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This is Nobuhiro Watsuki's discussion about Enishi's character design. located toward the end of Volume 28. For some reason Watsuki-sensei keeps regretting how characters turn out. But the best characters usually take a life of their own, beyond the author's original intentions. It is a sign of a good author when he notices this, and just follows where the story takes him. Faults with design or no, Watsuki-sensei, we like Enishi the way he is. ^^
Translated by Serizawa Kamo -- at least the guy who owns this nice RK translation website.
http://victorian.fortunecity.com/stanford/130/cp53.txt
Character Profile - Yukishiro Enishi
- Before talking about personality motif, this guy was created under the concept
of "avenger". And he was to be an opposite to Shishio: Shishio, the Kyoto Arc
last boss, was to get higher and higher towards the end, and Enishi was to get
downwards. However, Shishio's influence lasted till the middle of the Jinchuu
Arc, and so I failed again. Thinking about it now, this Enishi is the guy that
would be most fitting for the "Terminator" character, since he's got
"determination". So, if I had done a story where there was no six comrades
against Kenshin's group, but rather Enishi alone against Kenshin's group,
fighting Aoshi, Saitou, Sanosuke and Yahiko, hunting Kenshin no matter the
wounds, then the story would have been a good, elaborate one, and Enishi would
be a better character. But it is too late, and I regret it
The strong personality of Enishi, with his feelings for his elder sister and
the resentment for Kenshin, shows clearly my other side (but I have
neither an elder sister nor an enemy, and I don't regret it). This is also
Shishio's opposite, since Shishio shows the things that I love, whereas Enishi
shows the things I hate... While I was drawing Enishi, I hated myself many times
and in many meanings. But Enishi is a character that I love, and like Tomoe I
want to see him reborn in another work. And in that time, as the strongest and
the best Terminator character!
- About the motif of his design, people saay a lot it's Basara, from the anime "Macross
7". Others say that it's Vash, from "Trigun", drawn by Naitou Yasuhiro sensei.
However, neither is correct. To be honest, it's "the handsome young man with a
white hair and wild haircut, a bit evil, that is sure to appear in the manga of
Kamijou Atsushi sensei, who's got such a cool drawing style". (that is, there's
no exact motif) Obviously, my puny skills prevent me from drawing such
character, so I changed the motif, adapting it to my drawing style. As he's from
mafia, I added the sunglasses, and as he's from the continent, I put that
strange Chinese clothing and as an accent, I put the half cloak of Gambit of the
Age of Apocalypse version. I think this was a good design, but I think
that he was a bit too gentle looking for a last boss character.
And really, I'm fed up with drawing handsome characters.