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(More customer reviews)Along with Neon Genesis Evangelion, Trigun and Cowboy Bebop, Rurouni Kenshin will make a great case for being the best anime series out there. The TV series explores the middle section of Himura Kenshin's life, with two excellent and highly recommended movies explaining his life before the TV series (Trust, Betrayal), and three more explaining what happens after (Samurai X, and the Seisou Hen OAVs).
The basic TV plot involves Himura Kenshin, once the most feared Hitokiri (assassin) during the Bakumatsu, a bloody period of governmental chaos that produced some of the most skilled fighters, around. For reasons explained in the prelude OAVs, he decides to wander for ten years following the Bakumatsu, carrying a sakabatou, or a dull sword with the blade on the reverse side, to atone for his countless killings. He runs into Kamiya Kaoru, Sagara Sanosuke and Myojin Yahiko, his eventual gang that accompanies him throughout the series.
This is a series that, as should most anime, be watched in Japanese, even if you struggle with subtitles. Kenshin's voice is given a more manly flavor in the dubbed version, but this dulls a very important effect later on. The main, driving issue in this series is much like the issues addressed in Ghost In The Shell, Jin-Roh: Wolf Brigade, Trigun and Neon Genesis and even Star Wars: how not to turn over to the dark side. Throughout the 95-episode series (which ends quite abruptly, and drops significantly in intensity after the Kyoto series), Kenshin fights the urge to return to his Hitokiri nature, constantly finding a way to defeat his highly-skilled opponents without killing them. Occassionally, however, something breaks within, and his wanderer's identity turns into the darker Hitokiri of the past. The Japanese version has a girlier version of Kenshin's voice, but the effect, along with the darkening of the mood, and the transformation of his eyes into the "killing eyes" of his Bakumatsu days, is dramatic when his voice turns low and is laced with cool hatred and confidence.
The overexaggerated faces and voices (the phrases "de gozaru" and "oro" are Kenshin staples that can only be enjoyed when watched in Japanese) are welcome breaks from the more serious sub-topics and violent action. The fights are well done and Kenshin's true strength (which can only be unleashed once he completely returns to his Hitokiri self) is never displayed, but hinted at. Unlike Dragonball Z, it isn't just a matter of who's the strongest; it's a matter of strategy, skill and speed. Opponents are accorded the right amount of fight time: those less skilled are dispatched quickly and with little effort as are those who are strong, but generally not intelligent. Only true swordmasters can even come close to putting up a decent fight against his Hiten Mitsurugi sword style. This style relies heavily on analyzing your opponent's moves, emotions, fighting ki and on moving with godlike-speed. Kenshin is a particularly adept sword drawer, and has mastered the art of Battou-jutsu, drawing and killing the opponent in a single stroke, earning him the nickname Hitokiri Battousai.
But it IS an extremely long series, well worth enduring the timid but important first season to get to the violent and tragic second season, which is unrivaled by any other series. The topics are brutal: child abuse, drug use, murderous betrayal and government ruthlessness. The series doesn't shy away from the killing or beating of children, women, and old people, or just flat out mass death. It doesn't present it in graphic or gratuitious fashion either; it's all part of the show's feel: how can you stand by and turn the other cheek when such atrocities are continuing? Nearly each character is well-developed, making the viewer find attachment to both hero and villain, particularly the boy assassin Soujiro, whose story is incredibly heartwrenching. Each character has incredibly deep emotional scars -- particularly the death of a loved one -- and nearly each episode connects and builds until the end of the climactic second season.
Rurouni Kenshin is great, but not perfect. Once a silent and efficient killer (as shown in the OAVs), Kenshin now delivers long speeches about killing before and after he fights. It gets repetitive after a while, but adds some tension. There are the occassional flashback and comedy-break episodes that don't further the story, such as the one including the Sumo wrestler Toramaru (skip it). The third season ends abruptly, as it probably should have, the result of an extremely well-done second season that would surely overshadow any subsequent storylines. The music is a take it and leave it situation: the important parts have great music, the not so important parts do not. The soundtrack varies from classical sounds to synthesized beats, and creates some subconscious unrest.
The new Seisou Hen set of OAVs actually does provide a sense of closure absent in many anime series (Neon Genesis, Trigun). The art is similar to the Trust and Betrayal set, and even features many fights from the TV series re-done in much more realistic animation. The new fights aren't as spectacular, but the emotion and the music are much stronger. These are must-haves...but only after viewing the TV series.
This is a powerful series that takes a look at the struggle of man within. I recommend watching the TV series first, then the Samurai X movie, then watching the Trust and Betrayal OAVs, which reveal an incredible amount, then re-watching the TV series, then finishing with the Seisou Hen set. Watching Trust and Betrayal beforehand will ruin a lot for the viewer, so try and watch the series in the aformentioned order. A highly-recommended series and movie set with some factual basis in Japan's turbulent samurai era near the end of the Tokugawa Dynasty.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Rurouni Kenshin - Legendary Swordsman, Vol. 1
The Meiji Era was one of great renewal for Japan, where swords and killing were outlawed. How-ever, many survivors from the time of Revolu-tion still lived, lurking in the shadows and waiting for a chance to use their killing blades again. Only Kenshin Himura, formerly one of the most brutal of killers, hopes to keep his swordsman's honor and still live in the new era.
Click here for more information about Rurouni Kenshin - Legendary Swordsman, Vol. 1
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