Seta Sōjirō
| Seta Sōjirō | |
|---|---|
| Rurouni Kenshin character | |
 | |
| Created by | Nobuhiro Watsuki |
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname | Tenken |
| Gender | Male |
| Title | Tenken |
| Occupation | Assassin |
Seta Sōjirō is a fictional character created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. He is Shishio Makoto's right hand man in anime/manga series Rurouni Kenshin. His Japanese seiyū is Noriko Hidaka, while his voice actors were Tara Jayne in the early episodes and Melissa Fahn in the later episodes.
Design
Watsuki has publicly stated that the character design of Sōjirō is loosely based on a darker Okita Sōji (Captain of the 1st Squad of the Shinsengumi) from Shiba Ryōtarō's novel Shinsengumi Keppuroku.
Profile
Seta Sōjirō is Shishio Makoto's right hand man, a teenage assassin trained by Shishio himself. Sōjirō is known for his lack of kenki (offensive aura), or, simply, emotion. He possesses no anger and cites no fear in his enemies, other than with his sword.
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. He however does have a special relationship with Yumi, she being a sister figure towards him. Sōjirō usually dresses up in a blue kimono with white handguards.
History
Sōjirō's constant smiling face and polite manners stem from his tragic past. An illegitimate child, Sōjirō's father left him in the care of his family, who badly mistreated him. He was 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. Then, they would get tired of beating Sōjirō and leave him alone.
One night, he met Shishio, who was on the run from the police. Sōjirō had seen Shishio kill some police officers and Shishio was about to kill him for it until he noticed Sōjirō smiling and spared him in exchange for food and bandages. Shishio taught Sōjirō that only the strong may live; with that mentality, along with a sword that Shishio gave him, Sōjirō slaughtered his entire family, who had tried to murder him for housing Shishio and then blame it on Shishio himself.
Synopsis
Sōjirō first appeared when he assassinated Okubo, who was on the way to a meeting. Sōjirō's usage of his superhuman speed allowed him to enter Okubo's carriage unnoticed. However, asssassins were hired already to kill Okubo, but Sōjirō finished him off before they could. When the murder was discovered, Himura Kenshin was warned by Sōjirō to not interfere with Shishio's plans.
Later, after Senkaku was defeated by Kenshin, Sōjirō dueled Kenshin using Battōjutsu. Despite breaking Kenshin's sword, Sōjirō's Kotetsu was shredded, but in one piece. Kenshin stated that if they continued to fight, it would be obvious who would had won. Sōjirō was then assigned by Shishio to gather the Juppongatana 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. They begin their duel using Battōjutsu. While Sōjirō maintains the upperhand, Kenshin's words affected Sōjirō and anger could be seen in his eyes. When Sōjirō's true emotions surfaced, they duel one last time, with Kenshin using his ultimate attack, the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki, while Sōjirō using his own made technique, Shun Ten Satsu. Right before Kenshin used the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki, Sōjirō found the truth of it, Kenshin's left foot. Kenshin wins the duel and Yumi stays behind to care for Sōjirō.
Sōjirō tells Yumi the key to Kenshin's ultimate attack and asks her to tell Shishio. She agrees, but before she could leave, Sōjirō asks her one more favor. This favor is to return the sword Shishio gave Sōjirō when he was a boy to protect himself, the very same sword which killed his family. Yumi takes the sword and leaves, leaving behind a crying Sōjirō.
After Shishio is dead, Sōjirō and Anji speak for a last time before Sōjirō becomes a wanderer who wants to find his own truth. Cho tells Kenshin that he believes Sōjirō will never ever be caught by the police. When an old woman asks Sōjirō where he is heading, he replies that he knows two men who had to wander for a long time before finding what they want, and says he would be wandering Japan for the next 10 years or so.
Techniques
Sōjirō's apparent lack of emotion, his simple, insensitive mentality, the strong will live and the weak shall die, and his skills make him a formidable foe for Kenshin. He is the one who destroys Kenshin's first Sakabatou in a brief duel at Shingetsu Village.
As a master swordsman of his own style Tenbu no Sai Niyoru Ken, Sōjirō's abilities have earned him the nickname of Tenken or Heavenly Sword (Ten meaning Heaven and Ken meaning Sword). During his duels with Kenshin, he wields the legendary swords Nagasone Kotetsu and Kikuichimonji Norimune. 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." He believed it was unnecessary to use the technique fully on an opponent with such a refusal to kill, as Kenshin has. While moving at the speed his Shukuchi utilizes, the only thing that could be seen was Sōjirō's footsteps ripping through the tatami mat. While performing true Shukuchi, Sōjirō completely disappears and cannot be seen, even by Kenshin. He can dodge the Kuzu Ryu Sen, a move which apparently cannot be evaded even by Kenshin himself (Sōjirō was the first one ever to slash Kenshin in the back.) Kenshin remarks that he is even faster than the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.
Sōjirō is also well versed in the Battōjutsu style like Kenshin, as is evidenced when he decides to use a stance similar to Kenshin's, and also when he destroys Kenshin's first Sakabatō.
Combining the true Shukuchi with the Battōjutsu he has created his only named technique, Shuntensatsu (Instant Heaven Kill). It is named this because the speed behind the attack is so swift that the opponent dies instantly. According to Sōjirō: "You will drop before the pain strikes".
After Sōjirō's emotions appeared, Kenshin decided to use the Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki against the Shun Ten Satsu. The Shuntensatsu's fast battōjutsu speed plus super fast Shukuchi combination is a little faster than Kenshin's fast speed movement plus Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki's super fast battōjutsu speed combination. Kenshin managed to close this speed gap by rushing at Sōjirō and not waiting to counter. Since Kenshin's Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki was more powerful than Shuntensatsu, Sōjirō lost at the end, but he managed to figure out the technique's so-called truth and told it to Yumi as she tended to his wounds.
Voice Actors
His Japanese seiyuu is Noriko Hidaka, while Tara Jayne (early episodes) and Melissa Fahn (later episodes)voiced him in the English dub.
His Spanish Voice Actor is Raul Gutiérrez (Latin America).