Light and Dark...
Hitokiri Battousai
Despite the title of this section, the assassin that inhabited Kenshin did not seem to possess any sort of soul at all. His intentions are unquestionably noble, but his methods and his actions are complete contradictions of his ideals. Almost every murder he has committed has been executed with a blank expression and an absence of remorse. However, this empty shell was necessary in creating the legend of a merciless killer, which is all of the Battousai's essence.
The battousai is, of course, the darker region of Kenshin's being. He appears constantly as the main antagonist of the story's plot. It is this demon that Kenshin constantly must battle. It is this element that keeps the story moving. Most of all, it is this aspect that creates a lesson within the storyline.
Rurouni Kenshin
From the empty shell is born the opposite of the darkness inside the assassin. The rurouni (wanderer) is born from the love that conspired between Tomoe and our hero. This is the face that we see first and foremost and its impression is more prominent than the killer's (I mean, who didn't laugh when they first saw those spiral eyes and heard "oro?" for the first time).
This wanderer is the embodiment of Kenshin's ideals. With his sakabatou (a backwards sword), he does not kill, yet, at the same time, he does not allow the persecution of the innocent which was the ideal behind Battousai's sword.
