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Characters
Shinomori Aoshi is the brooding, cold leader of the Oniwabanshu. He is a master at kempo and also with swords, particularly with kodachi. He first appears in Rurouni Kenshin episode 8(?) of the anime and Manga Vol. 3.
His story begins in RK with the Oniwabanshu, former guard for the Tokugawa shoguns, working for the corrupt Kanryuu. After an inevitable defeat, Aoshi disappears from the storyline and then appears again in the Kyoto Arc with a vengeance. Always bent on proving his own strength, he is now obsessed with proving that the Oniwabanshu were the strongest. His personality takes a turn to the dark(er) side, and his skills improve vastly as he taps the darkness in his heart. He's fairly hell-bent on destroying "Himura Battousai."
He never smiles in the manga (or the anime) and has lead a fairly serious life. He always appears cold and detached, but he's hiding his emotions. He obviously has a gentle, caring side because he is protective of Misao and doesn't wish to see her hurt.
Attacks & Techniques
Kodachinitou-Ryu
Aoshi's sword technique
Kaiten Kenbu (called in subs Waterflow Technique)
With this attack Aoshi-sama moves so switfly that the enemy (or Kenshin) think they are surrounded by multiple Aoshis (where can I sign up for this?!?!) He then can strike with the enemy not knowing where he will come from.
Watsuki-sensei's Inspiration for Aoshi
Apparently, Watsuki Nobuhiro (the creator of Rurouni Kenshin) is a HUGE Shinsengumi fan. The character of Shinomori Aoshi is based on Hijikata Toshizou who is portrayed as a man who controlled his emotions with the facade of a demon. In his heart he cried, and in his heart he kept his weaknesses. This is Watsuki-sensei's inspiration personality wise. He created Aoshi's look by modernizing a sketch of Hijikata.
Misao grew up with a powerful group of fighters called the Oniwabanshu. Currently, Aoshi Shinomori is the leader of the Oniwabanshuu (that's until Misao proclaims herself leader after Aoshi betrays the Oniwabanshu). But before Misao and Aoshi were leaders, Okashira, Misao's father was the leader. Well, turns out that he died and Misao was left to be raised by the other Oniwabanshu members. Since all the Oniwabanshu really knew how to do was fight, that's what they taught her to do. All her fighting techiques and her abilities she aquired from role models like Aoshi, Hanya, and all the other Oniwabanshu. So that's probably how Misao got her personality as a tomboy... all that damn fighting, however, she's pretty good at it. Well, eventually Misao falls in love with Aoshi, but its more of a puppy dog love. She's just a little girl when she loves him, and we all know how little girls can be. So naturally when Aoshi and the main Oniwabanshu members (Hanya, Beshimi, Hyottoko, and Shikijou) leave on some sort of dangerous mission, they leave Misao with the other Oniwabanshu, since she was just a little girl. Misao, who was in love with Aoshi wouldn't stand for his leaving her, so she began searching all over Japan for him and the other Oniwabanshu. Eventually, this is how she bumps into Kenshin... but this story is for another paragraph....
So, if you're not confused by Misao's history, perhaps I can confuse you with her current role in the Rurouni Kenshin series and how she came to meet Kenshin and the other characters. Well, as Kenshin was on his way to Kyoto to stop the evil Shishio, he thought he heard a mugging going on in the woods. When he went to investigate, he found a woman who was willing to sell her body for money to a couple of low life thugs. This woman had a hood covering her face, and you couldn't really see what she looked like. The group of thugs gave her the money in hopes of being able to, shall we say... sink a hole in one. Well, just as they showed her the money, she threw off the hood and showed her true self! It was none other than 16 year old Misao! The thugs looked at her and then walked away muttering things like, "I thought she was some sexy woman, not some little girl". Unfortunately for them, Misao heard their little comments and beat them to a pile of horse manure. This is when Kenshin steps in. After Misao beat the thugs and took their money, Kenshin wanted her to return it. Misao, with her confident attitude decides to mug Kenshin, but Kenshin's skills far surpass Misao's and she couldn't even touch him. This just made her more and more angry at Kenshin. Eventually though, the two of them return the money to its rightful owner... its then that Misao tells Kenshin of her journey to find Shinomori Aoshi and the other Oniwabanshu. Too bad that the Oniwabanshu are all dead except for Aoshi. Kenshin had a little run in with the Oniwabanshu and they were killed in a fight. Although their deaths weren't Kenshin's fault, Aoshi blames Kenshin for their deaths. Once Misao discovers that Kenshin knows something about Aoshi and the Oniwabanshu, she tries to get him to tell her where they are. But Kenshin won't say a word. He doesn't want her to find out about their deaths, he fears it would hurt her too much. Kenshin is such a nice guy, isn't he? So now as Kenshin tries to make his way to Kyoto, he's got Misao,a member of the Oniwabanshu, following him around like a dog on a leash.
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