Amendment & Soujirou
The following is taken directly from the English version of the manga published by Viz Media. No changes have been made. You can find it on page 122 of volume 16.
Amendment
“Sojiro – always popular, always a struggle. As has been previously mentioned, although he is based on the Okita Soshi of Shiba Ryotaro’s Shinsengumi Keppyroku (“Blood-Record of the Shinsengumi”), I personally found him a difficult personality to convey. On top of that, because this particular story came at the end of the year, I had little extra time to think it over. My editor was a huge help, actually. (He always understood Sojiro better than me.)
Since the historical Okita Soshi dies young, many fans worried that Sojiro will go young, too, but it’s always been my plan to have him stick around. Despite having abandoned all efforts to think for himself and letting Shishio handle everything, Sojiro’s not the type to wrap things up by fleeing into death–rather, he’ll suffer through life, atoning for all that he’s done. It’s a harsh way of thinking, but as a human being, it’s the only choice he can make. (Think of Shishio as a leader of a radical religious group and Sojiro as a believer filled with crazed devotion, as though he’s just handed over his brain. Does that put it in a different perspective?)
Though, for whatever reasons (including family and society), life may be a struggle, so long as one if born into the human race, one must never abandon one’s efforts to think for oneself…or so Watsuki believes.
Still, whatever it is I may say about Sojiro’s personality, no doubt he’ll keep smiling, and living that life of indifference, Sojiro, like Anji, is a character I feel I haven’t fully realized; I’d like to bring him back, if possible. Not that any plans are in place at the moment…”