Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Kyoto Douran

After living peaceful days at the Kamiya dojo, Kenshin Himura finds himself at a crucial crossroads, as his vow to never end a life is put to the ultimate test.

Following the murder of his former commander, he now has to retread the road of violence and blood to take down Makoto Shishio—the assassin prodigy who calls himself the notorious Battousai's successor. With ambitions to overthrow the Meiji government and establish his dominion in Kyoto, Shishio has meticulously schemed for a decade, building a formidable anti-government military force. Now, Shishio has turned his sights toward recruiting Aoshi Shinomori, a cold-blooded killer and the former leader of the legendary Oniwaban Group warriors.

As Kenshin travels through a village abandoned by the government and currently under the iron fist of Shishio's henchmen, he is determined to prevent the country from spiraling back into civil war. He allies with his former rival, Hajime Saitou, forging a fragile partnership in a battle against Shishio's empire that will determine the fate of Japan.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Himura, Kenshin Main

Saitou, Souma Japanese

Sagara, Sanosuke Main

Yashiro, Taku Japanese

Kamiya, Kaoru Main

Takahashi, Rie Japanese

Myoujin, Yahiko Main

Koichi, Makoto Japanese

Saitou, Hajime Supporting

Hino, Satoshi Japanese

Shishio, Makoto Supporting

Furukawa, Makoto Japanese

Seta, Soujirou Supporting

Yamashita, Daiki Japanese

Hiko, Seijuurou Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Shinomori, Aoshi Supporting

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Makimachi, Misao Supporting

Yamane, Aya Japanese

Niwa, Masami Producer

Komada, Yuki Director

Naya, Ryousuke Sound Director

Kurata, Hideyuki Script, Series Composition

Reviews

Nov 9, 2024

Dr_Stoned

Recommended

Preliminary (6/23 eps)

Since no one else has written a review yet, I figured that I should share my thoughts to anyone who was on the fence about this show. To be completely honest, I wouldn't have known that this anime was even airing if I didn't receive a notification on MAL. With shows like Dandadan and Ao no Hako premiering this season, it is somewhat understandable why this is being released with such little fanfare. However, this is the best part of Kenshin, AND there's no filler. There's not much else you can really ask for. New viewers and old viewers alike should enjoy this show. The ... voice actors are all great, and the pacing is solid. The animation and music are about the same quality as last season. I don't want to get too excited just yet because the climax of the arc is still in store. However, I have high expectations for the rest of the season.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Mar 17, 2025

bulbaesaur

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (22/23 eps)

Spoiler

as a huge fan of the original anime and manga, i have very mixed feelings about this adaptation.

let's start with the positives: visually, the art is nice. i prefer it to the original, and while a lot of people have complained about the color palette, i think it looks great. the cast is also pretty good, and i have few to no complaints about that. this adaptation is also a little more faithful to the manga than the original (except for a few places which really soured my opinions on this entire season). i think if i had never seen or read the original anime ... and manga or any of the other adaptations, i would think this would be a solid show; nothing groundbreaking, but still pretty good.

however, i can't let go of a lot of the disappointment i've felt watching this, especially since i've been waiting almost 20 years for this remake.

the soundtrack is, frankly, mediocre. the original anime adaptation had a wonderful score, and i don't think it's just the nostalgia talking. the battle music is more intense, the instrumentals in the quiet moments are nicer, and it's just a much better experience overall. i also don't think the fight choreography is that good in this adaptation, which is disappointing for a show that revolves so much around combat. it's not the worst i've ever seen, but it does feel very underwhelming.

while i do appreciate that this show is more faithful to the source material and isn't riddled with filler like its predecessor, the last few episodes of this season in particular have diverted from the canon in a way that i think significantly hinders the overall storyline (namely, aoshi should not be on that goddamn boat).

all this said, i wouldn't have too many reservations about recommending this version of the story for newbies, but i think they'd have a much better time either reading the original manga, or just watching the 1996 anime adaptation and skipping over the filler from the first arc and the third arc entirely (as it too is all worthless filler).

overall score: 7.5/10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Mar 7, 2025

Kabniel

Not Recommended

Funny

Preliminary (21/23 eps)

Probably the worst Rurouni Kenshin to date. The changes to the source material are all completely unnecessary and only detract from the story, it seems to gloss over scenes that deserve time and attention while extending scenes that don't need it. The original anime had a lot of filler but was certainly more impactful than this current version. Might be okay if this is your introduction to Rurouni Kenshin but I would recommend googling a list of non-filler episodes and watching the original series instead of this lackluster entry.

One day they'll just animate the manga like FMA: Brotherhood did but for some reason, again, they ... decided to go their own route. The swordplay is a little better but it overall this show seems watered down and nothing special. Something to watch if you have nothing else to watch but if anyone ever asked me (as if such things come up in casual conversation) they were interested in Rurouni Kenshin, I would tell them to watch the original series and Trust and Betrayal and pretend this never existed.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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	Poll: Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Kyoto Douran Episode 22 Discussion Stark700 - Mar 13	37 replies	by landofthekwt »» Mar 17, 8:02 PM
	Poll: Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Kyoto Douran Episode 21 Discussion Stark700 - Mar 6	46 replies	by Homura24 »» Mar 17, 6:32 AM
	Which has the better ending? JSeanaY - Mar 7	7 replies	by Kanie_SeiyaXd »» Mar 16, 8:18 AM
	List of chapters adapted. (+breakdown of skipped/altered content) - II ( 1 2 ) Alexioos95 - Oct 4, 2024	89 replies	by Alexioos95 »» Mar 14, 12:59 AM
	Poll: Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Kyoto Douran Episode 20 Discussion Stark700 - Feb 27	31 replies	by KANLen09 »» Mar 11, 6:11 AM