Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best anime TV series in years starts here, December 12, 2001
The key to understanding "Rurouni Kenshin", if you ask me, is not that it's about a man who decides to use his sword for peace rather than death. It's bigger than that, and it's no accident that the series is set in the Meiji Era, when Japan was uneasily abandoning feudalistic living for Western capitalism and industrialism.This is a story about nothing less than the end of one way of life and the beginning of another, and the people who stand on the dividing line between two ages. That being said, this is a joy of a series to watch -- funny, thoughtful, impassioned, and full of the sort of grand comeuppance and rip-roaring adventure that we expect from something with such a high pedigree. (The story is adapted almost directly from a long-running manga from Jump Comics, and the art is also strongly redolent of the original.) One foggy day in a mid-sized Japanese city, the assistant instructor of a local dojo, Kaoru Kamiya, happens across someone she's convinced is "the manslayer" responsible for a number of local murders -- using a sword style taught in her own school. The man in question, Himura Kenshin, is not in fact the killer she's looking for -- but he was a killer, once, and he's only too happy to explain (in his curiously sheepish manner) that his sword, with the blade on the wrong side, isn't designed to kill. Kaoru doesn't trust him -- especially not when he accidentally bursts in on her in the bath, but it's not because he's got a prurient interest in her. He was convinced she was trying to drown herself in shame, you see, and... well, his good intentions earn him a night in the storehouse. But over time she learns that this oddball fellow with his unruly thatch of carrot-red hair and his ugly X-shaped scar and his stilted syntax may very well be the one true friend she has in this world. The first volume in the series also rolls in two more people who become longtime staples of the Kamiya dojo. Yahiko Myojin, a street urchin and pickpocket, winds up becoming Kaoru's first new student in a long time. And Sannosuke (aka "Zanza"), a street brawler and bare-knuckle fighter, also gets stirred into the mix. Yahiko makes constant fun of Kaoru's looks (she's certainly not the ugly girl he makes her out to be, unless she's snarling in anger at him), and Sannosuke's weirdly laid-back approach to everything drives her crazy. But their friendship and loyalty to each other is unquestionable. The animation is top-notch for a TV show, with striking character designs, blazingly choreographed fights and some insanely funny bits of slapstick that come out of absolutely nowhere. The one blemish is the English dub track, which is OK, but Kenshin's bizarre "Oro?" really loses a lot in English -- it's translated something like "Wha-huh?" Worse, Kenshin's deliberately weird sentence structure doesn't translate well into dialogue without a good deal of awkwardness. I admire them for trying, though. "Rurouni Kenshin" is a treasure to seek out and cherish, and the first volume is recommended to almost anyone who's an anime fan.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of, if not, the best Anime TV series available, April 8, 2002
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.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you Love Anime, you will LOVE Kenshin, July 20, 2000
Himura Kenshin was a lengendary assassin (hitokiri) during the war in Japan that brough forth the Meiji Era. Near the end of the war, he disappeared. Kenshin decided to give up his killing ways and become a wonderer who protects people in order to atone for all his sins of killing. The story starts some years after the new government was in place and starts a story revolving around Kenshin that is grepping like no other series.The plot of the series is absolutely wonderful! No other anime series I know has a plot comparable to it (and believe me I watch a LOT of anime). Many apects of the story are taken from real life including certain characters, fight moves and historical events. The plots involves the clash of the old era and the new government, the clash in Kenshin's own mind between his killer side and his wonderer side, the people living in the new era who do not want to accept the new government and those people who want to protect and make the new era a wonderful one (aka Kenshin and others) - it is a tightly knitted story that absolutely takes your breath away. The characters in this series are believable and each has his/her own strong personality and depth of character. As far as the artwork is concerned, it is absolutely beautiful! The music is incredibly wonderful as well and extremely fitting to the various scenes. The first 4 espisodes contains introduction to various important characters. The first episode introduces Kenshin and another main character. It is a wonderful introduction like no other! The second episode introduces another main character. The 3rd espisode contains some politics with a little plot revoling around Kenshin - it develops Kenshin's character and give the viewer glimpses into his core character. The 4th episode is one cool introduction to yet another important character in the plot. It might sound boring that all there is are introductions but the introductions are embedded in a great plot and is not boring at all. Just these few episodes will be enough to get you hooked! Try out Kenshin :)!
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