S.H Figuarts Rorounin Kenshin – Hajime Saito
A former third squad captain of the Shinsengumi, a pro-shogunate force during the Bakamatsu era, Saito Hajime was the fierce rival of the legendary Hitokiri Battousai, an assassin working for the imperialist cause.
After the war, the pro-shogunate forces lost and Saito went into hiding. When he emerged, he changed his name to “Fujita Goro” and becomes an agent working for the new Meiji government. Donning a new uniform but still brandishing his sword.
Rurounin Kenshin series creator, Nobuhiro Watsuki, actually based Saito Hajime on an actual historic Shinsengumi figure of the same name and rank when he created a foil for Kenshin.
Saito stands roughly 6.5 inches tall. Putting him roughly an inch taller than Kenshin. Which is on par, since Saito was often seen as a tall, intimidating person, while Kenshin was a intended to look slightly shorter than an average person in the series.
To make Saito look even more of a bad-a$$, Bandai decided to showcase his favorite hobby, smoking, thanks to the inclusion an optional cigarette-holding hand with this set.
Hmm.. Bandai forgot to paint the end of his smokes. Could it be that’s just actually just a stick of chalk he’s holding? Lol…
In the series, it is mentioned that Saito is indeed married to a woman named Tokio, she never makes an appearance in the entire show, however.
Saito’s scabbard is “buttoned” into place on his uniform shirt’s “skirt”. I don’t recommend repeatedly removing and reattaching the scabbard though. As I think it’s highly likely to tear sooner than later.
Like most sword accessories in the S.H. Figuarts line, the actual swords are a separate piece from the one in the scabbard to prevent the paint from scrapping from repeated sheathing.
Saito’s iconic style is called the “Gatotsu” or “left single-handed thrust”, derived from the “Hirazuki” technique of the real Shinsengumi.
Ruthless in battle, Saito’s philosophy of “Aku Soku Zan” (Swift Death to Evil) spares no mercy when fighting against any of his foes.
With BUZZmod Kenshin Himura.
While I don’t have S.H. Figuarts Kenshin, I’d have to say the BUZZmod is a better fit since it’s taller than the S.H. Figuarts.
Personally, for me, the Rurounin Kenshin series started hitting its stride when Saito appeared on the scene and the whole thing started building up to the Shishio arc. The earlier arcs didn’t quite have the same impact.
Saito comes with an optional “yelling” face for S.H. Figuarts Kenshin. Nice but not really useful for me.
Overall, a pretty great figure to pair up against BUZZmod Kenshin. I always loved the original big fight between Kenshin and Saito when we first encounter him in the series and I always felt Saito was a deadly rival for Kenshin.
On a side note, the rebooted 2024 Kenshin series somehow feels lacking for me. Maybe it’s the musical score or the choreography of the fights? I feel like the original had a better hook for the viewer particularly in terms of visual style. Hopefully things will get better when Shishio shows up..?
Gold
