May 26, 2008
I found this to be an excellent morality play as well as a tale of loss and redemption based loosely on one of 4 possible characters [Gensai Kawakami] from the time period in which it was set. He was orphaned as a child and saw his earliest protectors killed in a bandit attack. After the attack he apprenticed himself to a master who advised him to adopt another name which he did[ Kenshin ]. He strove throughout the most turbulent times to protect an ideal and his closest friends.
He grew increasingly disturbed by both the killing he was
...
doing and the shifting morality of the cause he was supporting and suddenly walked away from that life.
He chose the life of a wanderer but the travel was both outward and inward. As he continued to apply non-lethal force his personality began to subtly change and he was more and more distant.
He story is admirably laid out for us by the dellicate use of both straight line telling and by skilled use of many tangental sub plots which illuminate the main character as well as many of the supporting characters.
We meet his first wife who betrayed him and redeemed herself by saving him at great self cost. We see some of the side stories on many other supporting characters as well. At long last and after great wandering and suffering we see Kenshin return to the dojo which his significant other kept and, resting in her lap, asks to be called by his original name. I feel this signifies his finding peace and coming to grips with his bloodstained past.
Doing evil things does not make one necessarily evil, and Kenshin has realized this at last
Because of the intricate plots and finely braided subplots this might well be a modern masterpiece. It certainly had all the ingredients to make a wonderful movie if Spielberg continues to develop projects from Anime
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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