows to legalize Gatling Guns so that they'll eventually reunite.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Participates in shady businesses (opium and weapon trade) and won't hesitate to have people slaughtered if it will allow him to continue making money. The live-action movie expands on this, showing how he snubs his nose at the authorities whenever they try to question him.
- Depraved Homosexual: The real Kanryusai Takeda was this (see "Historical Domain Character"). Nobuhiro Watsuki tried to work this trait in, but couldn't see how it would fit with the story, and so left out any explicit references to Takeda's sexuality. (He did mention in his side-panel notes in the manga that he wondered
What Could Have Been if he did manage to find a way to work that in, however.) - Dirty Coward: He throws his weight around, acting as if nothing can hurt him. When someone comes around that can, watch him crumple into a crying mess.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: He fails to understand why Kenshin would come to rescue Megumi when there's no financial reward in it for him. This leads to him trying to bribe Kenshin with money and a job offer as his personal bodyguard, which only serves to aggravate Kenshin further.
- Evil Gloating: He loves doing this, but only when he has someone more powerful backing him.
- Evil Is Hammy: His depiction in the Restoration manga deserves special mention, where he describes his love of money while he practically dances with his Gatling Gun.
- Evil Is Petty: Tries to kill Aoshi just because he's fed up with his disrespect.
- Eviler than Thou: When two of his guards and Beshimi report a failure to capture Megumi, Kanryuu executes the pair as a show of strength and he is mildly disappointed that Aoshi doesn't do the same to Beshimi.
- Freudian Excuse: The Hokkaido Arc implies he has one to explain his obsession with money and wealth, as reference is made more than once to him having had to eat weeds and clay-made porridge just to survive prior to him getting his riches. Kanryu himself says that money is the only power people like him can use to rank up there with those who are born with natural talent.
- Gatling Good: He owns a Gatling Gun with plans of moving into arms dealing in addition to selling opium. He eventually uses the Gatling Gun when the Oniwabanshu stop following his orders.
- Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: He's of the evil variety, casually smoking a cigar while shooting his Gatling gun at the protagonists.
- Gratuitous English: The 2023 anime has him utter various English phrases here and there, probably to show his connections to foreign powers as a merchant and add some extra pompousness.
- Hate Sink: The single most despicable character in the series who will do anything for money from selling drugs to weapons, and is a petty Dirty Coward to boot.
- Heel–Face Turn: Thanks to Alan and a bit of Character Development, he genuinely becomes a nicer person during the Hokkaido Arc.
- Horrible Judge of Character: His being this only serves to piss Kenshin off after he tries to bribe the former manslayer.
- Jerkass: The single most unpleasant character in the entire series.
- Manipulative Bastard: Towards Megumi.
- Money Is Not Power:
- As stated below, he boasts that having so much money makes him stronger than warriors like Kenshin and Aoshi, but he finds out this trope is in play the hard way when Kenshin beats the stuffing out of him.
- In the Restoration manga, it goes a lot more literally as he uses a money purse in the final battles. It's Yahiko who ultimately kicks his ass. Counts as Laser-Guided Karma as well considering how he mistreated and mocked him.
- More Hateable Minor Villain: In the grand scheme of things, he's a small time villain compared to Shishio, Enishi, and even Raijuta. But whereas some of those major Arc Villain characters at least have some kind of more sympathetic backstory involving great loss, have more noble, romantic goals in mind for the country, or at least display great strength or Villainous Valor, Kanryu displays none of those qualities and revels in every vice of being a Hate Sink character who's ruined lives with his drug trade, a Dirty Coward who murders the more sympathetic mercenaries he's hired, and a huge Jerkass who beat Megumi senseless.
- Named After Someone Famous: Named after Takeda Kanryusai, Fifth Captain of Shinsengumi, remembered as a vile, treacherous man who bullied his underlings.
- Punny Name: The alias he uses in the Hokkaido Arc, "Gatou Ringu", is Gatling, the gun he uses to mow down the Oniwabansu.
- Reformed, but Not Tamed: Despite his Heel–Face Turn, he still enforces his own selfish laws. That said, he's still willing to change through legal means.
- Secondary Color Nemesis: He wears a purple tie with a green suit.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!:
- He plays it utterly straight with his declaration that money is the greatest power in the world, and his having so much of it makes him stronger than Kenshin or Aoshi. Too bad his money can't save him from Kenshin's wrath.
