Sagara Sanosuke
Encyclopedia
is a fictional character
from the Rurouni Kenshin
manga
and anime
series created by Nobuhiro Watsuki
. He is known as Sanosuke Sagara in the English adaptation of the anime and is nicknamed Sano. Watsuki, being a fan of the Shinsengumi
, created Sanosuke by basing his name and characteristics on that of a real Shinsengumi member named Harada Sanosuke
.
Set during a fictional version of Japan in the pre-Meiji period
, Sanosuke is a former member of the Sekihō Army
. When the group is destroyed by the Meiji Government
, he becomes a fighter-for-hire to calm his anger by fighting. During his introduction in the series, he encounters the wanderer Himura Kenshin
, who easily defeats him and is able to convince him to stop his mercenary work and instead start protecting people. After that encounter, Sanosuke becomes Kenshin's best friend as well as his partner in most of their fights. He also appears in the featured film of the series and in other media relating to the Rurouni Kenshin franchise, including a plethora of electronic games and original video animation
s (OVAs).
Numerous anime and manga publications have commented on Sanosuke's character. Mania Entertainment praised his character development, noting that he becomes more trustworthy and reliable as the series progresses. SciFi.com referred to him as a "video-game icon", and noted how he is portrayed as a "tragic figure". Sanosuke has been popular with the Rurouni Kenshin reader base, placing second in every popularity poll. Merchandise based on Sanosuke has also been released, including key chains
, and plush dolls
.
Sanosuke was one of the last major figures of the series to be created. Watsuki created him to be Kenshin's best friend, who is willing to punch him when he is sad to make him "wake up" from his sadness. Although Sanosuke is a main character in the series, Watsuki felt that he could not write everything he wanted about him, and thought that making him the title character of a series would prove interesting.
Watsuki describes Sanosuke's visual motif by referring to his design model, Lamp, the main character of Takeshi Obata
's Mashin Bōken Tan Lamp-Lamp. Watsuki, working as an assistant on Obata's manga, formed the character by doodling in sketchbooks, adding and subtracting elements from the proposed character "with blessings from the original artist, of course". Watsuki saw Ryōtarō Shiba
's version of Harada as the one he wanted to use as a model for his design and has said that the character's big spiky hair is the strangest element he has ever drawn.
In July 2006, the Japanese publishers of Rurouni Kenshin released the kanzenban edition. In the fifth kanzenban, Watsuki redesigned the character of Sanosuke in a draft version. To emphasize his hate of the Meiji Government, Watsuki drew the Japanese kanji for on the back of Sanosuke's jacket; in the original series, the tattoo is located inside his clothes. Unlike in the manga where Sanosuke uses an oversized zanbatō
as a weapon, Watsuki gave him a more historically authentic zanbatō; a sword notably thinner and longer in design. He also gave him an armor-like cloth to make him look more as a warrior.
In the anime adaptation of Rurouni Kenshin, Watsuki's designs were combined with the voice talents of Yūji Ueda
, a seiyū
. In producing the English dub version of the series, Media Blasters
chose Lex Lang
as Sanosuke's voice actor
. When writing Sanosuke's dialogue, Clark Cheng, the writer of the English dub script, noted that the character was smarter than he would have liked in the first few episodes, so Cheng tried slowly to change the character's dialogue to make Sanosuke seem less intelligent so he would be more similar to the equivalent in the Japanese version of the series.
, having admired the captain, Sagara Sōzō, and taking the family name
, Sagara, from him. But when the revolutionary government encounters financial problems, it labels the Sekihō Army as frauds in order to "bury their promises." Sōzō is executed, leaving Sanosuke as one of the few survivors. Consumed with hatred for the Ishin Shishi, and guilt at not being able to protect his hero, Sanosuke becomes a fight merchant in Tokyo
. Over the next ten years, he gains a reputation as one of the strongest hired fighters of the city. The destruction of the Sekihō Army
and the loss of all his friends has caused Sanosuke to hate the Meiji Government and he wears the Japanese kanji for on the back of his jacket. He bears this symbol as a mark of his loyalty towards his past in the Sekihō Army. Sanosuke uses an enormous zanbatō in battle, giving him the moniker . The blade has no edge and Sanosuke only uses it to smash and crush his opponents.
