Kenshi Takahashi

"Now I have but one goal: to slay the sorcerer who blinded me."

- Kenshi conversing with Shujinko

Kenshi (劍士) is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series, who made his debut in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.

Appearance
In Deadly Alliance, Kenshi wears a black body suit with red accents. He wears a sash across his chest, depicting a dragon, and a black pauldron on his right shoulder. Attached to his belt is a small satchel. He wears red knee pads and black boots. His signature red bandana is worn across his eyes.

For his alternate costume, Kenshi sheds his tactical gear and red blindfold in favor of a traditional karate gi. His gi is white, with many tears and gashes. A black belt is worn across his waist, holding up a satchel. Kenshi is also barefoot.

In Deception and Armageddon, Kenshi wears a high-collared, grey rubber vest, with kanji on it, and armored pants. In addition, he wears white kneepads, red pointed boots, and long, armored gloves. His red blindfold is also worn.

Kenshi's Deception and Armageddon alternate costume is his Deadly Alliance primary. However, the back of his pants are now red instead of black.

In MK 2011, Kenshi dons a refined version of his original outfit, but now featuring glowing panels on the back of his hands and a sharper hair cut.

Origin
Kenshi was once a proud swordsman that was hailed and respected in Japan; this all changed when he was confronted by a old man who said he could guide Kenshi to the Sento Sword, a blade of legendary status. Kenshi was eager to get his hands on the legendary blade and went to great lengths to claim the sword. Kenshi, upon arriving at the sword's location, found out that the old man, who turned out to be Shang Tsung, tricked him. Kenshi was trapped with the sword and became blind after both his eyes were severely damaged. Kenshi eventually escaped after the Sento Sword guided him out. Kenshi swore from that day forward that he would kill the sorcerer who made him blind.

Combat characteristics
Despite his imminent blindness, Kenshi possesses senses that are heightened beyond their normal ability and can fight on par with any other kombatant. Kenshi wields a sword that contains the spirits of past warriors, and is in turn guided by these spirits in combat. He can sense an opponent's presence by their energy or by hearing them and thus, can take opponents by surprise. Also due to his blindness is the fact that he is completely immune to attacks that would target one's sense of sight. Kenshi is well-trained in telekinetic attacks as well, and is capable of teleportation.

In MK 2011, Kenshi's fighting style has been expanded upon, extensively using his telekinesis to wield his sword, although he still uses his hands to hold it from time to time. He can also employ a tangible, ghostly image of himself to attack opponents from a distance, similar to Noob Saibot. His sword has the ability to reflect projectiles back to his opponents.

Signature moves

 * Telekinetic Slam: Kenshi picks up the opponent via telekinesis and slams them against the ground. This move is taught by Ermac. (MK:DA, MK:D, MK:U, MK:A)
 * Telekinetic Toss: Kenshi telekinetically throws his opponent behind him. This move is also borrowed from Ermac. In MK 2011, this move has been downgraded into his grab. (MK:DA, MK:D, MK:U, MK:A)
 * Telekinetic Push: Kenshi holds his hand in front of his opponent and telekinetically pushes them backwards. (MK:DA, MK:D, MK:U, MK:A)
 * Tele-Flurry: Kenshi performs two punches and a kick to his opponent from a far distance. (MK:D, MK:U, MK:A, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Tele-Beatdown and adds 2 extra punches.
 * Mind Warp: Kenshi teleports himself closer to his opponent. In MK 2011, he uses this move during his X-Ray Move (MK:D, MK:U, MK:A)
 * Telekinetic Slash: Kenshi telekinetically unsheathes his sword and slices the opponent upward. There are close, medium and far versions of this move. (MK 2011)
 * The enhanced versions are Telekinetic Blade. They add an overhead slice before the upward slice.
 * Rising Karma: Kenshi uppercuts his opponents in the air with his katana in the ethereal form and the opponent in vulnerable to sucessive attacks. (MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version Karma Eruption does more damage.
 * Blade Reflect: Kenshi unsheathes his sword and slashes projectiles, reflecting them. (MK 2011)
 * The Enhanced version is Blade Absorb.
 * Spirit Charge: Kenshi telekinetically shoulders the opponent. (MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version, Spirit Vengeance, adds a down slice.
 * X-Ray Move - Soul Blade: Kenshi throws his sword into the opponent's stomach and Mind Warps in front of them. He then takes out his sword, turns it over, and hits the opponent in the face with the hilt, breaking the whole skull. He then turns it back over and slashes the foe upward, ripping their ribs open and further damaging the skull.

