Kojirō Sasaki

Kojiro Sasaki is character from Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends. He was introduced in Samurai Warriors 2 as a unique non-player general that could be potentionally recruited as a bodyguard and then became playable as a generic character (i.e. didn't have a unique moveset) in Samurai Warriors 2: Empires. It was in Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends that he was truely made a unique playable officer, complete with his own storyline, weapon set and fighting style. He's symbolized by the kanji for "sword" (剣) and "swallow" (燕).

Role in the Plot
Kojiro's role in the Samurai Warriors series is not very major as he appears in very few people's storylines and when he does having little purpose. This is for two main reasons, the first being that he was born in a later era than many of the other characters so many of them were dead before he was born or able to fight, and the second being that he was only made a true character in Xtreme Legends and therefore lacked the need to be majorly involved in storylines from characters from Samurai Warriors 2.

There is one storyline however that he is involved in and that is Musashi Miyamoto's. In this storyline he is shown as a ruthless killer who only seems content on having a fight to the death with Musashi, the only man Kojiro feels is worthy of fighting him. In his own storyline he acts in a similar way, but is shown to not be a ruthless killer, but more a man who kills those who he feels are unworthy of life.

The only stage he appears in besides Musashi's stages is the Battle of Kuzegawa, which is also the only stage in Kojiro's own storyline where he is not seen fighting Musashi. In this stage he appears as a reinforcement for the Eastern Army.

Appearance
Kojiro's appearance is rather striking; his skin is deathly white and his lips are very red, creating a powerful contrast. He is of a normal build but is also rather tall in comparrison to many other characters. He has long black hair that he wears in a ponytail. Kojiro's outfit is a red trench coat that is outlined with yellow, along with a brown shirt and standard black bottoms. He also wears a blue sash and two chains around his waist and blue armguards that are outlined in yellow. Also, in line with the slightly feminine look of his face, he wears hoop earrings and heeled boots.

In his alternate colors in Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends his coat changes from red to blue, his shirt from brown to blue, his sash from blue to green and his armguards from blue to green. His alternate colors in Warriors Orochi 2 are very simlar, although he takes on a purple and blue theme as opposed to his blue and green theme in Xtreme Legends.

In Warriors Orochi 2 Kojiro's alternate costume makes his appearance less striking. His outfit is made to be nearly entirely black with a white/silver outlining, the main way that Kojiro is made less striking though is that his skin is the normal colour and he no longer wears his earrings.

Fighting Style
Kojiro's fighting style differs in regards to which of his two weapons he is using; his Nodachi or his two broadswords. When using his Nodachi (mostly in his regular attacks) he attacks with reasonably wide sweeps and very precise attacks, this gives him an overall good range but makes it hard to hit with some of his attacks, particuarly when he is using thrust attacks. When using his Broadswords (only in charge attacks) his range becomes exceptional, hitting both far out in front of him and far around him.

His Katana attacks could be compared to fencing as he does do a lot of thrusting attacks with it, but typically he uses it like any other sword-user uses their swords. His broadswords cannot really be compared to a fighting style as he never actually wields them; they appear transdimensionally and he simply moves his hand to move them, as if he is directing them with his hands.

Overall, Kojiro is very versitile due to his two weapons but his precise attacks can make him difficult to master, however, as this only applies to a few of his moves he is a great crowd clearer and suitable for most players.

Voice Actors

 * Maxime Mensah - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Antoine Yared - Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends (English)
 * Yuji Ueda - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "I will give you all a beautiful end."
 * "Are you excited at the chance to be slain by me?"
 * "I'll kill you in ways you never imagined."
 * "Ahh... The killing has begun, I shiver in anticipation."
 * "Your life is in my hands."
 * "Look out! The spirit of a dead woman walks among the enemy!"
 * "Are you trying to insult me, or are you just stupid?"
 * Nagamasa and Kojiro; SW2 Empires

Moveset

 * R1 + : Kojiro charges for a moment and performs his Tsubame Gaeshi. He does an unblockable upward cut.
 * R1 + undefined : Using a bit of Musou, Kojiro can temporarily make himself invisible. If he attacks, the effect will wear off but his attack will be stronger.

