Hello everyone! I’m back! Today, I feel like doing a brief
character analysis for Shishio Makoto, the main antagonist of Rurouni Kenshin’s
“Kyoto” storyline [if you’d like some more information, I’ve written a post on
Rurouni Kenshin, as well as a separate post on its legendary protagonist,
Himura Kenshin. You can go check them out!]. Rurouni Kenshin spans 255 chapters
and has two major antagonists; both of them are terrifying and impactful in
their own ways, but I greatly prefer Shishio to Yukishiro Enishi, the second
antagonist [you’ll find out why when you read the manga. Heh]. RuroKen is a
really old [and iconic] manga, and Shishio rightly occupies the role of one of
the most unforgettable villains in the history of manga and anime. He’s an
utterly graphic character [still not as graphic as Enishi, but yeah. Good
enough to send chills down every reader’s spine]. As we delve deeper into this
topic, I’ll give you an insight into Shishio’s past [it’s not right to talk
about him without bringing up his dreadful past]. Alright, let’s do this!
Dude has the most ironic name ever. His first name, Makoto, means “Truth” [my sister would
probably say, “one could cut this irony with a sword!”]. Shishio is an
excellent representation of the darkness of human nature. He lives in the Meiji
Era, but it’s hardly necessary to say that he does not agree with the Meiji
Government’s peaceful ideology at all; he has a very warped way of thinking,
and firmly believes that “in this world, the flesh of the weak is food for the
strong.” [… Well. It is true that
only the strong survive under the most severe and dire conditions; however,
there are people who may initially be weak, but circumstances mould and
strengthen them. Also, there are people like Kenshin, always ready to extend a
helping hand to those who need it. So, I don’t really agree with Shishio’s
philosophy. To each his own, I guess]. What went wrong in his life? What turned
him into a cynical megalomaniac? He was a young and power-hungry assassin for
the Ishin Shishi during the Bakumatsu; when the higher-ups found that they
couldn’t control him, they sought to cover up their huge mistake by trying to
burn him alive [I know. It’s horrible]. Unfortunately for them, he didn’t die;
now, ten years after that incident, he’s terribly disfigured and covered in
burns, and is unable to regulate his body temperature by sweating. He’s crazy
powerful, but his fighting capacity is fifteen minutes at a time; he runs high
risks of spontaneously combusting if he fights for more than the stipulated
time period [that’s exactly what happens to him. The maniac combusts while
laughing and shrieking about how he hasn’t been defeated yet. I suppose that’s what we’d call “having the
last laugh”].
Throughout the Kyoto arc, he is seen as a symbol of Kenshin’s
own bitter past, “a phantom of the Bakumatsu and the Meiji Government’s
wrongdoings.” You know, dear reader, Shishio is actually a perfect foil to Kenshin.
They’re similar in some ways [both are infamous assassins, both were allied
with the Ishin Shishi, both are insanely talented prodigies, both are extremely
charismatic, even manipulative]. However, Shishio’s ideology and homicidal
tendencies are a far cry from Kenshin’s way of living. Their level of
connection is intriguing as well as creepy—would you believe Kenshin was able
to decode and intercept Shishio’s over-elaborate plan of taking Japan by storm
and overthrowing the government? And Shishio actually expected him to be able to figure out all those tiny intricacies
and faults! Like both of them have stated, they tend to know what the other is
thinking, because they were both assassins.
Perhaps the most striking thing about Shishio is his utter
lack of redeeming qualities. Yes, the government did horrible and inhumane
things to him. I get it. But he brought it upon himself! He knows he did!
There’s no need to sympathise with him—he doesn’t need or deserve it [still, I shudder whenever I think about those burns
of his]. I want to say that I like the creation and development of his
character very much, simply because—well—doesn’t he make a great villain?? He
spices up the plot quite a bit! His conflict with Kenshin—the focal point of
the Kyoto arc—is well-thought-out, even if it’s a bit rushed in a few parts […
yeah, Watsuki does that at times… RuroKen is still perfectly amazing though].
To Shishio, Kenshin is a puppet of the “irrational” and “weak” [lol “pacifist”
and “weak” are two very different things, but he doesn’t seem to understand
that, in spite of his great intelligence] Meiji Government; honestly, he’s the one who’s being irrational.
Kenshin is not a puppet [but that’s just the way Shishio thinks].
I’m gonna talk about his death some more. I told you he
combusted, right? His death was something I hadn’t really predicted. I knew all
too well that the only way to stop him was his complete destruction, but I was
also painfully aware of the fact that Kenshin wouldn’t break his no-killing vow…
so, I have mixed feelings about that man’s death. The flames that should’ve
killed him all those years ago consumed him at the end of the Kyoto storyline,
and a lot of turbulent emotions were raging inside me while I was reading that
chapter. I was kinda relieved, because he’d given the legendary Himura
Battousai so much trouble [Kenshin was on the verge of death after he was done
dealing with Shishio], but I was also a bit… disappointed? Indeed, Kyoto was
one hell of an arc, and I guess I was a little sad when it ended [initially,
though, I was hoping for it to end soon ‘cause it was terrifying, lol].
According to me, the biggest point of the last major battle was that there
wasn’t a “victor”. There never is, in such situations. There are only survivors;
in this case, Kenshin was the survivor.
I have always been struck by how good Shishio is with words.
He doesn’t care about other people very much, but he has a vast train of followers, and most would willingly lay down their
lives for him without a second thought. They’re all people who resent the Meiji
Government for its hypocrisy and hidden darkness [a sociopathic
seventeen-year-old boy, a beautiful and intelligent former geisha, a blind and
highly skilled swordsman, an angsty fallen monk who believes in Shishio’s
“radical” policies, an extremely unstable but highly capable strategist—these
are the ones who struck me the most. There are more, of course].
… Whew. This is a “brief” analysis. I do hope you liked it!
See you next time! Toodles!
Thank you!
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