Yukimaru

Yukimaru was a character who appeared in the 16th episode Lullabies of the Lost (Verse 1) and the 17th episode Lullabies of the Lost (Verse 2) in Samurai Champloo/Anime. He is voiced by Steve Staley in the English dub, and Nozomu Sasaki in the Japanese Dub.

History
Yukimaru is was a samurai who trained alongside Jin. Everytime they sparred or fought against each other, Jin would always win. One day, Yukimaru finds out that Jin killed his master, and seeks revenge on Jin.

Yukimaru tracks Jin down in the woods, and tries fighting him to build his reputation and avenge his master, but Jin shows disinterest and escapes. Yukimaru finds Fuu which scares her, causing Jin to come to her rescue.

The two of them fight once more, with Jin coming off as the victor by stabbing Yukimaru through the chest. With his dying words, Yukimaru says to Jin that all he ever wanted was to be like Jin.

Personality
Yukimaru seems to be an vengeful man, as he is willing to go after Jin to seek revenge for killing their master. However, Yukimaru also seems to have selfish motives, as he wants to build a reputation for himself. At Yukimaru's last moments, he tells Jin that he wanted to be with Jin all along.

Abilities
Yukimaru is a skilled samurai, who was regularly Jin's sparring partner. However, he easily loses to Jin due to their overwhelming differences in skill.

Trivia

 * After Yukimaru dies, Jin remarks that Yukimaru was like a little brother to him.
 * On his kimono he has the Hojo clan's kamon. It's possible he may have ancestry in the clan. This may also represent the Takeda and Hojo rivalries due to Jin having the Takeda symbol on his kimono.