Shishio Makoto

Shishio Makoto
Rurouni Kenshin character
Shishio Makoto on the cover of Rurouni Kenshin Kanzenban Volume 14
First appearance	Rurouni Kenshin Act 61: Man Without Emotion
Created by	Nobuhiro Watsuki
Voiced by	Japanese Masanori Ikeda English Steven Blum (TV series) David Wald (New Kyoto Arc, Live-action film trilogy)
Portrayed by	Tatsuya Fujiwara
Profile
Title	Hitokiri (人斬り?)
Affiliations	Ishin Shishi (formerly) Juppongatana

Shishio Makoto (志々雄 真実^?), known in the English anime in Western order as Makoto Shishio, is a fictional character from the Rurouni Kenshin manga series created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. He is the primary antagonist of the series' Kyoto arc. Shishio was Himura Kenshin's successor as Hitokiri (人斬り^?), or assassin, for the Ishin Shishi. Fearing he would threaten to reveal his victims publicly in order to gain leverage against them, the new Meiji government tried killing Shishio by dousing him in oil and burning him alive. But he survived and has recruited an army to get his revenge, with the government asking Himura to stop him. Shishio was based roughly on the original lead commander of the Shinsengumi, Serizawa Kamo.

Watsuki said that his editor wanted him to do "a big story," leading Watsuki to create Shishio. Therefore, according to Watsuki, Shishio had no model for his personality. Watsuki originally intended for Shishio to be motivated for revenge since it would make it easier for Watsuki to express Shishio's grief towards the government. However Watsuki believed that this would make the story "smaller in scale." Therefore Watsuki had Shishio motivated for revenge and a desire to conquer, therefore making him destructive in a manner similar to that of Serizawa Kamo of the Shinsengumi. Watsuki believes that some influence from Genjuro Kibagami of Samurai Shodown II (Shin Samurai Spirits) appeared in Shishio.