Hajime Saitou

Hajime Saitō (斎藤 Saitou Hajime) is the Captain of the Shinsengumi's 3rd Division. He is a native of Edo. He wields his sword in his left hand and fights with incredible skill. 
Saitou is a silent killer who strikes his enemies without mercy or displaying any emotion. He is the one who saves Chizuru from the attack the night she meets the Shinsengumi. He excels at self-control which allows him to always be able to find the right words in dangerous situations and makes him a perfect spy. His polite manner of speaking not only cultivates a favorable reputation for him but also garners respect even from his opponents.
Despite wielding his sword in his left hand, Saitou is one of the strongest members of the Shinsengumi as a master of iai-style. Kondou considers his skill an additional advantage in battle because enemies do not expect to fight against a left-handed samurai.
Saitō is based on the historical Saitō Hajime. 
==Appearance==
Hajime is a handsome young man, 169 centimeters or 5'7" tall, with long indigo hair that is loosely tied into a side ponytail, with bangs hiding the right side of his face. He possesses sharp features and senses, but has relaxed yet alert ocean blue eyes. 
Hajime wears a long, black, fighting-style kimono with a simple white sash and long scarf. He also wears his sword on the right side for the reason of being left-handed which is not always taken in a positive way by other warriors. When Saitou is on official Shinsengumi duty, he wears the blue haori on top of his clothes.
In the second season, Hajime changes into a western-style outfit of the same black color as his usual kimono. Due to having a lot of new buttons, he initially struggles to do them up.
==Personality==
Saitou is a very stoic and quiet man who only speaks when spoken to or when something is worth saying. Whenever he decides to voice his opinion, he does it in a formal emotionless way, never shouting or getting angry. He is extremely loyal to Toshizou Hijikata and he will obey any order without question. 
Saitou is very thoughtful and always puts the safety of others above his own and never lets on about what he is truly thinking or feeling. He is always caring and gentle with Chizuru, protecting her and reassuring her, sometimes explaining things she does not understand. Unlike other Shinsengumi members, Saitou does not seem to be overly friendly with anyone, his cold demeanor seems to be the same towards everyone. However, he is always polite, and others respect him and look up to him.
==Story==
===First Season===
Hajime Saitou appears in the very first episode when he silently kills failed Rasetsu attacking samurais and Chizuru Yukimura. Later he is seen taking care of Chizuru and testing her swordsmanship to allow her to join Shinsengumi in patrolling the streets. He saves her during the Ikedaya incident and reminds her to be careful. 
He forms a respectful relationship with one of the demons and his foe Kyuuju Amagiri, first encountering him during an argument between the Satsuma and Aizu clans. 
At some point Saitou joins Kashitarou Itou as a spy, pretending to leave Shinsengumi for good, and then saves Chizuru from Itou's men and joins Sano and Shinpachi who fell into a demons' trap.
At the end of the season, he leads his unit to try and stop SatChō army's cannons but fails, of which he informs Hijikata. He then helps Hijikata and Chizuru to bury Inoue. 
===Second Season===
Hajime returns to the Shinsengumi and joins the new era of warriors by changing his kimono to a black western outfit and cutting his hair, although not changing his weapon. 
Hajime demonstrates loyalty to the Shinsengumi and to Kondou personally. When Kondou decides to take over Kōfu Castle and Hijikata confesses that he does not believe in their victory, Saitou reveals to Chizuru that he is more scared of losing sight of what he bieves in than dying on the battlefield. 
Hajime's peculiar relationship with Kyuuju Amagiri allows him to find out that using Rasetsu powers leads to shortening the lifespan of those who choose to do so.
At some point he is ordered by Hijikata to try to rescue Kondou from execution but he only brings sad news about Kondou's death. Hijikata strives to lead the squad into battle but Hajime challenges him proving that he is unable to fight in his poor health condition. While Hijikata is recovering from his wounds, Hajime leads the Shinsengumi to the Aizu Domain and gets assigned to train and command an Aizu unit, who do not accept him due to him wearing western clothing instead of a proper samurai attire and also his sword on the wrong side. They openly express their displeasure upon being asked, and Hajime explains the necessity to wear lighter armor in order to keep up with the enemy, and he also denies the statement that the warrior's spirit depends on how you wear your sword or what hand you use to wield it.
