Kamui (神威?) is a member of the Yato Tribe. He is the son of Umibouzu and Kouka, and the elder brother of Kagura. He was a major antagonist of Yoshiwara in Flames Arc and later after his alliance with Takasugi, became for a time one of the main antagonists of the series.
Background[]
Kamui lived with his parents and his younger sister on Rakuyou when he was young. As a child, he took over his mother Kouka's responsibilities in doing the house chores and taking care of the then infant Kagura when Kouka fell ill. He was often bullied by other residents, but he would usually beat them up and be scolded by his father, Umibouzu for this. He also took up the responsibility to protect his mother and younger sister in the absence of his father Umibouzu, who was seldom around as he was travelling around the universe searching for a cure to Kouka's illness.
Kamui often wondered about the meaning of strength. During another altercation with Rakuyou residents while walking with Kagura, he is saved by Abuto and the Harusame. The former tells him that if he does not want to become a villain then he should protect his sister. He starts to become dominated by the idea of becoming stronger, telling Abuto in a later meeting that he does not care what he becomes as long as he becomes stronger. Later on, he tries to revive the abandoned Yato tradition of killing one's parent by attempting to kill his father in order to prove his strength. However he only managed to make Umibouzu lose his arm. Umibouzu lost control of his Yato instinct and tried to kill Kamui but his life was spared because of Kagura's plea. He eventually left his home after his failed attempt and became Housen's pupil. Some time after, he became the captain of Harusame's 7th division and later the admiral.
Appearance[]
Like his sister, Kagura, Kamui has blue eyes and vermillion hair, albeit his hair reaches his lower back and is always tied in a braid. He also has a single lock of hair sticking out from the top of his head which he inherited from his mother. Kamui wears a traditional uniform used in Chinese martial arts, with a black and white top sporting elbow length sleeves, and gray pants that reaches the middle of his lower leg. Like all Yatos, he has smooth fair skin, and his body is well developed with strong, flexible toned muscles. He is almost always seen with a cheerful smile on his face.
It has been shown that women find Kamui very attractive (check out the sexy son hypothesis) considering how much attention he got when he walked on the streets of Yoshiwara alone.
Gallery[]
Personality[]
As a child, Kamui was a loving and caring son and older brother for his family. He cared for his sick mother to the point of hiding his injuries from her so she wouldn't worry and always took care of Kagura as their parents couldn't. He used to be close with his father, often longed for his presence as Umibouzu seldom at home and aimed to become strong like him. At that time, child Kamui used to beat up anybody who insulted his family and attacked him, justifying his action as protection for his family until Umibouzu scolded him that as he is a Yato, what he did was no different than bullying the weak. Kamui took his father's scolding and since then refrained from fighting back, but the continuous beating he had to endure that led to Kagura got attacked and his mother's worsening health took a toll on the child Kamui, who began to question the point of holding back his power when it just cause harm to his family. Finding out about the true cause of his mother's illness was the final straw for Kamui, who began to blame himself and his entire family for causing his mother's suffering. When Kamui failed to kidnap his mother in attempt to save her, Kamui lost hope and buried his grief by focusing on his goal to become the strongest and surpass his father.
As Kamui grew up, like a Yato clan member in general, Kamui is a battle-loving individual, always looking forward to fighting strong people. He has a belief that the Yato members need to always stay on the battlefield, and this is why he disagrees with Housen staying in Yoshiwara as its ruler. He has no interest to romance viewing fights with more importance. The continuous battles he experienced developed a sadistic streak for Kamui, which he always shows in battle while smiling. Despite majoring excellently in the fighting field, Housen describes him as ignorant for being too young and not wise enough to understand the reason for his father and Housen's to settle down and appearing less on battlefields. Kamui has stated that he doesn't like to kill women, as they could give birth to strong children with high potential (to presumably fight him).
Losing his mother also caused Kamui to believe that having emotional ties to one's family is a weakness. He chided Gintoki that if one doesn't have the power to protect their loved ones, then they shouldn't have people they care for from the very beginning. In reality, this stems from the fact that Kamui hated himself for unable to save his mother and detach himself from his family or having someone to care for out of fear experiencing the same loss again. After fighting against Kagura and the others at Rakuyou, Kamui was finally able to reconcile with his past and his bond with his family.
