Characters / Rurouni Kenshin The Six Comrades

Main Character Index | Main Characters (Himura Kenshin) | Supporting Characters | Rivals and Minor Villains | The Meiji Government | Oniwabanshu | The Ten Swords / Juppongatana | The Six Comrades | Anime Only Characters | Manga Only Characters | Kenkaku Heiki

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The Six Comrades

Yukishiro Enishi

Voiced by: Nozomu Sasaki (JP); Brian Gatson (EN, Trust and Betrayal), Bill Wise (EN, Reflection), Aleks Le (EN, live-action)

Portrayed by: Mackenyu (live-action, adult), Towa Araki (live-action, child)

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

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• Adaptational Heroism: In the second OVA Reflections, his dark and bloody past is never mentioned and his plan is reduced to a kidnapping. His role is also greatly diminished, going from the Big Bad to a supporting antagonist. Though he is the main antagonist of the final arc's live-action adaptation, much of the OVA's characterization actually carries over. He is established to be an Arms Dealer in that adaptation, however.
• Adaptational Karma: In the live-action movie, he actually gets captured by the Japanese government and is thrown in jail.
• Adaptational Wimp: In the live-action film, he only fights Kenshin once at the end, and while he does display the same savagery as in the original, he never defeats Kenshin or his Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki.
• Always with You: At the end, Kenshin reminds us that the real Tomoe is kinder than anyone or anything and that she will watch over Enishi forever.
• And Your Little Dog, Too!: He and his allies attack Kenshin's acquaintances, friends and loved ones to make him suffer.
• Animal Motifs: The White Tiger.
• Arch-Enemy: One of two for Kenshin, and a very different kind of Arch-Enemy to Shishio. While Kenshin and Shishio's enmity was based around the two being mirrors of each other and their conflicting political beliefs, it was almost entirely a professional rivalry. Enishi, on the other hand despises Kenshin for killing his older sister, and their conflict couldn't be more personal.
• Arms Dealer: How he sustained himself prior to his appearance in the manga. Also see Fiction 500 below.
• The Atoner: Heavily implied to be Enishi's fate. Kenshin declares that because time "has begun moving for him again", only now has Enishi started to realize the weight of all that he has done. He says that Enishi will atone with his life and that if the Tomoe in his heart were to ever smile again, he must first atone for his sins and smile himself.
• Ax-Crazy: He is very prone to violent fits of rage.
• Bad Boss: He tries to have Gein killed once he's served his purpose and so he doesn't compromise his plans in any way. He deserves it, but still...
• Berserk Button: Kenshin is this for him at times.
• The Berserker: His fighting style involves pure, overwhelming offense and zero defense, to the point that he is able to match Kenshin's speed. And that's before he uses the Nerves of Insanity, which boosts his speed to even beyond Kenshin.
• Big Bad: Of the final arc of the series.
• Bloodbath Villain Origin: Scores a lotta bonus points too, as horrifying as it is.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Word of God says he's meant to be this to Makoto Shishio. While Shishio embodied aspects that he felt were positive in a way, Yukishiro Enishi was created to reflect aspects that he felt were destructive.
• Cool Sword: His Wato is basically a more elaborate dandao, a fusion between the Tachi (the longer, curvier ancestor of the Katana) and a Jian (Chinese longsword). It has the reach and cutting power of a Tachi plus the flexibility and speed of a Jian. It was so cool and practical that it was Truth in Television, and Watsuki might have changed the name to avoid clash and confusion with the Japanese and Chinese readers. See Katanas Are Just Better below.
• Cultured Badass: As to be expected from a mob boss. Though shallow, since on the inside, he's a hot mess.
• Determinator: He will stop at nothing to send Kenshin to a living hell of his own design. Case in point; he takes a heavy beating from Kenshin, but continues to fight like nothing happened. Why? The pain became unimportant to his brain.
  • As a child, he ate corpses and drank from mud puddles in Shanghai just so he could survive. The thing that stopped him from just dying on the streets? The desire to make Kenshin pay.
• Double-Edged Buff: Enishi is able to activate his Frenzied Nerves, dramatically increasing his strength, speed, reflexes, and senses, making him incredibly strong and hard-to-hit. But due to his increased sensitivity, the pain he receives from any hits he does take is increased several times over.
• Disease Bleach: It's implied that watching his sister die caused his hair to go white over a very short period of time.
• Disproportionate Retribution: The methods he and his "comrades" resort to (blowing up property, attacking Kenshin's friends and acquaintances, kidnapping Kaoru and faking her death etc.) just to make Kenshin suffer are rather...extreme.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Possibly in the live action film. When kidnapping Kaoru, Enishi inflicted a severe No-Holds-Barred Beatdown onto Sanosuke and the older students for interfering, half-heartedly attempting to murder them at one point. Yet, he never actively tries to harm Yahiko afterwards, merely swatting him aside when attacked.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Enishi loves Tomoe and is seen lamenting her death and his inability to protect her, as well as wondering why she had to die out loud. He also thinks she wants revenge as much as he does.
