Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan

Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Samurai X, Sengoku no Mikazuki, Crescent Moon in the Warring States, Crescent Moon Over a Country At War, Meteor Strike

Japanese: るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚-

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 28

Chapters: 259

Status: Finished

Published: Apr 12, 1994 to Sep 21, 1999

Genres: Action, Drama

Themes: Historical, Samurai

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen Jump (Weekly)

Authors: Watsuki, Nobuhiro (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.56¹ (scored by 45,390 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #100²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #135

Members: 92,361

Favorites: 7,017

Resources

Wikipedia

8.56

Ranked #100Popularity #135Members 92,361

MangaShounen Jump (Weekly)Watsuki, Nobuhiro (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /28

Chapters: /259

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Synopsis

Ten years have passed since the end of Bakumatsu, an era of war that saw the uprising of citizens against the Tokugawa shogunate. The revolutionaries wanted to create a time of peace, and a thriving country free from oppression. The new age of Meiji has come, but peace has not yet been achieved. Swords are banned but people are still murdered in the streets. Orphans of war veterans are left with nowhere to go, while the government seems content to just line their pockets with money.

One wandering samurai, Kenshin Himura, still works to make sure the values he fought for are worth the lives spent to bring about the new era. Once known as Hitokiri Battousai, he was feared as the most ruthless killer of all the revolutionaries. Now haunted by guilt, Kenshin has sworn never to kill again in atonement for the lives he took, and he may never know peace until killing is a thing of the past.

Now in the 11th year of Meiji, Kenshin stumbles upon Kaoru Kamiya, owner and head instructor of a small dojo being threatened to close its doors. The police force is powerless to stop the string of murders done in the name of her dojo by a man claiming to be the famous Battousai. Kenshin's wanderings pause for now as he joins Kaoru to clear both their names. But how long can he stay before his past catches up to him?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Included one-shot:
Volume 28: Meteor Strike

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Background

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan was published in English as Rurouni Kenshin by VIZ Media under the Shonen Jump imprint from December 23, 2003 to July 5, 2006 and again in 3-in-1 omnibus edition under Shonen Jump VIZBIG imprint from January 29, 2008 to March 16, 2010. The publisher has been releasing the series in 3-in-1 omnibuses since January 3, 2017.

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Related Manga

Sequel:	Rurouni Kenshin: Haru ni Sakura, Rurouni Kenshin: Yahiko no Sakabatou, Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Hokkaido-hen
Side story:	Rurouni Kenshin: Voyage to the Moon World, Rurouni Kenshin: Yahiko's Battle, Rurouni Kenshin Uramaku: Honoo wo Suberu
Alternative version:	Rurouni Kenshin: Tokuhitsuban
Adaptation:	Rurouni Kenshin DVD-BOX Special Ending, Rurouni Kenshin Special, Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Tsuioku-hen, Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan, Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023)

More characters
Characters

Himura, Kenshin

Main

Sagara, Sanosuke

Main

Kamiya, Kaoru

Main

Myoujin, Yahiko

Main

Saitou, Hajime

Supporting

Shishio, Makoto

Supporting

Seta, Soujirou

Supporting

Hiko, Seijuurou

Supporting

Shinomori, Aoshi

Supporting

Yukishiro, Tomoe

Supporting

More reviewsReviews

Mar 8, 2008

VK11

Recommended

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), 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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Jan 23, 2009

callosum

Recommended

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 ...

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Aug 7, 2013

PokeL

Recommended

Rurouni Kenshin is a series I've just recently read and enjoyed a lot so I thought I'd give it a shot! My overall rating for the manga is a 9/10, and here is why:

Story (8/10): The story might not have been the most original but I believe Watsuki made the best of it.
The manga is separated into 2 main arcs.
Personally I prefer the first one. The characters are more interesting to me and I think it was developed better. However, the 2nd arc is a lot of fun to read as well.

What I don't like about the first arc is that the end feels like ...

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Poll: Rurouni Kenshin Chapter 193 Discussion Rasco - Feb 5, 2012	2 replies	by Adriannitro »» Mar 28, 10:20 PM
Poll: Rurouni Kenshin Chapter 192 Discussion Rasco - Feb 5, 2012	1 replies	by Adriannitro »» Mar 28, 9:58 PM
Poll: Rurouni Kenshin Chapter 191 Discussion Rasco - Feb 5, 2012	2 replies	by Adriannitro »» Mar 28, 9:13 PM
Poll: Rurouni Kenshin Chapter 190 Discussion Rasco - Feb 5, 2012	1 replies	by Adriannitro »» Mar 28, 7:49 PM
Poll: Rurouni Kenshin Chapter 189 Discussion Rasco - Feb 5, 2012	1 replies	by Adriannitro »» Mar 27, 10:00 PM

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