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Shinpachi Nagakura (永倉新八 Nagakura Shinpachi) is the Captain of the Shinsengumi's 2nd Division. He is a native of Edo and a skilled swordsman. He is upbeat and cheerful, and he frequently helps raise the morale of the men in his command.
Shinpachi is introduced along with the other Shinsengumi captains when Chizuru is brought for questioning. He is often seen as part of the trio (along with Heisuke and Sano) who enjoy fighting together and drinking together, often breaking Hijikata's rules and curfew. Despite the goofy attitude, Shinpachi understands politics pretty well and knows exactly what his convictions are. He is not afraid to question orders and express his disapproval. However, he is not particularly fortunate with women, which is why he is envious of Sano's luck and often asks him for advice.
Nagakura is based on the historical Nagakura Shinpachi.
Quick Answers
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Appearance
Underneath the signature blue haori, that is a symbol of the Shinsengumi, Shinpachi wears white trousers and a purple undershirt with a large cleavage showing off his muscular chest. He also wears a black vest on top of it, long black gloves which do not cover his fingers, black knee-high boots and knee pads. Something that is always noticeable in his appearance and never changes is a military green bandana around his brown hair and a necklace.
In the second season of the anime, Shinpachi's outfit changes to the western-style one that has more green on the palette mixed with black, white and dark-yellow colors. His bandana becomes midnight green or dark-gray color. The lapel of his jacket is stripy and patterned with green and yellow.
Personality
Shinpachi is a boisterous, cheerful young man who enjoys drinking & having a good time with his comrades, and is very good friends with Sano and Heisuke. In spite of him tending to be the loudest at parties, he never seems to have much luck with women as well as being fond of them, and often blames Sano for "stealing all the women". His swordsmanship is one of the best among the Shinsengumi as he trained in the same school as Serizawa and Shimada. Apparently, Shinpachi is very vain about his physical condition and muscular build, as he loves showing off and demanding attention to his figure.
Shinpachi has a very clear understanding of what he wants to be from a political standpoint. He refuses to become someone's retainer, which is the initial reason for him to join the Shinsengumi and which is why he parts ways with the squad later as he disapproves of Kondou's leadership. Shinpachi is direct and honest, he is not afraid of speaking up and even fighting when he disagrees with a decision.
Story
This article contains major SPOILERS. Be careful if you do not know the full story yet.
First Season
Shinpachi is first seen among other captains during Chizuru's investigation. He is silent about the matter but starts a banter with Heisuke who makes a comment about Chizuru's tiny figure. Sano interferes as well, and Shinpachi jokes with him, too.
Shinpachi is part of all the battles and is never sick or heavily wounded. He is part of Kondou's group that attacks Ikedaya and he is the one who tells Chizuru to check on Souji on the second floor. When the Shinsengumi get mistreated by others during the Kinmon Rebellion, he loses his cool and yells at an Aizu soldier for trying to send them away from the battlefield.
After Itou joins the Shinsengumi, Shinpachi shows understanding towards Sannan who has had it rough because of his wound and because of Itou's cruel comments. After Sannan turns into a Rasetsu, Hijikata orders Shinpachi to take control over the Maekawa estate (where Sannan will be kept with other Rasetsu later on). He keeps being worried about Sannan later as well, and asks whether Sannan has survived the transition.
Shinpachi shows off his muscles
When Dr. Matsumoto comes to do a medical check-up on the Shinsengumi members, Shinpachi tries to show off his muscles as much as possible, competing with Sano and annoying everyone else. He keeps demanding a more thorough check from the doctor after having been examined quickly and found healthy.
In the second half of the season, Shinpachi begins to argue with Hijikata due to being annoyed by his behavior. He keeps complaining to other Shinsengumi captains, and once sabotages the curfew and comes back late and drunk, dragging Sano and Heisuke along. He even claims that if Hijikata wishes to make him commit seppuku as a punishment, so be it. However, Hijikata sees through his resentment and enquires about the problems in private, admitting that he was wrong. Shinpachi apologizes back, and invites Hijikata for a drink teasing him that there might be a weak sake that even Hijikata can drink.
When the demon trio attack the headquarters to kidnap Chizuru, Shinpachi fights against Amagiri as equal until the demons decide to retreat.