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Umibouzu: Kamui's father. Kamui believes he is the one who caused his mother's death. At some point, Kamui decided to kill his father to prove his strength and to take away his mother back to her planet so she could live. Although Umibouzu suffered severe injuries and lost his left arm during their fight, he managed to defeat his son, causing Kamui to leave the family. Although, it is revealed that the real reason Kamui chose to take his mother away when Umiboizu was around (thus resulting in their fight), was because he actually wanted someone to stop him. Kamui claims that his strength has long surpassed his father's. After their battle in Rakuyou, Umibouzu stated that even though he came prepared to kill Kamui, in the end, he couldn't bring himself to do it and believes that Kamui too couldn't bring himself to kill him, as even though they have been apart for so long, they're still family. Abuto also commented the actual reason why Kamui lost control of his Yato blood in Rakuyou was because he was running away from the pain of being punched by his dad and for punching his little sister, indicating that even after all his actions he still cares for them. Though Kamui and Umibouzu still show their annoyance toward each other, they still ended up in good terms (seen in the Silver Soul Arc).
- Kouka: Kamui's mother. Kamui cared deeply for her, doing most of the chores and took care of his sister when she was bedridden. He would also hide his injuries from her so as to not let her worry and feel sad. Kamui was shown to be unable to move on from his mother's death and that made up the main driving force behind his ideology of becoming the strongest, and also the reason why Kamui is after Umibouzu's life, as he feels that he has nothing left but to only grow stronger.
- Kagura: Kamui's younger sister. He took care of her since she was a baby when their mother fell ill. He once saw nothing but a weakling in Kagura and even intended to kill her, telling her that he has no interest in weaklings. But he still told Gintoki to take care of her so she would grow "stronger". Even though he acted as he didn't care for her, deep inside his heart, he still does. This could be seen by him many times passing the opportunity to kill Kagura (even saving her in the Shogun Assasination arc) and before his battle with Gintoki in Rakuyou, asking Shinpachi if they're trying to "force" him to destroy his sister's new home, showing that he does indeed care for her happiness. After Gintoki managed to make Kamui remember his true self during their battle in Rakuyou, his care for Kagura became even clearer, showing hesitation when he wanted to punch Kagura out of the way for protecting Gintoki and with Abuto commenting the actual reason why Kamui lost control of his Yato blood was because he was running away from the pain of being punched by his dad and for punching his little sister, indicating that even after all his actions he still cares for them. Kamui had also admitted that Kagura resembles their mother, which is also the reason why he had always refused to face her. He then saved Kagura three times in Silver Soul Arc with a risk of his life. He had also taught Kagura how to manipulate Qiqong during the 2 years gap between Silver Soul arc and The Final Movie (something that, unfortunately, didn't make it into the anime or movie). With the ability to manipulate Qiqong, Kamui and Kagura can now both control their lifespan and, possibly, attained immortality (or at least a longer lifespan than most other people). Umibouzu stated that the reason he taught Kagura Qiqong, was so he could save her. Kamui also visits Kagura sometimes, as seen from a Drama CD, when he visited Otose's bar to ask how his sister is doing.
Mentor[]
- Housen: Kamui became Housen's student after leaving his family and managed to surpass him at some point. Kamui also took his place as the 7th Captain of the Harusame before he became the Harusame's admiral. He fought Housen during the Yoshiwara in Flames Arc as he disagreed with the latter's decision to stay locked in Yoshiwara.
Friends and Allies[]
- Takasugi Shinsuke: Kamui and Takasugi used to be enemies, but are currently allies. At first, Kamui wanted to fight and eventually kill Takasugi, as he had a similar smell to Gintoki and always dreamed of fighting a strong samurai. They arranged for a death match, which, however, turned out to be a trap set by Admiral Abou. Takasugi later saved him from his execution and together they massacred the opposing members of Harusame. Kamui decided to delay his fight with Takasugi and joined forces with him, making earth, the land of the samurai, their first target.
- Abuto: Abuto is Kamui's most powerful subordinate. They first met when Kagura defended Kamui against a bunch of delinquents to no avail, and Abuto stepped in to put those delinquents down. Later, in order to become stronger, Kamui challenged Abuto to a fight, an attempt thwarted by Housen. He berates Abuto for not treating a challenge seriously, and faced Kamui with a serious strike, and Abuto stepped in once again to shield Kamui. He is often seen worrying and trying to prevent Kamui from acting without much consideration, which already caused Abuto to lose an arm. He often complains, but he is loyal and keeps Kamui's sadistic instincts under control.