During a siege, Hajime orders to retreat when he sees enemy reinforcements, but the Aizu warriors refuse to listen. They keep losing comrades up until it is almost too late, and their captain finally agrees with Hajime's words and orders his men to retreat. Hajime defeats enemies like a devil which astonishes the Aizu, and his protection makes them realize that they were wrong. Next morning they line up at the first sight of Hajime and apologize to him admitting being ashamed of their misjudgment.
During the battle at the Bonari Pass, the Aizu warriors, who are now loyal to Hajime, decide to give their lives to let Hajime and others retreat. They ask him to protect Lord Katamori (the head of Aizu Domain) and rush into the battle. The last of the Aizu forces and the Shinsengumi retreat thanks to that.
After Ootori gives an order for the Shinsengumi to retreat and betray the Aizu, Hajime decides to stay with them till the end. He claims that the Aizu have protected them up until now and that is why he wishes to be true to his warrior self and pay them back with loyalty. He also requests Hijikata's permission to carry the Shinsengumi banner.
Hajime is last seen charging towards the Chōshū army, giving an injured Hijikata and his men a chance to escape from the Aizu and flee to Ezo. It is assumed that he dies in that battle.
===Third Season===
Saitou appears briefly at the end of the first episode and then properly in Episode 2 of Reimeiroku as he comes to the Rōshigumi headquarters and stumbles upon Ryuunosuke asking to meet Kondou or Hijikata as he intends to join the Rōshigumi. When Saitou meets the other captains, they are all happy to see him and he is welcome to join the squad. Hijikata explains to Saitou that the Rōshigumi is led by Serizawa and not Kondou, and the current financial situation of the troops is poor. However, Saitou agrees to join his former dojo friends regardless as he feels the need to repay Kondou and Hijikata for the kindness they showed him back in Edo.
Saitou and Shinpachi eventually become the first who have to kill people in Kyoto. They come to the headquarters covered in blood and explain that they were following rogue samurai. Hijikata asks for Saitou's opinion on the enemy, and Saitou informs him that the enemy's skill is poor but the Rōshigumi members are outnumbered.
The situation with Serizawa and Kosuzu at Shimabara prompts Hijikata to create the Rules of Conduct that would stop Serizawa from acting recklessly again. A lot of Shieikan members find the rules too harsh but Saitou explains that the rules are important and will be useful when more members joins the squad. Later on, seeing Heisuke and Shinpachi fight over food, Ryuunosuke attempts to steal Saitou's food, too, but gets threatened and quickly stops.
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. Saitou fights against Shinpachi and wins.
After Hijikata's order to put the head of a dead Rasetsu on display in Osaka (as, per Serizawa, having a bad reputation is better than none), Saitou remembers his first appearance in Shieikan when Souji instantly decided to challenge him in a sword practice with the trio watching. Saitou's swift movements caught Souji off-guard but he quickly collected himself and went offensive, surprising Saitou who was used to being the strongest one in the room as much as Souji. Souji's attack struck Saitou's stomach, and Shinpachi commanded that there had been one hit (indicating the match was over); however, the two warriors did not intend to stop the battle. Souji claimed that Saitou was the first to dodge his thrust, while Saitou admitted that Souji was the first person he had failed to defeat in his first move. When Kondou and Hijikata entered the room, Hijikata yelled at everyone, ordering Sano hold back Saitou while the others had to stop Souji. After everyone had calmed down, Kondou complimented Saitou, but Saitou asked whether it would be a problem that he used a left-handed stance. Hijikata responded that no matter what stance he used, he was truly strong. Saitou promised to himself that he would protect the place where everyone could be together and happy.
Saitou insists on training Ryuunosuke to use a sword explaining that he will not be fortunate to meet someone like Serizawa again after he leaves the Rōshigumi, and it is important to learn to defend himself.