In his introduction in the manga, Sanosuke is hired to fight Kenshin, but after the former assassin defeats him, he learns of the truth of Kenshin's no-kill approach and becomes one of his allies. After Kenshin defeats him and breaks his zanbatō, Sanosuke decides to focus on hand-to-hand combat. When the criminal Shishio Makoto
tries to conquer Japan, Sanosuke helps Kenshin in the fight against him. While on his trip to Kyoto to aid him, Sanosuke learns the technique from a fallen monk named Yūkyūzan Anji. Futae no Kiwami is a special art in which the user performs two hits in quick succession with any part of his body. The first hit with the proximal interphalangeal joint neutralizes the hardness of the target, then the second blow, struck with the proximal phalanx
, breaks the target before it recovers from the force of the first blow. Using his mastery from this art with the his right hand allows him to defeat the third most powerful opponent in Shishio's army: Anji.
Months later, in an act of revenge on Kenshin, Yukishiro Enishi
fakes Kamiya Kaoru
's death. Kenshin loses the will to live and when Sanosuke is unable to reach him, he wanders away from Tokyo. In his wandering, he is reunited with his family in the Shinano Province
(Shinshū). Years prior to the start of the series, Sanosuke left them family at the age of 9 to join the Sekihō Army. Although he does not reveal his identity to his family, upon learning of their poor situation Sanosuke attacks a former Ishin Shishi
who was mistreating them and the town. During these fights, Sanosuke's right hand is permanently damaged from the overuse Futae no Kiwami. and overcomes this disability when he discovers using both hands in succession which lessens the impact to his damaged hand. After protecting his family, he returns to Tokyo to rescue Kaoru with his friends. After a successful rescue, Sanosuke leaves Japan and travels the world to avoid being arrested for attacking the Ishin Shishi. The manga ends with a letter from Sanosuke to his friends that he is returning to Japan to be reunited with them.
, an older Sanosuke discovers Kenshin gravely injured when he is traveling in Asia. He arranges for Kenshin's return to Tokyo and Kaoru, telling him that this is the last time they will ever meet. Sanosuke is also a playable character
in almost all the Rurouni Kenshin video games except Jump Super Stars
and Jump Ultimate Stars
, in which he isn't playable but is available as a Battle koma.
popularity poll of the series and has also ranked fifth in the "Favorite Kenshin's arch-enemies" polls featuring all Kenshin's opponents. Merchandise based on Sanosuke has been released, including sweat bands, keychains, and plush dolls.
The fact that the CD book voice actors, especially Tomokazu Seki
and Megumi Ogata
, who portrayed Sanosuke and Kenshin in the CD books, respectively, did not get their corresponding roles in the anime disappointed Watsuki. Ueda, Sanosuke's seiyū in the Japanese anime, commented that voicing Sanosuke in the original video animations was very complicated because his character was notably older and he has not acted in the role for a long period. He also said that he would have liked to see more fights involving Sanosuke in the original video animations, but was happy to see that Sanosuke had matured as a character. Lex Lang, the voice actor of Sanosuke in the English adaptation of the anime, commented that his first impression of Sanosuke was as a fight-driven character motivated by anger, but as the story continued Sanosuke became friendly and more likable. Because his voice is noticeably different from Ueda's, Lang tries to create his own interpretation of Sanosuke's character. Lang has noted that the scene of the episode 22 of the anime, in which Sanosuke is afraid of a train because he believes it is a demon, was the most enjoyable scene for him to record; he added "I recently saw it and had some big laughs."
Several anime and manga publications have provided both praise and criticism of Sanosuke's character. Anime News Network
said that Sanosuke's first fight in the series against Kenshin was stereotypical for an action series due to the differences between Sanosuke's and Kenshin's personalities, and to the music used in the anime that gives the impression that Kenshin would win. SciFi.com commended him for being a good source of comic relief
and described his appearance as a video-game icon. However, they commented he was a "tragic figure whose goofy peccadilloes have solid reasons behind them" due to being unable to avoid the destruction of the Sekihotai army and feeling guilty due to it. Mania Entertainment praised Sanosuke's character development and transformation from an enemy of Kenshin into one of his most stalwart friends. In the Samurai X: Reflection
original video animation, Mike Crandol of Anime News Network
referred to Sanosuke's revised design as "pretty awkward" since Crandol felt Sanosuke's original character design was "perhaps being too cartoonish to translate well into this new style," with the "new style" being the "decidedly more realistic look" exhibited in all of the Samurai X original video animations.
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Rurouni Kenshin
Rurouni Kenshin
, also known as Rurouni Kenshin and Samurai X, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The fictional setting takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. The story is about a fictional assassin named Himura Kenshin, from the Bakumatsu who becomes a wanderer to...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series created by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Nobuhiro Watsuki
is a Japanese manga artist, best known for his samurai-themed series Rurouni Kenshin. He once worked as an assistant for his favorite author Takeshi Obata.-Biography:...
