Rurouni Kenshin

"Rurouni Kenshin started as a short story, so I didn’t do much research on it, but in the year and a half between the story and the start of the series, I spent a lot of time reading them (books about Meiji). I did the manga because I wanted to draw Kimonos and swords, so don’t count on all of the details to be completely accurate."

"[on the question "Why did you choose the Meiji era for RK?"] Because I didn’t want to draw those samurai hairstyles. You know, those weird hairstyles from ancient periods. If you want to draw swords but no strange hairstyles, then you have to go to the Meiji era. Also, I am a big fan of the Shinsengumi. But drawing in this period means that I’m going to be drawing a lot of historical stuff."

"[on the question "Why was Kenshin a killer so young?"] Kenshin was originally supposed to be in his thirties, but the director says that the main character in a manga can’t be 30! So I looked at the timeline and the youngest that I could get him was 28. But anyway, in the Meiji life spans are shorter, and many people started to fight in their teens."

"I have always wanted to illustrate a story that is different from other comics, that is about the unclear nature of good and evil. Kenshin himself is not a person of a purely good character. He has a past as the Hitokiri Battousai. It's hard to say if he was an absolutely good or absolutely villainous character. That's what Rurouni Kenshin is about."

"The sakabato is something original that I came up with. The reason for it is very simple: I didn't want my main character killing anyone. But a bamboo or wooden sword isn't intimidating enough, so I came up with the idea of a sword that has its sharp and blunt edges on reversed sides. That way the main character is able to fight the way he always does, and still be able to refrain from killing anyone."