Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan
Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story
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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-
English: Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story
More titles

Information

Type: Manga
Volumes: 28
Chapters: 259
Status: Finished
Published: Apr 12, 1994 to Sep 21, 1999
Genres: Action Action, Drama Drama
Themes: Historical Historical, Samurai Samurai
Demographic: Shounen Shounen
Serialization: Shounen Jump (Weekly)
Authors: Watsuki, Nobuhiro (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.541 (scored by 4868448,684 users)
1 indicates a weighted score.
Ranked: #1232
2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity: #143
Members: 99,819
Favorites: 7,195

Resources

8.54
Ranked #123Popularity #143Members 99,819
Add to My List
Volumes: /28
Chapters: /259

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

Background

As of December 2019, over 72 million copies of Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan are in circulation.

The series 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 volumes under the Shonen Jump VIZBIG imprint from January 29, 2008, to March 16, 2010. VIZ Media later rereleased the series in new 3-in-1 omnibus volumes. It was also published in Brazilian Portuguese by Editora JBC as Samurai X in 56 volumes from May 2001 to November 2003.

Characters


Reviews

Mar 8, 2008
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 ...
Jan 23, 2009
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 ...
Nov 30, 2011
Mixed Feelings
FunnyFunny
I mean sure i kinda like kenshin at first but as the story progresses he becomes increasingly annoying and unrealistic as he continues his wow not to kill people. I mean you could massacre all of his friendly honoured opponents with a machine gun, laugh in his face about smuggling opium, kidnap his loved one to help him make opium and he still wouldnt kill your ass for it. I hate him for that because it makes him seem weak, there is always a line that you dont cross and if you do cross it you are supposed to get killed for it. When someone ...

Interest Stacks

43 Entries · 8 Restacks
50 Entries · 157 Restacks
47 Entries · 324 Restacks

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The Jump Super Stage Red at Jump Festa 2024 announced a second season for the new Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (Rurouni Kenshin) television anime on Sunda...read more

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'Rurouni Kenshin' Manga Gets New TV Anime Adaptation

The Jump Studio Red stage for Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story) manga announced a ne...read more


Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Rurouni Kenshin Chapter 255 Discussion
TuzoAnime - Mar 20, 2010
31 repliesby Gros »»
Oct 3, 5:56 AM
Poll: Rurouni Kenshin Chapter 6 Discussion
Ston3_FreeN7 - Nov 3, 2010
5 repliesby DiosKalato »»
Sep 25, 7:34 AM
Poll: Rurouni Kenshin Chapter 3 Discussion
YRFdez - Jan 31, 2011
7 repliesby PlasticRobot »»
Sep 5, 7:40 AM
is Kenshin alive at the end of the manga?? [Spoiler]
neel_senpai - Jul 30
11 repliesby deg »»
Aug 5, 1:45 AM
What drew you to this manga and what made you finish it?
Sagepool - Jul 3
16 repliesby Otaku_4511 »»
Jul 8, 6:54 AM

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