- In both the live-action movie and the Hokkaido Arc, he expresses that money is what allows people like him to get an edge against those who are gifted at birth. He knows that it's fleeting, but it's also the only way he could possibly compete against those stronger, smarter, and more beautiful than himself.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In the Hokkaido arc, when Kenshin decides to allow Kanryu to leave, Kanryu is taken aback by his kindness and refuses to accept Kenshin's pity. His complaints stop when Kenshin mentions that Shinomori Aoshi will be meeting up with him soon. While Kenshin may be willing to put up with Kanryu, Kanryu knows that there is absolutely no way that Aoshi is going to show the man who killed his subordinates any mercy and immediately bolts.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: He's constantly dressed in a nice white suit, befitting that of a man who wants to flaunt his wealth to others.
- Smug Snake: Acts cool and collected when in control of a situation, such as when he's using his gatling gun, but the minute he's at Kenshin's mercy, he's left pathetically begging for his life.
- Spell My Name With An S: Kanryu vs. Kanryuu.
- The Tooth Hurts: Kenshin breaks his jaw and knocks out one of his teeth.
- Took a Level in Kindness: In the Hokkaido Arc, he ends up genuinely helping Alan and Kenshin fighting against the Kenkaku Heiki.
- Verbal Tic: In the 2023 anime, he punctuates every bullet fired from the Gatling Gun with "Gat".
- Would Hit a Girl: He doesn't just hit Megumi, he batters her bloody after she returns to his mansion and makes an attempt on his life with a dagger that is nabbed away by Aoshi/Han'nya.
- Yes-Man: Has an army of them at his beck and call in the live-action film, usually seen fanning him at a moment's notice. They are even more spineless than him.
Isurugi Raijuta
Voiced by: Ryunosuke Obayashi (JP, 1996 TV series), Kenta Miyake (JP, 2023 TV series); 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.
- Actor Allusion: In the 2023 anime, Raijuta is voiced by Kenta Miyake, who also voices All Might of My Hero Academia fame. Both men are mentoring younger pupils who idolize them, (For one, being a master swordsman, and the other, the Number One Hero). The big difference is that Raijuta only talks a big game and has no genuine intentions of teaching Yutaro swordsmanship, whereas All Might is a true Nice Guy who voluntarily passes on his Quirk to and teaches Izuku Midoriya how to be a Hero.
- Adaptational Badass: In the manga, he easily gets curb-stomped by a wounded Kenshin (who got his right arm disabled in an earlier ambush before the main fight) without Kenshin even using the blade of his sakabatou. He doesn't even go down fighting but loses because of a psychological breakdown from a lecture by Kenshin about real lethal swordsmanship. In the 1996 TV series, not only does he give a hell of a fight and go down KO'd (after giving Kenshin several wounds) but he wipes out an entire platoon of an elite Imperial Army battalion of riflemen with one swing. He's also shown adept at commanding small squads to execute ambushes and other military tactics.
- Adaptational Sympathy: In the 2023 anime, he's given an additional ending scene where it's shown he's incapable of taking any human lives and couldn't go through with even killing an old woman and young girl praying to a statue. After that, Raijuta breaks down crying and the scene plays out in a sympathetic, non-fatal Alas, Poor Villain manner.
- Adaptational Villainy: While he's certainly a conniving scumbag who manipulates and uses patrons in the original manga, his primary goal was to merely preserve Japanese sword arts in their original form and to make his philosophy of swordsmanship of Shinko Ryu dominant in the Meiji era. In the 1996 anime, his Shinko Ryu group was in existence before the Revolution as an elite group of Samurai and his intention from the very start was to use his school to recruit swordsmen so he could lead a revolt against the Meiji government and create his own small sovereign Kingdom in which the rigid Tokugawa caste system will be the status quo and that thrives around a Social Darwinist sort of lifestyle. As opposed to his manga counterpart (who never killed a single person in his life), in the 1996 TV series, he's vicious enough to kill his own henchmen.
- Adaptational Wimp: In the 2023 anime, his Shinko Ryu followers are Adapted Out, leaving Raijuta with almost no followers outside of Yutaro and his status as a leader is considerably diminished. Additionally, he's shown to be psychologically weaker than even his manga and 1996 anime counterpart, with Raijuta being unable to kill even random passerbys and breaks down emotionally after realizing he's been living a lie.
