Customer Reviews

Rurouni Kenshin - Fall From Grace (Episodes 75-78)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This disc and arc is already hard to swallow if you know the direction the comic book creators took immediately after the Kyoto Arc (Enishi, of "Trust & Betrayal" and "Reflections" fame, returns with his own gang). And while the Amakusa Shougo storyline was interesting, it comes to a preachy, unfulfilling end on this disc.

As they return to Tokyo, the group encounters a man protecting a town from gangsters using Kenshin's Hitokiri Battousai name, with more valiant intentions to be revealed later. This series is only slightly entertaining; a quick maybe three minute fight sequence with one semi-skilled swordsman ensues.

Further on is a more slapstick-type comedy episode in the goofy spirit of the Tenchi Muyo series. An art student falls madly in love with Kaoru and the rest of the gang convinces him they will help him win her love if he can just touch Kenshin with his shinai or wooden sword. It's comedic, with no real fighting scenes, and Kenshin using his skill for a few seconds to ward off some insects. It's Tenchi meets Kenshin for one episode.

Is it necessary for your Kenshin collection? No, save for the conclusion of the Shougo saga. Will it satisfy your cravings for more episodes in the series? Yes. Not really recommended if you appreciated this story for its intensity and well-played sword battles (even the Kenshin-Shougo fight is extremely short...it comes down to one test of their Ougis, or final techniques).

By this point you should consider reading the Manga and discovering what every other long-time Kenshin fan has: the moment the comics and the cartoon went separate ways was a bad one for the series.

We do know why Kenshin went blind and why he got his site back. Think back two disks to disk 16 and to the original fight where he was blinded; remember how the sword's light hit him, the move called Rairyu-Sen? That was the warrior spirt of Shogo directed in a beam at Kenshin. The strength of it made him go blind. It could also be said that Kenshin's warrior spirit at the time was weaker than Shogo's and that is why the attack worked. In order to break the spell, his warrior spirit would have to overcome Shogo's - watch Episode 75 again for the conclusion of the fight.

On the question of why Kenshin was fighting Shogo - it was a two fold reason - think back two disks ago, at the beginning of the Shimabara Saga. The first reason is to get rid of the "imposter" of the Hiten Mitsurugi style; there should only ever be one master and apprentice of the style at any time, and Shogo wasn't either. The second reason was to save lives. Kenshin states repeatly that in this new era, that to persecute anyone, including the Christians would just be repeating mistakes of the past. For those reasons he fights Shogo.

Personally I like the last two filler episodes on the disk. The first one "Himura Dojo in Shimonoseki?" I thought was just a good display of the loyalty of Kenshin's group. They don't wany anyone to tarnish or use his name. Kenshin if you remember back in the first or second disk, said that he didn't have a strong attachment to the name Battousai, he doesn't mind giving it up... This just reaffirms that statement. I admit that this episode did seem to drag a bit, but overall, I don't think it was that bad.

The fourth episode was just awesome! I am a complete fan of the completely light-hearted episodes, and this one is my most favorite one of them all! If you have watched the last episode of "Firefly's Wish" called "Kaoru Ecstatic!" in which there is a bit of match-making and other romantic hilarity going on, then this episode is for you! I was laughing so hard throughout most of this episode. Watch for the bathing scene in the hotspring, and for the scene in which Sanosuke gives the artist his task. Oh my word, those were just hilarious. Given that this is basically a series for males (that was the targeted audience), I am glad that they throw in stuff like this - stuff that I believe was targeted towards females! Long live the Kenshin series!

This volume of Kenshin is just lousy. Most people know that after the Kyoto storyline the anime deviates from the comic on which it was originally based. (The comic was not finished yet, so the anime creators had to come up with material on their own.) I had hopes going into the Christian story that it would retain at least some of the flavor of the previous stories. Sadly, this was not the case.

