Tori Atama is my *favorite* character on Rurouni Kenshin.
Strong, kind, sexy, determined and vulgar akutaro.
What more could you ask for? ^_^
Called: Sagara Sanosuke; Sano; Sano-san; Sano-nii (big brother Sano); Kenkaya Zanza; Tori Atama (chicken-head); Sanotaro (not sure exactly what this means, may be related to akutaro (bad-boy), but Megumi calls him and a dog this...)CHARACTER:
Born: around February 1860 (Year of Manei)
Birthplace: Naganoken
Zodiac: Pisces
Age: 19 years old
Height: 179 cm / 6 ft
Weight: 71 kg / 165 lbs
Blood Type: B*
Lives: Tokyo apartment
Fighting: Futae no Kiwami (Double-Limit); Sanjuu no Kiwami (Triple-Limit?)
Weapons: Zanbatou (horse-cutting sword), before Kenshin broke it during their fight.
Seiyuu: Ueda Yuuji
Appeared: Anime Episode #4
Sagara Sanosuke is very strong-willed and possesses an incredible physical strength (necessary to weild the enormous Zanbatou sword) and a strong sense of pride. He habitually drinks and gambles (this is why we love him!).THE PAST:
As a boy, Sano was a member of the Sekihoutai, a group of peasants that worked for the Ishin Shishi (the party which promoted the Meji Government into power). Sano greatly admired the leader of the Sekihoutai, Sagara Souzou, so much that Sano took his last name. When the group outlived its usefullness to the Ishin Shishi, all of its members (except for two boys, Sano and Katsu) were executed. Witnessing the death of his pseudo-father, Sagara-taichou, Sano made a living for himself as a Kenkaya (ganster/street fighter/one paid to fight others), using the huge Zanbatou (the largest sword ever made, designed for cutting down both horse and rider). Eventually, he became known as Kenkaya Zanza, after the sword's name. He despised the new Meji government, because the Ishin Shishi party had betrayed the Sekihoutai, and swore he would never lose a fight to a member of the Ishin Shishi. He was determined never to lose someone he loved ever again because he was too weak to defend them. He wore the kanjii (character) "aku" ("bad") on the back of his jacket.KENSHIN GUMI:
Sano first appeared on RK when he is hired to fight Kenshin (who he discovers is the legendary assasin for the Ishin Shishi, an added incentive to beat him) after an encounter with some drunks ouside of Tae's restaurant, the Akabeko. Although Sano shows incredible strength and endurance (*sigh!*), the fight ends with Kenshin cutting the Zanbatou in half and Sano defeated, apologizing to Sagara-taichou. Through the course of their fight, however, Sano finds that Kenshin is in many ways similar to his deceased pseudo-father, Sagara Souzou. Eventually, Kenshin and Sano befriend one another, and Sano becomes part of the Dojo family, the Kenshin Gumi (which then consisted of Kaoru, Kenshin, and Yahiko). After this, Sano gave up being a Kenkaya and, like Kenshin, now only fought to defend the weak. He continues to wear the kanjii "aku", to remind him of his past ("I can't forget the Sekihoutai. It's my past. I can't take the character off. Once you're 19, it's too late to change your nature.") And so Sano remains a bad-ass. ^_^