Enemies of the Hitokiri Battousai in the OVA and his strongest opponents during the Bakumatsu, the Shinsengumi were a police force created to do battle with the Ishinshishi and to protect Kyoto from harm. Their motto was 'Aku Soku Zan" which means 'Evil Swiftly Slay". Kenshin remembers fighting each of the leaders at some point during the Bakumatsu and acknowledges that they were also fighting for a cause they believed in and that he bore them no grudge.