Heisuke Toudou

Heisuke Tōdō (藤堂 平助 Toudou Heisuke) is the Captain of the Shinsengumi's 8th Division. He is a native of Edo and the youngest captain who is known for being particularly energetic. 
Heisuke is introduced along with the other Shinsengumi captains when Chizuru is brought for questioning. He is often seen as part of the trio (along with Sano and Shinpachi) who enjoy fighting together and drinking together, often breaking Hijikata's rules and curfew. Heisuke often has to fight for his food with Shinpachi creating chaos in the common room and provoking the Vice-Commander.
Tōdō is based on the historical Tōdō Heisuke.
==Appearance==
Heisuke is a cheerful young man closest to Chizuru in age. Short in stature, Heisuke stands at only 163cm or roughly 5'3" (5'2.4"), making him the shortest amongst the Shinsengumi next to Chizuru and the shortest captain. He has long brown hair which he keeps up in a ponytail, and emerald eyes. In the second season, he cuts his hair short to adopt a more Western appearance along with the rest of the Shinsengumi. 
In his Rasetsu form, like all Rasetsu, his eyes become crimson red and his hair becomes snow white, his canine teeth also become more profound.
His clothes initially consist of a yellow sleeveless shirt over a purple one that has the shoulders cut, but not disconnected, a red and black sash around his waist, black pants that go down to his knees, leg warmers that wrap around his feet, arm and leg pads, and straw sandals. His Western appearance is a white button-down shirt, a black button-down vest, black pants that go to his knees, brown boots that cover the remainder of his legs, a purple shawl around his waist, a yellow sash above the purple shawl, and black gloves that have only the pinky and ring fingers covered. 
==Personality==
Out of the trio, Heisuke is the most hyper and considers himself to be the Forerunner teacher that likes getting in harms way (according to Hakuouki: Shikon Soukyuu). Always cheerful, he makes jokes even pretending to be complaining how the other two in the trio cannot do a thing without him and beg for his help even when he is doing something else. In addition to being overly energetic, Heisuke tends to be a bit too talkative when he almost tells Chizuru about Rasetsu only to get knocked across the room by Sano. 
Heisuke is also determined to remain as human as possible even when the thirst for blood starts to get to him. He never stops smiling and fighting, despite the fact that he quickly runs out of his own lifespan.
==Story==
===First Season===
Heisuke is first seen with all of the captains and commanders during Chizuru's interrogation, believing Chizuru to be a boy, Heisuke comments on her appearance, saying he is (she is) small and thin; not much of a warrior. Shinpachi then proceeds to tease the boy as he is not much taller or bulkier than Chizuru and calls him and the others "old men", to which Sano teases Shinpachi about being old. Heisuke is later seen to be shocked to discover that Chizuru is a girl and agrees to her being Hijikata's servant. Later, Heisuke tells Chizuru to eat with him and others since the commanders are away in Osaka. When Heisuke is about to tell Chizuru some of the inner secrets of the Shinsengumi, he is stopped by Sano, who punches the boy in the face; to which Shinpachi reprimands the man about. When the commanders return, Heisuke is seen worrying about Sannan's condition as the man is now locking himself in his room.
Heisuke and Okita infiltrate Ikedaya Inn with Kondou's group and encounter Chikage Kazama and Kyuuju Amagiri inside. While Okita faces off against Kazama, Heisuke fights Amagiri. The oni deals a severe blow to his head and Heisuke begins to bleed from his forehead wound despite the protective headband in place. Heisuke is later seen being supported by the other Shinsengumi, vowing to win the next time. Shortly after the Ikedaya Inn incident, the Shinsengumi is asked to assist the Aizu with dealing with the Chōshū, at first Heisuke is thrilled, excited to fight the Chōshū again, but Shinpachi points out he's still injured and has to stay behind, along with Souji and Sannan. 
