Saitō Hajime (Rurouni Kenshin)

Infobox animanga character
name = Saitō Hajime
series = Rurouni Kenshin


caption =
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creator = Nobuhiro Watsuki
voiced by = Hirotaka Suzuoki (Japanese)
Kirk Thornton (English)
Armando Duque (Latin American)
nickname =
alias =
age =
gender =
born =
death =
occupation = Police officer
relatives =
aux1 name = Weapon
aux1 = Katana
aux2 name =
aux2 = nihongo|Saitō Hajime|斎藤 一|Saitō Hajime is a fictional character in the anime and manga series "Rurouni Kenshin" created by Nobuhiro Watsuki.

His name is given as Hajime Saitō in Western-order, which is the chosen order used in the English anime.

Creation and conception

Saitō Hajime (1844-1915) was an actual historic figure of the Meiji era, and a number of details presented in the fictional characters are based on facts.

When creating the character Watsuki used the concept of "anti-hero", much like The Punisher, Frank Castle, of Marvel Comics fame, from whom he drew inspiration.Watsuki, Nobuhiro, "Rurouni Kenshin" volume 7, "The Secret Life of Characters" (21) Saitō Hajime] Watsuki considers Saitō as the "curse" of the villains in the series as he always ends defeating the enemies who believe they are the strongest. [Watsuki, Nobuhiro, "Rurouni Kenshin" volume 22, "The Secret Life of Characters" (46) Mumyoi Yatsume] The "Gatotsu" sword technique that Saitō uses in the series is similar to the description of his original sword technique, but is purely fictional, and not entirely accurate to real sword fighting.

Personality

A former captain in the Shinsengumi, Saitō has had a long time rivalry with Himura Kenshin, a former manslayer for the Imperialist cause. As a result of his involvement in the Ikedaya Affair, he and his Shinsengumi comrades successfully prevented the burning of Kyoto by an extremist faction of the Ishin Shishi. Nevertheless, the pro-shogunate forces were ultimately defeated and he was forced to go into hiding.

Saito has no compassion or mercy for his enemies. He lives by the Shinsengumi code "Aku Soku Zan" (悪即斬 -literally "Slay Evil Immediately", but more poetically rendered as "Swift Death To Evil"). He is rather morbid and arrogant. Nevertheless, none of these character flaws prevent him from being a superb investigator and fighter. He believes in peace and order, even in the society created by his former enemies. Anyone he considers to be corrupt or despotic, he targets for elimination.

During the series, Saitō joins forces with Kenshin to fight against Shishio Makoto. However, throughout the Kyoto arc, he considers Kenshin to be more of an adversary rather than an ally. After acknowledging Kenshin's vow to never kill again, Saitō decides to put an end to their rivalry.

Saitō is an able observer and a quick analyst (he in fact works as a spy for the government.) In addition to being a skilled swordsman, he is revealed to possess immense physical strength when he pummels the Herculean Sagara Sanosuke in a hand-to-hand fistfight. He considers Sanosuke to be a dimwitted amateur with mild potential, due mostly to Sano's lack of insight.

He is also revealed to be married to a woman named Tokio, but she has never been seen. He remarks at one point early on that he has a fondness for soba, a simple noodle dish.

Saitō is highly recognizable by his narrow eyes, "spider-like" strands of hair in front of his forehead (he is also often said to resemble a wolf), his propensity for smoking and the katana (Japanese sword) which hangs from his left side.

Techniques

Saitō mastered several techniques of the "Shinsengumi-Kenjutsu." The "Hirazuki" (left-handed stab) technique that Saitō's Gatotsu resembles is based on the real fighting style of the Shinsengumi. Although the Gatotsu is the only the technique that Saitō performs, he has been able to perform the same technique in different stances.

The First Stance (Ishiki) is the standard, shoulder-level ground attack. He prepares by dropping into a partial crouch, both knees bent, left arm drawn back and right extended forward; he grasps the "kashira" (endcap of the "tsuka", or hilt) of his sword with his left hand and rests the tips of the fingers of his right hand (usually the thumb) on the blade near its tip. The Second Stance (Nishiki) is a downward-striking attack. The direction of the "Nishiki" thrust is narrower, as well. The Third Stance (Sanshiki) is an upward-striking attack. Prepared identically to the "Ishiki", he uses it to intercept an opponent assaulting him from above, directing his blade into the air instead of immediately forward.

However, Saitō also possesses another stance Gatotsu Zero Stance (Zero Shiki). Zero Shiki is an attack performed at point-blank range using all his upper body strength. This stance, unlike the first three, requires no prior preparation or footwork. Saitō's sword techniques are considered quite deadly, as the Gatotsu has only a precious few blind spots to be exploited. Despite the apparent inflexibility of using one attack repeatedly, it has many useful applications. The motion of the Gatotsu can also be used even with his bare hands.

