Seta Sojiro
Encyclopedia
, addressed as Sojiro Seta in the English-language
dubs
, is a fictional character
from the Rurouni Kenshin
universe
created by Nobuhiro Watsuki
for the series and developed into a media franchise
, which consists of a series of manga
, anime
, OVAs
, movies
, soundtrack
s, video games, and other collectible
s. In the story, he is Shishio Makoto
's right hand man. Sōjirō has been favorably popular with the Rurouni Kenshin reader base, placing high in several popularity polls.
, the captain of the first Squad of the Shinsengumi
. The name Seta Sōjirō originates from "Okita Sōjirō," the name Okita had in his early life. The specific personality model is from the Okita in Ryōtarō Shiba
's novel Shinsengumi Keppuroku
("Record of Shinsengumi Bloodshed"); in that version Okita "lost an important part in his human heart," making him without emotions and "pretty scary." Watsuki reported that some fans did not like the fact that a character modeled on Okita is a villain; Watsuki argued that since Sōjirō is based on the Shinsengumi Keppuroku Okita, the design "works well" and that Sōjirō is "a strong antagonist." Watsuki felt that Sōjirō was more difficult to draw than Watsuki initially anticipated, and that he only accomplished around one fourth of what he imagined the character would appear in his mind. Watsuki had no design model for Sōjirō; Watsuki envisioned Okita as having bangs (fringes
), so to Watsuki it was no surprise that Sōjirō also had bangs. Watsuki gave Sōjirō a "slightly feminized air" so that Sōjirō's smile would "look good" on the character. In Volume 9 Watsuki stated that he wants to properly portray Sōjirō since he is a popular character.
The fact that Sōjirō has no emotions is also based on Shiba's version of Okita Sōji. Watsuki said that this concept became one of the most difficult aspects to reflect in the drawing. Okita died when he was young, but Watsuki decided not to kill Sōjirō in the story in order to atone for the murders he committed, but instead start living on his own instead of having someone make his decisions for him. He hoped to draw him in more of the next chapters but soon thought that would not be possible.
Sōjirō is Shishio's right hand man, a young assassin trained by Shishio himself. Sōjirō is known for his lack of kenki (offensive aura), or, simply, emotion. He possesses no anger and incites no fear in his enemies, other than with his sword. This is reflected in his appearance, as he looks very ordinary and has no distinctive features in either his dress or his face.
Sōjirō is often seen smiling and has polite manners, always referring to others with Japanese suffixes. He is sarcastic, hiding his true emotions behind his smiling face. However, he does have a special relationship with Komagata Yumi, who functions as an older-sister figure towards him. Sōjirō usually dresses up in a blue kimono with white handguards.
during the first year of Bunkyū
(1861), Sōjirō is an illegitimate child
. Sōjirō's father left him in the care of his family, who badly mistreat him. He is assigned chores such as carrying rice to and from the family warehouse, and whenever he faltered, he was beaten
by his family. Sōjirō built a defense against their lashings; he put on a smiling face, and endured the torture until they got tired of beating him and left him alone.
One night, he meets Shishio, who was on the run from the police. Sōjirō witnesses Shishio kill some police officers and Shishio is about to kill him for it until he notices Sōjirō smiling and therefore spares him in exchange for food and bandages. Shishio tells Sōjirō that only the strong may live and that his predicament is his own fault for being weak. This new mentality, and a sword given to him by Shishio, determine his defence when his family finds him housing Shishio. Sojiro quickly finds himself cornered by them, attempting to murder him and blame his death on Shishio. He lashes out at them with Shishio's sword, killing every one of them at the age of eight.
Sōjirō's apparent lack of emotion, his simple, insensitive mentality that the strong will live and the weak shall die, and his skills make him a formidable foe for Kenshin. As a master swordsman of his own style, Sōjirō's abilities have earned him the nickname of . His shukuchi
utilizes such powerful speed that, to an observer, it appears that the distance between the two fighters has shrunk (hence the name shukuchi, which means "reduced earth").
