Kamiya Kaoru

Kamiya Kaoru
Rurouni Kenshin character
Kamiya Kaoru by Nobuhiro Watsuki
First appearance	Rurouni Kenshin manga chapter 1 Rurouni Kenshin anime episode 1
In-universe information
Occupation	Kendo teacher
Relatives	Kamiya Koshijirō (father, deceased) Himura Kenshin (husband) Himura Kenji (son)

Kamiya Kaoru (神谷 薫, Kamiya Kaoru), known as Kaoru Kamiya in the English-language dub, is a fictional character from the Rurouni Kenshin universe created by Nobuhiro Watsuki as a main protagonist of the media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, OVAs, movies, soundtracks, video games, and other collectibles.

In the story, Kaoru is the teacher from a kendo school from Tokyo called Kamiya Kasshin-Ryū. The school starts to lose all its students when a thief from the city starts killing a large number of people and claims to be the "Hitokiri Battōsai (斬り抜刀斎) from the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryū". Kaoru encounters him but before being killed by him she is saved by the real Hitokiri Battōsai, now a wanderer, Himura Kenshin, to whom she offers to stay in her dojo as she notes Kenshin is a gentle person instead of a hitokiri. As the series continue, Kaoru develops strong romantic feelings for Kenshin, who is constantly haunted by the wrongs committed in his past, and believes he does not deserve happiness. Kaoru has also appeared in the featured movie of the series, as well as other media relating to the franchise, including a plethora of electronic games and a series of OVAs.

Creation and conception

Watsuki said that he used "no specific model" and "no specific motif" when designing Kaoru. He said that if he had to name one model, he would point to Chiba Sanako of Ryōma no Koibito. He wished to include the "commanding" quality from Sasaki Mifuyu (佐々木 三冬) of Shōtarō Ikenami's Kenkaku Shōbai (JA). According to Watsuki Kaoru became a "plain, regular girl" despite the "commanding" quality. By the compilation of Volume 1 in Japan he believed that the character model worked and stated that many female readers of Rurouni Kenshin identified with Kaoru. He had not decided at the time on whether Kaoru should be Kenshin's love interest. Watsuki wished that he could design Kaoru to be "more cutely" and "more fashionable" but decided to tone the qualities down as he felt that she needed to express "down-to-earth" and financially "poor" characteristics as well. Watsuki described the ponytail as "de rigueur" for a girl who practices kendo. Watsuki says that he enjoys drawing Kaoru and that filling in her hair is "sometimes a pain."

When some female readers told Watsuki that they could not decide on whether Kaoru exhibited strength or weakness as a fighter, Watsuki responded by saying that Kaoru is a national-level champion at least but appears weak compared to Kenshin and Sagara Sanosuke.

Character outline

Personality

The primary instructor of the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryū fighting style developed by her late father, Kamiya Koshijirō, Kaoru inherited a small dojo from her father after he was killed during the Seinan War and operates it by herself. At the beginning of the story, she has no students and she is likely to lose the dojo until Kenshin appears and helps her. Naturally, she is independent, possessive, compassionate, courageous, feisty, strong-willed, and a great fighter to boot- with only the occasional mood swing. Kaoru is also known for her bad cooking which is disliked by her friends and family and her ability to see the good in others.

Though she is short tempered and possessive, Kaoru is incredibly selfless. Although most times she is seen fighting against Myojin Yahiko, they care about each other and Kaoru sees him as the succesor of the dojo. She is considered naive to be so trusting, but she has the maturity to handle the consequences. Kaoru's beliefs are held strongly and proudly, almost stubbornly, particularly her beliefs in the sword.

She falls in love with Himura Kenshin right from the beginning of the series, and continued to do so even after learning of his past crimes. One of Kaoru's biggest fears is that Kenshin might someday return to wandering, leaving her to be alone again. She gets jealous whenever another girl is also interested in Kenshin, such as Takani Megumi to whom she often argues but in the end of the manga ends admiring her. When discussing with Megumi she is often compared to a Tanuki due to the way she acts.

Kamiya Kaoru adheres to her father's ideal of "Swords that give life," which teaches that swordsmanship should be used not to kill, but to protect. This belief is a slap in the face to many swordsmen, who advocate that a sword is for "mastery and death," and nothing more. Himura Kenshin, however, feels that her beliefs should, in fact, become reality.