At the end of the season Shinpachi is part of the two units that are assigned to assassinate Itou and that later get ambushed by the Satchō forces led by Amagiri and Shiranui. During the battle of Toba-Fushimi, he is the last one to come back, so the other Shinsengumi captains have enough time to start worrying, however, he survives and returns safely.
Second Season
Shinpachi, often backed or held back by Sano, believes that fighting the Satchō with swords against guns is not sensible therefore the changes are needed. He waits to see how tables will turn in the near future therefore he goes with the idea of changing the outfit to the western one and adding firearms to the list of weapons they use. However, Shinpachi is utterly displeased with Kondou's aspiration to become a Daimyo, and states it openly that he does not intend to become Kondou's retainer due to being a Shinsengumi captain. He keeps ranting about Kondou who, according to Shinpachi, never used to be arrogant until then.
Shinpachi attacks Kondou
On the way from Hino to Kōfu Castle, Shinpachi notices that a lot of new untrained recruits keep fighting, and he once again blames Kondou, who is still in Hino, for his laid-back attitude. After the news has arrived that the enemy is already inside Kōfu Castle, Shinpachi and Sano are heavily against sieging the castle with the new circumstances, however, Kondou is determined to proceed. He accuses Shinpachi of cowardice, and Shinpachi considers Kondou blind about their stance due to not witnessing previous battles. Kondou pushes further by assuming that Shinpachi only fights battles he can win, which aggravates the latter massively causing him to attack the commander. Sano stops him just in time but Shinpachi keeps shouting at Kondou. Later Shinpachi and Sano manage to convince Kondou to retreat, and on the way back they encounter Koudou's Rasetsu.
After the defeat at the Kōfu Castle, the Shinsengumi take refuge at a hatamoto mansion, and during one of the heated conversations while drinking Shinpachi starts ranting at Kondou's actions once again, criticizing the decision to recruit untrained men who have no chance to stand against the new Rasetsu that move during the day.
When Kondou arrives, Shinpachi, looking gloomy, requests a private conversation. As it turns out, he has decided to leave the Shinsengumi due to being constantly displeased with the commander's decisions. Sano, being Shinpachi's closest friend, decides to leave with him. They bid farewell to Heisuke leaving him sad and drinking, and then they come to say goodbye to Chizuru, Shimada and Saitou. Shinpachi explains that he has never wanted to be a samurai and serve a lord of not his own choosing, so he decided to make sure he does not regret staying.
Shortly after leaving the Shinsengumi, Shinpachi and Sano part ways, and Shinpachi joins another unit. However, after the battle in Utsunomiya Castle, Shinpachi comes to assist and rescue Hijikata, after which he has a warm conversation with him.
Shinpachi's fate remains unclear as he is not shown to be part of the Shinsengumi further, however, he appears as part of Chizuru's final vision on the sky alongside all the other late comrades. His real-life counterpart survived the events and died only in 1915 of natural causes.
Third Season
Shinpachi appears in Episode 1 of Reimeiroku along with Sano and Heisuke the day they meet Ryuunosuke for the first time. When they learn that Serizawa has made him stay as a servant to repay for saving him, Shinpachi confirms that Serizawa is hard to handle, but Sano reminds his friend that he is treated fairly decently due to using the same fighting style as Serizawa (the Shindou Munen).
The trio protecting Ryuunosuke
After happily welcoming Saitou to the Rōshigumi, the trio is sent on patrol where they see Ryuunosuke protecting a citizen with a child from rogue samurai claiming to be imperial nationalists collecting money for the sake of the country. They see him paralyzed with fear and help him out chasing the rogues away. Later that day, Shinpachi is the one to inform Kondou that the city is full of rogue samurai and needs defending.
Shinpachi and Saitou eventually become the first who have to kill people in Kyoto. They come to the headquarters covered in blood and explain that they were following rogue samurai.
As Aizu make a decision to officially place the Rōshigumi under their charge, Serizawa proposes going to Shimabara to celebrate and makes a point to invite Shinpachi. Shinpachi tries his best to get out of the situation but fails, so he decides invite Heisuke and Sano to keep him company, and then Okita and Saitou. While at Shimabara, Serizawa makes a scene because of Kosuzu's behavior, and Shinpachi tries his best to distract him while others tell the geishas to leave quickly.