During his fight with Kenshin, Sōjirō continually states he's only moving "three steps below shukuchi" or "two steps below shukuchi." While moving at the speed his shukuchi utilizes, the only thing that can be seen is Sōjirō's footsteps ripping through the tatami mats. During "one step below shukuchi", he is able to attack from an omni-directional angle, utilizing not only horizontal but veritical space. While performing true shukuchi, he completely disappears and cannot be seen, even by Kenshin. Sōjirō can dodge the , a move which apparently cannot be evaded even by Kenshin himself. Sōjirō is also the first one ever to slash Kenshin in the back in the series.
Sōjirō is also well versed in the Battōjutsu style like Kenshin, as is evident when he decides to use a stance similar to Kenshin's and when he destroys Kenshin's first sakabatō. Combining the true speed of shukuchi with the Battōjutsu, he has created his only named technique, , meaning "immediate killing by heaven's sword". It is named this because the speed behind the attack is so swift that the opponent dies instantly before falling to the floor. Judging by its appearance in the anime, it appears that the Shuntensatsu is very similar to Kenshin's Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki, except that it uses speed rather than strength.
being killed by them). Later, after Senkaku is defeated by Kenshin, Sōjirō duels with Kenshin using Battōjutsu
, resulting in a tie due to the breaking of both their swords. Sōjirō is then assigned by Shishio to gather the Ten Swords located in the east side of Japan.
When Kenshin finally arrives at the Room of Reduced Space in Shishio's lair, he finds Sōjirō waiting for him. As they begin to duel, it seems Sojiro holds the upper hand, bewildering Kenshin with his superior speed. But when the confrontation forces Sōjirō to question Shishio's principles, his true emotions surface, allowing Kenshin to negate his advantage by reading/predicting his moves. As he struggles with his own confusion, the battle reaches its climax with Kenshin using the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki and Sōjirō using his Shuntensatsu. The result is a victory for Kenshin, but Sōjirō discovers the key to his move, having spotted it before he used the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki.
Sōjirō informs Yumi of the key to Kenshin's ultimate attack and asks her to tell Shishio. Before she leaves, he asks her for one last favor; to return the Wakizashi to Shishio that had once saved him from being murdered (by his family). Sōjirō then leaves Shishio's faction to become a wanderer seeking to find his own truth.
said that while Sōjirō is a "kid," the character scored highly in popularity polls among readers because Sōjirō always smiles despite the abuse inflicted upon him. Surat used Sōjirō as an example of Rurouni Kenshin being a "neo-shonen" work that appeals to boys and girls.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
dubs
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
, is a fictional character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Rurouni Kenshin
Rurouni Kenshin
, also known as Rurouni Kenshin and Samurai X, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The fictional setting takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. The story is about a fictional assassin named Himura Kenshin, from the Bakumatsu who becomes a wanderer to...
universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
created by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Nobuhiro Watsuki
is a Japanese manga artist, best known for his samurai-themed series Rurouni Kenshin. He once worked as an assistant for his favorite author Takeshi Obata.-Biography:...
for the series and developed into a media franchise
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
, which consists of a series of manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, OVAs
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
, movies
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s, video games, and other collectible
Collectible
A collectable or collectible is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector . There are numerous types of collectables and terms to denote those types. An antique is a collectable that is old...
s. In the story, he is Shishio Makoto
Shishio Makoto
, known in the anime in Western order as Makoto Shishio, is a fictional character from the manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin. He is the primary antagonist of the series' Kyoto arc...
's right hand man. Sōjirō has been favorably popular with the Rurouni Kenshin reader base, placing high in several popularity polls.
Creation and conception
Nobuhiro Watsuki has stated that the character design of Sōjirō is loosely based on Okita SōjiOkita Soji
, was the captain of the first unit of the Shinsengumi, a special police force in Kyoto during the late shogunate period. He was one of the best swordsmen of the Shinsengumi, along with Saito Hajime and Nagakura Shinpachi....