• Evil Counterpart: To Kenshin. For one thing, there's the Tiger Versus Dragon motif between them (Enishi as the tiger, Kenshin as the dragon), and also the fact that Enishi's Watojutsu just so happens to counter the Hiten Mitsurugi style. They both bear marks from Tomoe's death—Kenshin got the second part of his cross-scar and Enishi's hair turned white from shock—but whereas Kenshin became The Atoner, Enishi went Ax-Crazy and obsessed with revenge.
• Evil Orphan: Well, what were they expecting?
• Fate Worse than Death: At first, he wants to put Kenshin through a living hell. After Kenshin snaps out of it, he thinks that Tomoe wants him to send Kenshin to the real hell.
• Fiction 500: Remember Shishio Makoto's battleship The Rengoku? Yes, the one that's said to be able to blow Meiji Era Tokyo to ruins by itself? Enishi not only sold the evil warrior this ship, but claims to own an entire fleet of them.
• Final Boss: The final villain of the series.
• Freudian Excuse: He witnessed the death of his sister Tomoe and was thrust into a "living hell".
  • The Excuse even influences his fighting style - he claims to have no use for defense, since Kenshin robbed him of the only person he ever cared about defending.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: He was once a relatively normal kid...now he's a dangerous criminal hell-bent on vengeance.
• Glass Cannon: When activating the "Nerves of Insanity", Enishi has all his senses buffed to ridiculous degrees; becoming much faster, and nigh-impossible to hit. Any hit that does connect will hurt like hell, since all his senses were amplified... including his sense of pain.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: He throws his pistol at Kenshin's face the moment Tomoe's name escapes his lips.
• Hypocrite: He calls out Kenshin on the lives he took as Battousai, when he himself has taken lives in cold blood.
• It's All About Me: Everything he does somehow connect back to his desire to bring revenge upon Kenshin. It could even be argued that his vendetta against Kenshin has less to do with Kenshin killing Tomoe and more to do with the happiness he believes Kenshin has personally taken from him. He certainly was self-centered enough even at an early age to murder a kind family that had taken him while he was starving on the streets of Shanghai just because they had the gall to be happy while he was miserable.
• Jerkass: He shows no concern or consideration for any of his comrades, treats his second-in-command like dirt and only cares about avenging his sister.
• Karma Houdini: Like Soujirou, he's committed a lot of brutal and heinous acts but escapes capture and doesn't have to answer for his crimes at the end. But likewise, it's also portrayed as Enishi having to find his own way in life and find redemption on his own path, just like Kenshin did after the revolution.
• Katanas Are Just Better: The origin of his Wato: the Chinese were so impressed by the swords used by the Wako (Japanese pirates) that they decided to adopt them for their own armies and modified it into the Wato. Truth in Television as well, since it was so cool and practical against the northern Mongol cavalry that the Chinese wrote a full manual on how to use it, called Dan Dao Fa Xuan allegedly rumoured to be based on a confiscated Aizu Kage-ryu densho (techniques manual) from the pirates who attacked the mainland, which is what Enishi probably had learned aside from differences in the technique, mostly because he also included Jian techniques.
• Knight Templar Big Brother: Inverted. He's a Knight Templar Little Brother. He left Edo when he was only eight/nine just so he could help his sister with revenge.
• Lack of Empathy: He wants revenge on Kenshin for his Accidental Murder of Tomoe, but he only allies with his comrades because he sees them as useful in revenge, and privately admits he doesn't give a damn about anyone else Kenshin has wronged.
• Loving a Shadow: He comes to see Kaoru as a Replacement Goldfish for Tomoe during his blurriest moments, to the point that he hallucinates that she is Tomoe during his final fight with Kenshin.
• The Man Behind the Man: Enishi's actually the one from who Shishio bought the Rengoku, though he was worried when he heard that Shishio and Kenshin clashed. The To Rule Flame side-chapter established that Enishi intended to sell it to another ambitious Japanese officer, but Shishio killed that man and then took the initiative to take up Enishi's business deal. Shishio threatened to kill Enishi and steal the ship if he didn't comply.
• Manipulative Bastard: He recruits warriors (some of whom also have grudges against Kenshin) so they can aid him in his revenge. However, Enishi never intended to let any of his comrades rob him of his Jinchuu and actually expected them to be defeated.
• Master Swordsman: He taught himself Watojutsu and became skilled enough to fight Kenshin on equal ground, to the point where he can defeat most of the attacks in Kenshin's arsenal.