After the events of the Kinmon Rebellion, Heisuke is asked to see if his mentor, Kashitarou Itou, will join the Shinsengumi. Immediately following, he is sent to Edo to do recruitment scouting since the Shinsengumi's territory expanded, staying at Chizuru's home and asking the villagers if they have seen her father. He stays in Edo for six months and finally returns to Kyoto, noticing the people of the town are acting differently while patrolling with Chizuru and Okita, and the three encounter a girl named Kaoru who, Souji says, looks exactly like Chizuru, but Heisuke does not agree. Later, when the Shinsengumi is asked to protect the Shogun, Heisuke says he is not feeling well and is given permission to not protect the Shogun for the time being (along with Souji), he later tells Chizuru during the cleaning of the new headquarters that he was perfectly healthy and just did not want to protect the Shogun. He explains that the Shinsengumi is not like how it used to be before the Bakufu came into power, and questions what he truly wants to do.
Later, he leaves the Shinsengumi with his mentor, Itou, and Saitou (who was going due to being asked to gather information by Kondou and Hijiikata) and a little later, Saitou and Chizuru try to persuade Heisuke to rejoin the Shinsengumi. Right before making a decision, members of Itou's party inform Heisuke that Itou had been assassinated by members of the Shinsengumi, and he rushes to the scene with Chizuru following him. He arrives at the scene and joins Shinpachi and Sano in battle against Amagiri, Shiranui, and Satsuma warriors. Heisuke engages with Amagiri, but gets wounded, then he throws his sword to protect Chizuru from an attack and is grabbed by Amagiri, who punches him in his stomach, critically injuring him. This knocks out the young man and he is cradled in Shinpachi's arms for a moment and then Chizuru's when his friend rejoins the fight. After the fight, Heisuke has regained consciousness and fully recovered from his wounds. Despite now being a Rasetsu, Heisuke's personality did not change due to his transformation, and he actually clings to what little humanity he has left by refusing to drink blood, saying humans do not drink blood, and takes a medicine from Sannan that offsets his blood lust.
At the end of the season, Heisuke along with Chizuru, goes after Souji when he goes off to find Kondou's near killers and witness Souji getting shot, Heisuke cradles the older man and assists him back to headquarters.
Heisuke is seen later with Sannan informing the other members of the Shinsengumi that the Rasetsu Corps staged an attack during the final battle of the first season, but most were wiped out due to the Chōshū-Satsuma Army having silver bullets. Heisuke's last appearance of the first season is during Yamazaki's funeral, he is seen supporting the still recovering Souji to stand and watching remorsefully as Sano and Shinpachi dump Yamazaki's body into the ocean.
===Second Season===
Heisuke is first seen following Sannan, due to Sannan going on night patrol more often and loses him after awhile. He then returns to headquarters, he first teases Hijikata about him being soft around Chizuru, and then offers him the medicine he took that offsets bloodlust; knowing Hijikata is now a Rasetsu. Hijikata declines and then Heisuke voices his suspicions of Sannan to the vice-commander. Heisuke is later seen at the briefing of the upcoming siege at Koufu Castle, where Hijikata makes Sannan and the Rasetsu stay behind in Edo, Hijikata looks to Heisuke and he nods in agreement. Before the members of the Shinsengumi depart for Koufu Castle, everyone changes into Western attire, Heisuke steps out, showing off his new outfit and new haircut, saying that his shirt is a little tight, he is then shown being teased by Shinpachi, who comments on how he can no longer grab Heisuke's ponytail.
Heisuke is next seen when the members of the Shinsengumi returned from the siege of Koufu Castle, commenting on how Shinpachi and Sano are drinking earlier than normal, the two men then offer Sannan to join them in drinking and Heisuke asks if they aren't going to invite him to drink; to which Sano replied with Heisuke is still a bit too young to drink. He then tries to comfort Chizuru when she hears the others talk about Koudou and his new day-time operative Rasetsu and Heisuke tells her that what happened has nothing to do with her and not to worry. Right before Shinpachi and Sano leave, Chizuru says she'll get Heisuke for them, to which the men told her that they already said good-bye to their other best friend, Shinpachi said by then Heisuke would either be sulking or sleeping, there is a quick transition showing Heisuke drinking a large amount of sake; both spiting the earlier comment about being too young to drink and "showing he cares" that his two best friends are leaving the Shinsengumi.
