Shigure Takimi

Shigure was Gentatsu's compatriot, companion-in-arms, and friend. So he deserves his corner here.

Both Gentatsu and Shigure were part of Kanuma's Sanba Garasu, or Three Crows. I'm not exactly sure who the third Crow was, but I suspect he was either Kajiki of the goofy hair, or completely unmentioned. Since they got a nickname, I'd imagine that all of them were very good at what they did. And since it was a war, they were good at killing.

Gentatsu was Shigure's best friend, and his death hit him very hard. After the Meiji Restoration, Shigure settled down to care for Gentatsu's sister, Toki, who had been orphaned by the war. He kept a shrine to Gentatsu, which was not unusual. However, all his actions were dictated by his lingering love for Gentatsu in a way that was not, despite all the Kenshin villains who acted comparably. Obsession is not normal.

Shigure's goal was to bring about the future that he and Gentatsu had fought for, one where the skies would be forever bright and clear, a metaphor I take to mean there is peace and opportunities for all. In a word, Hope.

So when the Meiji government was revealed to be corrupt, Shigure assembled his revolution. They were all survivors of losing factions during the war. Their goal was to reform the government, and their method was bloody. Kajiki had acquired guns and cannons from a corrupt cop, and their plan was to use them.

Shigure met Kenshin during a visit to Yokohama when Toki was accosted by some foreign sailors. They seemed fond of each other, and Shigure took a shine to Yahiko. Yahiko joined Shigure's revolution after overhearing a meeting, but was left behind in their attack. Shigure could not endanger Yahiko's life. It was the young boys like Yahiko that he was fighting for, so they wouldn't have to.

During their attack on the British guest-of-state, most of Shigure's force was cut down by the police force's guns, including Yahiko's friend, Musashino, and Shigure himself was injured. They retreated into the mountains, using an old tactic from the Bakumatsu.

Kenshin followed them, in an attempt to stop Shigure from committing anymore violence. But Shigure had figured out that it was Kenshin who had killed Gentatsu, and insisted on fighting him. After Kenshin almost beat him and Toki intervened, Shigure stopped. Kenshin understood Gentatsu better than him. As Toki stood before him crying for him to stop, it was Kenshin who said "Would Gentatsu want to see Toki's tears?" To which Shigure replies (after a flashback of Gentatsu, alive for once) "Gentatsu, here is a man who values your death more than I." Something like that. Shigure finally made peace with himself and his world, and wanted to turn himself in, but he was killed shielding Toki from the corrupt cop's hail of gunfire.

As a person, Shigure was very kind, in his own way. I think he was close to his men and cared for them. It's mentioned that he gives money to the surviving families of the Aizu and Boshin wars. He was more goal-oriented than Gentatsu, and worked very hard towards them, which caused him to lose sight of the people every once in a while.

Towards Toki, Shigure could be somewhat distant. This was because he wanted to keep her out of the battle, both out of concern for her and because she shouldn't be there. He really cared for her, I think, because she was all he had left of Gentatsu. I'd like to say that he liked her for her, and that may be true, but I just don't know. I know she loved him. He was the only family she had for as long as she could remember. But whether he loved her… I can't say. It's a terribly ambiguous situation.