An In-Depth Analysis of Okita and Saito Being Foils to One Another
Disclaimer:
I have only played the first game, and kyoto winds + edo blossoms so I may have missed a lot of other qualities from other sources.
This whole thing was born out of hyperfixation so it's not exactly a perfect analysis, just wanted to write ab these two regardless!
Also feel free to add details that I have missed :)
Spoilers ahead! mostly just from the CGs I have included in this post but this is an analysis either way so...
Long post ahead as well so buckle up.
What is a "Foil"?
Simply put, a foil is a character that contrasts another character to better highlight the qualities that these individual characters possess. One of the most popular literary examples of foils are Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.
And in this case, I will be highlighting the differences (and resemblance) of the Hakuoki characters, Okita Souji and Saito Hajime to each other
By Design
First, I would like to discuss their character design and how we can see them as characters by appearance
Their designs are a striking contrast of each other.
Seen by how more open and how thinly-clothed Okita is, highlighting his harsh and straightforward nature, he's someone who's not afraid to speak his mind.
On the other hand, Saito's design is more modest. Paired with a scarf that wraps around him and with socks as well, highlighting how reserved he is and how he usually keeps to himself, he's someone who is more closed off.
Their hairstyles also show more of their character, as Okita's hair is up and is like that because he's copying Kondou. On the other hand, Saito's hair seems more unkempt, it's covering half of his face and his right eye completely but he doesn't really care much for it, something that also contrasts how Okita's right side of face is more exposed
Their color palettes also create a difference between the two of them, a muted red with green accents for Okita while a vivid blue with cold silver/white accents for Saito
Sword placements are also on opposing sides but that's already a given since this is Saito.
As They Are
But beyond their appearance they have demeanors that separate them from one another, something that highly accentuates both of their characters personality-wise, these qualities being:
How Okita can be easily likened to a cat while Saito leans more to being dog-like. (It's also so much more complex than that as their own personalities seems to be reversed in this situation but it also makes so much sense why they are the way they are).
Their voices also contrast each other, Okita with Morikubo's high pitched playful voice v.s. Toriumi's deep and serious one.
They also have this thing where one could easily assume that someone like Okita would be using the 'Ore' pronoun for himself (bc it's more "vulgar") but he actually uses 'Boku' and Saito's the one who actually uses 'Ore.'
They're both blunt in their own ways: with Okita being far harsher with his words compared to how Saito speaks bluntly but with less of an edge and with more tact.
One's loyalty is placed towards Hijikata as he's the one who primarily runs the Shinsengumi while the other hates Hijikata's guts because he is Kondou's closest confidant and friend. Okita is undyingly loyal to Kondou as much as Saito is to his purpose of serving the Shinsengumi to a fault.
They constantly overwork themselves to the bone because they want to be useful to the Shinsengumi/the people that their loyalty lies on and both are really annoying patients when they get hurt because they will stop at NOTHING to try and be of help to the Shinsengumi.
^This creates a contrast on their roles as Saito was one of the most active people in the Shinsengumi (especially in his route) in contrast to Okita, who was bedridden in all of the routes even in his own, not being able to do much to help his comrades in battle due to his condition.
Okita sees everyone as equal, as in he doesn't care about anyone else besides Kondou as he is the only person he thinks highly of. He thinks of everyone else, including himself to be under Kondou.
While Saito is in the position of constant belittlement of others just for being left handed, he wants more than anyone to be seen as an equal as he does so for everyone especially in a place of battle. But he doesn't belittle others in the way that Okita does even if he sees people like Hijikata as someone above him.
One is stoic and seems emotionless but the other is a huge perpetual smiler. With Saito just being more composed, rather than being cunning or calculating like Okita, someone who hides it all with his smile in which we will dive more into...
Both Okita and Saito are highly emotionally repressed individuals, brought by how they were treated in their younger days.
Saito had always suppressed his emotions to cultivate a clearer and more rational mind, fearing that this could hinder his ability to do his job and to do his job well. He fears that emotions could cloud his judgement especially during the times where he needed to be level-headed.
While Okita is someone who DOES let his emotions get ahead of him bc of his dedication to Kondou. But these emotions are only focused on one thing and that is everything that involves Kondou and Kondou alone. Everything else that wasn't about him is something that he absolutely does not care about.