• The Mentally Disturbed: He is severely disturbed because he witnessed the death of his sister and the trauma is very apparent. His hair went white soon after, he hallucinates seeing Tomoe and if he tries to harm young women he becomes physically ill. To say nothing of his violent behavior. The man is clearly not well.
• Mind Rape: Unleashes a non-supernatural one on Kenshin as part of his plan, by kidnapping Kaoru and leaving a puppet impaled by his sword in her place, which sends Kenshin dangerously close to the Despair Event Horizon.
• No Sympathy for Grudgeholders: Even though Kenshin believes that his grudge is perfectly understandable, the methods he and his comrades resort to are rather extreme. Kenshin calls him out on these unjustified acts of violence that have resulted in people being injured and nearly losing their lives as Enishi didn't focus on him specifically. At the end though, the two resolve their conflict with a fair duel, which Kenshin is happy to accept.
• The Power of Hate: Explains why he's so powerful even before increasing his nerves. According to him, he has hated Kenshin so much since he killed Tomoe that his brain maintained a constantly active state, even during sleep. He seems to solely function on that hatred alone.
• Prematurely Grey-Haired: Enishi's hair went white after he witnessed Tomoe's untimely death. When Kenshin sees him for the first time after her death at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, he has pure white hair and glares at his brother-in-law. It's clear at that point that the experience knocked several screws loose...
• Psychopathic Manchild: Has shades of this. Despite how dangerous he is, the way Enishi communicates with his dead sister, his obsession with wanting her to smile (believing he can do anything if she does) and his extreme admiration for her can come off as very childlike.
• Redemption Earns Life: He escapes from custody and disappears into the same town Kenshin was at during his Heroic BSoD and meets his father again, though they don't seem to completely recognize each other. He tells Enishi that he will someday leave that place and find new purpose in life.
• Revenge Before Reason: He could've killed Kenshin multiple times, but felt that it was better to mentally torment him. During their final battle, he refuses to kill Kenshin unless it's in a sword duel.
• Revenge Myopia: He wants revenge on Kenshin for killing Tomoe's fiancee and destroying her happiness, before killing her (though by accident) and taking away the only person Enishi loved. However, Tomoe never died hating Kenshin but instead tried to protect him. He doesn't realize the truth until he is given her diary right at the end.
• Reverse Grip: Has this stance when he starts his ultimate attack.
• Round Hippie Shades: Sporting a pair of John Lennon shades in the Meiji era is cool! Shame they get broken at the end.
• Selective Slaughter: Can't kill young women because after what happened to Tomoe, he sees part of her in every young woman. It's what keeps Kaoru alive.
• Self-Made Orphan: When he was dying as a child in Shanghai, a wealthy Japanese family saved him from the brink of death and brought him back to health. According to him, he killed the family simply because he couldn't bear seeing them happy after he had lost his own happiness; as well as for their huge sum of money.
• Slasher Smile: Shows a really terrifying one when he's about to kill Kaoru after defeating Kenshin.
• The Syndicate: Was a major Shanghai-based weapons dealer for a time, but retired as he became such to fund Jinchuu. He has promised his organization to his second-in-command once that is accomplished.
• Talking to the Dead: Throughout the arc, he is seen conversing with the apparition of Tomoe that lives in his heart. As long as she smiles, he can do anything.
• Tiger Versus Dragon: He is the tiger, Kenshin is the dragon.
• The Unfettered: The only line he draws is killing young girls, which reminds him of Tomoe's untimely death.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Played for laughs; while holding Kaoru hostage, Kaoru points out that he obviously hasn't been using the kitchen and makes him food for several days, stating that it "takes as much effort to make food for two as it does one". He finds her cooking disgusting and spares no time pointing this out (yet still eats it).
  • Played completely serious when it came down to the wealthy family who took him in when he was starving in Shanghai once Enishi chose to murder them because he couldn't stand their happiness even though they took him in and nursed him back to health.
• Villainous Breakdown: All it took to send him over the edge was realizing that the apparition of Tomoe in his mind wasn't smiling at him. When Kenshin asks if she's still smiling, he completely flips out. It leads to his defeat as he lets go of his sword at a crucial moment in the battle when the image still refuses to smile for him.
• Villainous BSoD: When Enishi ends up in the same village Kenshin went to when he fell into despair, he has the same broken look as Kenshin did. Saito even says he is incapable of hurting anyone in this state. He's a complete wreck.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Originally had dark hair, but it became white due to the shock and stress of seeing his sister die.
• You Killed My Father: The reason behind his intense hatred for Kenshin is him killing his sister (by accident).