Fatalities

 * Telekinetic Contortion: Kenshi concentrates as he fires mental waves of energy at his opponent, paralyzing. First, the eyes are forcefully pushed out of the head as Kenshi promptly bends the opponent's body in unnatural directions, starting with the arms, legs, and then the head as the last crunch leaves them suspended in the air for a couple of seconds as they crumple onto the floor as a blind, scrambled mess. It should be noted that if a character is wearing something covering the eyes (such as sunglasses), they will not fall out. (MK:DA)
 * Telekinetic Stretch: Kenshi lifts the opponent into the air as his arms slowly spread out, with the victim following suit as their body begins to further stretch and expand outwards until the body snaps in two. (MK:D)
 * Katana Strike: Kenshi takes out his Katana and violently thrusts his katana through the chest/neck. He then waits a second before pulling it out and slicing his opponent twice in the upper torso region. He begins his victory pose as his fallen opponent falls in half behind him squirting massive amounts of blood. (MK:D)
 * Split Ends: Kenshi telekinetically picks up the opponent. He gets out Sento and throws it further down the stage, with it landing on its tip. Then, Kenshi pushes the opponent head first into the sword, slicing them vertically in half, the blade stopping at the chest. (MK 2011)
 * Scatterbrained: Kenshi slams the opponent a few times on the camera, a final smash removes the victim's eye from its socket and it slides down the screen. He then finishes it off with a clean slice across the chest diagonally with Sento. In the Playstation Vita version of the game, the cut is changed to a straight vertical down the middle.(MK 2011)

Other finishers

 * Hara-Kiri - Seppuku: Kenshi kneels down and uses his sword to cut half of his abdomen. Before falling down, he neatly puts the sword at his side. This is the only traditional Hara-Kiri. (MK:D)
 * Babality - Kenshi lifts Sento up into the air via telekinesis, but accidentally slams it against his head three times. Kenshi then begins crying. (MK:2011)

Mortal Kombat Legacy
Kenshi appears in season two of Mortal Kombat Legacy played by Dan Southworth.

Kenshi's history is mostly kept intact, but he no longer has a rivarly with the sorcerer Shang Tsung and was instead blinded by Ermac when he went to claim the Sento sword, which is also not an heirloom blade of his line in this series.

Kenshi was once a wandering ronin in ancient Japan when he came across three bandits robbing an old man. Kenshi calls their actions dishonorable, but the bandits only respond by cursing at him. When the bandits demand he pay a toll to keep his life, Kenshi throws a half-eaten apple at them, telling them that's their toll. Infuriated, the bandits charge at him with their swords drawn. With little effort, Kenshi responds with blinding speed in drawing his own sword, killing all three bandits with a single blow for each.

Later that night, Kenshi is eating dinner with the old man he saved, and offers to pay him in return for feeding him, but the old man insists that because Kenshi saved his life, he is indebted to him. The old man reveals he is a mystic and offers to tell Kenshi of something that may be of benefit to him. The old man tells Kenshi of the sword of Sento, a sword that is said to be able to cut down any enemy. Revealing the blade was created by Shao Kahn and sealed in a mountain cave to be guarded by the demon Ermac, who consumes the souls of any warrior who tries to claim the blade.

Kenshi is initially amused by the story, calling it a fairy tale like the ones his grandfather use to tell him, but when the old man reveals he knows Kenshi's name without the warrior ever having told him, Kenshi begins to believe him and asks the location of the sword.

The next morning, Kenshi travels to the mountain where the sword is said to be, and finds several long rotten skeletons outside the cave. Venturing into the cave, Kenshi finds more bodies but also sees the sword imbedded into a cave wall. As he approaches the sword, he hears a demonic voice call out to him, taunting him, declaring 'they' have been waiting for a worthy opponent and that no one has ever left the cave alive. The demon Ermac calls itself many while Kenshi is but one, Kenshi retorts, "But you are not me." He whirls around, sword drawn as Ermac attacks.

Though the battle is not seen, the cave explodes and as Kenshi staggers out, his eyes are shown to be filled with blood and the ronin is horrified to discover he has been blinded. Though he lost his sight, Kenshi claimed the Sento sword for himself that day.

Between the main events of the series, Kenshi is contacted by Raiden and agrees to fight for Earthrealm in the Mortal Kombat Tournament.

Several years later, Kenshi is summoned by Raiden to the island hosting the Mortal Kombat tournament, with Kenshi being the last to teleport onto the island.

That night, Kenshi notes the island "Sounds like death" and Raiden reveals that the island once hosted a long dead civilization and serves as a reminder of what is at stake. Raiden also reveals that whatever innate supernatural abilities each of them possess will be amplified on the island, and points out that Kenshi's honed senses will become superhuman.