- Adapted Out:
- Doesn't appear in the live-action films.
- While Raijuta himself appears in the 2023 anime, his subordinates, who appear in both the manga and 1996 anime, are missing.
- All for Nothing: His training for 10 years to promote his Shinko-Ryu as the "Murderous Sword" means nothing if he can't kill another human being. The 2023 anime empathizes this with an extra scene where he tries to kill a grandmother and her grandchild, but he can't bring himself to do it. This realization drives him to tears.
- Arc Villain: Of his own arc.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: He's a powerful man who can tank blows from kendo practitioners and defeat dojo masters. His proficiency with the Izuna is incredible, which impresses Kenshin. However, the idea that he is comparable to what he considers a true swordsman is completely unfounded. Even more so when it's revealed that he's not a killer despite thinking of himself as one.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: His eyebrows are notably large and stylized, being as messy and spikey as his hair.
- Broken Pedestal: To Yutaro after he revealed his Evil Plan and sliced his arm.
- Calling Your Attacks: In the manga, he shouts "Nun!" before each and every strike.
- Evil Gloating: When he manages to land the Tobi Izuna, Raijuta gloats about the murderous power of his Shinko-ryu and that it is truly invincible. However, Kenshin points out that he's gloating too much over what is practically nothing more than a paper cut. This clues Kenshin in to the fact that Raijuta has never taken a life as a true killer would not be so overjoyed over something so small.
- Expy: Watsuki mentions in his notes that Raijuta was based on an American superhero comic. Raijuta's design and philosophy were likely inspired by the X-Men's Magneto, with Japanese swordsmen instead being the would-be followers to Raijuta's Magneto.
- Hope Bringer: In the anime. To many of his followers, many of whom were former samurai stripped of their political power by the Meiji government, Raijuta was their last hope of restoring a semblance of the Good Old Ways to Japan. After witnessing Kenshin defeat Raijuta, a demoralized follower immediately attempts to commit seppuku on the spot, only to be stopped by Kenshin.
- Inelegant Blubbering: In the 2023 anime following his defeat, he tries to kill an unsuspecting grandmother and grandchild, only to end up slicing the head of a Jizo statue. As they leave, Raijuta is left to his own devices and sobs loudly at his inability to kill.
- Informed Ability: Claims his Izuna technique is the "ultimate killing technique." Kenshin proves him very, very wrong.
- Averted with his kenjutsu skills. He is quite strong with his technique (though not as powerful as Kenshin).
- Large and in Charge: He's a giant of a man and is in charge of the Shinko Dojo.
- 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.
- He's even worse in the anime. There he gained Yutaro's worship by saving him from a group of bandits hoping to hold him for ransom. Later it turns out that Raijuta was the one who hired them in the first place, just so he could set up the rescue to earn Yutaro's trust.
- Razor Wind: How the technique Izuna and Tobi Izuna works. Kenshin even refers to the Kamaitachi while describing this attack.
- Shadow Archetype: Raijuta reflects how Yutaro would've turned out if he never learned humility. Both are talented, hard-working, like to throw their weight around, and long for the old days when the sword ruled Japan. However, Yutaro's ideal swordsman defends the innocent whereas Raijuta's is a conquerer. Ultimately, Raijuta doesn't understand the gravity of taking a life any more than a sheltered child like Yutaro does.
- 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. In the 2023 anime, he has a similar breakdown after his failure to kill an unsuspecting grandmother and grandchild.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: A dark version of this trope. Raijuta uses his power and determination to chase fantasies rather than anything concrete. He strives to live up to romanticized image about invincible swordsmen and thinks defeating powerful enemies with Shinko-Ryu can turn back the clock and return kendo's glory days.
- 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).
- Would Hurt a Child: Uses the Izuna to wound Yutaro, severing his muscles. In the manga, the wound is so deep you can actually see the bones in his arm!.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Raijuta merely used Yutaro for his fortune to support the Shinko-ryu. When it's clear the jig is up, Raijuta has no issue turning his Izuna on Yutaro.
