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Face Off: Sagara Sanosuke is the sixth chapter of the Rurouni Kenshin manga.

Synopsis[]

The fighter Zanza dissapears for weeks, and just when the Hiruma brothers think he just abandoned, Zanza returns declaring he is ready for the fight. So he just walks into the Kamiya Dōjō and demands to fight Kenshin. Knowing that he cannot avoid a confrontation, Kenshin accepts, and they both go a river shore to fight without reservations. What things did Zanza learn from his research about the Hitokiri Battōsai? How strong is really Zanza to feel so confident in a fight against Kenshin?

Summary[]

Both Hiruma Gohei and his brother Kihei are getting impatient, as they have been waiting two weeks for Zanza to fight Kenshin. Zanza, catching them by surprise, reprimands them and tells them that he has been fighting, but that a fight doesn't start with kicks and punches.

He then goes to the Kamiya Dōjō to fight his target. Once there, he meets Kenshin, Kaoru and Yahiko, and tells them that he went to Kyōto to learn about this newest adversary that he's been hired to fight; he divulges what little information he found. It's at that moment that Yahiko learns of Kenshin's identity as Hitokiri Battōsai.

Zanza declares his hate of the Ishin Shishi, and says that he wants to destroy the strongest of all of them, namely Kenshin, with all his heart. However, before he can start to attempt doing that, Kenshin detects the Hiruma brothers hiding behind a fence.

The brothers come out, being urged to do so by the two combatants. Then, Hiruma Kihei's concealed revolver, which he had planned to use once Kenshin would have dropped his guard following his battle with Zanza, is confiscated and destroyed by the latter.

All assembled then go to the river, where Zanza reveals both his actual name, Sagara Sanosuke, as well as an enormous sword, a Zanbatō, that he's going to fight Kenshin with.

The pair then start their fight in earnest: Sanosuke attempts to crush Kenshin with his sword, but the latter dodges easily and slashes at Sano with the blunt edge of his sakabatō, knocking him to the ground. Sanosuke, however, stands back up unfazed and declares that the winner isn't always the better swordsman, but the one left standing. To this, Kenshin replies that Sano may say that after he is the one left standing.

Characters in Order of Appearance[]

Chapter Notes[]

This chapter has several differences with other portrayals of the events of the story in different iterations of the franchise:

Differences with the 1996 anime[]

  • In the manga Sanosuke goes away for two weeks to search for information regarding the Hitokiri Battōsai before the fight. In the anime Sanosuke goes directly to the Kamiya Dōjō and he already knows about the Hitokiri Battōsai. He even says that his name is so legendary he already knows about his story.
  • In the manga Sanosuke appears at the Kamiya Dōjō during the day. In the anime he appears for the first time at the Dōjō at night.
  • In the manga Sanosuke reveals his name and his Zanbatō at the river shore fight. In the anime, Sanosuke does it in their first meet at the Kamiya Dōjō at night.
  • In the manga, Sanosuke and Kenshin directly go to the river shore to fight. In the anime, Sanosuke and Kenshin were about to fight at the Kamiya Dōjō at night, but Ayame and Suzume appear so Sanosuke goes away saying that children should not witness a fight.
  • In the manga, both Kenshin and Sanosuke detect the Hiruma brothers' presence, so Sanosuke just breaks Kihei's firearm. In the anime, only Kenshin notes Gohei's presence and throws a brach of a tree on him.

Differences with Rurouni Kenshin: Origins[]

  • In the live action movie Sanosuke is eating at the Akabeko while Kenshin and company are also present. In there Takeda Kanryū offers Kenshin a job as a bodyguard, but Kenshin refuses. Then Sanosuke steps in and offers himself as a bodyguard to Takeda. In order to prove himself strong enough, he challenges Kenshin to a fight, and they fight outside the Akabeko at night. Sanosuke still has his Zanbatō.

Differences with Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration[]

To be added

Differences with the 2023 anime[]

To be added

Trivia[]

  • The Zanbatō is somewhat a real historical sword of ancient Japan, althought this manga version is unrealistically oversized, with a full length nearly twice his height and a blade several times wider than normal.

Gallery[]

To be added

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