Former Enemies[]
- Gintoki: After Gintoki and the Hyakka finally killed Housen, Kamui's interest in Gintoki was piqued. Therefore, Kamui decided to make Gintoki his own prey and fight him to the death once he is in the best of health again. Eventually Kamui was able to fight Gintoki in the Rakuyou arc. Even though Gintoki was at a disadvantage, he was powerful enough to make Kamui reveal his Yato rage and eventually win the battle with the help of Kagura, Shinpachi and Abuto. This changes Kamui's view of Gintoki and even strengthen his bond to Kagura, seeing himself just like Gintoki being an idiotic brother to Kagura.
- Okita Sougo: Sougo caught Kamui's attention when the latter saw him mercilessly killing Takasugi's men. Kamui immediately entered the scene and fought Sougo. However, their fight was interrupted by an explosion taking down the ship which carried them, causing Kamui and his subordinates to believe that Sougo died along with Soyo Hime.
Abilities[]
Kamui is one of the strongest Yato alive as well as one of the strongest characters in the show. Due to his excellent fighting skills, he is known as the lightning spear in the 7th division, which is the most powerful combat unit within Harusame.
Kamui possesses amazing natural and instinctive fighting abilities in addition to enhanced physical strength, speed, durability, adaptability, agility, awareness, dexterity, flexibility, instincts, endurance, healing capabilities and senses, all of which far surpass an ordinary human's or other Amanto's capabilities. Kamui is among the highest elite members of the Yato, equal to (if not greater than) Housen and Umibouzu, meaning that his abilities far exceed that of an average Yato.
Tremendous Strength: One of the elites among the Yato race, Kamui is one of the strongest Yato in existence. Naturally, Kamui inherited his father's blood yielding strength able to confidently fight Hosen, the King of Yato. His physical strength is so impressive that he can literally chop up his opponents. He can easily penetrate his opponent's body with his arm and land a finishing blow as shown with Ungyou. He managed to destroy a space ship with one kick.
Tremendous Endurance: Kamui was able to withstand damage from Housen, who was one of the strongest characters introduced in Gintama. Although he took several hits, Kamui was at great health after fighting Housen. Even anesthetic drugs are barely effective against him. When Kamui was injected with a drug strong enough to even knock out an elephant during his fight with Takasugi, he was still able to fight and kill about 20 soldiers before the drug finally knocked him out.
Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Instead of relying on brute force alone, Kamui is shown to be acrobatic in his movements and skillful in his attacks. One of Kamui's attacks alone is absolutely lethal; His incredible physical skills makes it extremely hard to dodge or to block his attacks, while he can easily dodge and block even extremely powerful attacks with his strength and speed.
Age Altering: During the two year time skip, he has also trained the ability to change his age at will, appearing at times as a younger version of himself.
Story[]
Yoshiwara in Flames Arc[]
He first appears in Yoshiwara on the pipe walls together with Abuto and Ungyou where they confront Gintoki and the others to retrieve Seita. He had arrived to meet his former master and wishing to meet the woman who made his master "weak". To do so, he planned to kidnap Seita just as he and the Yorozuya were being shown a route out of Yoshiwara to use as a bargaining chip. Kamui reunites with his little sister Kagura but without hesitation attacks her from behind and ends up destroying the pipe walls. Later on, Kamui meets with Housen as they speak about his past. Kamui then displays a captured Seita and requests a night with Hinowa, much to Hosen's animosity . Kamui further angers Hosen by calling Yoshiwara a heaven he had made for himself, a prison for a poor neglected old man to keep hold of his cute, little dolls. An angered Housen tells Kamui to be quiet several times but when he refuses he smashes him into the
ceiling. However, the one who got smashed into the ceiling was one of the women servants as Kamui had substituted her for himself right before Housen's lands his blow. Kamui and Housen then begin to fight much to the dismay of Abuto and Ungyou's opposition. Housen gets the advantage at some point but Kamui calmly turns the table and fights back to an equal ground. Kamui and Housen then clash against each other for a powerful strike. The fight is then interrupted by Ungyou and Abuto who stand in their attacks' ways. Kamui accidentally ends up killing Ungyou with his attack as Abuto ends up losing his left arm by Housen. Abuto claims that it was a small price to pay for interrupting the fight. Kamui than leaves and tells Housen that he is not worth killing as he can rot and die in his Yoshiwara world.
Kamui then searches for and finds Seita as he helps him from being captured by Haykka soldiers by brutally killing them. Kamui tells him that he will help him meet his mother and shows him the way to Hinowa's chamber. On the way, several Hyakka soldiers try to stop them but everyone is easily killed by Kamui in a brutal way. Kamui explains that he dislikes to kill women as they can give birth to children's who can grow up to become strong. Kamui and Seita then arrive at Hinowa's chamber as Kamui steps back to let Seita met her himself. After both Housen and Sakata Gintoki arrive at the place and begin to fight, Kamui sits at the sidelines and watches, impressed by Gintoki's power. He takes credit for Housen's death and is appointed as Yoshiwara's new Overlord. He has no interest in the city, however, and became its ruler solely to prevent anyone from getting close to Gintoki.