Arundo Akamatsu
Voiced by: Kazuhiro Nakata (JP); Tom Wyner (EN)
An arrogant and overly confident warrior is sent to kill Kenshin along with Saitou but fails. Wields a kusarigama and hidden chains.- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Modesty isn't exactly a trait he's familiar with.
- Bullying a Dragon: All without realizing that Saito is actually manipulating him for his plans.
- Dirty Coward: Beg for forgiveness when Kenshin disarms him.
- Epic Flail: His kusarigama, along with some flails hidden in his armlets.
- Expy: Of Omega Red. His surname (Aka means Red and Matsu End) and weapons make this clear.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has badly sewn scars on his forehead and cheeks.
- Off with His Head!: Beheaded by Saito.
- Oh, Crap!: Several, as when he realizes that Kenshin disarmed him and later when he's about to land the finishing hit. The anime gives him a third the moment before Saito beheads him.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Once he finds out about Ookubo, he decides to quit. But is killed by Saito before he can do anything.
Saito Hajime (aka Fujita Goro)
Abukuma's Four Priests
Voiced by: Katsuya Shiga, Norihisa Mori, Takeshi Matsumura, and Yoshikazu Nagano (JP); Bob Papenbrook, Derek Stephen Prince, Steve Kramer, and Dean Wein (EN)
Four warrior-priests serving under Shishio Makoto, who are sent to hire Aoshi Shinomori when he visits the tombs of his fallen comrades, but are eventually provoked by Aoshi and killed.
- Bald of Evil: All four of them.
- Berserk Button: As soon as Aoshi disrespects Shishio they suddenly decide that he's worth Hell and prepare to chop him in half.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: They don't last long against Aoshi.
- Elite Mook: What they are, essentially.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: Aoshi literally cut them all up to pieces with his kodachi.
- Faux Affably Evil: They appear to be friendly at first, but they're really just scumbags.
- Gonk: All of them, each in a different way.
- Last Disrespects: Aoshi catches them eating and drinking on top of the Oniwabanshu burial ground. Furthermore, after Aoshi disrespects Shishio and tells all of them to get out, one of the Priests goes the extra mile by spitting on one of the gravestones. They don't last long after.
- Nun Too Holy: These men embody the concept of the Japanese "fallen priest"; despite referring to themselves as "nyuudo", in their first appearance they're shown eating meat and drinking liquor on a burial ground while talking about a woman they had sex with. They're also quick to resort to violence.
- Small Name, Big Ego: They believe they are Shishio's best fighters. They aren't even close, and their deaths don't even phase him.
- Undying Loyalty: For Shishio.
- Warrior Monk: All of them, though not as powerful as Anji.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: They don't last past the chapter they appear in.
- Wolfpack Boss: Non-videogame example, they all fight together in a technique known as "Four Bodies as One".
Senkaku
Voiced by: Tetsuo Komura (JP); Beau Billingslea (EN)
One of Shishio's henchmen, but not a member of the Ten Swords. Is a huge man with an oddly shaped head who boasts about his speed and the 99 men he murdered. He rules over the Shingetsu village with an iron fist. Is defeated by Kenshin who uses his own speed against him and is arrested.- Adapted Out: Doesn't appear in the live-action films. A nameless Mook Lieutenant fills in his role at the village while his murders are implied to be performed by Shishio.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Boasts a lot about his skills and the number of people he massacred in the past.
- Bald of Evil: His baldness really emphasizes his freaky conical head, and that oddity makes him look that much more threatening.
- The Brute
- Flash Step: Despite his immense bulk, he's very fast. Eventually, lots of flash steps in a row leads to his defeat.
- Gonk: Has a cone-shaped head, is overly muscled, and wears a tiny, veeery tight body suit...
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Thanks to Kenshin for willingly using one of his techniques so that Senkaku would be spared, Senkaku is grateful for Kenshin's mercy and is very much at peace. Then he gets killed by Soujirou...
- Heel Realization: Though a temporary one. In the 1996 anime, after he is defeated, Kenshin's merciful act to wound him and thus spare him from Shishio's wrath makes him rethink his violent survival of the fittest mentality. Senkaku was never able to comprehend such an act of altruism and upon seeing it his belief in Shishio's vision falters.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Despite being as fast as Kenshin, he's a lot heavier, and so after a while his legs break after performing one last Flash Step.