Gein

Portrayed by: Gō Ayano (live-action)

Voiced by: Christopher Corey Smith (EN, live-action)

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.

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• Adaptational Attractiveness: From an old man in the original manga to bishonen young guy in the Restoration manga. In the films, he has a disfiguring scar on the left half of his face but is still much younger and more fit than his manga incarnation.
• Adaptational Heroism: In the film, he becomes a Composite Character with Hannya, and as such has a few of the man's more noble traits. In addition, many of his own heinous actions are Adapted Out on account of him having a different role in the film. In Restoration he's revealed to be a former Oniwabanshu named Kuroko, a companion of Aoshi and the others, while Gein is just an alias.
• Blood Knight: The plotting type, and one that proves how scary it can be when Blood Knight and Evil Genius get together. He doesn't like war for its 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...
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Has shades of this, for example when he asks if the "Six Comrades" can be renamed "Gein and his Merry Men" instead.
• Composite Character: In the films, he is a disfigured ninja like Hannya, and he is a kodachi-wielding enforcer of Kanryu like Aoshi. His general appearance (lithe, muscular, light-haired) closely mimics Enishi's.
• 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-Man Band sense, functioning instead as Enishi's Dragon, he's for sure an Evil Genius, with shades of 19th Century Steampunk Mad Scientist.
• Evil Old Folks: He's revealed to be quite old under his mask, and admits that he must be at least twice Kenshin's age.
• Fatal Flaw: Pride. After killing the goons Enishi sends after him, he could have disappeared and escaped punishment, but instead goes back to Tokyo to retrieve the Kaoru doll; reasoning that it would be "blasphemy" to let his greatest creation rot in the ground. This results in him getting ambushed and killed by Aoshi. If he hadn't been so up his own ass he'd still be alive.
• Giant Robot: Several of his puppets border on this.
• Graceful Loser: Subverted in Restoration: after being defeated by Saito, he's smiling, since he claims that at least he has uncovered the secrets of Saito Hajime's technique... and then notices that Saito was using his right hand, meaning that he wasn't taking him seriously at all. Cue to Gein's Big "NO!".
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Killed in a trap he set for Aoshi. Good riddance.
• Hypocritical Humor: Played for laughs when he asks Mumyōi to show his face. This coming from a guy who's always masked.
• Irony: Lampshaded by Saitou: He always masked himself with a skull. When Aoshi finished with him, his charred skull was the only thing left of him.
• 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? It's okay though, most people seem to see him as just some weirdo.
• 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.
• Mask Power: Spends most of the series wearing a concealing facemask that hides both his identity and age.
• 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.
• More Despicable Minion: Enishi loves Tomoe and wants to avenge her death, but Gein is a Mad Artist and Psycho for Hire who turns corpses into puppets and is in it for the killing.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: He's the smallest and shortest of the companions. And yet, has enough strength to use the Iwanbou puppet with ease.
• Older Sidekick: To Enishi.
• Psycho for Hire: A more subtle example. He's not in it for the sadism (although still a factor). 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 kinda 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.
• Spared by the Adaptation: He acts as one of Takeda's assassins in the Restoration manga and fights Saitō who, surprisingly enough, lets him live. The live-action film also ends with him crippled by Kenshin but not dead.
• Villainous Breakdown: He totally snaps after Aoshi tells him that he burned Kaoru's puppet.
• You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good!: Kenshin tells him this during their battle, to which he replies that technology always finds its greatest uses on the battlefield.

Kujiranami Hyōgo

Portrayed by: Shinnosuke Abe (live-action)

Voiced by: Kellen Goff (EN, live-action)

A huge man with an odd mouth and only one arm, as he lost it to Kenshin during the Bakumatsu period. Looking for revenge, he sided with Enishi. He goes berserk at the mention of Kenshin and can put an Armstrong cannon on his arm stump to fight.

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• Achilles' Heel: Kenshin manages to knock him out by striking his armpit. Later Yahiko manages to hurt him by hitting the stump connecting his arm to the cannon.
• Adaptational Attractiveness: In the film adaptation, by virtue of him looking like an actual human being.
• Adaptational Wimp: Kenshin deals with him quickly in the film adaptation after removing his Arm Cannon and closing the distance, while in the source material, Kenshin has to exploit a very specific weak point to knock him out.
• Arm Cannon: Has an Armstrong cannon built into his missing arm. Later becomes a Grenade Launcher, complete with rapid fire and Bayonet Ya.
• Berserk Button: Kenshin. Believe it or not, he has an even worse one; refusing to kill him, when you defeat him.
• The Berserker: Alternates between this and The Juggernaut.
• Book Ends: On his first appearance, he thanks Tae for her kindness. After his defeat he thanks Yahiko and Kenshin for their kindness.
• The Brute: Shares the role with Banjin, though he's calmer and more level-headed outside of battle.
• Expy: Visually resembles Apocalypse
• Disproportionate Retribution: He wants revenge because Kenshin severed his arm, leaving him incapable of continuing on as a samurai, but refused to kill him. Kujiranami considers himself shamed by this, and wants to take the price of his humiliation it out of Kenshin's hide. Notice though that from the point of view of a samurai, being mutilated and spared like that would be a tremendous humiliation.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Twice. The second time though Yahiko talks him out of it.
• Gag Lips: See Expy.
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: How Kenshin manages to beat him—by cutting off the arm cannon. According to Aoshi, he remembered the shock of his first mutilation and, in doing so, restores his sanity.
• Gonk: Being an expy of Apocalypse, he can certainly feel like this.
• The Juggernaut: He's damn near unstoppable, and bigger than Anji.
• Manly Tears: Cries out after accepting his defeat.
• Meaningful Name: Kujiranami means "Whale's Wave". He's the largest of the Comrades.
• No-Nonsense Nemesis: Rather than wasting time or playing around, Kujiranami's main tactic is "drop down and shoot them all up". He's also very serious compared to his companions, being even sterner than Gein.
• One-Hit Kill: His Cannon, realistically, is treated as a huge menace because of its explosive hits. In the very first battle, the group's first priority is to stop him from shooting again.
• Only Sane Man: Outside of battle among the other Six Comrades. In battle though he goes berserk.
• Pet the Dog: When he's introduced for the first time, he goes into the Akebeko and asks for the cheapest dish. Tae decides to bring him a more expensive salmon and rice dish instead (at the cost of the cheapest dish), despite being warned that such mercy may offend him. Kujiranami, however, after looking at her for a while, thanks Tae for her kindness. This is foreshadowing that he's not as bad as he looks.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: When he's on a rampage.
• Say My Name: "BATTOUSAI!!" Slips to Madness Mantra after his first defeat.
• Slasher Smile: He has only one in the whole manga, as he's about to nuke the Akebeko, but is pretty creepy.
• Talking the Monster to Death: It's ultimately Yahiko who gets him to give up his grudge by showing that even in the Meiji era, there's still some good he can do outside the battlefield.
• Villainous Breakdown: When Kenshin refuses to kill him after taking him down, he goes on a mindless rampage; being unable to say anything other than "Battosai". Fittingly, it's Kenshin who snaps him out of it.

