Hyottoko was the fire-breathing member of the Tokyo Oniwabanshū.
Appearance[]
Hyottoko is a large man. He has a short tousled mop of black hair and eyes with small black pupils. He wears a cloth around his waist and carries a barrel of oil on his back supported by two thick ropes. Noticeable of Hyottoko is the fact that he has removed all of his teeth and replaced only the front two top and bottom teeth with flint teeth, giving him somewhat odd facial expressions.
Personality[]
Like all other members of the Tokyo Oniwabanshū, Hyottoko is extremely loyal to Shinomori Aoshi, to the point where he will not hesitate if he needs to give his life for him. Hyottoko is somewhat cocky but will always acknowledge the fact that someone is stronger than him when he is beaten.
Relationships[]
- Shinomori Aoshi: The Oniwabanshū okashira and the person who gives commands to Hyottoko. He highly respects Aoshi and arrived to protect him from Takeda Kanryū's Gatling Gun, sacrificing his life for Aoshi.
- Tokyo Oniwabanshū : Han'nya, Shikijō and Beshimi are his teammates under the command of Aoshi. Hyottoko respects his teammates and they work together as Aoshi orders.
- Makimachi Misao: The grandaughter of the previous Oniwabanshū okashira. She loved Hyottoko (alongside all the Tokyo Oniwabanshū), and cried a lot when they left the Aoiya to search for work as shinobi.
- Takeda Kanryū: The employer of the Tokyo Oniwabanshū, who grew dissatisfied by the way Shinomori Aoshi treated him and decided to kill him using a Gatling Gun. Hyottoko sacrificed his life trying to protect Aoshi from the Gatling Gun.
Abilities[]
Hyottoko is a large muscular man, that uses a technique called Fire Breath. With a bag of oil in his stomach and flint teeth, Hyottoko is able to breath fire onto his opponent.
History[]
At the end of the Bakumatsu Shinomori Aoshi and 4 of his followers (Hyottoko included) decided to leave the Aoiya in Kyōto to work as shinobi by themselves, because they felt they couldn't get accustomed to the new era of peace where the Oniwabanshū Onmitsu where no longer neccesary. Eventually they ended up in Tokyo working for Takeda Kanryū.
Tokyo Arc[]
Hyottoko arrives at the Kamiya Dōjō with Beshimi and Han'nya. Hyottoko decides to attack along and breaks into the Dōjō. Hyottoko tells them to hand over Megumi, but they decline and Sano decides to fight him. As the two clash, Sano manages to punch Hyottoko in the stomach, but this enables Hyottoko to break fire onto Sano. Sanosuke manages to escape, which Hyottoko goes to attack again but Kenshin says that he will face him. Hyottoko breaths fire at Kenshin but Kenshin is able to divert the flames. As Hyottoko runs out of oil, Hyottoko quickly refuels his bag and prepares to fight again. Sanosuke decides to continue to fight, and when Hyottoko breaths fire Sano jumps into the flames and manages to pull the bag of oil out of Hyottoko's gut. Hyottoko goes to attack Sanosuke, but Sano easily knocks Hyottoko out. After Beshimi is also defeated, Han'nya grabs both Hyottoko and Beshimi and leaves.
Days later, Hyottoko is lying in bed when he hears a commotion. Hyottoko and Beshimi go check it out, and come across Kanryū attack his allies with a gatling gun. Hyottoko decides to uses his fire breath on Kanryū, but Kanryū easily kills him. Afterwards, Aoshi cuts off his allies heads and run from the mansion when the police arrives. Aoshi then burries their heads in the mountains and plans to place flowers on their graves when he defeats Kenshin.
Development and Reception[]
Hyottoko bears a strong resemblance to Marvel's Incredible Hulk, due to Watsuki being a big fan of their works.
Trivia[]
- There are differences in the graphical depiction of Hyottoko in the different itterations of the story:
- Hyottoko's depiction in the 1996 anime is closer to his original manga appearance.
- In the 2023 anime Hyottoko is depicted with their graphical appearance as illustrated in the 22-volume kanzenban edition and 14-volume bunkoban edition of the manga covers (with a red saturated color in the skin and slightly more ellaborated clothing than normally).
- In the manga, when Hyottoko is attacked by Takeda Kanryū, part of his his head is blown off. Due to censorship in the 1996 anime, he is instead shot in the chest, which is strange as the whole reason he was shot in the face was to avoid blowing up the gas bag.
Gallery[]