. He is known as Sanosuke Sagara in the English adaptation of the anime and is nicknamed Sano. Watsuki, being a fan of the Shinsengumi
Shinsengumi
The were a special police force of the late shogunate period.-Historical background:After Japan opened up to the West following U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visits in 1853, its political situation gradually became more and more chaotic...
, created Sanosuke by basing his name and characteristics on that of a real Shinsengumi member named Harada Sanosuke
Harada Sanosuke
was a Japanese warrior who lived in the late Edo period. He was the 10th unit captain of the Shinsengumi, and died during the Boshin War.-Background:...
.
Set during a fictional version of Japan in the pre-Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
, Sanosuke is a former member of the Sekihō Army
Sekihotai
The was a group of Japanese political extremists in the Bakumatsu, the Japanese civil war in the 1860s. The term also refers to the 1980s group. A reporter, Tomohiro Kojiri, was killed and another was injured when a gunman used a shotgun and fired at the Hanshin Bureau of the Asahi Shimbun in...
. When the group is destroyed by the Meiji Government
Government of Meiji Japan
The Government of Meiji Japan was the government which was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain, Chōshū Domain and Tenno. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan....
, he becomes a fighter-for-hire to calm his anger by fighting. During his introduction in the series, he encounters the wanderer Himura Kenshin
Himura Kenshin
, known as Kenshin Himura in the English-language anime dubs, is a fictional character from the Rurouni Kenshin universe created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. He is the main protagonist of the manga and anime series, as well as the related media in the franchise...
, who easily defeats him and is able to convince him to stop his mercenary work and instead start protecting people. After that encounter, Sanosuke becomes Kenshin's best friend as well as his partner in most of their fights. He also appears in the featured film of the series and in other media relating to the Rurouni Kenshin franchise, including a plethora of electronic games and original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
s (OVAs).
Numerous anime and manga publications have commented on Sanosuke's character. Mania Entertainment praised his character development, noting that he becomes more trustworthy and reliable as the series progresses. SciFi.com referred to him as a "video-game icon", and noted how he is portrayed as a "tragic figure". Sanosuke has been popular with the Rurouni Kenshin reader base, placing second in every popularity poll. Merchandise based on Sanosuke has also been released, including key chains
Keychain
A keychain or key chain is a small chain, usually made from metal or plastic, that connects a small item to a keyring. The length of a keychain allows an item to be used more easily than if connected directly to a keyring...
, and plush dolls
Plush
Plush is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet.Originally the pile of plush consisted of mohair or worsted yarn, but now silk by itself or with a cotton backing is used for plush, the distinction from velvet being found in the longer and less dense pile of plush...
.
Creation and conception
Watsuki describes Sanosuke's visual motif by referring to his design model, Lamp, the main character of Takeshi Obata
Takeshi Obata
is a Japanese manga artist. He works as the artist in collaboration with a writer. He has also mentored several manga artists, including Kentaro Yabuki of Black Cat fame, Nobuhiro Watsuki of Rurouni Kenshin and Busou Renkin, and Yusuke Murata of Eyeshield 21.He originally became noticed in 1985...
's Mashin Bōken Tan Lamp-Lamp. Watsuki, working as an assistant on Obata's manga, formed the character by doodling in sketchbooks, adding and subtracting elements from the proposed character "with blessings from the original artist, of course". Watsuki saw Ryōtarō Shiba
Ryotaro Shiba
, born in Osaka, Japan, was a Japanese author best known for his novels about historical events in Japan and on the Northeast Asian sub-continent, as well as his historical and cultural essays pertaining to Japan and its relationship to the rest of the world....
's version of Harada as the one he wanted to use as a model for his design and has said that the character's big spiky hair is the strangest element he has ever drawn.
In July 2006, the Japanese publishers of Rurouni Kenshin released the kanzenban edition. In the fifth kanzenban, Watsuki redesigned the character of Sanosuke in a draft version. To emphasize his hate of the Meiji Government, Watsuki drew the Japanese kanji for on the back of Sanosuke's jacket; in the original series, the tattoo is located inside his clothes. Unlike in the manga where Sanosuke uses an oversized zanbatō
Zanbato
A is an especially large type of Japanese sword, the historical use of which is disputed. The sword closely resembles the Nodachi or ōdachi, however it differs from the Nodachi by having a ricasso of approximately 12 to 18 inches . This lends more credence to the theory of the sword having a...
as a weapon, Watsuki gave him a more historically authentic zanbatō; a sword notably thinner and longer in design. He also gave him an armor-like cloth to make him look more as a warrior.
