Kamiya Kaoru

In this Japanese name, the surname is Kamiya.

Kamiya Kaoru
Rurouni Kenshin character
Kamiya Kaoru on the cover of Rurouni Kenshin Kanzenban Volume 4
First appearanceRurouni Kenshin Act 1: Kenshin ● Himura Battōsai
Created byNobuhiro Watsuki
Portrayed byEmi Takei
Voiced byJapanese
Tomo Sakurai (drama CD)
Miki Fujitani (1996 anime series)[1]
Rie Takahashi (2023 anime series)
English
Reba West (1996 anime series, Sony dub)[2]
Dorothy Melendrez (1996 anime series, Bang Zoom! dub)[3]
Kara Bliss (Requiem for the Ishin Patriots)
Katherine Catmull (Reflection)[4]
Amanda Hanawa (New Kyoto Arc)
Alexis Tipton (live-action films)
Risa Mei (2023 anime series)[5]
In-universe information
AliasKory Kamiya (anime, Sony dub only)[2]
TitleMaster of Kamiya Kasshin-ryū
RelativesKamiya Koshijirou (father)
Himura Kenshin (husband)
Himura Kenji (son)

Kamiya Kaoru (神谷 薫), known as Kaoru Kamiya in the Media Blasters English-language dub and Kori Kamiya in the English Sony Samurai X dub,[6] is a fictional character in the Rurouni Kenshin manga created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. In the story Kaoru is the instructor of a kendo school in Tokyo, Kamiya Kasshin-ryū (神谷活心流). The students leave when many people are killed by someone claiming to be the Hitokiri Battōsai (人斬り抜刀斎) from the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū", damaging the school's reputation. Kaoru is saved from the murderous impostor by the real Battōsai, Himura Kenshin, now a wanderer who has sworn to stop killing. During the series, Kaoru grows fond of Kenshin due to his good actions to society and becomes his ally.

Kaoru also appears in the film version of the series and other media of the franchise, including electronic games and a series of original video animations (OVAs). Although Watsuki wanted to design Kaoru "more cutely" and to be "more fashionable", he toned down those qualities and made her poor and "down-to-earth". There was concern that Watsuki would kill her off, with her critical reception having been mostly positive.

  1. ^ Aniplex, Fuji TV (January 10, 1996). "伝説の美剣士...愛ゆえに闘う男". Rurouni Kenshin. Episode 1. Fuji TV.
  2. ^ a b "Rebecca Forstadt Female Voice – My Sexy Voice – Rebecca Forstadt – Voice Actor". rebeccaforstadt.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  3. ^ Aniplex, Fuji TV (March 17, 2003). "Handsome Swordsman of Legend: A Man who Fights for Love". Rurouni Kenshin. Episode 1. Cartoon Network.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference ova was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Mei, Risa [@LoveRisaMei] (November 15, 2023). ""Hold it, battosai!" You can hear me as Kaoru Kamiya in the new @rurounikenshin reboot!!! Huge huge thank you to the team at @BangZoom @mummynyan @staleybud, and the rest of the production team for trusting me with such an iconic role 🙏🎀" (Tweet). Retrieved November 15, 2023 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "Episode 1." Sony Samurai X dub.