Side Research: Character Semiotics

Semiotics, or 'the study of signs', is an important thing to practise when designing a character, especially a mascot or the main character of a television show. The way a character looks and behaves can say a considerable amount about that character and what they represent, as well as defining the effect said character has on a viewer. To further explore semiotics, I will analyse the character Himura Kenshin from the manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin, created by Japanese manga artist Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Book Cover Illustration of Himura Kenshin, by Nobuhiro Watsuki

While the design of Kenshin is pretty straightforward, it is the underlying meanings and denotations behind the choices Watsuki-san made in Kenshin's look that define his style. On a basic level, Kenshin is always dressed in clothing most likely worn by poor people in 19th century Japan, which is where Rurouni Kenshin takes place; a baggy red shirt with wide sleeves (I don't know the exact name of it), baggy white trousers tied at the waist, red tabi socks and straw sandals, with bandages wrapped around his waist and the lower half of his ribs. He has long red hair, tied back in a ponytail, blue eyes and a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek.

Despite the relatively simple design, many aspects of his personality can be seen in Kenshin's appearance. While his clothes are similar to those worn by samurai warriors, giving him a similar silhouette, they appear shabby and threadbare, which suggests that he is poor. This is backed up by the title of the series; 'Rurouni' means 'wandering swordsman', so the literal title of the series is 'Wandering Swordsman Kenshin'. Kenshin is a drifter, with no obvious form of income, so he would have nothing but the clothes on his back, so to speak. His simple clothing suggests that he leads a humble way of life.

Promotional Illustration of Kenshin for the Rurouni Kenshin anime

The colouring of his clothes carries a lot of weight in identifying him as a character as well. Red and white are both striking colours, so he stands out against the greenery and wooden buildings of Meiji-era Japan. His red hair is also unique among the almost exclusively black-haired characters in the series, allowing him to stand out even more. A more subtle connotation in his design comes from the contradiction between his eyes and the symbolic scar on his face. The scar remains as evidence of past conflicts and hardships, while his blue eyes suggest a gentle, sensitive nature. Throughout the years, character designers have given sensitive characters blue eyes for this very reason; evidence of this practise can be seen in Disney characters such as Cinderella and Pinocchio.

Besides his scar, the final defining feature of Kenshin's design is his sword. Kenshin wields a 'sakabato', or 'reverse-edged sword'. The sword is identical to a Japanese katana, except that the cutting edge is on the inside of the curve of the blade. In the story, Kenshin used to be an assassin known as Hitokiri Battosai. He operated during the final years of the Bakumatsu (the period in which the Edo era ended and the Meiji era began), but resolved never to kill again after the death of his beloved. As is constantly mentioned in the series, the reverse-edged sword represents Kenshin's vow to never take another life, since the blunt edge is used when wielding it like a normal katana.

There are some nuances in Kenshin's behaviour that carry subliminal meaning about his personality. After resolving never to kill again, Kenshin's personality essentially split between the assassin he used to be and the peaceful man he is trying to become. His eyes and speech manner act as the differentiating factors that allow the reader or viewer to tell the difference between his two personalities. When he is calm, Kenshin's eyes are wide and naïve, and he speaks gently and humbly as well as referring to himself in the third person (e.g. "This one is but a rurouni"). When he is enraged, or when engaged in combat, his eyes narrow and become sharp as knives, and his speech becomes much more direct and aggressive.

The way Kenshin's clothes look when he is sat down also acts as a very good visual indicator of his feelings. When he is, for example, sat at the dinner table or resting against a tree, his clothes drape as if they might be a blanket and show that he is at ease. When he is depressed, however, he sits in a slumped, brooding manner and his clothes look like the rags they are, giving the impression that he has been cast off from life and has been thrown away like yesterday's rubbish.

The flexibility of Kenshin's design is remarkable too. Throughout the series, Kenshin regularly changes between warrior and wanderer in a heartbeat. His clothes, being neither too warrior-like or too peasant-like, manage to look perfect for him no matter what situation he is in.

Illustration from the original Rurouni Kenshin manga

There is a part of the story of Rurouni Kenshin that carries great semiotic significance. In the scene shown above, Kenshin has bound his sword in chains. This happens during a story arc in which Kenshin is led to believe that his best friend has been murdered. Feeling that he has failed to protect his friends, he decides to never even take up the sword, let alone use it to kill. The return of his resolve is shown in an inspiring scene in which, after being begged to come back and help his friends in a battle, he draws his sword and shatters the chains (sadly, I couldn't find a picture of it).

Himura Kenshin is one of my favourite characters in any work of fiction because of his depth. He is constantly torn between the past and present, haunted by past crimes and old foes while trying to keep the people he loves safe and build a better future for himself and others. I believe that his design and behaviour do an exceptional job of describing his personality (or rather, his two personalities). I would go so far as to say that Kenshin is an under-appreciated masterpiece of character design, even if Watsuki-san did not intend to create so much visual meaning with his swordsman hero.