Besides his overwhelming ability with a sword, Saito is extremely well-versed in hand-to-hand combat. His fighting style most resembles Boxing as he possesses amazing footwork, defense, and tremendous speed and power. This is evident when he decided to fist-fight Sanosuke and beat him almost effortlessly whilst receiving no damage whatsoever from his attacks. It's then pointed out that he purposely dodged Sanosuke's bad shoulder in order to keep the fight fair. Besides his superior in-fighting skills, Saito is also extremely analytical in battle, much like Hiko Seijuro, and can exploit his opponent's weaknesses quite easily, such as Kenshin's reliance on his quick judgement, to which he replies by kicking him to the back rather than with the sword despite having taken his sword up.

Plot overview

Saitō first appears as a medical herb seller outside the Kamiya dojo. After injuring Sagara Sanosuke, he flees, but leaves clues to alert Himura Kenshin of his presence. When Kenshin departs for a duel with Saitō's underling, Saitō himself appears at the Kamiya dojo, posing as a police officer who urgently needs to speak with Kenshin.

When Kenshin arrives at the dojo, he notices Saitō and becomes angry, revealing Saitō's true identity as the former 3rd Captain of the Shinsengumi. They duel, and as Saitō gains the upper hand, Kenshin reverts back to Battosai the manslayer and breaks his sword, and intercepts Saito's attempt at breaking his neck with his police uniform jacket by striking him with his scabbard. Okubo appears just as they were about to finish, and stops the duel, apologizing for testing Kenshin to see if he was still a skilled swordsman ready to face Shishio.

Saitō appears again during the Kyoto Arc to fight against Shishio Makoto. During this arc, Saitō fights and has his men kill many of his soldiers, including the second most powerful opponent in the Juppongatana, Usui, becoming wounded in the legs in the process, but he is defeated by Shishio because of Shishio's forehead guard, which saved him from being ripped apart from a Gatotsu when Saito struck him to the head and Shishio revealed that because it was from being attacked to the head earlier and burned, he protected his forehead to avoid repeating the same mistake. At the end, he is thought to be dead during after the explosion of the battlefield. In the Jinchu Arc, Saitō is sent to arrest Yukishiro Enishi and he ends helping Kenshin to fight against the partners of Enishi, defeating Mumyoi and breaking his arm and teeth. He also fights against the first of the four Sushin guards of Enishi's second-in-command and defeats him even after he exploits Gatotsu's weak spot as Aoshi, Sanosuke, and Yahiko take care of the rest. In the end of the series, Saitō is transferred to another city to work after rejecting the challenge of Himura Kenshin, claiming that it was the Hitokiri Battosai that he wanted to settle the rivalry with, not him. He is very briefly shown in the colored special Haru ni Sakura, where an older Kenshin asks Aoshi to tell him of his whereabouts and state of health as he learns that Sanosuke has traveled to Mongolia. This sidestory was collected into a few Kenshin-related books, and in the Kanzenban with Yahiko no Sakabato.

Reception

In Japan, many fans of the Shinsengumi complained to Watsuki about the personality of Saitō Hajime. However, as the series continued Saitō became one of the most popular character of the series as he ranked 3rd in the two last "Shonen Jump" popularity polls [Watsuki, Nobuhiro, "Rurouni Kenshin" volume 16, chapter 113] and 2nd in the "Who is the best enemy of Kenshin?" polls. [Watsuki, Nobuhiro, "Rurouni Kenshin" volume 26, chapter 237]

Some concepts of the "Rurouni Kenshin" version of Saitō Hajime were used in is the fighting game series "The Last Blade" in the character of Keiichiro Washizuka, a unit leader of the Shinsengumi, a police-like group during the Bakumatsu era. The character also had a similar technique to the Gatotsu. [Watsuki, Nobuhiro, "Rurouni Kenshin" volume 17, Free talk II]

Several publications for manga, anime, video games, and other media have provided praise and criticism on the character. Anime News Network praises the character it is made for perfectly. They celebrate his introduction, past and fight scenes, and Japanese voice actor as one of the best moments of the series. [cite web|url= http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/rurouni-kenshin/dvd-7|title=Rurouni Kenshin DVD 7: Shadow of the Wolf|publisher= Anime News Network|accessdate= 2008-02-13] They also state that although he appears for a few seconds in "" is truly menacing noting also his new design.cite web|url= http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/rurouni-kenshin-ova-series-2-part-1 |title= Ruroni Kenshin second OAV series Seisouhen, part 1 |date= 2002-01-22 |accessdate= 2008-01-25 | work= Anime News Network | first=Mike |last= Crandol ]

References