Inui Banjin

Voiced by: Atsushi Imaruoka (JP, Meiji Kenkaku Romantan series); Marcus D. Stimac (EN, first film), Xander Mobus (EN, The Final)

Portrayed by: Genki Sudo (2012 film), Joey Iwanaga (The Final (Inui Tenmon))

Also known as "Iron Armored Banjin", is an hot blooded martial artist who holds a grudge against Kenshin for killing his master Tatsumi. Not very bright; he uses his whole body as a weapon and wields thick metal armor on his arms called "Tekko", which serves as a shield and Knuckleduster.

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• Adaptational Comic Relief: Inverted. While he is somewhat comedic in the live-action film, the comedy isn't at his expense.
• Adaptational Badass: As "Inui Tenmon", he's a much better fighter, nowhere near as braggart as he was in the manga, and he ends up fighting Hajime Saito in the finale.
• Adaptational Heroism: In the Live-Action film he's considerably less of a jerk and much more affable. His Kick the Dog moments aren't quite as brutal, and when Sanosuke calls for a time-out in their brawl, Banjin obliges and happily accepts some wine from him.
• Ax-Crazy: Seen during his assault on the Maekawa dojo. The guy actually enjoys maiming and pummeling his opponents.
• Anachronism Stew: Dreadlock? Fighting style and clothing based on the army? In Restoration, his Tekko is no longer a set of steel-plated armguards but a pair of cans of liquid mercury which coat his arms to make invincible defense and great offense.
• Anime Hair: Dreadlocks in Meiji-era Japan?
• Attack on One Is an Attack on All: He seeks vengeance against the battousai for killing his master and former cohorts, despite having left their ranks prior to their fight with Kenshin. This reasoning later proves to be an excuse to fight the man who was powerful enough to slay his master. In actuality, he has little respect for his former master and doesn't mourn his death.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: His style is even named the Invincible Jusshiki Style. Cemented in the live action movie, where he takes a break from beating the policemen and dojo staff to drink some saké from a jug, jug which promptly throws in the face of his opponent.
• Avenging the Villain: To Tatsumi, though it's actually an excuse. What he really wants is to test his own skills against Kenshin.
• Awesome, but Impractical: Lampshaded by Kaoru and Megumi when he unleashes his "Raijinguruma" (Thunder God Wheel) attack, which involves him vertically spinning as he falls from the hot air balloon in order to deliver a strike powerful enough to destroy the gate of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu dojo. While it was impressive-looking, the attack served absolutely no purpose and looks difficult to pull off.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: He's a brawler through and through but this is played up much more in the live-action films. He fights exclusively with his fists and is a Christian Priest.
• Blood Knight: He lives to fight, his true motivation for joining the Six Comrades is so he can prove himself against the Battousai.
• Boisterous Bruiser: The most action-prone of the group.
• The Brute: More bloodthirsty and simple-minded than Kujiranami.
• The Bully: He gets a kick out of pummeling his foes senseless, and Sanosuke deduces that he typically fights opponents he knows he can beat. When faced with foes of real skill, his weakness shows.
• Chrome Champion: In Restoration, he coats his fists in liquid metal/mercury to turn them into deadly weapons. Said liquid metal can even No-Sell Sano's Futae no Kiwami at first.
• Composite Character: In the live-action movie, he has his manga counterpart's name and dreadlocks, but also elements of Anji, another antagonist who fights with his fists. Anji is a fallen Buddhist monk with respect for his opponents, and Film!Bajin is a devout vegetarian Christian in priest's garb who honors Sanosuke's call for a time-out and prays for a dead chicken. This distinguishes him from Manga!Banjin, who is little more than The Brute.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: For Sanosuke. In the Kyoto arc, Sanosuke is paired with Anji, a noble but corrupted Bare-Fisted Monk with a Dark and Troubled Past. Banjin also fights with martial arts and becomes Sanosuke's rival, vut unlike the monk, has no morals, reatraint or nobility whatsoever, and enjoys hurting others for the fun of it. And unlike Anji, who dedicated years of his life to painful training to condition his body and perfect his technique, Banjin relies on his armored gauntlets to win.
• Decomposite Character: Because Inui Banjin was already used in the first film, another character, Inui Tenmon (who is much closer to his manga prototype), is a part of the Six Comrades in the fourth film.
• Dumb Muscle: Makes Sano look like a genius by comparison. At one point he unleashes a flashy attack that demolishes the gate of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu dojo without any actual reason, which is lampshaded by both Kaoru and Megumi.
• Expy: Of Kazuki Kazama from Samurai Shodown.
• Evil Counterpart: With his odd dress, desire for fighting, and lack of intelligence, he's a clear mirror to Sano.
• Glass Cannon: He's strong enough to deal a great deal of damage to Sano, but his gauntlets mask the fact that he can't take a hit.
• High-Pressure Blood: Makes the mistake of trying to attack Sanosuke once more after receiving his Futae no Kiwami that shattered his new gauntlets. He ends up with blood squirting out of his arms' veins and arteries for his trouble.
• The Idiot from Osaka: Not as obvious as Cho, since his dialect is weaker. He does use some Osaka-ben terms (bochi-bochi, for instance), and is specifically stated to be from the region in character information from the most recent video games. The fact that he's an idiot is...kind of obvious, really.
• Kick the Dog: Incapacitates a lot of dojo students and policemen for fun and even stomps on the unconscious Maekawa (the same guy who was defeated by Raijuta).
• Meaningful Name: His master Tatsumi's name literally means "Dragon Snake", referring to the fifth and sixth zodiacal signs. Inui means "Dog Boar", referencing to the eleventh and last zodiacal signs.
• Power Fist: Wears some really thick armlets called "Tekko". He can use them to punch people really hard, or (mostly) to parry blows and bullets. Is eventually shattered by Sano's super attack.
• Slasher Smile: Sports one many times, especially when he's fighting.
• Small Name, Big Ego: As Sanosuke pointed out, he's rarely fought strong people.
• Too Dumb to Live: In the Restoration manga, he once again fights and loses to Sanosuke after his liquid armor fails against the latter's punches. So he covers himself in the liquid...only to realize he can't move. Way to go, idiot.
• Uncertain Doom: Inui Tenmon in the live action: while in the manga Banjin survives, at the cost of his ego and Tekkou, in the movie his last appearece has him at the receiving end of Saito's Gatotsu, though he's seemingly sent flying rather than impaled.

