Alternative TitlesEnglish: Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story Synonyms: Rurouni Kenshin Meiji Kenkaku Romantan, Samurai X, Sengoku no Mikazuki, Crescent Moon in the Warring States Japanese: るろうに剣心 明治剣客浪漫譚; 戦国の三日月
Information
Type: Manga
Volumes: 28
Chapters: 255
Status: Finished
Published: Sep 2, 1994 to Nov 4, 1999
StatisticsScore: 8.691 (scored by 6728 users)
Ranked: #282
Popularity: #16
Members: 9,973
Favorites: 1,485 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
action drama historical samurai shounen |
SynopsisThe story of Rurouni Kenshin takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. It tells the story of a peaceful wanderer named Himura Kenshin, formerly known as the assassin Hitokiri Battōsai. After participating during the Bakumatsu war, Kenshin wanders the countryside of Japan offering protection and aid to those in need as atonement for the murders he once committed as an assassin. When arriving in Tokyo, he meets a young woman named Kamiya Kaoru, who was in the middle of a fight with a murderer who claims to be the Hitokiri Battōsai from her swordmanship school. Kenshin decides to help her and defeats the fake Battōsai. After discovering that Kenshin is the real Battōsai, she offers him a place stay at her dojo as she notes Kenshin is a gentle person instead. Kenshin accepts and begins to establish lifelong relationships with many people, including ex-enemies, while dealing with his fair share of enemies, new and old. (Wikipedia) |
Related MangaAdaptation: Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen, Rurouni Kenshin
Side story: Rurouni Kenshin: Voyage to the Moon World
Sequel: Rurouni Kenshin: Yahiko no Sakabatou, Rurouni Kenshin: Cherry Blossoms in the Spring
Reviews
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vindemon64
60 of 81 people found this review helpful
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255 of 255 chapters read
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Art |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
As we move closer and closer to the next decade, it seems like we keep on getting farther and farther away from amazing samurai stories. With possibly the recent exemption of Samurai Champloo and Gintama (which, to be fair, aren't your typical Meiji era samurai story, there seems like an apparent lack of new series that features your traditional Japanese samurai. Well, new series that are actually entertaining and interesting to read. The mid-90's and the turn of the century saw the unveiling of many great series (most still ongoing) like Vagabond and Blade of the Immortal, which truly define and really sets the standards of your traditional samurai story, though not your typical mainstream stuff. That is where Rurouni Kenshin comes into play. Nobuhiro Watsuki has really defined the standard of this genre, since his story was arguably the most mainstream and popular of the three. With the anime receiving mixed reviews because of the mistreatment of its final season (which were all fillers), its important to go back to the original manga counterpart and review what exactly sets apart Rurouni Kenshin from other manga and anime, and really, why when people hear the name of this series, have the tendency to group it with the elite of japanese work.
We begin with the story. Himura Kenshin, whose character is loosely based off a real life samurai during the Japanese Revolution back in the mid-1800's, is known as the dreaded Hitokiri Battousai and for some reason, he left the revolution halfway with a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, a reverse-blade sword and a vow never to kill again. Simply with this much information that is revealed at the beginning of the story, we get a sense that Kenshin's past must have been full of strife, hardship and events which turned him away from the life of a hitokiri to that of a wanderer (rurouni). And simply put, that is where the broad story feeds off of. As you begin to read the manga, you are unfolded to events which will reveal his past to you, all the way up to the final chapter. Not only does this keep everything interesting, but it really gives you a chance to dive into the mind of Himura Kenshin and actually feel what he has felt, see what he has seen, and literally, witness Kenshin's developing character from start to finish. Watsuki has almost flawlessly done this as advertised, with three main arcs to his story - the Tokyo arc, the Kyoto arc and the Jinchuu (Revenge) arc - the latter two really the main players in defining this series.
Another feature that gets easily overlooked in Watsuki's legendary story is the art. I feel when people look at manga as a whole, they look at all the obvious elements of plot, character, etc., but a major categoy that is a factor in the enjoyment score is how well has the series been drawn. Is it consistent? How detailed? And most importantly, do I actually know what the hell is going on, especially during battles? Each of these questions are answered positively in the art as the character models and designs do stay consistent with the mid-1800 feel and culture. The environments, though not intricately as designed as other series, do hold up in its own right, but prevent that "outsanding" score. And the nice part with Rurouni Kenshin is that Watsuki has done a decent good job in drawing the flow of battles to the point where you're not questioning yourself what just happened. Although, some of the sword techniques some characters have will make you stare at the page and be like, "is that even physically possible?"
