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Keisuke Sannan (山南 敬助 San'nan Keisuke) is one of the main protagonists in Hakuōki. In Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms, he is one of Chizuru's potential love interests. Sannan is one of the Vice-Commanders of the Shinsengumi, referred to as the Colonel in the localization. After he drinks the Ochimizu, he leads the Rasetsu Corps.
Sannan is loosely based on the historical Yamanami Keisuke.
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Personality
This article contains major SPOILERS. Be careful if you do not know the full story yet.
Sannan is intelligent, dutiful, and headstrong. Though he appears kind and gentle on the surface, Hijikata refers to him as "the scariest of all of us". This likely refers to the fact that he has a severe side when angered, and his lectures and tongue-lashings are intense. Additionally, he has a habit of subtly trying to get a rise out of people, especially Hijikata. However, despite his understated mischief, Sannan is at heart a pacifist. He states early on that the Shinsengumi "would ill serve the public good by murdering civilians in cold blood", and later objects to forcing the monks of Nishi Hongwanji aside to make room for a barracks, despite all other advantages.
After his arm is injured, Sannan becomes self-loathing and passive-aggressive, frequently mentioning his wound and/or putting himself down. During this time, he becomes so irritable that the other members of the Shinsengumi start avoiding him. He is also abnormally sensitive to Itou's snide remarks, as he feels that he has been replaced.
Following his transformation into a Rasetsu, Sannan is consumed with fervor for his various discoveries at several points, most prominently the fact that Chizuru's demon blood might be usable in some experiments with the Water of Life. In some routes, such as Heisuke's, this zealotry consumes him, and he goes mad. In others, such as Hijikata's, he masters it, but may feign the same obsession for his own reasons.
In Hakuōki: Shinsengumi Kitan
See also: Sannan Keisuke/Route
His mood had been so bleak lately that the atmosphere around him seemed to darken when he spoke derisively about himself, and anyone who talked to him became depressed.
Chapter 1
Sannan is first encountered during Chizuru's introduction to the rest of the Shinsengumi officers. Though he is aware of the possibility that she may have to die for what she saw, he initially tries to reassure her. However, he later takes a neutral stance on Chizuru's execution, pointing out that even if Hijikata is correct and she was a victim of circumstance, their enemies could still torture her for information.
If Chizuru tries to escape after Saito takes her back to her room, Sannan will appear alongside Kondou, Hijikata, and Okita to warn her against running, although he does not directly attempt to stop her. Upon discovering her true gender, he does not appear to be surprised. If Chizuru stays instead of continuing to run, he suggests that the captains reconvene to review this new information.
Sannan is not particularly affected by the revelation that Chizuru is a girl, as he believes that "killing in general is wrong", regardless of gender. After she mentions her father, Yukimura Koudou, Sannan points out that Chizuru presents an advantage to the Shinsengumi, since his daughter is much more familiar with his appearance and behavior than the captains. Hijikata agrees, and it is decided that Chizuru will stay with the Shinsengumi.
Hijikata then suggests making her someone's page, asking Kondou and Sannan if either of them need an assistant. However, Okita insists that it was Hijikata's idea, so he should take her on himself. Kondou and Sannan both agree, although Sannan is implied to have done so just to annoy Hijikata. Some time later, Sannan explains to Chizuru that she must continue crossdressing for as long as she stays with the Shinsengumi, because the presence of a woman in the compound could "disrupt morale, so to speak".
Later that week, Sannan and Hijikata depart for Osaka on business. While there, Sannan investigates a report of several ronin harassing a cloth merchant. He successfully drives them off, but his left arm is gravely wounded in the process, leaving him unable to wield a sword. Inoue delivers the news to Kondou, the captains, and Chizuru.
Toudou Memories of Love 1 (Heisuke's route)
Sannan appears to interrupt a conversation between Heisuke and Chizuru, telling the former that Hijikata is looking for him. Heisuke reluctantly responds to the summons, leaving Sannan and Chizuru alone. When Chizuru asks Sannan why Hijikata wanted to see Heisuke, Sannan explains that Hijikata intends to scold him for shirking his duties and that he will most likely "be made an example of". When Chizuru remarks that she has rarely seen Heisuke on his own, Sannan explains that he was probably worried about her, then departs.
If Chizuru remains in the compound instead of going out on patrol, she goes to the courtyard in an attempt to cool off, and Sannan overhears her talking about her father's possible relationship with the Shinsengumi. When she asks if he is all right, he explains coldly that he is not an invalid and rhetorically asks whether Chizuru is allowed out of her room. He warns her that roaming the headquarters without permission makes her seem suspicious. Before returning to her room, Chizuru tells him to take care of himself, and he returns the sentiment more genuinely.
Heisuke's route
Sannan is the main antagonist.