- Lightning Bruiser: Deconstructed. His greater size places a significantly greater strain on his body than Kenshin's comparatively lighter frame does, so going long enough causes severe injuries.
- Mix-and-Match Weapon: His weapons looks like a hybrid of an ax and knuckleduster.
- Muscles Are Meaningless: Averted. They make him heavier, which cause his downfall.
- Not Worth Killing: How Shishio viewed him after his escape. Senkaku was an unimportant henchman who didn't know anything valuable, so he was spared any orders to be executed after his escape. Instead, Senkaku explaining his Heel Realization to Soujirou gets him killed.
- Oh, Crap!: The first one when his legs break. Then, when Shishio threatens to dispose of him should he lose without forcing Kenshin to show at least one attack.
- Top-Heavy Guy: Leads to his defeat.
Yaminobu
Tatsumi voiced by: Minoru Uchida (JP); John Paul Shepard (EN, OVA), Rick Zieff (EN, live-action)
A group of five ninja-like warriors from the Bakumatsu period who tried to kill Battosai Himura and hired Tomoe so that she could become bait for Kenshin, and were also in cahoots with Iizuka. They were all killed by Kenshin, except for Yatsume Mumyoi. Most of their members have something to do with the Six Comrades in the present, as Tatsumi was Inui's master and Nakajo was Otowa's buddy. For Yatsume Mumyoi, see The Six Comrades.
- Adaptation Personality Change: The Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy demeanor is dropped entirely in the first OVA for all of them. None of Yaminobu members except for Tatsumi talk, letting their stealth and skill do the talking. As for Tatsumi, he's portrayed as a crafty and disciplined Old Master with none of his manga counterpart's hammy smugness. In Restoration they also undergo Adaptational Wimp and simply become arrogant small fries.
- An Arm and a Leg: Nakajo has both his arms chopped by Kenshin. Sumita loses his legs instead.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: All of them, most noticeably Tatsumi, member of the Invincible Jusshiki style and Inui's master.
- Beard of Evil: Tatsumi.
- Blood Knight/Axe-Crazy: Nakajo. He and Otowa used to make bets to see how many men they could kill in a single night.
- Bloodier and Gorier: And just about, if not more ruthless within the OVA. For example, when a team member of Kenshin goes to investigate Tomoe's errands and learns that she is working with the enemy, he is inevitably found and killed. Within the manga, Nakajo merely shot a wrist dart into his neck; within the OVA, Yatsume crawls off of the ceiling, grabs his head with his clawed hand, and rips it apart by mashing it into a maimed pulp. Even for Tatsumi, the fist-fighter, every blow of his seems like it's breaking every bone and rupturing organs in Kenshin's body during his battle.
- The Combat Pragmatist: Nakajo is a user of hidden weapons, Sumita uses his ax to lob massive logs from afar and Yatsume is proud of sneak attacks. Tatsumi is also an avid practitioner of this style. To cup it all they challenge Kenshin in their native training ground, the Kekkai Forest, where the sixth sense doesn't work because of the eerie location.
- Tatsumi to a masterful degree. In most other cases he probably wouldn't stand a chance against Kenshin, but by the point they fought, he already had to go through the rest of Tatsumi's men to reach him. Kenshin was so exhausted (and heartbroken, not to mention practically blind, deaf, and unfeeling) that Tatsumi was able to nearly kill Kenshin with just his bare hands.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Murakami, Nakajo, and Sumita were hit the worst of these out of the five:
- Murakami was virtually split in half while lunging at Battosai.
- Nakajo, in the manga, had his hands chopped off by Kenshin. Then he blows himself up.
- Sumita had the misfortune of Kenshin slicing both of his feet off in battle. Then he also blows himself up.
- Deadly Euphemism: "Becoming kekkai/barriers", whenever they say it, means one of them is doing a Taking You with Me against their opponent. They metaphorically become barriers to the opponent being able to fight properly, making him easier pickings for the surviving Yaminobu.
- Death by Irony: For most of the final episode of the OVA, Tatsumi berates and tries to break Tomoe's will by shaming her when he gets wind of her genuine feelings for Kenshin. Ultimately, it is Tomoe's tragically-futile attempt at defending Kenshin that distracts him long enough for him to slash through them. It's not entirely inaccurate to say that The Power of Love, which he has been giving her stick for, did him in.