In the anime adaptation of Rurouni Kenshin, Watsuki's designs were combined with the voice talents of Yūji Ueda
Yuji Ueda
is a popular Japanese seiyū.He is most known for the roles of Sagara Sanosuke , Akito Tenkawa , Takeshi , Horohoro , Johannes Krauser II and Keitaro Urashima ....
, a seiyū
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
. In producing the English dub version of the series, Media Blasters
Media Blasters
Media Blasters is an entertainment corporation founded by John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz, based in New York City. They are in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American market manga compilations and anime and live-action movies and television series to home-video...
chose Lex Lang
Lex Lang
Walter Alexis "Lex" Lang is a two-time Emmy Award–winning American voice actor, producer and entrepreneur. He is the cofounder of The Love Planet Foundation, a non-profit organization which creates educational materials for children on the importance of recycling, world water awareness, and the...
as Sanosuke's voice actor
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
. When writing Sanosuke's dialogue, Clark Cheng, the writer of the English dub script, noted that the character was smarter than he would have liked in the first few episodes, so Cheng tried slowly to change the character's dialogue to make Sanosuke seem less intelligent so he would be more similar to the equivalent in the Japanese version of the series.
In Rurouni Kenshin
Sanosuke is a fomer member from the Sekihō ArmySekihotai
The was a group of Japanese political extremists in the Bakumatsu, the Japanese civil war in the 1860s. The term also refers to the 1980s group. A reporter, Tomohiro Kojiri, was killed and another was injured when a gunman used a shotgun and fired at the Hanshin Bureau of the Asahi Shimbun in...
, having admired the captain, Sagara Sōzō, and taking the family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
, Sagara, from him. But when the revolutionary government encounters financial problems, it labels the Sekihō Army as frauds in order to "bury their promises." Sōzō is executed, leaving Sanosuke as one of the few survivors. Consumed with hatred for the Ishin Shishi, and guilt at not being able to protect his hero, Sanosuke becomes a fight merchant in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. Over the next ten years, he gains a reputation as one of the strongest hired fighters of the city. The destruction of the Sekihō Army
Sekihotai
The was a group of Japanese political extremists in the Bakumatsu, the Japanese civil war in the 1860s. The term also refers to the 1980s group. A reporter, Tomohiro Kojiri, was killed and another was injured when a gunman used a shotgun and fired at the Hanshin Bureau of the Asahi Shimbun in...
and the loss of all his friends has caused Sanosuke to hate the Meiji Government and he wears the Japanese kanji for on the back of his jacket. He bears this symbol as a mark of his loyalty towards his past in the Sekihō Army. Sanosuke uses an enormous zanbatō in battle, giving him the moniker . The blade has no edge and Sanosuke only uses it to smash and crush his opponents.
Shishio Makoto
, known in the anime in Western order as Makoto Shishio, is a fictional character from the manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin. He is the primary antagonist of the series' Kyoto arc...
tries to conquer Japan, Sanosuke helps Kenshin in the fight against him. While on his trip to Kyoto to aid him, Sanosuke learns the technique from a fallen monk named Yūkyūzan Anji. Futae no Kiwami is a special art in which the user performs two hits in quick succession with any part of his body. The first hit with the proximal interphalangeal joint neutralizes the hardness of the target, then the second blow, struck with the proximal phalanx
Proximal phalanges
Proximal phalanges are bones found in the limbs of most vertebrates. In humans, they are the bones at the base of a toe or finger, the prominent, knobby ends of which are often called the knuckles....
, breaks the target before it recovers from the force of the first blow. Using his mastery from this art with the his right hand allows him to defeat the third most powerful opponent in Shishio's army: Anji.
Months later, in an act of revenge on Kenshin, Yukishiro Enishi
Yukishiro Enishi
Yukishiro Enishi is a character from the manga Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki. He is the primary antagonist of the final arc of the series, the Jinchū arc, and the younger brother of Yukishiro Tomoe.-Conception and design:...
fakes Kamiya Kaoru
Kamiya Kaoru
, known as Kaoru Kamiya in the Media Blasters English-language dub and Kori Kamiya in the English Sony Samurai X 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,...
's death. Kenshin loses the will to live and when Sanosuke is unable to reach him, he wanders away from Tokyo. In his wandering, he is reunited with his family in the Shinano Province
Shinano Province
or is an old province of Japan that is now present day Nagano Prefecture.Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces...