In Hakuōki: Kyoto Winds
See also: Keisuke Sannan/Route
The plot is largely the same as in the original game except for a few side stories that were cut from the remake. Sannan's behavior and choices stay mostly intact.
In Hakuōki: Edo Blossoms
See also: Keisuke Sannan/Route
Sannan's involvement in the plot is largely the same as in the second half of Shinsengumi Kitan, with the following exceptions.
Chapter 1
The first section has Sannan try to convince HIjikata, who has just returned from the Kama Inn, to allow the Rasetsu Corps to patrol Edo during the night as a means to help restore morale and purpose after the defeat at Fushimi Magistrate, with Sannan stating that it has "Festered into a plague of bitter apathy." Sannan believes this will also help improve their reputation in Edo. Hijikata agrees to it.
Chizuru, who has been listening in their conversation, asks Sannan if he really believes this to be a good idea once Hijikata has left, and she elaborates that Sannan has been working really hard as of late during both daytime and nighttime hours on the water of life, so adding more tasks on top of that seems a bit excesive. Sannan waves off her worries, however, reminding her that they've lost people along the way, and that this is why he must continue to research the water of life. This echoes his feelings at the end of Kyoto Winds.
Chizuru comes up with an idea to help Sannan, and so they embark to the Yukimura house in search of clues about the water of life's creation and a potential cure of its effects. As they arrive, however, Chizuru finds nothing obvious. It's only when Sannan lifts up a floorboard that they find some hidden documents. This leads to the revelation that one of the water of life's ingredients is nothing other than blood from authentic Western European demons (known there as vampires, as seen later on).
After researching up until midnight, they find the composition for a temporary medicine for the Rasetsu bloodlust. Here the player has the option to say either;
"We could rid the Rasetsu of the bloodlust", or "We can revert the serum's effects".
The latter will increase romance with Sannan, and prompt him to say that perhaps this could prove incredibly useful to those who came to regret their decision or grew exhausted by their current, new life. Before Chizuru can inquire Sannan's own feelings on the matter, he closes the book he was looking at and both of them leave the residence. They share few words as they return to Kama Inn, and they prepare the medicine to counter the bloodlust.
Sannan then experiences bloodlust himself, and the player has the three standard choices to "Give him blood", "Give him the medicine", or "Make him endure it". Only the first will lead to a good ending eventually.
In other routes
Iba's route
Sannan appears at the beginning, granting Chizuru approval to search her old home with Iba for anything Kodo left behind of the Rasetsu, though he doubts they will find anything.
Hijikata later reveals that Sannan and Heisuke both died in Sendai.
Souma's route
Sannan does not appear in this route, but Hijikata reveals his death upon reuniting with Chizuru, Souma, and Nomura.
Sakamoto's route
Sannan and Heisuke accompany Chizuru and Sakamoto to Sendai to stop Kodo. They deal with the Tosa Rasetsu while Chizuru and Sakamoto confront Nakaoka. Afterwards, they order the couple to flee while they handle Kodo. The three are not seen or mentioned again, but it is unlikely they survived.
Kazama's route
Sannan does not make an appearance but Amagiri announces his death along with Okita, Saitou, assumingly Nagakura, and Heisuke.
In Hakuōki: Tsukikage no Shou
After Koudou's death, Chizuru admits that her father's actions were immoral while Sannan and others did the right thing by stopping him from creating a world of Rasetsu. Sannan joins her on a journey to Europe in order to find a way to turn Rasetsu back into humans. Three years later, they are still in Europe, more specifically in France, where they found a legend about similar creatures: vampires. Sannan is still a Rasetsu, they travel in darker times of the day, and he drinks special water to slower down the Rasetsu corruption. Chizuru tries to learn the language and read newspapers. From one of the newspapers they learn that the Shinsengumi have been pardoned and are no longer prosecuted as traitors. Sannan realizes that he drank Ochimizu to be able to wield a sword again and now swords are soon to be banned in Japan, but he does not regret his choice because it allowed him to be with Chizuru, and they both hope to find a cure.
In the musicals
Main article: Sannan Keisuke/HakuMyu
Sannan is portrayed by Mikata Ryosuke in HakuMyu Hijikata-hen through Toudou-hen; and by Teruma in HakuMyu Reimeiroku, Harada-hen, and Hijikata-hen 2.
Quotes
- "I apologize for all of this frightening behavior. Please, don't give them the pleasure of unsettling you." (Chapter 1, to Chizuru)
- "Oh, my… Well, that was rather bold. You meant to run away, I assume?" (Chapter 1, to Chizuru)
- "Why don't we just wait for all of this to blow over? Hijikata will get tired of yelling at some point. His voice may give out first, but… Well, we'll see." (Shinsengumi Adventures 1, to Chizuru)