Zanza
Nickname: Zanza (short for "Zanbatou Wielder Sanosuke"); Rooster-head
Seiyuu (voice actor): Yuji Ueda
Age: 18
Height: 179 cm
Weight: 71 kg
Date of Birth: February,1860
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
Place of Birth: Naganoken
Blood type: B
Weapon: zanbatou (horse-cutting sword, broken by Kenshin in their first duel); fists
Fighting Technique: self-created;
Special Moves: Futae no kiwami (learned from Yukyuzan Anji)
First Appearance: Episode 4 (anime); Tankoubon 1(manga)
Traits: Loud and brash, but with a sense of honor and decency. He resents the Meiji government for it's betrayal and destruction of the Seikihoutai, the mercenary army that he belonged to as a young boy during the Bakumatsu. Until he met Kenshin, his anger at that betrayal colored everything he did and he survived as a fighter-for-hire without any belief in the future.
Characteristics: Tall and very strong. Has a thick heady of spikey dark hair. Often seen chewing on a fishbone.
If you're a fan of the Shinsengumi, you guessed it at a glance. The model for Sanosuke is the captain of the tenth unit of the Shinsengumi, Harada Sanosuke. He was known as one of the five most handsome men of the Shinsengumi (although, according to my bible, Burning Sword, (a novel by Shiba Ryoutarou) he was sort of fat . . .) and a spear-wielder of great strength. He loved to fight, was present at every battlefield where the destiny of the Shinsengumi was decided, and had a rough, stormy temper. But, perhaps because of his humble origins, he had his softer side. He thought a great deal of his unit and took care of those beneath him. Judging his likes and dislikes, he seems like the older brother type from a boy's magazine. He is said to have died on the battlefield of the Ueno War, but there's even a legend about him, telling how he survived to become a bandit chief. Looking from the eyes of the people of the time, he must have been a very romantic figure. Of course, I liked him too, and put him in RuroKen as Sanosuke.
I'm extremely happy Sano has become so popular, but recently he's also become the Most Likely Character to Have His Name Misspelled. I've seen all kinds of different kanji for "Sanosuke." I even saw "Sasuke," and wanted to say, "Hey, hey, he's not a ninja!" but by now I've kind of given up.
When I did the design, as you know, I didn't have a certain popular character in mind. Maybe it's because of the hair, but everyone keeps saying so (I love the manga, but . . .) My model for Sano was the main character, Lamp, from "Arabian Lamp Lamp." During my assistant days, I was doodling in my sketch book and drew my own Japanese-style Lamp. I changed it around a little, and it became the real Sano. (I got the artist's permission, just in case.)
Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin manga
volume 2 number 8
from Maigo-chan's translation