Himura Kenshin

Kenshin Himura (緋村 剣心, Himura Kenshin^?), is a fictional character and protagonist of the Rurouni Kenshin universe created by Nobuhiro Watsuki, both in the manga and in his anime adaptations, OVA, movies among others. When creating Kenshin, Watsuki designed him with a physique opposite to that of Hiko Seijūrō, a character who appeared in his first one shot, Crescent Room in States of War and later in Rurouni Kenshin as his samurai master.

Description

Kenshin was during the Bakumatsu the legendary assassin "Hitokiri Battōsai" (人斬り抜刀斎, "Hitokiri Battōsai"^?). (Literally "Assassin master of the art of drawing". Translated in the anime as "Battousai the Breaker" in Latin America and &# 34;Battousai the Butcher" in the first Spanish dubbing of the anime. The translation of the manga and subsequent dubbing adapted it as "Battousai the Murderer".

At the end of the Bakumatsu he becomes a wandering swordsman, now wielding a sakabatō ( 逆刃刀, 'sakabatō'^? lit. inverted edge"), a katana that carries the edge part on the opposite side, being incapable of killing. Kenshin roams Japan offering protection and help to those in need, as atonement for the murders he committed in his past. In Tokyo, he meets a beautiful young woman, a Kendo teacher named Kamiya Kaoru, who invites him to live in her dojo, despite knowing who she was in the past, as thanks for defeating the exploitative Hiruma brothers who were go through Battōsai to discredit and seize Kamiya Kaoru's dojo.

Throughout the series, Kenshin begins to form relationships with many people, including former enemies, while dealing with his old and new enemies. Through these encounters and relationships, Kenshin begins to find true atonement for his past, allowing him to fully conquer his 'Battōsai' nature. By the end of the series, he has found peace and joy as Kaoru's husband and the father of her son, Himura Kenji.

Creation and conception

Cosplayer characterised as Kenshin

Watsuki discovered and used the story of Kawakami Gensai, a hitokiri executed during the Meiji era. According to Watsuki, when he found this Kawakami's duty to his dead comrades, he decided to create the character's title. Since the beginning of his work, Watsuki designed the character as tall, dark-haired in bombastic armor, the creator wanted to make a character completely opposite to the original, and this new one ended up "admitting himself as a girl." According to Watsuki, he used "not real modifications" when he created Kenshin and placed a & # 34;scar in the shape of a cross & # 34; when he 'he didn't know what else to do' At the end of the series, Kenshin appears with short hair.

Initially, Watsuki had planned to make his hair short, before the end, however, he found similarities to the character Multi (HMX-12) from To Heart. Watsuki based many of Kenshin's abilities on a Tokugawa period swordsman named Matsubayashi Henyasai, who was skilled in acrobatic techniques.

During the Kyoto saga, Kenshin receives a new blunt sword much stronger than the previous one with a sheath made of wood. Watsuki decided to readjust the sword to make it more attractive like the first one Kenshin had in the series, although it was more difficult to draw.