When the tournament begins, Kenshi ventures further into the island, and after a brief meditation, arrives in a clearing. Ermac's voice once more calls out to him, proclaiming it will retake the Sento blade from Kenshi and taunts that it has learned much since 'they' took his eyes. Kenshi darkly growls that he has as well and engages Ermac in a fierce duel.

Kenshi and Ermac are roughly evenly matched throughout the battle, and though Kenshi loses the Sento, he is able to overpower Ermac with his hand-to-hand skills before discovering his telekinetic abilities similar to Ermac's. Ermac seemingly gains the upperhand when he telekinetically chokes Kenshi and then binds him with scaled tentacles, strangling him further, but Kenshi is able to draw Sento back to his hand with his telekinesis and frees himself, throwing the blade and impaling Ermac through his heart. With one final telekinetic pulse, Kenshi slays Ermac, claiming the first victory of the tournament for Earthrealm.

Original Timeline

 * Cyrax: Kenshi was sent by Sonya and Jax to search for him.
 * Daegon: Kenshi was aware of his and Taven's quest to defeat Blaze.
 * Forces of Light: Kenshi wished to lead them in the final battle of Armageddon.
 * Ermac: Kenshi freed him from Shao Kahn's control, after which Ermac taught him the Telekinetic Slam.
 * Jax: Sent Kenshi to look for Cyrax.
 * Johnny Cage: When Kenshi encounters him, Cage offers to let him join in the fight against the Forces of Darkness, but he declines.
 * Mavado: Kenshi was nearly killed by Mavado in Deadly Alliance, but was aided and revived by Sub-Zero. He later attempted to take revenge upon Mavado.
 * Quan Chi: Kenshi was stabbed by him in Armageddon.
 * Shang Tsung: Tsung deceived him into breaking the seal on the well that housed his ancestors spirits, and was then left to die by the demon sorceror. Kenshi was later killed by him in the Battle of Armageddon.
 * Sheeva: Stabbed and slashed her.
 * Sonya: Sent by her and Jax to locate Cyrax.
 * Sub-Zero: Aided and revived Kenshi when he had been nearly killed by Mavado in Deadly Alliance. Kenshi would later ally himself with the Lin Kuei ninja in Deception.
 * Taven: Kenshi was aware of his and Daegon's quest to defeat Blaze.

Alternate Timeline

 * Reiko: Fought against him in Shao Kahn's tournament, however, the outcome is unknown.
 * Shang Tsung: Deceived and left to die by him as he had been in the original timeline.
 * Scorpion: At some point after MK 2011, Kenshi aided Scorpion to "conquer" his demon and reform the Shirai Ryu. When Kenshi and his son, named Takeda, were pursued by the Red Dragon, Kenshi traveled to the Himalayan Mountains to seek aid from Scorpion and his clan. Once there, Scorpion saved Kenshi and his son by killing Hsu Hao. After recovering from his injuries, Kenshi trusted Scorpion to care for and train his son.
 * Hsu Hao: After Kenshi infiltrated the Red Dragon and "betrayed" the clan before rescuing Takeda, Daegon ordered Hsu Hao to kill Kenshi for his actions. Eventually, Hsu Hao was able to find and defeat Kenshi near the Himalayan Mountains, but before he could kill Kenshi, Scorpion arrived to rescue his ally and killed Hsu Hao.

Mortal Kombat Legacy

 * Old man: Saved him from bandits, learned of the Sento sword's legend and location from him.
 * Ermac: Fought him for the Sento sword, was blinded by him, later killed him in the Mortal Kombat tournament.
 * Raiden: Presumably recruited by Raiden for the tournament.
 * Sub-Zero: Ally.
 * Kurtis Stryker: Ally.
 * Johnny Cage: Ally.
 * Kung Lao: Ally.

