The narrative is fairly realistic, a young child loses his clan in a devastating tragedy and is forced to live his life in vengeance. After a while, the audience gets to see him as a skilled samurai who’s turned his back on the meaningless vindictive ways he sought after and decided to go the heroic route this time around. It’s easy to see why this particular premise would fail in any battle shonen you could find; it’s unoriginal and overdone. The thing about this narrative here is that it takes itself seriously, succeeds in doing so and adds more to the seriousness by taking it’s time to develop it’s universe and cast. It is like if Galactic Heroes were set in feudal Japan, as the political factions and their reasons are all explored extensively, while the characters’ psyches are as well.
Speaking of the characters, Himura Kenshin is our main protagonist. On the surface, he might seem like the typical battle shonen protagonist, but he is far more than that, and the OVA demonstrates it thoroughly. He does not fear killing and inflicting pain onto his enemies, and does not speak in gibberish heroic quotes or justice argot. That does not mean that he is heartless or robotic as well, since the Anime does take it’s time to develop his character, his past, his motivations and his romantic interests. Throughout the OVA’s run, Kenshin thinks about the consequences of his actions at all times, asking many deep questions about the nature of what he does and if it is actually right or wrong to do it. Unlike most of the battle shonen we see, this one explores it’s main character’s mindset and delves deep into his complex psyche. Many scenes indicate that Kenshin is feeling regret, where he is sitting silently and ruminating over the killing of his enemies, wondering if what he is doing is the right thing to do or not. As for things that can go unnoticed about Kenshin’s complex character, one of them is the scar that he receives on one of his cheeks. The wound Kenshin receives bleeds over and over again with each subsequent kill he commits for a while, possibly as a sign of his guilty subconscious, though it is suggested to him on a more superstitious level that the vengeful spirit of the dead man who gave him the scar is causing it’s continuous bleeding. As such, there is a lot to ruminate over when it comes to Himura’s character, from his design to his actions and ways of thinking, he demonstrates that he is thoroughly developed throughout this OVA.
Other characters get their fair share of development as well. Characters such as the main love interest for Kenshin - Yukishiro Tomoe - who has a poignant backstory that ties in with the story's main plot. Her relationship with Kenshin is well developed and executed, as she may look like an average character at first, but as the episodes go by she grows more and more human and complex, diverting away from her monotone demeanor to become a fully-fledged character. Aside from those two, the other characters, such as Katsura Kogoro, serve the story as well and have a great dynamic with Kenshin. As such, every main character from the cast is developed here and serves the narrative in a unique manner.
If the story had the same character designs and directing as the main series, then it would have crashed into it’s own grave. The directing here is dark and works well with the tone that the OVA was striving to achieve. I wouldn’t say it’s the darkest I have seen from an Anime, but it does it’s job in terms of conveying a gloomy atmosphere. Battle scenes are animated exquisitely and beautifully here, the animation always being on point and never going on a budget. As for the character designs, comparing Kenshin’s face in this OVA to his face from the TV show, you will see how brilliant his design looks here, as it conveys emotion on a much higher level than his cartoony counterpart from the main series.
The soundtrack helped this OVA to convey it’s tone further by creating an immersive atmosphere. All of the tracks were well made, and fit the narrative of samurais and feudal Japan well enough. As for the best track, the one to stick out with the viewer and be used just at the right moment during the most tragic scene, It would have to be a track called “In Memories”, or “Kotowari”, which has this peaceful yet calamitous tone going for it. It is memorable, not only because it is good musically speaking, but because it was used at the right moment and time. A tragic scene unfolds infront of our eyes, and the only thing that helped elevate the tragedy even further is this track in particular.
At the end of the day, even if samurai Anime was not your thing, do give this one a try. It does not fail unlike it’s contemporaries, as this one is a real gem. The historical background and politics might seem a bit daunting or uninteresting at most times, but the OVA does not give much purpose to it’s politics, as opposed to it’s characters. Brilliantly well done characters, an intriguing plot with a mystery to unfold, and audiovisual direction that is unparalleled when it comes to samurai Anime, all wrapped up in four short episodes that never failed to deliver.
