Shinomori Aoshi

Shinomori Aoshi is one of the main characters of Rurouni Kenshin. He is the genius young leader of the Oniwabanshū onmitsu. He became the leader of the Oniwabanshū at the age of 15 on the recommendation of Okina. Known to his followers as the "Okashira", Aoshi's skills in combat, stealth and reconnaissance are the best. Having missed his chance to gain glory for the Oniwabanshū during the Bakumatsu, he led a group of his men in serving as enforcers for the wealthy industrialist and opium dealer Takeda Kanryū in the hopes of finding a new battlefield in the Meiji era. When Kanryū made himself the enemy of the legendary Hitokiri Battōsai. Aoshi believed that his long-missed chance to prove the superiority of the Oniwabanshū had finally come. Unfortunately, Kanryū's wicked deception and greed cost Aoshi's men their lives and the shame of being defeated and then rescued by Battōsai drove Aoshi to be completely obsessed with defeating the Battōsai at any cost in order to gain the title of "the strongest" and bestow that title upon the graves of his fallen comrades.
==Appearance==
Tall and lean, Aoshi is frequently described as being very handsome, with a long, youthful face and short black hair cut neatly in back but with a distinctive fringe of permed bangs falling in front of his face and parted in the center. Aoshi's most distinctive feature is his eyes, which are a piercing, ice-cold blue.
For most of the series, Aoshi sports decidedly Western dress in the form of a deep blue, collarless short-sleeved dress shirt with a goldenrod trim, matching deep blue slacks and shiny black dress shoes. More distinctive still is his trademark coat - a long, sweeping trench coat of light tan with a ribbed goldenrod interior trim. He also wears deep blue, wide-mouthed fingerless gloves.
After his trench coat is destroyed and his mind cleared by Kenshin, Aoshi displays his renewed allegiance to the Oniwabanshū by switching his slacks and coat for a shinobi shozoku worn over his dress shirt. His shozoku is similar in design to Han'nya's, carries the same deep blue and goldenrod color scheme as Aoshi's old outfit, but also is tied with an obi belt left in a long bow like Misao's.
==Personality==
At first glance, Shinomori Aoshi appears cold and emotionless. He bears a calculating nature that shows itself in his high observational intelligence, a reticence to say more than is necessary and a demeanor that rarely shows emotion. He rarely smiles except when smirking with confidence to intimidate in his supreme combat and tactical abilities.
This long-standing confidence in his abilities has fostered in Aoshi a fixation with being the best and demonstrating his superiority as well as the superiority of the Oniwabanshū across all the land. Even from a young age, he lived for battle and has allowed the shame of being left out of the Bakumatsu in his youth to drive him toward combat in the Meiji era, not caring whom he has to fight or why so long as his opponent is strong and victory will bring glory to his Oniwabanshū. After his Oniwabanshū onmitsu are murdered in front of his eyes, Aoshi's already frigid soul sinks deep into the shadows of his nature and his desire for victory in battle becomes an obsession that threatens to transform him into an honorless murderer.
However, his icy and ruthless demeanour hides a deeply passionate nature; Aoshi's ordinarily cold heart bleeds for his comrades and he places their well-being and happiness before his own without hesitation, as displayed when he declined glamorous government positions and solitary battles so as to look after his subordinates. Though he is sometimes short with them, Aoshi never allows his men to be insulted by outsiders and will defend their honor with violence if necessary. Even when his soul is poisoned, his obsession with battle and victory is specifically fuelled by his need to honour his late comrades with the "flower of being called the strongest". Even after Aoshi succumbs to the darkness and pits himself against former comrades, he holds his true strength back subconsciously, unable to fully sever ties with those alongside whom he has fought. Aoshi also shows the ability to be compassionate even behind his steely expression and glacial eyes; even while ruthlessly completing a mission or securing a victory, he is able to feel sympathy for innocents who have been harmed or respect for an opponent's spirit, but keeps these feelings separate from his duties. Though accustomed to blunt, dispassionate analysis, Aoshi reveals that he is reasonably well versed in employing tact and sensitivity where the facts are too harsh for certain ears.
In volume 24, Aoshi had been through heavy meditations and decided
to live a peaceful life by means of being a master of Okina’s inn, Aoiya.
