Aku. Soku. Zan.

Saitou Hajme begins Rurouni Kenshin in what appears to be a villain role. He certainly looks the part. Saitou is not a friendly looking man, and he has evil eyes, as remarked by Sanosuke. Hell, he even skewers Sano and throws him through a wall just to get Kenshin's attention. Definitely not a good guy here.

Funny how Saitou manages to be one of the most noble characters in a series full of noble characters. He's a man of morals and principles, and holds onto them steadfastly. Aku. Soku. Zan. Evil. Kill. Instantly. Saitou does not believe in the mind numbing angst and indecision that his old rival the Battousai luxuriates in, oh no. Saitou is fully capable of being a man's judge, jury, and executioner without dilly dallying. The third captain of the Shinsengumi fought during the bakamatsu to protect his country from rebels, and after the shogunate defeat and the Meiji Restoration, Saitou continues to protect his country from corruption. He chooses to work disguised as a member of the new police force, and take care of any trash that may work its way into the government.

I love characters who show that good people are not necessarily nice people, and that nice people are not necessarily good people. Saitou is NOT a nice man. He is harsh and cruel to Sano, and is generally a snarky bitch to anyone he encounters. He drives Kenshin to fall back into the role of the Battousai, and harbours a very large rivalry there. However, Saitou IS a good man. He wants to protect Japan and its people, and even through all that nastiness he showed Sano, there was a reason. The boy did need to learn defense -.- I'd have tried to slap some sense into him too. Saitou needed Kenshin to get over his shit and see if he could help like was needed.

Saitou has a nasty sense of humour, and he constantly cracks me up with his digs towards the Kenshin-gumi. Sometimes all that dewy eyed idealism can grate on a cynic's nerves, and Saitou soothes mine like the nicotine he is always imbibing. Love the scene where he stabs a katana through the carriage just to make Sano jump, and let us not forget his random thought bubbles about the various brats he encounters. Misao is the weasel for sure. Saitou can be ruthlessly practical, and I love how he does not angst over killing people. It's part of his life philosophy, after all. If he follows his code, there is no reason to feel regret over his actions.

Yeah, and he is really hot. Call me a fangirl, ok? The cigarettes, the confidence, the way he handles his sword - pardon me while I snicker at bad entendre - the smirk, and the gloves. Oh, the gloves.