History ShoutOut / RurouniKenshin

** They also reference the legendary trio of Sir Perceval, Sir Galahad, and Sir Bors, the three knights who were able to find the [[Myth/KingArthurAndTheHolyGrail Mystical Holy Grail]]. The [[MacGuffin Divine Elixir]] serves as their equivalent of the Grail.
** The Arthurian reference is further solidified by [[ChivalricRomance Schneider's romance]] with the kunoichi Misanagi[[note]]because many versions of the Holy Grail Quest feature a romance either waiting for Perceval or between his sister and a knight (often Galahad or Bors), or an implied one tying knights to the purity of Christianity[[/note]].

* The [[KnightTemplar Black Knights]] are [[TheThreeFacesOfAdam a villainous trio]] of ''The Hunter'' (Lentz), ''The Lord'' (Schneider), and ''The Prophet'' (Melders/Meldars) referencing UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar of lore and conspiracy theories.

* Kenshin's moniker [[RedBaron "Battousai"]] is a portmanteau of [[IaijutsuPractitioner "battoujutsu"]] (old-school sword-drawing technique) and the moniker that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ito_Ittosai Yagoro Ito]], the founder of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itto-ryu Ittō-Ryū]], became famous for: "Ito Ittousai".

* Raijūta Isurugi's ''Izuna'', ''Matoi Izuna'', and ''Tobi Izuna'' [[RazorWind techniques]] from the ancient Shinko Ryu swordsmanship school are highly reminiscent of Takeshi Onimaru's cursed sword powers while possessed by ''Fuujin'' (Wind God) from the anime/manga series ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}''[[note]]created by the author of ''[[Manga/CaseClosed Detective Conan]]''[[/note]].

** Watsuki might've gotten the name "Shishio" from the name of the final boss of ''[[VideoGame/FuunSeries Savage Reign]]'', otherwise known as ''[[MarketBasedTitle Fūun Mokushiroku: Kakutō Sōsei]]''. The game was released in April 1995 before Shishio was first name-dropped in the ''[=RuroKen=]'' manga around late 1995[[note]](the 7[[superscript:th]] compilation volume was released in October 1995)[[note]].

* According to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Megumi's visual design is based on the young version of the grandmother character from the ''Manga/CyborgGrandpaG'' manga by Takeshi Obata, Watsuki's former mentor.

* Okina's design model is Tokijirō Kaizō from Takeshi Obata's ''Cyborg Ji-chan G''.

* The [[KnightTemplar Black Knights]] is [[TheThreeFacesOfAdam a villainous trio]] of ''The Hunter'' (Lentz), ''The Lord'' (Schneider), and ''The Prophet'' (Melders/Meldars) referencing UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar of lore and conspiracy theories.

** Watsuki might've gotten the name "Shishio" from the name of the final boss of ''[[VideoGame/FuunSeries Savage Reign]]'', otherwise known as ''[[MarketBasedTitle Fūun Mokushiroku: Kakutō Sōsei]]''. The game was released in April 1995 or a few months before Shishio was first name-dropped in the ''[=RuroKen=]'' manga.

** In the 1996 anime, Yutaro Tsukayama's late father was known as Izu's ''Raijin'', while Raijuta Isurugi featured techniques reminiscent of the wind god ''Fuujin''. They're both shout-outs to Myth/JapaneseMythology lore and (again) ''Keny'u Densetsu Yaiba''.

* Raijūta Isurugi's ''Izuna'', ''Matoi Izuna'', and ''Tobi Izuna'' [[RazorWind techniques]] are highly reminiscent of Takeshi Onimaru's cursed sword powers while possessed by ''Fuujin'' (Wind God) from the anime/manga series ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}''[[note]]created by the author of ''[[Manga/CaseClosed Detective Conan]]''[[/note]].

* Shinomori Aoshi's ''Ryusui no Ugoki'' (Waterflow Movement), ''Kaiten Kenbu'' (Spiral Heaven Sword Dance), and ''Kaiten Kenbu: Rokuren'' (Spiral Heaven Sword Dance: Six Series) are all reminiscent of the magical illusion powers of [[Characters/PunchOut Great Tiger]] from the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES version]] of the videogame ''VideoGame/PunchOut''.

** Watsuki might've gotten the name "Shishio" from the name of the final boss of ''[[VideoGame/FuunSeries Savage Reign]]'', otherwise known as ''Fūun Mokushiroku: Kakutō Sōsei''. The game was released in April 1995 or a few months before Shishio was first name-dropped in the ''Ruroken'' manga.

* Misao is a partial {{Expy}} of Kaoru as Watsuki felt he needed a GenkiGirl to lighten the DarkerAndEdgier Kyoto Arc. Funnily enough, Kaoru's [[TheOtherDarrin drama CD]] [[Creator/TomoSakurai voice actress]] ended up nabbing this role for the TV anime instead. Misao also doubles as a female Yahiko too, so she's basically a [[CompositeCharacter mix]] between Yahiko and Kaoru.

* Raijūta Isurugi's ''Tobi Izuna'' and ''Matoi Izuna'' [[RazorWind techniques]] are highly reminiscent of Takeshi Onimaru's cursed sword powers while possessed by ''Fuujin'' (Wind God) from the anime/manga series ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}''[[note]]created by the author of ''[[Manga/CaseClosed Detective Conan]]''[[/note]].