Story Mode Stages

 * 1) Pirate Hunt - Kojiro fights with the local Fisherman against a group of Pirates and the Tokugawa army.
 * 2) Battle of Kuzegawa - Kojiro fights for the Eastern army against the Western army.
 * 3) Battle of Sekigahara - Kojiro fights for the Eastern army against the Western army.
 * 4) Chaos in Kyoto - Kojiro fights for the Tokugawa army against the Toyotomi army and a group of Vagabonds.
 * 5) Osaka Campaign - Kojiro fights for the Tokugawa army against the Toyotomi army.
 * 6) The Greatest Swordsman (Dream Stage) - Kojiro and Musashi fight against the Oda army and the Toyotomi army.

Weapons
As stated many times above, Kojiro's weapons are a Nodachi and 2 transdimensional Broadswords which he uses depending on what attacks he is using. When he first debuted in Samurai Warriors 2 he did not use the broadswords (as he was not a playable character and therfore only needed a basic weapon) and used a standard sword that was used by generic officers.

Requirements for obtaining Kojiro's 4th Weapon
Stage: Chaos in Kyoto Requirements: Within 10 minutes, make Musashi Miyamoto appear and defeat 300 enemies. (Insert Strategy)
 * Strategy

Requirements for obtaining Kojiro's 5th Weapon
Stage: The Greatest Swordsmen Requirements: Within 13 minutes, make Nobunaga Oda appear and defeat 500 enemies. (Insert Strategy)
 * Strategy

Early Life
Kojiro was a swordsman of the late Sengoku and the early Edo eras of Japan. Born in approximately 1585, he is remembered best for his famous duel with Musashi Miyamoto, which he lost and had his life taken.

Kojiro faought under the name of 'Ganryū' which was also the name of the kenjutsu school which he founded. He is believed to have studied the 'Chūjō-ryu' style of sword fighting from either Jisai Kanemaki or Seigen Toda, the latter being a master of the kodachi (a short sword). He became famous because of his school and the many duels he had won and was honored by Tadaoki Hosokawa as the chief weapons master of the Hosokawa fief north of Kyūshū. He used a Nodachi that he called 'The Laundry-Drying Pole', also called the Monohoshizao.

'The Drying Pole' and 'The Swallow Cut'
Kojiro's Drying Pole was a Nodachi, with a blade length over 90cm (3ft) long which is a lot larger in comparison to regular Katanas which are 70cm (2ft, 3"). Despite this however, Kojio wielded the blade with surprising speed and precision.

Kojiro's famous technique, known as 'The Swallow Cut' or 'Tsubame Gaeshi' was feared and respected throughout feudal Japan and was named so due to it mimicking the motion of a swallow's tail during flight and because it was so quick and precise that it could strike down a bird in mid-flight. The technique involves striking downward from above and then instantly striking again in an upward motion from below.

Duel with Musashi
Kojiro had a long rivalry with Musashi and is considered by many to the most challenging opponent that Musashi ever faced. Musashi heard of Kojiro's fame and asked Lord Hosokawa to arrange a duel for him, which was sorted and arranged for April 13th, 1612 on the remote island of 'Ganryujima of Funashima'. There are many accounts of the fight between the two, all of which leading to Kojiro's death, however many also depict that Musashi could have potentially cheated to win their duel.

Among the first of these 'cheating' rumors is that it is stated that Musashi arrived 3 hours late for their duel deliberately to unnerve Kojiro, a tactic he had used in earlier duels with other swordsmen. The second was that Musashi used the environment against Kojiro, such as the sun and the tides of the sea. Regardless, Kojiro was ultimately defeated by Musashi and his death is often debated even to this day.