The character development of Himura Kenshin really comes alive through his dialogue and interactions with the other characters. Well, one might think, "of course this would be the case," but the fact of the matter is that most of the characters that you witness this kind of relationship all have some vendetta or hatred against the Battousai, which makes it all the more interesting to see how Kenshin goes about putting to rest not only these characters, but also his inner hitokiri self. And for as much as these characters bring out the worst in him, it is evenly balanced with his daily, ever growing relationship with Kaoru Kamiya. These interesting character relations and interactions are augmented prodigiously during the Kyoto and Jinchuu arcs, where you get to see the other, more deadly, side of Kenshin for the first time. I will say that some of the characters will make you question what exactly was the manga-ka thinking when he created them, but after watching them in battle, it'll be a simply afterthought.
Witnessing Kenshin go through all these ordeals is what really makes the manga so interesting. With his belief and vow of never to kill again, you really wonder sometimes if he is able to keep it, as there are many circumstances which really push Kenshin's psyche to the limit and even at times, his hitokiri side is unveiled. This is really, in my eyes, what makes the story so enjoyable to read. Every avenue of Kenshin's past, present and future is explored in heavy detail, leaving you with a fulfilled story, an actual complete ending and a truly satisfied feeling of nirvana (okay, maybe I'm stretching it a little bit, hehe), but you get the point. To say the least, the story is captivating, especially if japanese samurai, traditional sword-style battles that don't drag on, are things you are looking for in a manga.
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callosum
7 of 12 people found this review helpful
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255 of 255 chapters read
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Art |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
Summary - Great manga with good action, great characters and an excellent plot.
Action - the swordsmanship scenes are well-drawn and the fights are pretty exciting. The reasoning behind the techniques is also explained and it kinda makes sense, at least in the context of a manga where the characters can leap many times their own height into the air.
Characters - wow, almost all the characters are well-developed and have a good back story to them. There is almost no one who is genuinely good or evil - everyone has a reason they developed the way they did. This is one of the few manga I've read where I have many favourite characters, some of whom are (at least originally) in the "opposition".
Plot - the story is really pretty well-planned (unlike in the anime where the filler arcs are yuck - and don't get me started on Seisouhen). The introductory section where Kenshin-gumi are getting together is fun, and the two major arcs are really stunning in terms of creating suspense and making little twists to the story.
Humour - Although it's mostly a drama, there are deft touches of light humour, especially funny drawings of Kenshin going "oro?" - never fails to make me laugh.
Historicity - I tend to like historical manga because it gives me an incentive to learn more about Japanese history. No different with Rurouni Kenshin - I know a lot more about Meiji-era Japan and the Bakumatsu than I did before (which was zilch!). There are also little explanations of the actual historical events and characters, so there's a nice mix of history and fiction there.
Re-summary - read it, you won't regret it. Seriously good. read more
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Both are about a great samurai who has a tragic past and this samurai meets an attractive young girl and they have life threatening hurdles to overcome. Along the way they pick up a variety of friends and enemies. The time setting is about (roughly) the same too, Feudal Japan. Both have excellent fighting scenes too, but Kyo´s fights are (in my opinion) better as Kenshin is peace loving and does not kill, while Kyo and his gang are much more sadistic and fights normally always end with someone being sliced in half or decapitated. But if you liked kenshin, you should like Kyo and vice versa, but keep in mind Kyo is a lot more bloodier than Kenshin and the anime for Kenshin is great, while the anime for Kyo is indescribably bad.
both are about a powerful samurai who is trying to lead a peaceful life while atoning for their past deeds
Both series are stories about wanderer samurai though kenshin have maybe better storyline than kyo.
1. Both are about legendary samurai, meeting young girl, and from the course of time forming a team.
2. Both have spectacular fighting scenes (Though IMO SDK outranks RK a bit in this aspect), and relatively interesting storyline.
I dont recommend watching SDK anime though, cause its an epic fail, in contrast to manga.
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The two main characters go through similar changes in their lives. They both begin as assassins and eventually turn around to use their skills for the good of others.
both (kenshin and train) are trying to forget that they aer infamous assassins.
Both are tales of radically changed legendary assassins and their quirky companions as they fight their past lives. Although time periods and weaponry are radically different, the feel and general overall tone are shared between the two. As always, when they enter their "past" mindsets to fight is when the real fun begins.
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External LinksOfficial Site, MangaUpdates, Wikipedia
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