Bad anime endings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[battousai16]

really? there actually was a hajime saito? how true-to-life is rurouni kenshin?

[Shorin Ryuu]

Yes, there actually was a captain of the third squad of the Shinsengumi, Hajime Saito, who actually after the Meiji Restoration changed his name to Fujita Goro and worked as a cop/spy under the Imperialist government.

 

A whole lot of the names and characters are real or based on real people. Of course, their interaction with Kenshin are made up. There were four "manslayers" that were famous during the Meiji Restoration, Himura Kenshin is based on these. One in particular, who was a really nice person, just very deadly and killed lots of people. The Trust and Betrayal OVAs did a good job showing a lot of the historical background for the Meiji Restoration. I read somewhere that Sanosuke's character and personality was based on a Shinsengumi member of the same name. If you remember Okita Souji, the captain of the first squad of Shinsengumi (the real young one that was coughing up blood), he was based on the real person with the same background. He was an accomplished swordsman by the age of 15, a leader of the Shinsengumi, and developed his three-cut sword technique (I think it may be in the anime, not sure). His original name was Soujirou, another tribute to him was the Soujirou in the TV series. Soujirou was the real fast kid that fought Kenshin in the Kyoto Arc and the sword that Soujirou used (Kikuichi Norimune) against Kenshin was the sword that Okita Souji used in real life. The reason why Okita Souji coughs up blood in the OVA and the flashback in the TV series is that he contracted Tuberculosis and dies of it in real life.

 

I could go on, but these are just some examples. Props to Nobuhiro Watsuki (creator of Rurouni Kenshin) for doing his homework. In one of the manga, there is a side note saying that he originally wanted to do a manga about the Shinsengumi (just a note on their popularity, even before the anime and mange).

[battousai16]

wow, that's really really interesting. would you mind pming me more similarities or telling me where to find them? i'd like to learn more

[Shorin Ryuu]

Here's a nice site on Saitou Hajime and the Shinsengumi.

 

http://www.miburo.com/index.html

 

There was a really good scholarly site on the Shinsengumi...but I can't find it right now...

 

EDIT: The links page on this one has a link to some good history sites and things...

[battousai16]

thanks

[sano]

was there a real oniwaban group?

[Shorin Ryuu]

Here's something I found:

 

The Oniwabanshuu were a group of ninjas/onmitsus established by the 8th Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751), who is considered to be one of Japan's greatest rulers. His far-reaching reforms totally reshaped the central administration structure and temporarily halted the decline of the shogunate. He was originally the head of Kii, one of the three hereditary Japanese feudal fiefs ruled by descendants of the original Tokugawa ruler not in the main line of succession to the Shogunate. (The other two fiefs/hans were Owari and Mito - together, the 3 hans were known as the 3 Houses, or Sanke.) A lack of sons in the main branch of the family, though, resulted in Yoshimune's succession to the position of Shogun in 1716.

 

Yoshimune established the Oniwabanshuu for security, information gathering and spying activities. Originally, members of the Oniwabanshuu were chosen from the Kii clan, and was passed down in the families - in other words, the posts of the Oniwabanshuu were hereditary. They acted as security guards in the Edo castle, besides spying on other clans of their policies and actions. It was also believed that in Bakumatsu times, Oniwabanshuu members were placed among the missions sent to America.

 

I don't know too much about them though, so I don't know how accurate this is. Of course, ninja were real and organized along clan lines like the Oniwabanshuu.

 

On related news, I saw something about Nobuhiro Watsuki writing some more manga for Kenshin, which is supposed to place sometime between the Seisouhen OVAS and the end of the TV series (I saw Kenji's name being thrown around). I plan to do more research to see if that is legit or not.

[sano]

thanks i love this guy.

[sano]

i think the creator of kenshin said in one of his interviews that he read a lot of history books. but i can not find that interview anywhere.

[wrestlingkaratechamp]

I'm gonna try to watch more anime because I have never watched a single one.