Kabukicho Four Devas Arc[]
Later, Kamui is tricked by the Harusame into thinking they were going to eliminate Takasugi Shinsuke's Kiheitai and Takasugi himself, when the actual target was Kamui himself. At the execution, Takasugi volunteers to strike Kamui down only to instead free him from his bonds. The Kiheitai and 7th Division then both assault the Harusame ship, overwhelming the space pirates. Kamui and Takasugi then leave for Earth together.
Shogun Assassination Arc[]
Kamui later reappears to assist Takasugi during their assassination attempt on the Shogun. While attempting to sink down a decoy flying ship Kamui encounters Sougo. As he had earlier watched how Sougo fights their men, he though that Sougo reminded him of himself a lot claiming that they both have the eyes of a murderer. And that they both were seeking someone stronger than themselves to fight. Kamui and Sougo then start to fight to the death for a short while before being interrupted by an explosion taking down the ship which carried them, causing Kamui and his subordinates to believe that Sougo fell down along with Soyo Hime. Kamui afterwards starts to have his injuries treated before being able to return to the fight.
Later on, while invading the ninja village Kamui together with Takasugi and his troops ambushes Ayame and Hattori in their secret escape route as they already knew their plans from the get go. But at that moment Gintoki and Kagura jump down to the scene from a hill and engage them both. as Gintoki starts to fight against Takasugi, Kamui and Kagura finally engage in their long waited fight as well. During the fight Kamui compliments Kagura for how violent she has become towards her brother but claims that she is still not strong enough to defeat him. Though Kagura tells him that she is no longer the cry baby that she used to be and that she would protect her home, planet earth, from anything.
However their fight eventually gets interrupted by an ambush attack from Naraku forces as the Tendoshu had appeared to finish off both, the Shogun and the Kiheitai. Because of this Kamui and Kagura temporarily join forces and fight against the Naraku as they rush to their leaders' side. Just as heavily injured Gintoki and Takasugi are about to be overpowered by Naraku forces Kamui and Kagura jump to their rescue as Kamui tells Takasugi off that he cannot die until he have fought against him and repaid his debt. Shortly afterwards the Naraku forces withdraw as Kamui leaves together with Takasugi on his shoulder and Kagura leaves from a different direction with Gintoki on hers facing of farewells to each other.
Rakuyou Arc[]
Kamui landes his homeland Rakuyou in order to let Takasugi to meet his comrades. As Umibouzu protects Abuto and other Yatos away from Harusame's attack, Kamui fights his way to meet his father to achieve his goal of being the strongest man in the universe. The two meets up and have a fight, but it is shortly interrupted by Kagura and Utsuro.
Upon Umibouzu's defeat by Utsuro, Gintoki and Shinpachi interrupts in hope of ending the chaos. Kamui is forced to fight Gintoki while Sadaharu carries Umibouzu away. During the fight Kagura steps in trying to protect Gintoki and Kamui's Yato blood is being awakened. Abuto joins the Yorozuya in the fight to protect Kamui, and eventually Kamui is back to his normal self.
Kamui starts his fight with Kagura, yet both of them fails to land a punch on each other. The two reconciles in each other arms. Exhausted and satisfied, Kamui rests on Kagura's lap for a while before leaving with Abuto back to his troops.
Silver Soul Arc[]
Kamui is revealed to have become the Admiral of the Harusame.
Battles[]
Fight | Outcome | Time it Occurred |
---|---|---|
Kamui, Abuto and Ungyo vs. Yorozuya and Tsukuyo | Win | Episode 140 |
Kamui vs. Housen 7th Division | Interrupted | Episode 141 |
Kamui vs. Harusame Pirates and Takasugi Shinsuke
Kamui, Kihetai and Harusame Squad 7 vs Harusame Pirates |
Loss
Win |
Episode 215 |
Kamui vs. Okita Sougo | Interrupted | Episode 301 |
Kamui vs. Kagura | Interrupted | Episode 304 |
Kamui vs. Umibouzu | Interrupted | Episode 323 |
Kamui vs. Kagura | Interrupted | Episode 323 |
Kamui vs. Sakata Gintoki | Interrupted | Episode 325-Episode 326 |
Kamui vs. Yorozuya and Abuto | Loss | Episode 326 |
Kamui and Kagura vs. Elder | Win |
Trivia[]
- Kamui's initial appearance is likely a homage to Shishio Makoto of Rurouni Kenshin fame, just one of many references to the series made throughout Gintama.