Later on, after the Rōshigumi have been granted an audience with the Lieutenant General of Aizu, Kondou organizes a few matches to showcase the Shieikan members' swordsmanship. Shinpachi fights against Saitou and loses.
In Saitou's memories of his first appearance in Shieikan, the trio watches him practice with a sword against Souji. Shinpachi is tasked with being the judge, but his command to stop the fight after one hit was ignored as the two wanted to continue. When Kondou and Hijikata enter the room, Hijikata yells at everyone ordering Shinpachi and Heisuke to hold back Souji while Sano has to stop Saitou.
Shinpachi and Ryuunosuke at Shimabara
In a few days, Shinpachi is forced to join Serizawa and Niimi for a meal. He is in desperate need of a company so, after Sano refuses, he forces Ryuunosuke to tag along. As they arrive at Shimabara, they split up in pairs, and when Shinpachi and Ryuunosuke are locked in a different room the 2nd unit commander explains why he did not simply turn down the invitation. He confesses that he cannot bring himself to hate Serizawa both because they are from the same dojo and also because, despite all the terrible decisions, without his help the Rōshigumi would not have received any support from the Aizu. He also jokes that if Serizawa had not saved Ryuunosuke, he would not have met all the Rōshigumi members.
As Serizawa goes drinking in Osaka, he forces Shinpachi to accompany him, who, in turn, invites Ryuunosuke. As expected, Serizawa gets drunk and demands a geisha to undress and dance naked, and when she refuses he makes a scene. Unable to stop him, Shinpachi tells Ryuunosuke to bring Kondou, who soon arrives along with Hijikata.
After Serizawa burns a building, Sannan runs an investigation and reports that the Yamato Shop that was burnt down the day before had earned the ire of imperial nationalists due to making large profits by trading with foreigners. Shinpachi quickly jumps to a conclusion that Serizawa's words had some truth in them after all.
Saitou defeating Shinpachi
As the plan to assassinate Serizawa is approved, only selected captains know about it leaving Shinpachi and Heisuke out of the loop. Everyone spends the evening at Shimabara, and Shinpachi is surprised when Serizawa tells him to stay and look after Ryuunosuke. Having had enough to eat and drink, Shinpachi, Heisuke and Ryuunosuke intend to head home but Saitou stops them and asks them to stay in Shimabara. Shinpachi quickly realizes the reason and voices it in a question form but Saitou keeps silent. He readdresses his question to Kondou but receives no reply. Saitou finally speaks up and asks Shinpachi what he intends to do if his guess is correct. While Shinpachi makes a scene about not being part of the selected group allowed to know, Ryuunosuke rushes to warn Serizawa. Heisuke chases after him, and Shinpachi joins, so Saitou is forced to run after them all. As Saitou tries to stop Shinpachi, the latter is offended that he was not trusted with the information only, as he assumes, due to him being from the same school as Serizawa. Saitou denies that but Shinpachi is not satisfied which is why he draws his sword forcing Saitou to do the same. Fighting with Shinpachi who does not want to stop, Saitou hits him in the stomach using a safe side of his sword. When Shinpachi asks him why he flipped it, Saitou claims that he is fighting precisely to ensure his comrade's survival.
Movies
Shinpachi's involvement in the story in movies is almost identical to the one in the anime series. The main differences would be the fact that there is no ambush for him and Sano during the Abura-no-Koji incident and there is no open confrontation between him and Kondou. In fact, his decision to leave the Shinsengumi is baseless as he does not complain about the leadership throughout the movie.
Sweet School Life
In the short OVA, Nagakura is a teacher at Hakuou Academy. He wears a green tracksuit and a bandana which makes him look like a PE teacher. His appearances are brief but memorable: first he is seen yelled at by Hijikta for listening to music and betting on horses, then during the medical examination he sees Chizuru enter the gym and rushes to remove the top part of his clothes only to showcase his muscles. He gets punched by Hijikata for doing so, which is why he is forced to go to the school doctor. Sannan offers him some amazing secret cure and Shinpachi gladly drinks the vial with red liquid (despite Yamazaki's feeble attempts to prevent it). After drinking the serum, Shinpachi's hair turn white and he seems completely healed and cheerful.
Trivia
- Shinpachi has theme music in the anime.
- Shinpachi was born the son of a samurai, but he never agreed with the ideals of directly serving a lord who believed money could solve any problem, which in turn, led him to serving in the Shinsengumi.