* [[SupremeChef Tae Sekihara's]] [[ParentalSubstitute personality]] originates from [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness Megumi Kamiya]] (Kaoru's sister) in Watsuki's first ''Rurouni'' story, who in turn shares a first name with [[CombatMedic Megumi]] [[DecompositeCharacter Takani]].[[note]]Watsuki originally created Tae as a plot convenience during Sanosuke's first appearance and he intended for Kaoru to patronize a restaurant operated by "a good friend."[[/note]]

* Watsuki also considered turning the masked Hannya into a woman [[DisguisedInDrag pretending]] to be a [[SweetPollyOliver man]], which probably led to the creation of the anime-only character [[PirateGirl Shura]].

* Takimi Shigure's gimmick is that he uses a metal scabbard. This is both a shout-out to and a MythologyGag from the original manga.
** In the 1996 anime, Kenshin uses a regular wooden scabbard. However, in the manga and the 2023 anime, Kenshin instead puts his sword inside an iron sheath, just like with Shigure.
** Shigure also uses friction from his scabbard to create flames by igniting nearby leaves and other flammable material, kind of like how Shishio would with his ''Homura Dama'' technique and his FlamingSword, the ''Mugenjin''.

** Watsuki might've gotten the name Shishio from the final boss of ''[[VideoGame/FuunSeries Savage Reign]]'', otherwise known as ''Fūun Mokushiroku: Kakutō Sōsei''. It was released in April 1995 or a few months before Shishio was first name-dropped in the ''Ruroken'' manga.

*** Watsuki might've gotten the name Shishio from the final boss of ''[[VideoGame/FuunSeries Savage Reign]]'', otherwise known as ''Fūun Mokushiroku: Kakutō Sōsei''. It was released in April 1995 or a few months before Shishio was first name-dropped in the ''Ruroken'' manga.

** In the 1996 anime, Yutaro Tsukayama's late father was known as Izu's ''Raijin'', while Raijuta Isurugi featured powers reminiscent of the wind god ''Fuujin''. They're both shout-outs to Myth/JapaneseMythology lore and (again) of ''Keny'u Densetsu Yaiba''.

* The names of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu [[GrappleMove jujutsu moves and throws]] that Kaoru shows off to Yahiko during the engagement ring filler episode are shout-outs to many famous ''Street Fighter'' throws, particularly the ''[[https://streetfighter.fandom.com/wiki/Hell_Wheel Hell Wheel]]''[[note]](itself a shout-out to the Ikki Kajiwara manga ''Jūdō Icchokusen'' and its SignatureMove involving the user rolling forward continuously until the opponent collapses)[[/note]] and ''[[https://streetfighter.fandom.com/wiki/Somersault_Throw Somersault Throw]]''.

* The ''Rurouni Kenshin'' remake [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXqeIuCdbNg trailer]] by Liden Films showcased Kenshin doing a [[https://youtu.be/WXqeIuCdbNg?t=63 sweeping leg]] move not found in the [[Manga/RurouniKenshin manga]] or the [[Anime/RurouniKenshin original anime]]. This is a shout-out to the sweeping leg move of the [[Film/RurouniKenshin film series]] instead.
** Furthermore, the fact that Kenshin is now unambiguously voiced by a [[Creator/SomaSaito guy]] [[CrossDressingVoices instead of]] [[Creator/MegumiOgata a]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayo_Suzukaze girl]] is a further shout-out to the ''[=RuroKen=]'' [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeru_Satoh film series]] as well.

** Kenshin's moniker [[RedBaron "Battousai"]] is a portmanteau of [[IaijutsuPractitioner "battoujutsu"]] (old-school sword-drawing technique) and the moniker that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ito_Ittosai Yagoro Ito]], the founder of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itto-ryu Ittō-Ryū]], became famous for: "Ito Ittousai".

* The unnamed doctor in the manga is named Oguni Gensai in the 1996 anime and had an [[AscendedExtra extended role]] there. He's also named Dr. Gensai in the 2023 anime as an homage to his 1996 anime incarnation.

* The unnamed doctor in the manga is named Oguni Gensai in the 1996 anime and had an extended role there. He's also named Dr. Gensai in the 2023 anime as an homage to his 1996 anime incarnation.

* Okina's design model is Tokijirō Kaizō from Takeshi Obata's ''Manga/CyborgGrandpaG''.

* [[BadassPacifist Vash the Stampede]] from ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' must definitely be an inspiration for Kenshin's [[TheFettered non-killing]] [[HiddenDepths ways]], [[ObfuscatingStupidity pretend]] [[DorkKnight goofiness]] as a [[TheDrifter vagabond]], and [[MyGreatestFailure dark]] [[ScarsAreForever past]].

* Mumyōi Yatsume or the "Nameless" Yatsume is modeled after ComicBook/{{Venom}}.[[note]]To be more specific, he's reminiscent of ComicBook/SpiderMan for his gangly limbs and agility, a mix of Characters/{{Carnage}} from ''Spider-Man'' and Wolverine from ''X-Men'' for his clawed "bandanna mask" version, and Venom (also from ''Spider-Man'') for his [[OverlyLongTongue weird tongue thing]] and overall design.[[/note]]

* Creator/NobuhiroWatsuki [[WordOfGod revealed]] on his [[AuthorTract manga notes]] that he based [[RedBaron Kurogasa]] or [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Jin-E/Jin'eh/Jin-e/Jinei/Jine]] [[AxCrazy Udo]] on the historical assassin [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okada_Izo Izō Okada]].