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MUSIC: I'm honestly surprised people enjoyed Freckles and the other OPs as standalone songs, but I guess that's just preference. In any case, the arguments that the new OP and soundtrack doesn't fit RK are absolutely insane to me. Not saying its a genre I'd listen to on the daily, but the new OP matches RK waaaaaaaay better than Freckles. It's not even close. I do, however, miss the old EDs but it's fine to try out new genres.
ANIMATION: As expected, the newer anime has better animation quality. If you are a fan of that "90s feel" or whatever, understand that any new reboot of old shows was never going to have the exact same style. A successful reboot SHOULD bring in its own style and not just be a clone of the original. I did not think that the old style was bad by any means, but this new style is pleasing to look at and I welcome the change. Again, preference. Maybe people were expecting JJK or Demon Slayer levels of animation, but unfortunately RK does not have the same amount of clout so there was no realistic avenue to more funding and hype.
STORY (PACING): We are only 11 episodes in (at the time of this review), however it's already been made clear that the pacing is astronomically better. No filler, absurdly long recaps, conversations that take up half the episode, pointless screen time, etc. The story itself remains engaging thanks to this increased tempo, because although RK employs many shonen cliches (which were fairly new in the 90s admittedly) it is not done in a cringey manner.
CHARACTERS: I found Kaoru and Yahiko to be pointless and annoying characters in the original. That might still be the case once the reboot reaches the departure arc, but as of right now I can say that they've successful toned down the annoying aspects of these characters. I can only hope that they fix Misao as well when she appears (please!). The other characters were fine in the original, and are even better here.
COMEDY: Some say the comedic bits have been toned down, others say it hasn't. Personally I haven't seen a difference, and think that the reboot strikes a good balance between "serious" and "funny," just like Kenshin's split personality.
VOICE ACTING: Older fans were saddened that Kenshin's original VA did not come back, and I can understand where they are coming from. However, it's been roughly 30 years, and life outside anime happens. Both the old and new VAs were strong casting decisions, and I could go for either one.
Thank you for reading.