Techniques

Kaoru is a practitioner of the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryū (神谷活心流, Kamiya Kashhin-Ryū). The primary weapon of a practitioner is a wooden bokken. A bokken is generally considered to be a more advanced weapon in kendo practices and can deal more severe damage, hence the bokken is likely reserved only for masters of the Kasshin Ryu style or for those who are considered advanced in their studies.

As a teacher of the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryū, Kaoru mastered the successions technique. In the first one, , Kaoru crosses her arms over her head and catches the blade of the opponent with the back of their hands. This allows her to maintain their grip on her sword while catching the opponents blade at the same time. However, if properly used, it can be chained into Kamiya Kasshin-Ryū's offensive succession technique. It is a counter-attack and can only be performed after a successful use of the Hadome technique. From the Hadome position, Kaoru twists her wrists, thus stripping the weapon of their attacker away from their wrists.

Techniques of this style also are meant to be performed with the weapon broken. With Tsuka no Gedan: Hiza Hishigi (Handle Attack, Knee Crush) Kaoru dive-lunges at her opponent's knees, bringing the hilt against their knee. She uses this attack to defeat Honji Kamatari.

Plot overview

The series starts with a confrontation between her and Himura Kenshin, and, after some initial scuffles, lets him stay as a guest. Her obvious feelings toward Kenshin are noticed even by his enemies, and often use Kaoru as a chink in his armor. In the Kyoto Arc Kenshin gives an emotional farewell to Kaoru before leaving for Kyoto. After saying goodbye to her and then leaving, Kaoru went into a deep depression, but was soon given the courage to go to Kyoto in order to see Kenshin after a more than irritated Megumi gave her a pep talk.

In the Jinchu Arc, Yukishiro Enishi, the revenge-obsessed younger brother of Yukishiro Tomoe, sets off to avenge his sister's death upon Kenshin. Enishi's goal is not to kill Kenshin, but to kill the person most important to him, Kaoru. Because Enishi is unable to kill any young woman who is close to the age of Tomoe's at the time of her death, he instead got his ally Gein to make a perfect, replicated doll of a murdered Kaoru, fooling everyone including Kenshin. Upon finding out that Kaoru is not dead, the group goes to the island where Enishi kept her captive and saves her. They eventually marry, and have a son named Himura Kenji.

Appearances in other media

In Rurouni Kenshin: Seisōhen, Kenshin and Kaoru are married, but he decides to wander again, returning to her every couple of years because he still feels the need to help others, so Kaoru allows him to go, promising to welcome him home with a smile and their child. Kenshin eventually becomes ravaged by an unknown disease that is much and to share his pain, Kaoru convinces Kenshin to share his disease with her through sexual intercourse. Kenshin then leaves to go assist in the First Sino-Japanese War as he had promised the Meiji Government, not fighting and killing, but instead helping people. The two finally meet, and Kenshin collapses into her arms as he clutches her to him. Kaoru then notices Kenshin's scar has faded away, signifying his death.

In the original, "pilot" issue of Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, first published in 1992, Kaoru is the sister of Megumi and Yahiko. As the unrefined brainchild of artist Nobuhiro Watsuki, many of the story's details changed during the transition to serialized, mainstream manga.

Kaoru also appears in all Rurouni Kenshin video games but in most as a supporting character incluiding also Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars.

Reception

Kaoru has been highly popular with the Rurouni Kenshin reader base, placing between fourth and fifth in every popularity poll. Watsuki describes Tomo Sakurai's CD drama voice as "not too airhead-y," "not too high," and "not too low." Merchandise based on Kaoru has also been released, including plushes,, keychains, and sweat bands. In an interview with Miki Fujitani, who is the seiyū for Kaoru, comments that in the OVAs series Kaoru is brave woman totally different from her original version.

Several publications for manga, anime, video games, and other media have provided praise and criticism on the character. In a review from the OVAs of the series, IGN, comments that some Kenshin and Kaoru's private moments are touching, and some are depressing. Anime News Network comments that Kaoru is the least successful character in the OVAs and also mention that her original version has a distinctive girlish charm. When T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews gave nicknames to the characters of Rurouni Kenshin they called Kaoru "an spirited girl". Animeondvd comments that Kaoru is a wise person in the manga while in the anime she is almost the opposite.