- Dual Wielding: Murakami's Chained Swords, aka two katana connected by their pommels with a very long chain, working as an Epic Flail. He mostly uses the chain and a single pinned sword to block the opponent as he attacks with the other blade. In Restoration the swords are shorter and stake-like.
- Evil Old Folks: Tatsumi is the oldest of the group.
- Knight Templar: Possibly even more so than The Shinsengumi—at least in the OVA. Tatsumi spells out that they have chosen to brutally suppress and kill any potential threats to the Shogunate because they believe that the Shogunate is the only government that has provided stability to the country for the past centuries.
- Manipulative Bastard: Tatsumi manipulated both Tomoe and Enishi into doing his bidding to kill Battousai.
- Malevolent Masked Man: Murakami, Nakajo, and Sumita wear masks that hide the underside of their faces.
- Oh, Crap!: Nakajo as Kenshin manages to overcome his attack with ease.
- Posthumous Character: Since they all appear in Kenshin's flashback.
- Taking You with Me: Nakajo and Sumita, after being mortally wounded by Kenshin, "become Kekkai" by blowing up some explosive barrels that hinder Kenshin's sense of hearing and sight. By the time he's reached Tatsumi, Kenshin's senses of perception, hearing, sight, and even touch are severely reduced.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Murakami is the first Yaminobu to appear, and the one who gets less screentime.
- The Worf Effect: Members of the Yaminobu appear in the Restoration as part of the group Kanryuu hires to try and kill Kenshin. They are all killed by Jin-E and the scene goes to show just how crazy and dangerous Jin-E is.
Espiral Rotación
Voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki (JP)
A Spanish Fencer introduced in Act Zero who was hired by Ishizu Deian to take care of Kenshin when the Rurouni protects Dr. Elder from his thugs. Luckily for Ishizu, their interests align as Espiral has been interested in challenging the strongest "samurai".
- Adaptational Early Appearance: In 2023 anime, Espiral runs into Kenshin when Dr. Elder invites him for tea. In the original Act Zero story, he isn't introduced until he is hired by Ishizu and doesn't meet Kenshin until he targets Dr. Elder.
- Adaptational Heroism: In the original Act Zero story, Espiral was merely an arrogant swordsman who wanted to test his skills against Kenshin, only to be easily trounced by Kenshin and arrested. In the 2023 anime, while still arrogant, he shows much more tact as he apologizes to Dr. Elder for the rough treatment after Kenshin agrees to fight him. Furthermore, he would be inspired by both Kenshin and Dr. Elder to rethink his life and go through a Heel–Face Turn, leaving on good terms with Kenshin and accompanying Dr. Elder as a bodyguard on her travels.
- All There in the Manual: His family name, Rotación, is only mentioned in Watsuki's Free Talk segment and the credits of the 2023 anime.
- Heel–Face Turn: In the 2023 anime. Despite being hired by Ishizu, Espiral goes against him when Ishizu tries to throw a jar containing smallpox to spite Kenshin and Dr. Elder. After being treated by Dr. Elder and re-evaluating his life, he decides to accompany Dr. Elder as a bodyguard and leaves on good terms with Kenshin.
- Meaningful Name: His name translates to "Spiral Rotation" from Spanish. It's a fitting name for a man who wields a drill-like rapier and whose fighting style causes him or his victims to spin violently through the air.
- Spectacular Spinning: When Espiral's attacks make contact, they cause the victim to spin violently. His ultimate attack also sends him spinning toward his victim at high speed. Kenshin uses this against him in the 2023 anime when he blocks Espiral's ultimate attack as the spin increases the strength of Kenshin's Battoujutsu and allows him to target Espiral's torso.
- This Is a Drill: The blade of his rapier resembles a drill bit, which aids in his style's spinning strikes.
- Wrecked Weapon: Kenshin's counterattack in the 2023 anime shatters Espiral's rapier. He later replaces it with a bladeless rapier, inspired by Kenshin's sakabatou, when he becomes Dr. Elder's bodyguard.
- You Keep Using That Word: Espiral refers to Kenshin as the "strongest samurai" despite the fact that Kenshin has never been a part of that social class. As far as he's concerned, all Japanese swordsmen are samurai.