- Although it has not been verified, someone said that Sorachi had stated Kamui has a father complex, a mother complex, and a sister complex.
- Kamui is ranked as the biggest eater in the series.
- Kamui's hair was actually black in a flashback in Episode 42 of the Gintama anime, and also in an ending before the Yoshiwara in Flames arc. After the ending credits of Episode 146, Ginpachi-sensei read aloud a fan letter about Kamui's black hair, ignored it and threw it in the Rejection Box.
- Kagura states that their father, Umibouzu got a shotgun marriage and that he mentioned that love starts in bed, so it might be possible that Kamui was born before their parents got married.
- He is the same age and height as Okita Sougo. This similarity might have been intentional as in Lesson 505 the two are revealed to be equally sadistic and appear to form a rivalry. As such, this fact might have been some form of foreshadowing by the author.
- Kamui shares the same voice actor as Sai from Naruto(and has the same habit of smiling in an artificial manner), Daichi Sawamura from Haikyu, Saito Hiraga from Zero no Tsukaima, Yuji Sakai from Shakugan no Shana, Hayato Shinkai from Yowamushi Pedal.
- Kamui is always accompanied by Abuto.
- He loves fights to the death.
- Kamui is interested in the samurai, since they seem very strong to him.
- Kamui is the word for a divine being in Ainu mythology, although it is almost never written with kanji in modern times. In a more general Japanese context, Kamui refers to the might and majesty of the gods, particularly the Shintō Kami.
- Though he barely appears, Kamui is shown to be quite popular that he was ranked 7th in the Popularity Poll just after his first official appearance, beating Shinpachi who is one of the main protagonists of Gintama.
Quotes[]
- (To Kagura) "I thought I told you...I don't have use for weaklings."
- (To Seita) "I pay my respects with a smile when killing. Regardless of how their life was, it's appropriate to send them off with a smile, so they can die soundly. You could even say that, I intend to kill when I'm smiling."
- (To Sakata Gintoki) "I'm the kind of person who saves his favorite part of a meal for the end. In other words, I've taken a liking to you. Make sure to heal those wounds. Well, you probably have a lot to deal with, but don't die. ...Until I kill you. See ya, samurai-san."
- (About Sakata Gintoki) "He's my prey. I won't let anyone else touch him."
- (To Housen) Women and sake don't cut it, I don't need things like that. They wouldn't be able to quench my thirst. Blood ... the blood of Asura. Only when I'm with someone of equal or greater blood than mine, does my soul cry out in ecstasy.
- (To Housen) Even though you look strong, there is nothing but sake and women inside you. A true warrior needs a strong body in addition to a strong soul. I have nothing holding me back and only strive for power. You guys can't beat me.
- (To Housen, in thought only) That's fine with me. There isn't anything I want. There isn't any reason for me to look back. I only see what's ahead. A new battlefield spreading before my eyes...that is what I seek. I strive to become stronger than any other person. I move forward to become stronger than anything. Even if I have nothing left to protect when I get there.
- To Housen) How pitiful people are. They always yearn for what they don't have. They always reach out to what can't be reached.
- (To Takasugi Shinsuke) "Now it's your turn to die. That gambler's cursed. If you lose, you run out of luck. I lost, so I know what I'm talking about."
- (To Takasugi Shinsuke) "Samurai really are a blast."
- (To Okita Sougo) "You're the same as me, aren't you? You can't pull the wool over the same stupid eyes.You don't really care about the shogun's head, right? You just wanted to come here because you got a whiff of the smell of the blood. They're the eyes of a murderer. You can't feel alive unless you're on the battlefield surrounded by death. No matters how many villains you cut down, that thirst is not quenched. You've been looking for someone strong like me, and I've been looking for someone strong like you. Right? So relax. If you're saying that you can only cut down villains.... Then, I'm one hell of a villain."
- (About Kagura) "Even that crybaby got back up. No matter how many times she went down... So I can't be beaten at a place like this, either. Because I'm the big brother."
- (To Umibouzu, in thoughts only) The one who said to get stronger to protect the family was you, wasn't it? So even if I have to tear your arm off, I'm bringing mom with me. Even if we are not a family anymore, I'm going to protect her.
References[]