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This is what the entire website is about, in one page. A description of Yukishiro Enishi, based on knowledge about his history and environment. If nothing else, we hope you read this essay, and understand the man behind the villain.

(SPOILER WARNING)

The first time you encounter Yukishiro Enishi as a character in Volume 18, you have an intense feeling of suspicion of him. Something is VERY creepy about this guy in the orange-and-blue (or white-and-violet, depending) getup. By the time you read Volume 19, the dread has turned into an unnatural fear of the evil hidden in his cool demeanor. He has terrible plans for our favorite redhead, who has by now won our supreme admiration and support---and we are afraid for him.

By the time the middle of the Jinchuu arc arrives,Yukishiro Enishi now appears to most people as an unstoppable lunatic, an intelligent man gone awfully astray, a psychopath. This is the impression that remains with most, and this is usually seen in how many fanfiction writers treat Enishi as a character.

That impression, however, tells me, that the writer did not read the manga, or its translations, very well.

Allow me to explain.

Given the background Watsuki paints for this enigmatic character, it is too hasty a conclusion to say that Enishi had completely lost his mind to get to Kenshin. On the contrary, he was using a well-tuned mind to the fullest. Let us trace his history, up to where he finally meets his brother-in-law, and assess their implications about himself.

First, he found a way, as a 13-year-old child, to get out of Japan, by himself, and go to Shanghai---and that after surviving the Bakumatsu with no known relatives left. He managed to survive in Shanghai, until he was adopted, by living for himself. A major feat, as a boy and a foreigner with presently no command of Mandarin or Cantonese.

Second, while a most unexpected way of doing things, he killed off his adoptive family, knowing that these would find ways of learning about his past. He knew that they would probably dig up his history with a spy network, and any connections he might have had during the Bakumatsu, as well as his relationship to the fearsome Hitokiri Battousai. All this would then get him out on the streets again of Shanghai in record time, unless he got a foot ahead of them.

Third, that he managed to learn his fighting style almost by himself, without having to observe anyone, and totally learning out of a book. It is true that he might have learned the basics back in Japan, but that he was smart enough to learn from there, and to improvise, is remarkable.

Fourth, that he found his way, somehow or another, into the Shanghai mafia, and got their attention. To do this, he would have employed an unusual amount of cunning and an admirable amount of sword skills. We have no idea how many people he could have killed along the way to do it---which is ironic, considering the repulsion he has for his brother-in-law.

Fifth, that he actually rose in the ranks of the Shanghai triads, at record speed. He had to use an incredible amount of intelligence to rise and to stay. He had to be sly and deceiving as necessary. He had to have efficient administration skills, to control his servants and agents and to keep them in line. He was a very capable public speaker, never afraid of anyone. He had a powerful memory, to recall all transactions and contacts in order not be tricked. He obviously tracked his finances well, and used them to the best of his advantage. The fact that he was a settled trader and respected mafia boss at 24 years of age implies that he had reached his high rank even before...at 20 or 21 years old. The criminal world being what it is, this is an unbelievable achievement.

Considering that Shanghai was already an important trading post at this time, Enishi also must have learned several languages, in order to conduct business with anyone as necessary. This includes: Mandarin and Cantonese for natives, Japanese for his countrymen (remember that he dealt with Shishio), English for Americans and Brits, French, and possibly Dutch and Russian.

Also, the fact that he was a weapons trader means a lot. To be a dealer in opium or silk, one only needed to learn the important types or varieties of one particular product. But as a weapons trader, he had to know much about steel manufacturing, steel types, ballistics, many types of guns and cannons, and several types of warships. He also had to be well-informed about improvements in technology and science in general, for his own use in improving his products.

Sixth, understand that the Jinchuu operation was a well-planned and well-executed series of events, calculated to have the greatest effect on it main
target in the shortest time. In order to do just that, much time and expense had been employed to use informants and spies, people who could get as much information as possible on Hitokiri Battousai. Planning ways to attack a dojo in the middle of town----and without creating too much damage to the rest of the city----must also have taken time and expense. There is also this matter of recruiting the Six Comrades, psychologizing them into the rationale for Jinchuu, providing them with unique weapons, and placing them in strategic locations.

Seventh, let us not forget the piece de resistance of the whole Jinchuu operation. He was smart enough to recognize what psychological and emotional damage it could do to his target, and he knew how to best show it.

It is wise to remember at this point, that it was never said in the manga that Enishi was crazy.

True, Yukishiro Enishi definitely fits into clinical definitions of a psychotic subject (aggressive, delusionary, mood swings, etc.). It is also true that his obsession with his sister practically ran his life. But to restrict our impressions of him to clinical definitions and impressions is not fair to such a well-developed character. He was practical--and sane--enough to do something well-planned to reach his goal of ultimate retaliation. If he truly were merely and simply psychotic, he would have hunted Kenshin down himself even a few years back, and tried to kill him personally without cause or plan. He only became truly psychotic when he fought Kenshin at the beach, and then Kenshin managed to knock and talk some sense back into him after a while.

There is a reason why he is the best created nemesis for Himura Kenshin. He has many things in common with him. Both of them have lost close family relations at a young age. He too has gone through a traumatic childhood, and he too had tried his best to cope with it. Unfortunately he did not have the chance to have the same influences in life as Kenshin had, and this resulted in the mafia boss we got to know.

Finally, Watsuki never intended for him to stay the way he is, in the end. He was given a time to think about the past and how it had affected him, and how his future would be shaped by it. Once he understood his relationship to his sister and her husband correctly, he would be given a chance to change.

Because of all of these reasons, I say that we all have to give this white-haired fellow a second look and a better understanding than most people give him. Give Nobuhiro Watsuki a little more credit for his character development.