Heisuke is next seen at a meeting with Hijiikata, Sannan, and Saitou where Hijikata instructs no more Rasetsu to be created and he and the others discover that a Rasetsu get their powers from their life force and the more they use their power, they shorten their lives. Hijikata instructs Heisuke and the other Rasetsu to leave for their next location sooner than the others due to being Rasetsu, to which he agrees to with no issue. He's next seen trying to break up a fight between Hijikata and Saitou, but the two fight anyway and Heisuke watches from the sidelines with Chizuru, he then helps Hijikata come to grips that he's the commander now that Kondou has died and tells Chizuru to keep an eye on him because he'll over work himself if she doesn't.
He soon finds out that Sannan had most likely joined forces with Koudou who may be still alive. His suspicions were true when a Rasetsu unit appeared with Koudou and kidnapped Chizuru leaving Heisuke to fight them on his own. Heisuke is later seen in the castle where Chizuru was held captive finding out that Sannan had indeed joined forces with Koudou but Sannan killed a Rasetsu soldier revealing that he had not joined forces with Koudou after all. Hijikata, Heisuke and Sannan defeated all the Rasetsu soldiers in the castle, but Heisuke and Sannan had used up their lifespan, holding Hijikata's hand and Chizuru resting hers on top of his, Heisuke asks Chizuru to look after Hijikata, like how everyone else had before him, and dies with a smile on his face as he and Sannan disintegrated to ashes.
He is seen again in Hijiikata's flashbacks and once more at the end of the second season but sporting the ponytail and the clothes he wore in the first season.
===Third Season===
Heisuke is the first member of the Rōshigumi that Ryuunosuke meets when he wakes up in their headquarters in Episode 1 of Reimeiroku after getting saved by Serizawa. The captain welcomes the stranger with a smile and tells him not to get up too quickly as his wounds are not fully healed. When the trio learns that Serizawa has made Ryuunosuke stay as a "dog" to repay for saving him, Heisuke calls it horrible.
After happily welcoming Saitou to the Rōshigumi, the trio is sent on patrol where they see Ryuunosuke protecting a citizen with a child from rogue samurai claiming to be imperial nationalists collecting money for the sake of the country. They see him paralyzed with fear and help him out chasing the rogues away.
Next morning, after hearing about Serizawa's reaction to Kondou's intention to protect shōgun Iemochi, Heisuke tells Ryuunosuke about the Honjou Inn incident when Serizawa burnt a whole building only because of Kondou's mistake with room booking.
As Aizu make a decision to officially place the Rōshigumi under their charge, Serizawa proposes going to Shimabara to celebrate and makes a point to invite Shinpachi. Since Shinpachi's attempts to refuse fail, he decides to invite Heisuke and Sano to keep him company. While at Shimabara, Serizawa makes a scene because of Kosuzu's behavior, and Heisuke runs back to the headquarters to bring Kondou and Hijikata.
Later on, after the Rōshigumi have been granted an audience with the Lieutenant General of Aizu, Kondou organizes a few matches to showcase the Shieikan members' swordsmanship. Heisuke fights against Hijikata and loses. 
Witnessing the first Rasetsu created, Heisuke gets to fight it but his efforts are futile against the monster. After learning the truth behind it and hearing that the Rōshigumi do not have a choice but to continue experimenting on people, Heisuke throws a tantrum at Sannan, but his screams fall on deaf ears. However, a few days later Heisuke is tasked with spying on Koudou and Niimi by Hijikata which Heisuke takes with excitement as he is glad to be useful and reckoned with. The same evening Heisuke approaches Koudou and voices his concerns about experimenting on people. He protests against turning humans into monsters or threatens to kill Koudou if his search for power harms the Rōshigumi. Heisuke acknowledges that everyone has their own feelings, goals and ambitions, but when it is not possible to change someone's mind the only way left is to fight. However, he also admits that he does not want to simply kill without a reason. 
Despite Heisuke's wish to never have to kill anyone, another Rasetsu escapes and attacks Ryuunosuke and then other people. After a few attempts to catch him when Heisuke hesitated, which led to more casualties and Heisuke had to apologize to Hijikata, he is eventually forced to kill the Rasetsu but he wonders whether he will even get accustomed to taking another person's life.
Heisuke is not included into the plan to assassinate Serizawa but when he sees that Ryuunosuke runs to warn him, Heisuke chases after him hoping to save his life. Arriving at the headquarters, he informs Sano that Ryuunosuke is somewhere around but they cannot see him.