, the captain of the first Squad of the Shinsengumi
Shinsengumi
The were a special police force of the late shogunate period.-Historical background:After Japan opened up to the West following U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visits in 1853, its political situation gradually became more and more chaotic...
. The name Seta Sōjirō originates from "Okita Sōjirō," the name Okita had in his early life. The specific personality model is from the Okita in Ryōtarō Shiba
Ryotaro Shiba
, born in Osaka, Japan, was a Japanese author best known for his novels about historical events in Japan and on the Northeast Asian sub-continent, as well as his historical and cultural essays pertaining to Japan and its relationship to the rest of the world....
's novel Shinsengumi Keppuroku
Shinsengumi Keppuroku
is a novel by Ryōtarō Shiba and a television series which aired in 1998.-Details:Television series:* Title: Shinsengumi keppuroku* Genre: Chanbara* Episodes: 11* Broadcast network: TV Asahi* Broadcast period: 1998* Theme Song: "Sayonara" by Chiharu Matsuyama...
("Record of Shinsengumi Bloodshed"); in that version Okita "lost an important part in his human heart," making him without emotions and "pretty scary." Watsuki reported that some fans did not like the fact that a character modeled on Okita is a villain; Watsuki argued that since Sōjirō is based on the Shinsengumi Keppuroku Okita, the design "works well" and that Sōjirō is "a strong antagonist." Watsuki felt that Sōjirō was more difficult to draw than Watsuki initially anticipated, and that he only accomplished around one fourth of what he imagined the character would appear in his mind. Watsuki had no design model for Sōjirō; Watsuki envisioned Okita as having bangs (fringes
Fringe (hair)
Fringe are a shaped cutting of the front part of the hair so that it is combed forward and hangs or curls over the forehead. A classic fringe is cut fairly straight at or above the eyebrows, but fringes can also be ragged or ruffled, spiked up with hair gel, swept to one side or the other, and...
), so to Watsuki it was no surprise that Sōjirō also had bangs. Watsuki gave Sōjirō a "slightly feminized air" so that Sōjirō's smile would "look good" on the character. In Volume 9 Watsuki stated that he wants to properly portray Sōjirō since he is a popular character.
The fact that Sōjirō has no emotions is also based on Shiba's version of Okita Sōji. Watsuki said that this concept became one of the most difficult aspects to reflect in the drawing. Okita died when he was young, but Watsuki decided not to kill Sōjirō in the story in order to atone for the murders he committed, but instead start living on his own instead of having someone make his decisions for him. He hoped to draw him in more of the next chapters but soon thought that would not be possible.
Personality
Sōjirō is often seen smiling and has polite manners, always referring to others with Japanese suffixes. He is sarcastic, hiding his true emotions behind his smiling face. However, he does have a special relationship with Komagata Yumi, who functions as an older-sister figure towards him. Sōjirō usually dresses up in a blue kimono with white handguards.
Background
Sōjirō's constantly smiling face and polite manners stem from his tragic past. Born in Kanagawa PrefectureKanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
during the first year of Bunkyū
Bunkyu
was a after Man'en and before Genji. This period spanned the years from February 1861 through February 1864. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:...
(1861), Sōjirō is an illegitimate child
Legitimacy (law)
At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...
. Sōjirō's father left him in the care of his family, who badly mistreat him. He is assigned chores such as carrying rice to and from the family warehouse, and whenever he faltered, he was beaten
Physical abuse
Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...
by his family. Sōjirō built a defense against their lashings; he put on a smiling face, and endured the torture until they got tired of beating him and left him alone.
One night, he meets Shishio, who was on the run from the police. Sōjirō witnesses Shishio kill some police officers and Shishio is about to kill him for it until he notices Sōjirō smiling and therefore spares him in exchange for food and bandages. Shishio tells Sōjirō that only the strong may live and that his predicament is his own fault for being weak. This new mentality, and a sword given to him by Shishio, determine his defence when his family finds him housing Shishio. Sojiro quickly finds himself cornered by them, attempting to murder him and blame his death on Shishio. He lashes out at them with Shishio's sword, killing every one of them at the age of eight.
