The strong survive, the weak just die.

For a decade, these words were the basis of the code by which he lived, and as the strongest of the ten swords that formed the Juppon Gatana, Seta Soujiro was stronger than everyone but one man: Shishio Makoto. Now, with eight of the Juppon Gatana having fallen before the Kenshin Gumi and the Oniwabanshu, only he stands between the two Hitokiris of the Ishin Shishi.

When they first fought at Shingetsu village, the battle ended at a draw when Soujiro destroyed Kenshin's sakaba sword with a blade borrowed from Shishio. Now armed with a new sakabatou and knowledge of his succession technique, Kenshin must face the emotionless warrior again, only this time he's already tired and wounded from his earlier fight against Aoshi. And yet, there is something else to Soujiro's fighting prowess besides his lack of emotions which makes him the perfect warrior -- something Kenshin has not yet realized, and it is that which is the most dangerous part about him, and it is that which is liable to get Kenshin killed.

Seta Soujiro
Age: 18
Height: 163 cm
Weight: 51 kg
Date of birth: September 1861
Zodiac sign: Virgo
Place of birth: The Kanagawa Prefecture
Blood Type: AB

Additional Information

· Soujiro's seiyuu is Hidaka Noriko, who has voiced such characters as: Akane from Ranma, Mitsuko from City Hunter, Jean from Nadia, Noriko from Gunbuster, Shinbei from Hakkenden, Minami from Touch, and Yukari from Blazing Transfer Student.

· Seta Soujiro was character modeled after the captain of the first division of the Shinsengumi: Okita Souji, who was a child prodigy and a swordmaster by the age of 15.

· The sword Soujiro uses in his second battle against Kenshin is the Kikuichi Norimune, which was the sword used by the real Okita.

· Shishio's katana that Soujiro used in the battle in the Shingetsu village was the Nagasone Kotetsu, which was the sword of Kondou Isami, the founder of the Shinsengumi.

· Just as the real Saitou had a characteristic technique involving a left-handed single sword thrust (which was not called the gatotsu), Okita had a move of his own, which involved three quick thrusts to the neck and shoulders using the horizontal attack that was the trademark of the Shinsengumi.

· Okita Souji died of tuberculosis on 30/5/1868, the first year of Meiji, after having survived the Boshin War. He was 25.

Note: Okita made a short appearance at the beginning of Episode 28. You will be seeing a little more of him when we show the four Kenshin OAVs at this semester's marathon.