 During his introduction in the series, he encounters the wanderer Himura Kenshin, who easily defeats him and is able to convince him to stop his mercenary work and instead start protecting people.After that encounter, Sanosuke becomes Kenshin's best friend as well as his partner in most of their fights.Sanosuke appears in the featured films of the series and in other media relating to the "Rurouni Kenshin" franchise, including a plethora of electronic games and original video animations (OVAs).