Seta Soujiro
"Heavenly Sword"

Age: 18
Date of birth: September 1854
Notable Characteristic: Blue kimono, smiles all the time
Fighting Technique: "Heavenly Sword Technique"
Height : 163 cm
Weight : 51 kg
Blood Type : AB
Weapon : Katana
Manliness scale: perfect 10!! he's so cute..
First Appearance: Episode 31

People close to his heart: None
Personality: He hides his emotion with his smile, making him unpredictable

Mini Biography:
He's an illegitimate son of a a rice merchant. Because of that he was treated quite badly by his half sisters and brothers. He was made to work for a long hours and sometimes wasn't given any food to eat. He discovered that whenever he smiles, his brothers and sister would stop beating him.

He was staying in the rice granary when he witnessed a bandaged man on a killing spree. He was about to be killed by Shishio, but he decided to spare his life. So Shishio has brainwashed Soujiro with the belief of survival of the fittest.He have always thought that everyone has the right to treat him badly because of the status of his birth. One day his brothers and sister has suspected that Soujiro has been hiding Shishio and decided to kill him. But then Soujiro used Shishio's sword to kill them all. After that, Shishio was impressed and Soujiro went along with him.

Soujiro proved to be a valuable member of the Juppon Gatana. However Kenshin was able to defeat him, thus Soujiro realized that the beliefs he followed was wrong. So he went on his way to find the meaning of life.

Nobuhiro Watsuki's Free talk: Seta Soujiro (addendum)
Thanks to: Serizawa Kamo's Translation"

- He is quite a popular character, but he gave me lots of headaches. As I wrote before, his
motif is Okita Soushi from Shiba Ryoutarou's "Shinsengumi Keppuuroku", but I realised how
difficult was the portrayal of his personality. To add insult to injury, this story was written
in the end of the year, the busiest period, so I wasn't able to chew the cud. (It looks like the
person in charge ("Tantou") of Ruroken understood Soujirou better than I...)

(note from Serizawa: "Tantou" is the person from the publisher (Shuueisha, in this case) that
is responsible for a manga series (e.g., Ruroken). The "Tantou" has to interact a lot with the
series' author, discussing the pros and againsts of the series, scanning the author's work so
that there's nothing strange or not appropriate.)

Lots of fans were worried that, as Okita Soushi died very young, Soujirou would also die young,
but I had decided quite early about his survival. Even though he has his harsh background,
Soujirou, who left everything to Shishio and gave up from thinking, was not meant to escape
atonement through death, but rather he should live to atone for his deeds. This may sound as
a bit cruel philosophy, but I believe this is the choice worthy of a man. (the relationship
between Shishio and Soujirou could be that of a religious sect leader and his believer, who
looks like a brainless man, eagerly accepting every word of the leader without a doubt)

I believe strongly that, no matter how hard life can become, be it due to family or social
problems, a man who deserves to be called as such can never stop thinking by himself.

- So, even after all those babbling, I guess Soujirou will carry a carefree and a smiling life
from now on, given his character. Like Anji, there are some aspects of Soujirou I wasn't able
to show, so I want to feature him again later in the story, although honestly I don't know
if it will be possible.