Shinomori Aoshi
, known in Western order as Aoshi Shinomori in the English version of the anime, is a fictional character in the "Rurouni Kenshin" manga series created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. He is the genius young of the Oniwabanshū for Edo Castle. After the Meiji Restoration Shinomori alone was offered rankings in the military, however, instead of abandoning his comrades, he decided to work with them for Takeda Kanryū. This decision leads to the death of his comrades and his defeat by Himura Kenshin, which results in driving him mad. For the remainder of the series, Shinomori swears to kill Kenshin  at any cost in order to gain the title of "the strongest" and bestow this title upon the graves of his fallen comrades. Creation and conception. Nobuhiro Watsuki based Shinomori on Hijikata Toshizō, the Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi. There are most certainly versions of Hijikata portrayed in books and fiction; Aoshi grew out of the Hijikata who killed his gentler feelings and buried his human weakness. Watsuki describes himself as a fan of the other version of Hijikata. Watsuki describes that version of Hijikata, seen in "Moeyo Ken" ("Burn, O Sword"), as "a bundle of raw combat-instinct who  keeps fighting until the very death." Since, according to Watsuki, the addition of the Oniwabanshū occurred during the "last minute," he found difficulty writing with him since he had not resolved a "concrete image" for Aoshi. Watsuki says that he used no specific design model for Aoshi. As the image of Hijikata grew stronger within Watsuki, the "Rurouni Kenshin" author added fringes (bangs) to Aoshi's design. Watsuki held a chance to change the hairstyle while compiling the edited manga, but chose not to edit the hairstyle, since he did not want readers to believe that "Aoshi was wearing a  rug or anything." Watsuki said he originally intended for his design of the 13-year-old "young Aoshi" to be used for another character. He says that many female readers liked young Aoshi. He described drawing Aoshi's fringes as "a pain." During the run of the Kyoto arc, Watsuki reported receiving a reader letter that said "I'll bet Aoshi is gonna be another one of those characters who "just" happens to be around to help Kenshin in times of need." The letter "kind of got to" Watsuki and he told himself that Aoshi is going to be  a "bad guy." As a response Watsuki decided to make Aoshi an antagonist in the arc and fight Okina (Kashiwazaki Nenji), his former master. Shinomori is portrayed by Yusuke Iseya in the second and third live-action films, "" and "". Character outline. Background. Born in January 1853 in Tokyo Prefecture, Shinomori Aoshi was raised a ninja of the Oniwabanshū, who worked for the Shogunate government during the Edo period. At the suggestion of Kashiwazaki Nenji (better known as Okina), Shinomori was given the position of Okashira at the age of fifteen, in time for the Oniwabanshou to defend Edo Castle. As  a member of the Oniwabanshuu, he helped to raise Makimachi Misao from childhood. Misao, who was his protegee developed a strong admiration and romantic feelings for him. After the revolution, since a few members of the Oniwabanshū were unable to adapt to life in the Meiji era, Aoshi and these members worked for the corrupt, power-hungry business man, Takeda Kanryū instead. Aoshi's subordinates included Beshimi, who specialized in darts and poison; Hyottoko, whose name literally means "Fire Man" who breathes fire; Han'nya, a skilled martial artist and deft ninjutsu practitioner; and Shikijō, a scarred "muscle man". Techniques. Aoshi  is a grandmaster and Okashira of the Oniwanbanshou shinobi. Aoshi's weapon of choice is a kodachi, a sword that is described in the series to act like a shield because its light weight makes it easy to block with. He originally used only one of these short swords for defense and relied mainly on kenpo for his offense, but later used a two-sworded style. When in their saya, they appear to be part of a single sheathed sword, one blade appearing to be the hilt, while the second blade is stationed opposite the first and blends in with  the saya itself, giving it the impression of being a nodachi. A dangerous opponent, he uses his speed together with a mix of sword and hand-to-hand combat moves. His physical strength is extremely high, having once knocked Sanosuke out with one blow to the back of the neck in the anime, and break Suzaku's sword in his grip in the manga. Plot overview. While working with Kanryū as "muscle" in his opium manufacturing operation, Aoshi came face to face with Kenshin, who was trying to rescue Takani Megumi. During the confrontation with Kenshin, Aoshi revealed that he  aims to kill Kenshin, who was formerly known as the famed Hitokiri Battōsai. After an intense fight, their battle ends with Aoshi's defeat when Aoshi is struck a second time to the throat by his own Kodachi after Kenshin narrowly escapes death by having his scabbard reduce the damage brought on by Aoshi's Kaiten Kenbu. Kanryū betrays Aoshi and kills his four subordinates with a Gatling gun while they die one after the other protecting Aoshi, and when Kenshin had gripped his sword Kanryu ran out of bullets (in the anime, Beshimi threw a dart into the ammo  belt, which jammed, allowing Kenshin to get in close) and was soon struck by Kenshin's sakabato and arrested. After the deaths of his friends and team-mates, Aoshi became even more determined to defeat Kenshin, obsessed even, stating that it is the only thing he can do for his fallen comrades now, to obtain the title of the