Trivia

 * In early concepts, Kenshi's original name was "Blind Gi" and he was renamed 'Blind Kenshi' as his character developed; the adjective was dropped for his final form.
 * His early weapon (before the Katana) in MK:DA was the Straight Sword.
 * Kenshi's name is taken from the Japanese word "kensei" (剣聖), which means "sword saint" in English. The Konquest mode of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance mentioned that he is also referred to as "the Sword Saint."
 * During Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance's conquest mode, Kenshi was revealed to be of Eurasian descent.
 * Kenshi (剣士) in Japanese also means swordsman.
 * Though Kenshi is officially 6' 1" in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, a glitch in the game sometimes doubles the "1" making his listed height 6' 11".
 * He is immune to Sonya's and Kira's Kiss of Death moves, which aim for the eyes. However, he is affected like every other combatant in MK 2011 by the move, as well as Stryker's Busted X-Ray Move and Kratos' Head of Helios; it is merely a gameplay mechanic.
 * Despite being blind, Kenshi still takes part in the "Test Your Sight" challenge in Deadly Alliance. He uses his hearing to determine his choice.
 * One of the game over messages in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks says, "Who is Kenshi? Why is he blind?".
 * According to Mortal Kombat: Deception's Konquest Mode, Kenshi learned Tai Chi during his childhood and Judo when he was an adolescent.
 * Along with Frost, Quan Chi, and Kitana, he is one of the few characters in Deadly Alliance to be seen performing a kata. His kata can be seen during the end credits in Deadly Alliance. If you play as a character in their primary costume, Kenshi will do his kata in his primary costume. However, if you play as a character in their alternate costume, Kenshi will do his kata in his alternate costume.
 * When Kenshi performs his Telekinetic Contortion fatality in Deadly Alliance, the exact result depends on who his opponent is. Whilst he usually knocks out both the opponent's eyes, this will not happen if they are wearing something that prevents them coming out - for example, the sunglasses Jax and Johnny Cage wear. In Kano's case, only his real eye comes out. Interestingly, Drahmin, despite wearing a mask, loses both of his eyes.
 * Kenshi was the first of the Armageddon characters to get his bio on the official Armageddon website.
 * Kenshi is the only character in Mortal Kombat: Deception who literally executes a Hara-Kiri, by slashing open his own abdomen.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, his alternate costume does not have a blindfold. This is believed what Kenshi looked like before Shang Tsung blinded him.
 * In the opening movie of Armageddon, Ermac and Nightwolf were almost choked to death by Sheeva. Thanks to Kenshi, the choke was unsuccessful. He then plunged his sword into Sheeva's abdomen, and had a sword fight with Quan Chi, which almost killed him. Before Quan Chi could deliver the last stroke, Ermac (who is truly Shang Tsung) threw Quan Chi with telekinesis. Shang Tsung shapeshifts to his real appearance and kills Kenshi.
 * Kenshi can be seen fighting Daegon, Reiko, Sareena or Frost in the Pit II stage of MK 2011.
 * In the MK 2011 Story Mode, Shang Tsung mentions Kenshi as being the next to fight in the tournament after Sub-Zero is taken away to be automated, despite not being apart of the main cast of characters in the game, only coming into the game by DLC.
 * The name of Kenshi's katana is Sentō (戦闘), which means "battle."
 * In MK 2011, Kenshi's Scatterbrained Fatality is the only one that breaks the fourth wall.
 * Kenshi is, so far, the third character in the Mortal Kombat series that breaks the fourth wall during a finishing move, the first being Kabal in Mortal Kombat 3 with his Freaky Face fatality, the second being Havik in Deception with his Hara-Kiri, and the fourth being Freddy Krueger with his Babality.
 * However, if an opponent is defeated without a finishing move while playing as Cyrax, Mileena, or Sub-Zero, they will break the fourth wall. Cyrax's animation cracks the screen with his Bomb, Mileena will jump on and growl at the screen, and Sub-Zero freezes the screen with his Ice Beam.
 * And in Deadly Alliance, Deception and Armageddon, several characters interact with the camera in their winning poses.
 * It clearly states in  MK:DA' s Konquest Mode that Ermac taught Kenshi the Telekinetic Slam, not the telekinesis itself.
 * In previous games, Kenshi's katana briefly flashes red. However, in MK 2011, it flashes blue.
 * In MK 2011, if the Scatterbrained Fatality is performed on Sektor, Cyrax, Cyber Sub-Zero, Kano, Ermac, Johnny Cage, and Kenshi himself, no eyeball appears. However, if performed on Kano on the right side of the screen, an eyeball will appear.
 * When his Scatterbrained Fatality is performed on anybody whose eye can fall out, their eye color is always red, and not their correct eye color. This happens even with people with white eyes, like Raiden and Sindel.
 * In his MK 2011 ending, there is an ironic twist where Kenshi leaves Shang Tsung to die.
 * In Mortal Kombat Armageddon, Kenshi's pre-fight screen (versus screen) shows him in his alternate costume rather than his primary costume.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Kenshi is involved with a humorous ad for the Kenshi Signature Glass Eyes.
 * In accordance to his ancestry consisting of warrior kings from Asia and Europe, it would technically make Kenshi half-Asian and half-European.
 * Kenshi, along with all other DLC characters did not have an alternate costume.
 * However, in Mortal Kombat Vita, he has an alternate costume without his blindfold.