Takasugi Shinsuke

#Basic Description
Gender: Male
Age: Late 20s → Late 20s or Early 30s (2 years later)
Birthday: August 10th
Height: 170cm, 60kg
Alias: Governor of the Demon Corps

An "Gintama" character.

He can play the shamisen. Whether he learned it from Bansai or already knew how to play, he was seen playing the shamisen while sitting by the window in the epilogue of the Shinsengumi's Rebellion arc. This seems to reflect that the historical figure who inspired him enjoyed playing the shamisen. He also seems to like sitting by the window and looking at the scenery outside. He wears a fundoshi, by the way.

In Gintama Volume 34's Q&A corner, to the question "Why does Takasugi alone travel in a ship with a roof while Gintoki and Katsura work so hard?", the author replied, "Because he makes money by making his subordinates do bad things," and at the same time, "He's a rich young master from the start." However, given that they have cut ties, it seems he either lives solely on money earned by his subordinates through crime without using his own money, or he has stolen from his family's fortune.

In the original work, he is colored with black hair and red eyes, but in the anime, he is colored with dark purple hair and green eyes. While he is depicted as a slender, handsome young man in the original work, he is drawn with a much more robust feel in the anime. However, Gintama characters in general tend to be slender in the original and muscular in the anime.

Despite giving the impression of being quite large, he is surprisingly not tall. Although he is often depicted as being almost the same height as Katsura and Gintoki, or even appearing taller, his profile height is 170cm, which is 5cm shorter than Katsura and 7cm shorter than Gintoki. He is the same height as Okita Sougo, Kamui, and Tsukuyo, and is the shortest among the four Joui War leaders.

He wears a flamboyant Japanese outfit that looks more like women's clothing than men's, and his left eye is blinded from a past injury, covered with a bandage. He carries a pipe, giving him a peculiar appearance.

#In-Story Actions

A top-class dangerous figure, a Joui patriot, who is being pursued as a top priority by the Shogunate. He grew up with Sakata Gintoki and Katsura Kotaro under Yoshida Shouyou in their childhood. When Shouyou was imprisoned, he fought in the Joui War with Gintoki, Katsura, and Sakamoto Tatsuma to rescue him.

After the war, unlike Katsura who, influenced by Gintoki and others, aimed for a moderate faction, Takasugi consistently pursued a radical path. He revived the Kiheitai, which he once led, and continues his radical Joui activities, resorting to any means necessary. He reportedly liked festivals since he was a child, and perhaps influenced by this, he attempts large-scale terrorism that destroys everything, rather than localized terrorism. His actions of joining forces with the space pirates Harusame to overthrow the regime led to his estrangement from his old friends Gintoki and Katsura, starting with the Benizakura arc.

The Joui patriots, who fought for their country against the ruthless attacks of the Amanto, losing countless comrades, met a tragic end when the former Shogun Sadada handed over the heads of the Joui patriots to the Tendoshu. They fought for their country but were betrayed by their country, and Sadada sacrificed the Joui patriots solely for his own selfish gain, showing no remorse and no prospect of rectifying the injustice.

Shinsuke's father saw him only as a tool to raise and maintain the family, and carelessly used the word "disown" on his young son. Shinsuke himself didn't mind being disowned and had a negative, dark personality that felt out of place even at the temple school, but after meeting someone who was like a true parent, he gained precious people and his view of the world changed. However, his teacher was gruesomely executed by the Shogunate and mocked.

To make matters worse, the Kiheitai, which followed Takasugi, was also purged, and Shinsuke could only watch helplessly as the heads of his subordinates were displayed in the marketplace. His statement to the admiral that he couldn't abandon the name Kiheitai when asked to join Harusame, and his understanding of Gengai's feelings, who saw his son, who went to protect the country but was betrayed and had his head displayed in the marketplace, shows that he had as strong an attachment to the Kiheitai as he did to Shouyou. He also seems to be suffering from severe PTSD as a result.

In short, the attitude of not reflecting on his treasonous acts, the lack of effort to improve the country's problems, and the Shogunate's one-dimensional judgment and neglect of the victims, the Joui patriots, drove him to hatred. Shinsuke is a victim and a victim whose life was ruined by the country, and a terrorist created and neglected by the country.

While he can be understood humanly, his violent extremism could trigger a second Joui War, leading to the complete destruction of the country. Furthermore, after overthrowing the regime, there is a need for a just and concrete plan for how to reform the new government for the sake of the people who will be left behind and become obsolete. However, Shinsuke is solely focused on destroying everything. Therefore, Gintoki and Katsura, while understanding the reasons for Shinsuke's change, know that his methods are wrong and are trying to persuade or stop him.