(Shinshū). Years prior to the start of the series, Sanosuke left them family at the age of 9 to join the Sekihō Army. Although he does not reveal his identity to his family, upon learning of their poor situation Sanosuke attacks a former Ishin Shishi
Shishi (organization)
Shishi was a term used to describe Japanese political activists of the late Edo period...
who was mistreating them and the town. During these fights, Sanosuke's right hand is permanently damaged from the overuse Futae no Kiwami. and overcomes this disability when he discovers using both hands in succession which lessens the impact to his damaged hand. After protecting his family, he returns to Tokyo to rescue Kaoru with his friends. After a successful rescue, Sanosuke leaves Japan and travels the world to avoid being arrested for attacking the Ishin Shishi. The manga ends with a letter from Sanosuke to his friends that he is returning to Japan to be reunited with them.
In other media
In the Samurai X The Motion Picture, Sanosuke helps to stop the samurai Takimi Shigure from overthrowing the Meiji Government as an act of revenge. In the original video animations of the series, he is given a more humanized design and a more emotional personality. In Samurai X: ReflectionSamurai X: Reflection
Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection, known as in Japan, is the second OVA series of the Rurouni Kenshin anime television series, acting as its sequel...
, an older Sanosuke discovers Kenshin gravely injured when he is traveling in Asia. He arranges for Kenshin's return to Tokyo and Kaoru, telling him that this is the last time they will ever meet. Sanosuke is also a playable character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
in almost all the Rurouni Kenshin video games except Jump Super Stars
Jump Super Stars
is a 2D fighting game for the Nintendo DS. It was developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo. The game was released on August 8, 2005 in Japan and accompanied the release of a red Nintendo DS...
and Jump Ultimate Stars
Jump Ultimate Stars
is a fighting video game developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the sequel to Jump Super Stars, also released for the DS. The game was released in Japan on November 23, 2006...
, in which he isn't playable but is available as a Battle koma.
Reception
Among the Rurouni Kenshin reader base Sanosuke has been popular, having ranked second in every Shonen JumpWeekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
popularity poll of the series and has also ranked fifth in the "Favorite Kenshin's arch-enemies" polls featuring all Kenshin's opponents. Merchandise based on Sanosuke has been released, including sweat bands, keychains, and plush dolls.
The fact that the CD book voice actors, especially Tomokazu Seki
Tomokazu Seki
is a Japanese voice actor. He formerly worked for Haikyou and is now the head of Atomic Monkey.-About:Some of his most notable roles include Shinichi Chiaki from Nodame Cantabile, Gilgamesh from Fate/stay night, Rob Lucci from One Piece, Gundam characters Domon Kasshu and Yzak Joule, from G Gundam...
and Megumi Ogata
Megumi Ogata
is a female seiyū and singer from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. As a singer, she goes by the name em:óu. She attended Tōkai University, but left due to lack of interest. She is also best known for voicing Sailor Uranus, Kurama and Shinji Ikari....
, who portrayed Sanosuke and Kenshin in the CD books, respectively, did not get their corresponding roles in the anime disappointed Watsuki. Ueda, Sanosuke's seiyū in the Japanese anime, commented that voicing Sanosuke in the original video animations was very complicated because his character was notably older and he has not acted in the role for a long period. He also said that he would have liked to see more fights involving Sanosuke in the original video animations, but was happy to see that Sanosuke had matured as a character. Lex Lang, the voice actor of Sanosuke in the English adaptation of the anime, commented that his first impression of Sanosuke was as a fight-driven character motivated by anger, but as the story continued Sanosuke became friendly and more likable. Because his voice is noticeably different from Ueda's, Lang tries to create his own interpretation of Sanosuke's character. Lang has noted that the scene of the episode 22 of the anime, in which Sanosuke is afraid of a train because he believes it is a demon, was the most enjoyable scene for him to record; he added "I recently saw it and had some big laughs."
Several anime and manga publications have provided both praise and criticism of Sanosuke's character. Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
said that Sanosuke's first fight in the series against Kenshin was stereotypical for an action series due to the differences between Sanosuke's and Kenshin's personalities, and to the music used in the anime that gives the impression that Kenshin would win. SciFi.com commended him for being a good source of comic relief
Comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
and described his appearance as a video-game icon. However, they commented he was a "tragic figure whose goofy peccadilloes have solid reasons behind them" due to being unable to avoid the destruction of the Sekihotai army and feeling guilty due to it. Mania Entertainment praised Sanosuke's character development and transformation from an enemy of Kenshin into one of his most stalwart friends. In the Samurai X: Reflection
Samurai X: Reflection
Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection, known as in Japan, is the second OVA series of the Rurouni Kenshin anime television series, acting as its sequel...
original video animation, Mike Crandol of Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
referred to Sanosuke's revised design as "pretty awkward" since Crandol felt Sanosuke's original character design was "perhaps being too cartoonish to translate well into this new style," with the "new style" being the "decidedly more realistic look" exhibited in all of the Samurai X original video animations.