strongest and bring it before their graves as flower. Determined to achieve his goal, Aoshi follows him to Kyoto after training intensely for a few months and narrowly missing him when Kenshin heads to Kyoto with Saito and Misao, and joins  Shishio Makoto (despite initially rejecting the offer) in hopes of fighting Kenshin. He lets no one stand in his way, going as far as fighting and severely injuring Okina (Kenshin however later remarks that Aoshi subconsciously held back against his former comrade) to try to learn of Kenshin's whereabouts (but fails to get the location). Aoshi joins forces with Shishio Makoto and plans to kill Kenshin and then commit suicide. Towards the end of the Kyoto Arc, the much-anticipated battle arrives and Kenshin fights Aoshi. Kenshin saves Aoshi from his own madness, as he realizes that death is  not the answer to his situation. To put an end to the feud and see who is truly the strongest, both decide to use their strongest attacks resulting in Kenshin's victory. Even though Kenshin's ougi, Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki, activated after Aoshi's Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren (which was already cutting his neck), the sheer speed of the attack allowed it to strike first and incapacitate Aoshi. He later appears to fight against Shishio, though still weakened from Kenshin's Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki, yet he still managed to buy time for Kenshin, who had been knocked unconscious by  Shishio, to get back on his feet. Aoshi spends his time meditating in a temple, needing time to sort through what he has done and been through. Before Kenshin leaves Kyoto, he asks if Aoshi would like to share a drink (of sake) with him; Aoshi refuses the offer (saying that he does not drink), but goes on to say he would be willing to have tea with him when they meet again. In the Jinchū Arc, Aoshi returns to Tokyo with Misao in order to deliver the diary of Yukishiro Tomoe to Kamiya Kaoru. They arrived to discover that  Kaoru is "dead," though Aoshi soon solves the mystery and reveals that the body buried of Kaoru was actually a doll, created by a man named Gein. Subsequently, he defeats Gein in the graveyard after the latter returns to try to retrieve his creation which he considers his masterpiece, and allows him to burn in the flames who he himself started after telling him that Aoshi burned the doll as a sign of pity. Joining Kenshin and his friends as they travel to Yukishiro Enishi's island to rescue Kaoru, he defeats Suzaku, a master mimic who is one of  the four Sushin bodyguards of Enishi's second in command before leaving Kenshin to fight Enishi. Following the battle, he and Misao return with the group to Tokyo, only for Aoshi to announce that they will return to Kyoto very soon because the high mountains where he will buried the remains of his four comrades will hit winter before the plains do, and they will have to give them a finer resting place. Before leaving, he honors Kenshin's request in Kyoto by having a cup of tea with him. Reception. Daryl Surat of "Otaku USA" said that while, in  Surat's view, Aoshi does not engaged in "meaningful" battles, the character scored highly in popularity polls among readers because Aoshi appears "like a CLAMP character wearing Gambit's coat." Surat used Aoshi as an example of "Rurouni Kenshin" being a "neo-shonen" work that appeals to both boys and girls. T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews praised the Oniwabanshu organization for acting not like stereotypical villains and instead characters who could also work as heroes. Mania.com remarks the build up Aoshi, Saito and other characters bring to the story due to how they similar goals but felt that Misao's attempts to  reach Aoshi might be annoying. "Mania" praised the second match between Shinomori and Kenshin despite the apparent rehash but noted there were parallels between both fighters with Sagara's line regarding how Shinomori is ready to die after the battle while Kenshin, on the other hand, comes across as a warrior who achieved a desire to survive to all battles. Similarly, Chris Beveridge from "Mania Entertainment" praised the build up the anime's Kyoto arc has had as after fighting so much build up in the too based on how Shinomori, Saito and Sagara try to back up the weakened  Kenshin to aid him in defeating Shishio Makoto but the execution felt like a writer copout. Due to Kaoru, Kenshin and Sanosuke missing from the final arc during the Jinchu arc, Manga News described Aoshi as the star of the series' 24th volume due to how he explores the mysteries behind Enishi's revenge and his subsequent actions that made him stand out most notably because he had been absent for multiple chapters. Iseya's portrayal of Shinomori also received good response with describing his character as "melodramatic" with a "vengeful demeanor", J Generation also praised Shinomori's characterization for  how he fits in "Kyoto Inferno" due to his connections with Shishio but lamented how he does not get to fight Kenshin in this film. Filmedinether felt that despite changes in regards to Shinomori's story from the original series, his character fits well into the manga and praised his fight scenes. Marcus Goh from Yahoo! regarded his duel with Kenshin as the best fight in the films. On the other hand, Anime News Network lamented the screentime the cast in general has in "Kyoto Inferno" as he and Misao "are shortchanged by the larger demands of the story." For  the third film, the same site said that "the resolution for characters like Aoshi feels undercooked".