TV-Series
Description
Otonoshin Koito is a Second Lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army's 7th Division. Hailing from a prominent Kagoshima military family, his father Heiji Koito is a Navy rear admiral. He attended Kaijou preparatory school, a common path to the Imperial Naval Academy. His older brother Heinojou's death in the Sino-Japanese War deeply affected the family and fostered Koito's feelings of inadequacy. Fascinated by mechanical vehicles from youth, he famously stole and drove his father's French De Dion-Bouton at age 14. This led to his first meeting with Tokushirou Tsurumi, who later rescued him from Russian agents in Hakodate. This event cemented Koito's lifelong devotion to Tsurumi and prompted his decision to join the Army over the Navy, a choice his father supported.
Physically tall (173 cm) with dark skin and slightly wavy, purplish-tinted hair, Koito often wears a stern expression marked by angular eyebrows, frown lines, and deep eye bags. His standard uniform is the khaki Meiji 38 type, featuring red lapels, regiment numbering, and specific insignia. He dons a double-breasted khaki coat with a hood in cold weather.
His personality blends fierce loyalty to Tsurumi—bordering on hero worship—with naïveté, impulsiveness, and opulence. He alters photographs to exclude division members except himself and Tsurumi. Despite his rank, he displays immaturity stemming partly from his father withholding him from frontline Russo-Japanese War service. He prefers comfort, choosing paid dog sleds and upscale inns during missions. When excited or nervous, he unintentionally lapses into the largely unintelligible Satsuma dialect. Severe seasickness, linked to his brother's naval death, prevents a naval career.
In combat, Koito shows exceptional physical prowess but lacks strategic leadership. Highly skilled in Jigen-ryu swordsmanship, he utilizes its distinctive "monkey’s shout" (enkyo) kiai and performs acrobatic feats like running across paper and aerial flips. However, tactical planning and team coordination are weaknesses. Missions like confronting Asahikawa con artists or pursuing Sugimoto's group via airship reveal his impulsiveness, ineffective troop deployment, and focus on personal combat over strategy, contradicting his father's expectations for a command role.
Key operational events include exposing the impostor Suzukawa by leveraging Satsuma dialect knowledge, though he impulsively killed him instead of gathering intelligence. During the airship pursuit, he relied solely on speed and swordsmanship over troop coordination. In Karafuto, he advocated comfortable lodgings while tracking Sugimoto and chased a thief across rooftops during a circus investigation. He joined Tsurumi's large-scale assault on Abashiri Prison under the guise of quelling a riot.
His relationship with Sergeant Hajime Tsukishima is significant. Tsukishima aided Koito's military advancement and often acts as his translator. Koito addresses him informally ("Tsukishima" or "Tsukishimaa"), indicating trust uncommon with other subordinates. This dynamic evolves as Koito gradually questions Tsurumi's manipulations and prioritizes protecting Tsukishima during the Hakodate rebellion's climax. In the finale, he sustained a facial scar fighting Toshizou Hijikata and attempted to shield Tsukishima from harm amid the coup's collapse, reflecting his shift towards comradeship over blind loyalty.
Physically tall (173 cm) with dark skin and slightly wavy, purplish-tinted hair, Koito often wears a stern expression marked by angular eyebrows, frown lines, and deep eye bags. His standard uniform is the khaki Meiji 38 type, featuring red lapels, regiment numbering, and specific insignia. He dons a double-breasted khaki coat with a hood in cold weather.
His personality blends fierce loyalty to Tsurumi—bordering on hero worship—with naïveté, impulsiveness, and opulence. He alters photographs to exclude division members except himself and Tsurumi. Despite his rank, he displays immaturity stemming partly from his father withholding him from frontline Russo-Japanese War service. He prefers comfort, choosing paid dog sleds and upscale inns during missions. When excited or nervous, he unintentionally lapses into the largely unintelligible Satsuma dialect. Severe seasickness, linked to his brother's naval death, prevents a naval career.
In combat, Koito shows exceptional physical prowess but lacks strategic leadership. Highly skilled in Jigen-ryu swordsmanship, he utilizes its distinctive "monkey’s shout" (enkyo) kiai and performs acrobatic feats like running across paper and aerial flips. However, tactical planning and team coordination are weaknesses. Missions like confronting Asahikawa con artists or pursuing Sugimoto's group via airship reveal his impulsiveness, ineffective troop deployment, and focus on personal combat over strategy, contradicting his father's expectations for a command role.
Key operational events include exposing the impostor Suzukawa by leveraging Satsuma dialect knowledge, though he impulsively killed him instead of gathering intelligence. During the airship pursuit, he relied solely on speed and swordsmanship over troop coordination. In Karafuto, he advocated comfortable lodgings while tracking Sugimoto and chased a thief across rooftops during a circus investigation. He joined Tsurumi's large-scale assault on Abashiri Prison under the guise of quelling a riot.
His relationship with Sergeant Hajime Tsukishima is significant. Tsukishima aided Koito's military advancement and often acts as his translator. Koito addresses him informally ("Tsukishima" or "Tsukishimaa"), indicating trust uncommon with other subordinates. This dynamic evolves as Koito gradually questions Tsurumi's manipulations and prioritizes protecting Tsukishima during the Hakodate rebellion's climax. In the finale, he sustained a facial scar fighting Toshizou Hijikata and attempted to shield Tsukishima from harm amid the coup's collapse, reflecting his shift towards comradeship over blind loyalty.