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During the time of Bakumatsu/Upheaval against the Tokugawa"Onmitsu Oniwabanshu" was a secret group of spies/guards that collected info for the Tokugawa Shogunate and protected the Edo Castle during and prior to the Meiji Restoration. Shinomori Aoshi was appointed by "Okina", an elderly member who was a potential candidate for the leader role, as the "Okashira"(leader) when he was 15 (laugh ^_^!! This is like one of those Saitou intro phrases, never get tired of hearing that ^_^) because of his extraordinary fighting skills.After their defeat in the "Toba Fushimi War" and the fall of the Tokugawa Dynasty, the "Oniwabanshu" had disbanded. Consequently, most members seeked new lives in the peaceful Meiji Era as time went on. Aoshi is the only person who was offered a high ranked position in the Meiji government. However, some remaining members (i.e., Beshimi, Hyottoko, Shikijo, & Hannya) could not cope with the new time and knew nothing besides fighting. Aoshi rejected the offer, chose not to abandon his comrades, and continued to lead them to fight, even in the new Meiji Era... |
At the beginning of the story...Aoshi and the Oniwabanshu are hired by a corrupted merchant (or a drug smuggler), Takeda Kanryu, to be his bodyguards. Kenshin heads for Kanryu's mansion in order to save the kidnapped Megumi, a young female doctor who is forced to make opium for Kanryu. Hence, Aoshi and his henchmen encounter Kenshin and his friends. Aoshi denies the outcome of the war because they did not even have the chance to fight and wants to show that the Oniwabanshu is the strongest by defeating Kenshin. Although Aoshi is a master of kempo (fist fight) and kodachi ("nitou-ryu/two swords" later), he is eventually defeated by Kenshin.Kanryu, having acknowledged the betrayal of Aoshi and his loss, attempts to kill him and everyone else with his gatling gun. Aoshi's Oniwabanshu henchmen block the gatling gun's bullets as they are willing to give up their lives for their boss at anytime. While the insane Kanryu is enjoying his massacre, his gatling gun runs out of bullets. Kenshin mourns over the death of Aoshi's Oniwabanshu and finally delivers the last blow to Kanryu! Aoshi is devastated by this tragedy and swears to hunt down Kenshin, even if it means his life, to obtain the title of the strongest for his henchmen. And our "Romantic Tale of the Meiji Swordsman" continues... * * * * * * | 
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(note: You might ask, "Why use the Aoshi pics instead of those of the 'Oniwabanshu'?" Simple, he's the boss and the host of this page, and he just looks too damn cool in that trenchcoat!! Nah, JK ^_^. Actually the Oniwabanshu group pic is very scarce, so... which brings me to another question, have you ever wondered where he gets his overcoat from? It was 1878 afterall, so it must be from the West or something. I suppose he has a connection like Shishio does, but now we all found out where Shishio got his Rengoku battleship from, so...)