Voice actor Takehito Koyasu, when playing Takasugi Shinsuke, stated that he is a character with a precariousness that turns into madness when what he desperately wanted to protect is trampled upon. He is not completely consumed by madness, but is on the verge of madness by a hair's breadth, and he acts with the awareness that he gives Gintoki and Katsura a sliver of hope. However, after all his circumstances were revealed, he mentioned that if he had known this from the beginning, he would have acted differently.

During his Joui patriot days, he was as broken as others. The main reason Shinsuke lacks humor is the change in his personality due to the country's betrayal; it's not impossible for him to have been humorous in the past.

He particularly liked Yakult and would subtly boast to his comrades about shooting Yakult, saying "I shot it." There is also an official illustration of him drinking Yakult, which is placed in hot water and filled to the brim in a teacup. Sorachi officially mentioned that Takasugi is under a lot of stress and instinctively seeks foods that are good for digestion and the stomach (Yakult, yogurt, etc.).

In the past, he went to a red-light district and, by chance, requested the same courtesan as Gintoki, which led to a fight, and they didn't speak for a month. When the courtesan actually chose him, he was so awkward that he didn't say anything to her and just drank alcohol with bloodshot eyes. Tatsuma, who had confided everything, was threatened by Shinsuke, who pointed a sword with a Yakult bag hanging from it near his crotch, with "Shut up and drink it."
Even after that, he would argue with Gintoki, putting on airs, or wear branches on his head as a disguise, and along with Gintoki, he would mete out heavenly punishment on Tatsuma, who had vomited on his face. Most of the time, Gintoki would tease Shinsuke first, calling him a spoiled young master, or saying "His name is Takasugi (too tall), but he's short," etc. Shinsuke couldn't ignore the provocation, his veins would bulge on his face, and he would retaliate by stomping on Gintoki, showing him as a typical Gintama character.

#Relationships

Although he had few friends due to his solitary nature since childhood, he held deep respect and affection for his teacher, Yoshida Shouyou, who embraced and accepted him. Shouyou also raised Takasugi with love. His love for Shouyou was so profound that it could be considered the sole meaning of Takasugi's life, and this remained true even at the point of his madness in the story and at the end of the work. Sakata Gintoki, Katsura Kotaro, his fellow students from Shouka Sonjuku, and Sakamoto Tatsuma, whom he met during the Joui War, are grouped as the "Four Heavenly Kings of the Joui Patriots" and were precious comrades who shed blood together to protect Shouyou, even if their personalities didn't perfectly align.

However, the Joui War ended tragically with the Shogunate's unconditional surrender to the Amanto, and Takasugi lost his beloved teacher Shouyou to beheading before his eyes, losing his life's direction as well. Driven mad by revenge, Takasugi became a lunatic who would destroy everything without regard for human decency, and his relationships with friends like Gintoki and Katsura, whom he had, were broken from the defeat in the Joui War. Takasugi resented his friends for not acting for his teacher's revenge, and Gintoki, who had new things to protect, opposed Takasugi, who wanted to destroy everything, and they drifted apart. Katsura, at his first appearance, had the same ideology as Takasugi, but he turned to the moderate faction, which avoids the use of force, and deviated from Takasugi's path. In fact, until the early part of the story, they were still sharing some affection, albeit fragmented, even while opposing each other. However, after joining forces with the blacksmith Murata Tetsuya and attempting to kill Katsura and Gintoki, his ambitious Benizakura terrorist plan fell apart, and they became complete enemies. Only Sakamoto, while not agreeing with his actions, still considered him a friend.

At present, his remaining relationships are with the revived Kiheitai members and his ally Kamui. According to Okada Nizou, he had a light that attracted people, and indeed, his subordinates, including the Hiraga father and son, the head of the Kenkaitou, Sasaki Isaburo, Kamui and Abuto of Harusame's 7th Division, and Ito Kamotaro, the advisor to the Shinsengumi, unconditionally followed him. Although he has many followers, there are almost no depictions in the work where Takasugi cherishes or values them.

#Speech Patterns

"I just destroy. This rotten world...!
"The sword cuts. The swordsmith forges the sword. Then what is a warrior...?"
"They say that existing for a single purpose is strong, flexible, and beautiful. Like this sword."
"No? ...That's right. Whether it's the Shogun or the heavens, no one can judge you. The one who judges you is me."
"No need to remember. In any case, the Tendoshu... those ridiculous crow bastards... no, I'll take the head of this world to hell."
"Give my regards to the teacher."
"I ponder the vague memories. Am I the first rain that the dark sky couldn't bear and shed? Or the last rain shed after crying profusely? It could be both, or neither. But one thing I can say for sure is that I hate rain now."

Uses a stiff tone like "~da" and "~kun."
In simple terms, chuunibyou. A serious person.