===Movies===
Heisuke's storyline is largely the same as in the anime series. The main difference is his involvement into saving Chizuru after Kaoru and Koudou kidnap her, as they take her to a castle where he finds and frees her, but he does not die alongside Sannan, he survives with Kazama's help and escapes. Heisuke and Chizuru then search for the Shinsengumi and start with the Aizu headquarters where Sannan informs them that the squad has left for Sendai. Despite Chizuru's wish to proceed with the pursuit, Heisuke decides to stay with Saitou. 
Prior to that Heisuke is shown fighting at the Toba-Fushimi Battle in his Rasetsu form, he is about to lose his humanity when he gets shot but Sannan kills his attackers. Heisuke cries and laughs at the same time admitting that he is a monster.
At the end of the second movie, Heisuke dies using up his lifespan holding back the Rasetsu while fighting alongside Saitou and Aizu. He dies in Saitou's arms telling him the forerunner teacher got one for him, and his body disintegrates not long after.
===Sweet School Life===
In the short OVA Heisuke is a Second Year Form One (2-1) student at Hakuou Academy. He is shown to be childish and disorganized, playing games all night and then being late for school and scolded. He is also meant to be Chizuru's childhood friend which is why they spend a lot of time together. He fights for Chizuru's attention with Okita as they both seem to have romantic feelings towards her.
==Trivia==
*Heisuke is the second shortest male character in the series, the shortest being Kaoru, Heisuke being taller only by an inch.
*Not only is Heisuke the shortest captain, he is also the youngest, being about 18-19 when meeting Chizuru and in his early 20's when he died, the real life Heisuke died at the age of 22-23.
*Heisuke's death in Hakuouki is similar to the real life Heisuke's death, the real life Heisuke did leave the Shinsengumi and later returned after the events at the tomb, Kondou was deciding on whether or not he should be able to rejoin or be killed. According to the real life Shinpachi's journals, Kondou decided on sparing Heisuke and let him rejoin, but a new member of the Shinsengumi was not aware of this and killed Heisuke by accident; in Hakuouki, Heisuke dies by using up his life span in his Rasetsu form.
*In the games, it was a fact that Heisuke was an illegitimate child of The Head of the Toudou house and had to keep his true identity secret. This was also pondered by the real-life Shinpachi, who wrote down all his suspicions in his diaries.
*According to the audio CD's, Heisuke wields a rather famous sword named Kazusanosuke Kaneshige, which angered Saitou, when he found out that Heisuke had mistreated it and wanted to replace it. In real life, Heisuke owned the same sword, though rather than Kazusa no suke Kaneshige being the name of the sword, it was the name of the smith who crafted it. The sword was a wakizashi (a short sword that is even shorter than a kodachi) and the fact Heisuke had it in his possession was a reason why he was assumed to be the Head of the Toudou House's illegitimate son because the sword was owned by the head of the family and it was hard to obtain even through heritage.
*Heisuke's wakizashi in real life, is 48.8 cm or 19.2 inches in length and is worth 5 million yen or 51,093.50 in US dollars.
*Even though his bangs hide it, Heisuke recieved a terrible scar on his forehead from the Ikedaya incident.
*Heisuke has theme music in the anime.
*Heisuke's eye color is debated, as in the games the color is either blue in some instances and green in others, in the anime, his eyes are a mix of the two colors in a lighter shade which makes them look emerald.
*Heisuke was the first character who became a Rasetsu that refused to drink blood.
*If the Shinsengumi had designated partners for patrols, Heisuke's partner was Souji as shown throughout the first season.
*Around the time Heisuke took the Ochimizu was around the time his real-life counterpart died.
*Today, the average height for males in Japan is 170-172 cm or roughly 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 8 inches, this being said, Heisuke is 10-12 cm or 5-6 inches under average height by today's standards. Though, the average height of males was unknown in the time Hakuouki took place in, based on how much smaller Heisuke was to others and others making fun of him because he was so short may show that Heisuke was under average height even back then.
*Heisuke's full name is "Toudou Heisuke Fujiwara no Yoshitora". 
*Despite being the youngest in the Shinsengumi in series, the historical figure was the same age as Saitou and Souji.
Category:Characters
Category:Shinsengumi
Category:Rasetsu
Category:Main