Souji Okita

This is the sweet, kind, caring and somewhat feminine legendary swordsman. He likes to irritate Hijikata and the rest of the Shinsengumi by acting like a girl. He loves children and has a sweet tooth, and he adores Kyoto candies. One of the youngest members of the Shinsengumi, he mastered all the sword techniques of the Tennen-rishin-ryuu (the style of kenjutsu used by the Shinsengumi) in his teens and went on to become a teacher in his twenties. He is considered to be one of the best swordsmen of pre-Meiji Japan.

Okita’s childhood name is Soujirou, and you’ll often hear children in the series calling him by that name. The reason he gives for allowing them to call him by such a nostalgic name is that if he uses the name ‘Okita Souji,’ no one will play with him…Yes, he is in his early twenties, but he still plays with children all the same. He is short for a guy and seems to like walking along with his hair flowing freely behind him when he is off-duty.

Hijikata, Okita’s mentor, made Okita choose whether or not he would take up the katana at the age of nine. In episode 7, Okita accuses Hijikata of having made a mistake with him, by allowing him to hold a katana at an age where he was not yet ready to choose.

Although he is an excellent swordsman, he has two weak points. He can’t adjust his strength to accommodate the people around him, and as a result, no one wants to practice with him (since they always end up with injuries). Even with an armour and shinai (bamboo sword), Okita can cause serious injuries. He also has a disease called Tuberculosis which surfaces from time to time.