| “ | So pitiful. You make me want to vomit! | „ |
| ~ Genjuro Kibagami |
Genjuro Kibagami is a supporting character from the Samurai Shodown series. He debuted in Samurai Shodown II as a powerful bloodthirsty ronin, and replaces Ukyo Tachibana's role as Haohmaru's official rival in the series.
He is voiced by Kong Kuwata.
Story[]
Genjuro claims to have killed his family and at least a thousand other people. His mother was a prostitute and, due to her profession, he knows nothing about his father. Even so, he made a silent oath to look after his mother until his father came home. When he was fifteen, Genjuro killed a man who stayed in their home - due to his mother's pleas for protection from her client's drunken rage. While he turned to leave his home for good, she attacked Genjuro while cursing his existence and left the scar on his back. He killed her in retaliation.
Orphaned, Nicotine Caffeine spotted him and took him under his tutelage along with Haohmaru in his home. Both students were close friends yet Genjuro's hunger for power worried Nicotine. To test his students, he tempted them to fight over the treasured sword, Fugudoku. They were tested by facing off with a group of other fighters. Genjuro, believing that "worthless" people don't deserve life, killed his opponents during the competition. He leaves Nicotine's place in disgust after this event. He swore to kill Haohmaru and Nicotine, spiteful for their idealistic beliefs on swordplay. He hates Haohmaru especially, because he resembles the man his mother was with when he killed them. He also was attracted to Shiki at one point, as she resembled his mother.
His profession during his travels is a hitokiri or killer-for-hire, often accepting the more "dirty" jobs such as wiping out pirate brigades and bandit hideouts. His former clients include Sankuro Yorozu and Mizuki Rashojin. In Samurai Shodown 64-2, Genjuro gains the upper hand in his last duel with Haohmaru. Before he could deal the final blow, a boy stabs him in vengeance for his unnamed father. It's heavily implied that Genjuro dies from his wound and, as promised, an older Haohmaru toasts to his friend's honor.
Personality[]
Genjuro is a brutal warrior who only fights for the pleasure of killing. He likes to dominate over others and hates people who are weak. As such, he has made it his livelihood to take on the dirty business of eliminating targets for just compensation, as he grew up knowing violence and deviance.
There are times when he occasionally feels regretful and shows mercy for his actions; he once let Haohmaru live at Oshizu's pleading. However, he maintains his brutality, counteracting these instances of leniency with more acts of cruelty. Other times, he won't hesitate to be civil with Haohmaru if the situation calls for it, like the old times.
Powers[]
- Energy Projectile - Genjuro can fire a projectile of energy from his sword.
- Energy Attacks - Genjuro can fuel his sword with ki energy.
- Stun - Genjuro can trap his opponents and leave them completely vulnerable for a limited time.
Fighting Style[]
Though they both trained underneath Nicotine, his fighting style greatly differs from Haohmaru in execution. His fighting stance is one of the few where his back faces towards the foreground as opposed to the other way around (via the developers wanting emphasis on his scar), being a bit of an inverse of Haohmaru's stance with his sword pointing more downward in comparison. While Haohmaru's style is rough, wild and simple, Genjuro's is more-likely streamlined and refined to focus on more clean strokes, with slight streaks of brutality, as shown during his connected Hyakki Satsu (Hundred Ogre Killer). It reflects in gameplay where he compared to most other characters, is more oppressive in playstyle and in one's face to dominate over them with one slip-up his foes make.