They're both emotional beings (naturally) but Saito whose repressed feelings and stoic demeanor may make him seem more cold and apathetic when in reality he isn't as merciless as how the thorny Okita can be if it didn't (or if it did) involved Kondou.
Have I been of any use to the Shinsengumi at all?
Now, let's move onto the main meat of this analysis: their character motivation and their desires.
Both Okita and Saito wants to be of help to the Shinsengumi, or mainly the people that they are loyal to.
They both have this problem of seeing themselves as a tool for the Shinsengumi. This is something that both are more than willing to be one because of the people that gave them purpose: Kondou for Okita, and the Shinsengumi and by extent, Hijikata, for Saito for giving him a place to belong to, a place where he is respected for just being the way he is as a warrior and as a person.
The stark contrast between Saito and Okita especially with regards to how they view their duties as a member of the Shinsengumi and as warriors who had shed a lot of blood is hauntingly fascinating.
Both Okita and Saito had killed a LOT of people. It was part of the job anyways, and they were high ranking captains of the Shinsengumi, it'd be weirder if they haven't.
However, Saito is more of the pragmatic warrior of the two, aware of the lives that he took and how being a warrior means that it's a me or him situation. This means that he had killed a lot of people just so he can stay alive and be alive, as he is right now. Although killing isn't something he particularly enjoys, it's something that proves one's strength over the other.
However, all of this still encapsulates a form of respect in some way, moreso as a way to honor each other as a combatant. He isn't just mindlessly killing other people just because he was asked to or he needed to (of course, he would still kill them if that was what he was ordered to but he just doesn't unnecessarily shed blood if he didn't need to do so) and he's perfectly aware of all this as he carries this burden as a warrior.
Okita, on the other hand, is apathetic.
He's as aware as Saito when it comes to the deliberation of life and death between him and those that he had killed, it's just that he doesn't care since it was an order (something he can do for Kondou), so he will do it regardless of who or what you are, that is his burden and duty as the sword of the shinsengumi. if he has to kill he WILL kill.
I see it as something similar to projection of some sort, I think, since he has no other purpose, he isn't some kind of honorable pragmatic solider like Saito who lives for his sword and carries the heart of a warrior, what he wants is to be useful to Kondou and this is something he believes that he can do for him.
Other than this duty for Kondou, he has no other life to call as his. It's in his own cynical ways that makes it easy for him to take away the lives of other people. Which, in an almost karmic fashion, can his life be easily taken away by his incurable disease as well.
But something even more fascinating ab them is their individual motivations, their actual desires or what they actually wanted to do.
It is, however, blurred by their sense of duty and sticking to the purpose that they have crafted for themselves, they are driven by something that is both hugely different and quite similar to one another.
Okita KNOWS what he wants and that's to be useful to Kondou in any way that he can be. To him, his sole purpose is to serve Kondou. The idea of being useless to him is what mainly drives him into a a depressive spiral, he's THE sword of Shinsengumi, something that is at the extent of Kondou. For Okita, he sees himself as none other than a tool for Kondou's biddings.
Saito, on the other hand, found his purpose through the Shinsengumi. He had a place where he was accepted for who he is. He thrived in following orders from Hijikata as this is what fulfills him as a person, to be of use to those who accepted fully and didn't shun him away. But in comparison, Saito DOESN'T EXACTLY KNOW what he truly wants besides for honoring and priding himself as a warrior or as a vassal of the Shinsengumi.
He had trained hard for HIS sword and for his skills AS a warrior and he knows nothing beyond that. He also sees himself as a tool for the Shinsengumi's bidding but in a way that both differs and also resembles Okita's purpose for being in the Shinsengumi.
In Conclusion
Okita Souji and Saito Hajime are both well-written characters. These two are the two stand-out characters of the series and it's their own distinct differences that makes them stand out. Furthermore, they are the best example of foils in the whole series in comparison to the other foil characters in the series (such as Hijikata-Chikage), as they are both well fleshed out as individuals and moreso as a duo.
I just find it so interesting how the two of them resemble each other in contrasting ways. It's these differences they have that compliments and accentuates the qualities that they possess and I find that really fascinating.
Anyways I'm really bad at writing conclusions T___T but thank you so much for reading! I enjoyed writing this and hakuoki is like a dormant interest of mine so this was really fun to do :D
