Saitō Hajime (Rurouni Kenshin)
Saitō Hajime is a male anime and manga character who features in Rurouni Kenshin.
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Biography
Saitō Hajime (Japanese: 斎藤 一)
He came to serve as a captain of the third squad of the Shinsengumi that were a loyalist force of the Tokugawa shogunate. During his time, he was a close associate of fellow Shinsengumi member and first squad captain Okita Sōji,
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Saitō Hajime was a tall man with a lean yet fit frame where he had a long face with pronounced cheekbones. Shishio Makoto once described him as "a man who looks like a wolf" with him being called the Lone Wolf of Mibu (壬生の一匹狼). After working for the Meji Government, he came to change his name to Fujita Gorō (藤田 五郎) as he began to work as a spy.
He adhered to the Shinsengumi code of Aku Soku Zan (悪即斬, literally: "Slay Evil Immediately", but more poetically rendered as "Swift Death to Evil") where he killed those deemed to be evil. Hajime never showed much regard for human life and at some points had revealed that he liked killing.
Despite his flaws, he was a superb investigator and fighter where he expected those serving in the military to carry out their duties without letting their personal feelings interfere. He was both an able observer and a quick analyst that were traits which made him an excellent spy.
He believed in a peaceful and orderly society. To uphold the peace, he carried out the necessary dirty work where he killed people that were too despicable and beyond saving. Anyone he considered to be corrupt or despotic were targeted for elimination in the honor of the country and his fallen men.
Powers and abilities
He was shown to be extremely well-versed in hand-to-hand combat and martial arts.
A master swordsman, he came to be well-versed in all the various techniques of the Shinsengumi-Kenjutsu. His personal style of combat came to follow a more simplistic and straightforward nature. As noted by Kenshin, defeating Saitō was an extremely difficult feat that could not be accomplished simply by defeating his signature techniques.
He had served as a Hitokiri (人斬ひときり?, literally person-slasher) that were swordsmen sent out by an important or powerful figure for the express purpose of assassinating others. Hajime came to operate a special agent for the Meiji Government's Department of Internal Affairs.
Notes
- Saitō Hajime was created by Nobuhiro Watsuki where he featured in the setting of Rurouni Kenshin.
- The character was based on the real historical figure Saitō Hajime.
- Whilst developing the character, Watsuki used the concept of an "anti-hero" in his creation where he said he drew inspiration from the likes The Punisher Frank Castle from Marvel Comics.
In other media
Television
Films
Video games
- In Jump Super Stars, Saitō Hajime appeared as a support character in the setting of the crossover fighting video game.
Appearances
- Rurouni Kenshin:
External Links
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