After Serizawa burns a building, Sannan runs an investigation and reports that the Yamato Shop that was burnt down the day before had earned the ire of imperial nationalists due to making large profits by trading with foreigners. Saitou, however, points out that regardless of the reasoning all the locals will remember is "Mibu Rōshigumi have burnt the building". He wonders whether it is just another situation that keeps repeating over and over again. 
After Niimi's disappearance, all the attempts to find him bring no results but a month later Serizawa gets an intel, and Hijikata orders Yamazaki to investigate. Shortly afterwards, as the information is confirmed, he takes Saitou and Okita and rushes to the restaurant where Niimi was spotted. As they barge into the room with Niimi, one of his companions lashes at Hijikata and Saitou takes him down. 
As the plan to assassinate Serizawa is approved, only selected captains know about it leaving Shinpachi and Heisuke out of the loop. Everyone spends time at Shimabara but when Shinpachi, Heisuke and Ryuunosuke intend to head home Saitou stops them and asks them to stay in Shimabara. Shinpachi quickly realizes the reason and asks Saitou, who flips the question back and enquires what Shinpachi intends to do if his guess is correct. Ryuunosuke, Heisuke and Shinpachi run to warn Serizawa, so Saitou is forced to chase after them all. As Saitou tries to stop Shinpachi, the latter is offended and draws his sword forcing Saitou to do the same. Fighting with Shinpachi who does not want to stop, Saitou hits him in the stomach using a safe side of his sword. When Shinpachi asks him why he flipped it, Saitou claims that he is fighting precisely to ensure his comrade's survival.
===Movies===
Saitou's part in the story is largely the same in the movies as it is in the anime series, however, some of his scenes are missing while there are a few new ones that change the ending. 
As the things get heated, Sannan gives the last Ochimizu vials to the captains, and Saitou is one of those who take it. During the Battle of Aizu Saitou and Heisuke are fighting together, after Heisuke decided to stay with Saitou earlier. However, Heisuke's wounds stop healing fast enough, and he realizes that he has reached his limit. Saitou hugs him, Heisuke asks if he was of any help and turns into ashes. An enemy is about to strike from behind but Okita saves Saitou. As Kaoru enters the scene and provokes Okita, Saitou asks if Okita is okay after killing him. Saitou then turns around as the new enemy has arrived, but when he turns back he only sees Okita's sword standing vertically in the ground and his clothes in ashes. Saitou remembers about his Ochimizu vial and drinks it to keep fighting. Same as in the anime series, he is not seen afterwards so his fate remains unclear.
===Sweet School Life===
In the short OVA Saitou is a Second Year Form Two (2-2) student and a member of the Discipline Committee at Hakuou Academy. He is shown to be overly serious about his job closing the gate for all the people who are late for classes, both students and teachers (as Hijikata is also locked out for being 1 min late).
== Etymology ==
* The name Hajime means "one" (一). 
* Hajime's surname Saitou means "religious purification/purification, Buddhist food, room, worship, avoid, alike" (斎) (sai) and "wisteria" (藤) (tou). 
==Trivia==
*The real counterpart of Saitou Hajime and half of his unit survived the battle that is shown at the end of the second season. The Aizu Clan spread the story of their death in order to keep them safe.
*According to Reimeroku, Saitou was the very last main character to arrive in Kyoto as he had other business at the time and had trouble tracking everyone down afterwards.
*According to the audio CD's, Saitou was the one who gave Isami Kondou his sword, Kotetsu.
*In the main anime series Saitou does not drink Ochimizu and stays human, however, in the movie version he is forced to turn into a Rasetsu after witnessing Okita's death.
*In the anime & the games, Saitou is known to be the second shortest of the captains (next to Heisuke) which contradicts his real-life counterpart, who was actually regarded as one of the tallest of the Shinsengumi.
*Saitou's fate is unclear as it is unknown if he died in battle in the anime. The real-life Hajime survived the events and died at the age of 71 from a stomach ulcer from drinking too much.
*Saitou has a musical theme in the anime.
Category:Characters
Category:Main
Category:Shinsengumi