Otowa Hyōko

Voiced by: Kenta Uehara (JP, Meiji Kenkaku Romantan PSP video game series), Stephen Fu (EN, live-action)

Portrayed by: Shuntaro Yanagi (live-action)

The "Master of Hidden Weapons", is an effeminate assassin who just loves to kill people with his hidden lethal weapons. Wants to avenge his friend Nakajo, who was killed by Kenshin.

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• Adaptational Badass: In the manga he never fight Kenshin without using sneak attacks or poisonous smoke, and just one look at his performance against Gein is enough to completely defuse any desire to keep fighting. In the movie, Hyogo dual wields double-bladed falx-like swords with great skill, goes toe to toe with Kenshin and their battle wrecks the insides of Uramura's house. His Chuzen Baika goes from being a surprise attack weapon to something capable of shooting multiple darts at once.
• Avenging the Villain: Nakajo. However, this is just an excuse.
• Cool Sword: The Bishamonken, a sword which takes advantage of magnetic energy and iron sand dust to hit enemies even if the user is not skilled at sword fighting.
• Death by Adaptation: In The Final, he attempts a Taking You with Me on Kenshin, resulting in him blown to kingdom come.
• Dirty Coward: Which leads to his fall, as he's so scared of Kenshin that he doesn't pay enough attention to Yahiko and ends up on the wrong end of his Hawatari.
• Expy: Partly based on Sogetsu Kazama, while his mantle-like thing is borrowed from Mr. Sinister.
• For the Evulz: He likes killing for the fun of it, his friend's death is merely an excuse to satiate his bloodlust.
• Fragile Speedster: Fast or not, he doesn't have much stamina as even Yahiko is able to hurt him.
• Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Seen smoking from a narghilé-like thing while resting at Enishi's place.
• Guyliner: Wears lipstick.
• Hollywood Acid: He mentions acid amongst his hidden weapons, but he never uses it.
• Informed Ability: We're told that he has 13 hidden weapons with him. We only see five in action: Kaiga Chuzen (a tiny hidden dart launcher), Kasui Busuen (cubes that release a toxic cloud when thrown in water), the Bishamonpun (a special iron sand dust), the Bishamonken (a sword with magnetic powers used along with said dust) and Riku Doko (the six ornaments of his collars used as sharp tentacles). We also see (though not utilized) some darts, a tube-like weapon, a dagger resembling a winding key, and a knuckleduster/ax hybrid.
• Master Poisoner: Kasui Busuen is simply poison cubes that create a cloud when wet.
• Sinister Scimitar: Live action only, he wields a crazy weapon which is, essentially, a pair of double-bladed crescent blades with pronounced curvatures he uses in an unique, unpredictable fighting style. His two emergency weapons are equally curved knives.
• Sissy Villain: Unlike Kamatari, he looks more like a Drag Queen, though isn't explicitly stated to be gay.
• Spider Limbs: His odd mantle can actually function as a bladed weapon, which he uses to impale Yahiko.
• Villainous Breakdown: Post-Knock Out. The others notice he went down with a smile on his face. Unable to believe someone not even in his age range was able to beat him.
• The Worf Effect: He's defeated by Yahiko, though to be honest it was pointed out that Otowa was too distracted by Kenshin's aura to fully concentrate on Yahiko.