They tried, though, so the first two DVDs in that story arc, Son of God and Holy War, were at least watchable. But with Fall From Grace, things have really come apart at the seams. The part that is most painful for me is that nothing is explained. Kenshin fights used to be cool because there was a reason why one fighter would beat another. In the Christian arc there is no explanation for why one person wins, or how different attacks work. We don't learn why Kenshin went blind, or how he gets cured. When Kenshin and Shougo have their big final match, it's just them simultaneously attacking and one comes out on top. Why did that person win? I have no idea.

That's all in the first episode. The second deals with the aftermath of the Christian story. I guess if you were really interested you would like it, but I couldn't care less. The third episode is actually pretty good, about a guy using the name Battousai (Kenshin's nickname when he was a killer) to get money. Why does he do this? Is he actually good with a sword? You'll have to watch and see. The fourth and last episode concerns a trip to a hot springs resort that results in an artist declaring his love for Kaoru. I'm of the opinion there is no such thing as a bad hot springs episode, but they could have thrown in some shots of Sanosuke undressed for the female fans.

Overall, this was not a completely terrible DVD, but the quality of Rurouni Kenshin has taken a nosedive since the Kyoto arc ended. I will probably keep buying out of loyalty, but I really can't recommend this volume to others.

This is the fourth dvd in the Rurouni Kenshin : Tales of the Meiji saga. In this dvd the conflict of the christians is finally resolved. There is a final showdown between Shogo Amaksa and Kenshin who fight to decide the outcome of the peoples lives. Kenshin is still blind from Shogo's Rairyu-Sen from the previous fight. After the resolve Kenshin moves on headed for Tokyo. On the way he meets a man that claims to be the one and only Battaousi the Manslayer. Kenshin and his friends investigate and find out the real secret behind this man. Finally Kenshin makes his last stop at a hot springs before going to Tokyo. Here Kenshin's group meet an artist that falls madly in love with Karou. The artist claims that he will do anything to go out with Miss Karou. Sano thinks up a clever plan and then the madness begins! Overall this was a pretty fun filled Kenshin DVD!

forget all of you who have negative opinions about this or any of the other filler episode dvd's.everything in rurouni kenshin is great and everything about it is great and screw todd rennells and jonnyflips opinions don't listen to them this dvd along with all the other filler episodes is great.

I am a huge kenshin fan. I take it seriously. This video was pure brilliance. The suspense of waiting for the damn thing to come out mixed with the plot made it amazing. Not only was this a very important dvd to the Tales Of The Meiji saga, but the other filler epsiodes on it were great. The sad parts of the first episode almost made me cry. Im not a sensitive kid. The funny parts made me laugh out loud. This is by far the most impressive of all the kenshin videos since SamuraiX - Trust.

This DVD finishes off the Shogou series. The first episode does that very well. It is a must if you want to finish the series, but i personally didn't find the series half as good as the Legend of Kyoto. It's a pretty good ending that makes you feel as if something good will come from it later on down the road. Hopefully something good will come from it later on down the road. But with the end of that small little series of episodes comes one of some of the dumbest episodes in all of Kenshin.

The Third is a touching story of a guy using the name of Battousai the Manslayer as a way to make money and raise orphans. It's silly in the least and not much action.

The last one is the one that i found to be dumb. It's over exaggerated 100x's over. And it has no action what so ever. It's a complete filler episode that serves no purpose... at least i hope it doesn't. Hopefully this episode will not effect anything later down the road. It was painful for me to watch... but now for a fair reivew.

The last episode is about an artist who forms a childish crush on the Missy. Sano sets up a deal with him... which will go unmentioned and promises something if the deal is completed. Then there is this halfway game being played with the artist and kenshin... but kenshin doesn't know a thing about it.

That's about it. You need to get this DVD if you are anxious about the previous two DVD's Son of God and Holy War... but Fall from Grace... from the title, is the end of the small series... and a powerful one in the terms of Sanoske... anyway get it for that purpose and watch the first two episodes which completely close this off. Watch the third if you really want to but cut it off at that point. Unless you are curious. I'm sure there was a reason for it to be written... but i wouldn't suggest trying to find out why.