Techniques
Shukuchi
The word , sometimes written or , is a Japanese-language term for various techniques of rapid movement. The characters in the word literally mean "reduced earth".-Historical use:...
utilizes such powerful speed that, to an observer, it appears that the distance between the two fighters has shrunk (hence the name shukuchi, which means "reduced earth").
During his fight with Kenshin, Sōjirō continually states he's only moving "three steps below shukuchi" or "two steps below shukuchi." While moving at the speed his shukuchi utilizes, the only thing that can be seen is Sōjirō's footsteps ripping through the tatami mats. During "one step below shukuchi", he is able to attack from an omni-directional angle, utilizing not only horizontal but veritical space. While performing true shukuchi, he completely disappears and cannot be seen, even by Kenshin. Sōjirō can dodge the , a move which apparently cannot be evaded even by Kenshin himself. Sōjirō is also the first one ever to slash Kenshin in the back in the series.
Sōjirō is also well versed in the Battōjutsu style like Kenshin, as is evident when he decides to use a stance similar to Kenshin's and when he destroys Kenshin's first sakabatō. Combining the true speed of shukuchi with the Battōjutsu, he has created his only named technique, , meaning "immediate killing by heaven's sword". It is named this because the speed behind the attack is so swift that the opponent dies instantly before falling to the floor. Judging by its appearance in the anime, it appears that the Shuntensatsu is very similar to Kenshin's Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki, except that it uses speed rather than strength.
Plot overview
Sōjirō first appears when he assassinates government official Ōkubo Toshimichi, who is on the way to a meeting. Sōjirō's superhuman speed allows him to enter Ōkubo's moving carriage unnoticed. Disgruntled Samurai are already on their way to kill Ōkubo, but Sōjirō finishes him off before they can, although it is the samurai who officially take the credit (the real-life ŌkubuOkubo Toshimichi
, was a Japanese statesman, a samurai of Satsuma, and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. He is regarded as one of the main founders of modern Japan.-Early life:...
being killed by them). Later, after Senkaku is defeated by Kenshin, Sōjirō duels with Kenshin using Battōjutsu
Battojutsu
is a Japanese term meaning techniques for engaging a sword. It is often used interchangeably with the terms iaijutsu, battōdō, or iaidō, although each term does have nuances in the Japanese language and different schools of Japanese martial arts may use them to differentiate between techniques...
, resulting in a tie due to the breaking of both their swords. Sōjirō is then assigned by Shishio to gather the Ten Swords located in the east side of Japan.
When Kenshin finally arrives at the Room of Reduced Space in Shishio's lair, he finds Sōjirō waiting for him. As they begin to duel, it seems Sojiro holds the upper hand, bewildering Kenshin with his superior speed. But when the confrontation forces Sōjirō to question Shishio's principles, his true emotions surface, allowing Kenshin to negate his advantage by reading/predicting his moves. As he struggles with his own confusion, the battle reaches its climax with Kenshin using the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki and Sōjirō using his Shuntensatsu. The result is a victory for Kenshin, but Sōjirō discovers the key to his move, having spotted it before he used the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki.
Sōjirō informs Yumi of the key to Kenshin's ultimate attack and asks her to tell Shishio. Before she leaves, he asks her for one last favor; to return the Wakizashi to Shishio that had once saved him from being murdered (by his family). Sōjirō then leaves Shishio's faction to become a wanderer seeking to find his own truth.
Reception
Daryl Surat of Otaku USAOtaku USA
Otaku USA is a bimonthly magazine, published by Sovereign Media, which covers various elements of the "otaku" lifestyle from an American perspective...
said that while Sōjirō is a "kid," the character scored highly in popularity polls among readers because Sōjirō always smiles despite the abuse inflicted upon him. Surat used Sōjirō as an example of Rurouni Kenshin being a "neo-shonen" work that appeals to boys and girls.