Yatsume Mumyōi

Portrayed by: Eiki Narita (live-action)

Voiced by: Christopher Sabat (EN, live-action)

A grotesque-looking ninja with overly long arms. Was defeated by Kenshin long ago and now wants revenge.

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• Adaptational Attractiveness: The live action version is definitively of human proportions and lacks disturbing teeth or tongue. He does have eerie eyes though. as well as a nasty-looking scar.
• Adaptational Villainy: The live action version of the Six Comrades were hit with this, but Yatsume stands out in particular as the most murderous. He does not display any of the redeeming qualities of the manga, and helped set off a fire trap. He is disturbingly eager to hunt down and kill Kenshin, but he is more than willing to kill innocent civilians, as he casually throws an incendiary bomb to burn villagers alive before Aoshi saves them.
• Animal Motif: The Spider. He's often compared to one, has long skinny limbs, can move underground, and is usually hidden. Lampshaded and mocked by Saito after Mumyoi dives underground for his second strategy, asking him if now that he's done playing spider he's trying to imitate a mole instead.
• Berserk Button: Don't you even dare call him a freak, monster or just insult his clan. The fact that Saito trolled him on this lead to his Villainous Breakdown.
• Composite Character: The live action version of Yatsume seems to be a composite character of the yaminobu Yatsume from the manga, with the personality and looks of the masked and malicious Gein from the manga, who also fights the oniwabanshu.
• Creepily Long Arms: He comes from a clan of gold diggers, where children's arms and legs are slowly stretched as they grow up by putting a set of iron rings on their limbs, just like the long-necked women in Africa.
• Determinator: His arm gets impaled with a katana. His reaction? Twist it so that it'll serve as a crutch to hold his arm.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Dosha no Bokei (Dirt Rampart), which takes advantage of dust and dirt to shield his attacks. It managed to nullify Saito's Gatotsu. Done properly, it is similar in function to Kenshin's own Do Ryu Sen (granted, that's one of Kenshin's standard, weaker attacks).
• The Dragon: Appears to be this way in the live action, as he was the only surviving Yaminobu who went after Kenshin in the past, is the only one of the six comrades skilled enough to return in the films climax to attack Kenshin.
• Evil Sounds Deep: The film gave him a deep, distorted voice that resonates.
• Expy: Of Venom. His claws and some of his moves are also similar to those of Gen'an Shiranui.
• Fangs Are Evil: Thanks to him sharpening his teeth and treating them with bone dust to make them stronger.
• Glasgow Grin: When Misao knocks his mask off in the climax, his lips have cuts across his face in the live action.
• The Grotesque: And is very sensitive about this.
• Mundane Utility: His long arms and digging talents were originally intended for gold mining. When the gold dried up, he decided to use them to make money as a hired killer.
• Ninja: He doesn't even show himself often because of his appearance.
• Overly-Long Tongue: According to him, he had it since he was born and was the only thing that wasn't purposely altered, prompting Saito to call him a monster once more.
• Southpaw Advantage: Downplayed, though his dominant arm is the left one and, as lampshaded by the heroes, he ends up fighting another southpaw, Saito. He has a slight advantage, until Saito figures out how to defeat his Dosha no Boeki.
• Training from Hell: The iron rings that stretched his arms were really painful. After his first humiliating defeat at Kenshin's hands, he underwent it again, which is even more painful for an adult.
• Villainous Breakdown: Flies into a murderous rage when Saito insults him, then that rage turns into desperation when Saito stabs his arm. Finally, he simply crumbles in a fetal position and cries as Kenshin spares him.
• Villainous Valor: Became a ninja in order to help his starving clan so that they can have a decent life, and one of his sensitive points is insulting his clan. After his defeat, Kenshin suggests that he should give up his life as a shinobi and help them instead.
• Voice of the Legion: He has a terrifying, raspy, echoing voice in the live action. He is the only villain in all of the films to have this effect.
• Wolverine Claws: Wears some on his longest arm. In the movie, not only he wears two classical ones, but he also uses a weird polearm with a set of claws on one end and a sickle on the other.
• The Worf Effect: Or the Saito Effect, as you wish. Either way, it gets messy.

Other Members

Wu Heishin

Portrayed by: Takuma Oto'o (live-action)

Voiced by: Brook Chalmers (EN, live-action)

A Chinese crime lord and Enishi's number two in the organization. However, he's not interested in his revenge, he only wants to control the organization.