==Abilities==
With nearly unrivaled intellect and analytical skills, Aoshi's senses are so acute that he can deduce even the most minute of distances to the tenths of a meter, and has acute enough hearing to be affected by noise dozens of feet away.
Shinomori Aoshi is one of the most dangerous fighters alive. As a master of both swordsmanship and unarmed combat, he has been known to fight with a single ko-dachi (“small sword”, also called a wakizashi) for defense, and his unarmed martial arts as offense. At other times, he has fought with a pair of ko-dachi.
He is also an accomplished ninja, with the stealth and tracking abilities that implies. His reflexes are incredibly fast. Only Kenshin and Soujiro, and most likely Shishi-O, are faster.
Aoshi is also a master of the Oniwa Banshu Succession Technique, which is also called “Water Movement”. By using his chi  and a special pattern of movement, he can appear to be in several places at once around his foe, or appear to be where he is not. When using the Water Movement, he has come very close to beating Kenshin.
==History==
The genius young leader of the Oniwabanshū onmitsu. Known to his followers as the "Okashira", Aoshi's skills in combat, stealth and information gathering are without parallel, but having missed his chance to gain glory for the Oniwabanshū during the Bakumatsu, he led a group of his men in serving as enforcers for the wealthy industrialist and opium dealer Takeda Kanryū in the hopes of finding a new battlefield in the Meiji era.
When Kanryū made himself the enemy of the legendary Hitokiri Battōsai, Aoshi believed that his long-missed chance to prove the superiority of the Oniwabanshū had finally come. Unfortunately, Kanryū's wicked deception and greed cost Aoshi's men their lives and the shame of being defeated and then rescued by Battōsai drove the Okashira to a new vow: he would defeat Battōsai at any cost in order to gain the title of "the strongest," which he would offer at his comrades' graves.
==In Live Action film==
It was announced that Yusuke Iseya played Aoshi in the sequel. Ishiya was rumored to be cast as Shishio Makoto.
Unlike the manga and anime, he didn't work for Kanryu, who is sent to jail in the first film.
The flashback revealed Aoshi witness his comrades were killed by the guards who working with the Shoguntune government and he went missing before he join to Shihso's group.
==Trivia==
*In his earliest appearances, Aoshi's hairstyle was slicked back, with strands of bangs framing his face, similar to Saitō Hajime's hairstyle. As the series continued, Aoshi's hairstyle gradually developed into a more conventional hairstyle, which was used for the anime and most of the manga.
*John Gremillion who voices Hijikata Toshizo in Anime series Intrigue in the Bakumatsu Irohanihoheto also provides the voice of Aoshi in the New Kyoto Arc. And both of these characters in which he voices are based off each other.
*Aoshi's image song was "Warrior's Blue". Unlike the other Rurouni Kenshin's song, this does not have any lyrics but it is a pure music instead because Aoshi was a silent type person. The music was about his sadness for the lost of his four loyal comrades.
*He was the main subject in Misao's image song, "Ice Blue Eyes". The song refers to Misao's romantic feelings for him and on the other hand, his eyes recognizable color.
*Aoshi's eyes has always been described to be piercing blue.
*Aoshi was a popular character in both male and female audiences.
*During his conversation with Kenshin at the end of the Shishio arc, Aoshi mentions he can't handle sake, and has no tolerance so he can't drink. He prefers drinking tea.
==Gallery==
YoungAoshi.png|Aoshi at age 15.
Aoshi.png
MangaAoshi.png|Aoshi in the Manga series.
MangaAoshi2.png|Aoshi at age 13 in the manga
MangaKenshinAndAoshiHaveTea.png|Aoshi and Kenshin at peace with one-another.
MangaAoshiAndMisao.png|Aoshi's new outfit in the Jinchu arc
Kenshin_and_others_landing_enishi's_island.jpg
Aoshi_Shinomori_in_live_action.jpg|Aoshi in the live action films
Aoshi_in_great_fire.jpg
b898182453ca58687f7d583ebb8bcede.jpg
==Navigation==
Category:Anime Heroes
Category:Live Action Heroes
Category:Movie Heroes
Category:Manga Heroes
Category:Fighters
Category:Anti-Heroes
Category:Warriors
Category:Redeemed Villains
Category:Historical Heroes
Category:Ninjas
Category:Tragic
Category:False Antagonist
Category:Honorable
Category:Loyal
Category:Rivals
Category:Type Dependent on Version
Category:Leaders