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• Beard of Evil: He sports Fu Manchu-like facial hair in the live-action adaptation.
• Big Bad Wannabe: He believes he deserves to be the number one villain. Both the Kenshin-gumi and Enishi prove that he's just a fly in the grand scheme of things.
• Evil Is Petty: Lampshaded by Hajime Saito: when Heishin has just told the heroes the reason why he's attacking them, trying to sound grandiose and intimidating, Saito dismiss him as just a petulant brat who's trying to get back at Enishi with a petty low move, getting under his skin.
• Expy: A Smug Snake who hides behind stronger men and gets his jaw crushed in the end. Essentially a Chinese Takeda Kanryu who deals with weapons instead of opium.
• High-Class Glass: He wears one in the live-action film.
• Non-Action Guy: He can't fight. He has his bodyguards for it.
• Oh, Crap!: When his bodyguards go down like paper. Gets an even bigger one when he runs into Enishi, who made it very clear that Heishin was to never show his face in front of him again.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: In the manga, he refers to the heroes as "Japanese monkeys" before running away to get help.
• Smug Snake: He likes to talk big about his authority over Enishi's organization, but hides behind his bodyguards and will immediately bolt if things get bad.
• Villainous Breakdown: When his henchmen are defeated. He even tries to murder Kaoru for real, but is knocked down by Enishi.

The Sushin

Identical quadruplets serving as Heishin's bodyguards. They're named after the four gods of Si Ling, and each of them has a special weapon and ability: Seiryuu is the best at reading techniques, Suzaku is the most skilled at copying them, Byakko has the strongest attack while Genbu is the most careful.

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• Blood Knight: All of them like to kill people a bit too much.
• Calling Your Attacks: Byakko does this to a ludicrous extent: each of his attacks has a different position for the fingers and a different, odd-sounding name.
• Co-Dragons: To Heishin, serving as his bodyguards and being actually capable of fighting.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: They last roughly one chapter each.
• Demoted to Extra: In the live action adaptation, four similar-looking bodyguards in identical suits are always seen around Heishin, but this time they don't even bother fighting.
• Didn't See That Coming: Suzaku manages to block and imitate every single one of Aoshi's Kodachi Nitoryuu techniques, even his Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren, but is suddenly taken by surprise and defeated when Aoshi decides to kick his fat ass with Kenpo instead.
• Dual Wielding: Suzaku's twin swords, which he uses to copy Kodachi Nitoryu.
• In a Single Bound: They can jump very far to close in on their opponents despite their large size.
• Mirror Match: Pretty much how their battles turn out. Invoked as they specifically look for the opponent who's better suited for them.
• No-Sell: Seiryuu manages to see through Saitou's Gatotsu and counter it a couple of times, wounding him in the process. However, as Kenshin pointed out, Saitou can't be defeated by simply defeating his technique. Suzaku does the same to Aoshi's Kodachi Nitoryuu's attacks, rending them useless. On the other end of the scale, Byakko gets frustrated that none of his strikes even faze Sanosuke.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: All things said and done, they are skilled warriors who can use their weapons well, on top of individualized skills that can give them an edge over ordinary foes.... Unfortunately, the foes we see them face are anything BUT ordinary.
• Power Fist: Byakko can turn his spiked armlets into knuckledusters.
• Psycho for Hire: Literal bodyguards for hire and they seem to have a mean streak too...
• Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Byakko focuses on rapid-fire strikes with each strike using different hand positions. This fails to impress Sano as all of Byakko strikes combined barely faze him, while a single punch from Sano sends him reeling.
• Slasher Smile: Going hand-in-hand with being Blood Knights, they love to flash a wicked grin whenever they enter battle, especially when they feel it will end in their favor. Seiryu differs slightly in that he uses his hand to turn his grin into a frown in order to give the impression of a serious and disciplined fighter, but he can't control himself when he's sure to have victory within reach.
• Small Name, Big Ego: They claim to be really powerful. They're wrong. So so wrong...
• Stock Wushu Weapons: Seiryuu wields a dadao-type glaive, while Suzaku has a pair of jian and Genbu has a six-sectioned staff. Byakko seemingly fights bare-handed, but he can fold his spiked bracelets into hand-held knuckleduster-like weapons.
• Tattooed Crook: The only way to tell them apart are the tattoos on the sides of their heads. Seiryuu has scales, Suzaku has a feather, Byakko has stripes and Genbu has a hexagonal turtle shell. They also have the kanji for their names on their foreheads.
• This Is Gonna Suck: While bragging about his power, Byakko mentally swears when he realizes that none of his attacks is inconveniencing Sano in the slightest.
• Villainous Breakdown: Genbu, the staff user Yahiko fights. He figures since he's Just a Kid he can take him easily. Not only is he proven wrong but Yahiko shows to be much more of an expert about his weapon than he is and forces him into a position that he'll lose either way (He tries to step back from Yahiko, he's wide open to an attack. He doesn't, he loses his weapon). The only thing he can think of while trying to figure a way out of it is to continue thinking that Yahiko's just a kid to the point of being a Madness Mantra.
• The Worf Effect: Even the author admitted that he made them as tailored, anticlimactic bosses so that Kenshin's companions would have something to do in the final battle.
  • Enishi even makes it clear that the four of them wouldn't be able to defeat him if they tried taking him on.

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