History Trivia / RurouniKenshin

* CelebrityVoiceActor: Kenshin Himura is voiced by Takarazuka actress Mayo Suzukaze, Kaoru Kamiya is voiced by film actress Miki Fujitani, Shura is voiced by actress Kazue Itoh, Makoto Shishio is voiced by actor and singer Masanori Ikeda, and Yumi Hijikata is voiced by actress Kanako Irie.

** Creator/DavidWald, who previously voiced Shishio Makoto in the New Tokyo arc OVAs, reprises his role as Shishio in the Live-Action adaptations of the Kyoto arc (''Kyoto Inferno'' and ''The Legend Ends'').

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Creator/SentaiFilmworks released the ''New Kyoto Arc'' on DVD and Blu-ray in 2013, but it later went out of print after they lost the rights.

** In Spain, the TV series was first dubbed in 1999 and broadcast on Canal Plus the same year. In 2005, Canal Buzz got the rights of the series and decided to record a new dub of the series due to the original dub being inacurrate to the original japanese version (since it was translated from the english scripts made for the Animax dub). While the new dub was much more faithful to the original japanese version, the new voice actors and their performances were heavily critized by spaniard fans and the dub was never broadcast outside Canal Buzz (it didn't help that around this time, the series was available on DVD with the original dub). Due to all this factors, the re-dub falled into obscurity and it's now considerate lost media, with the only proof of it's exstience being a commercial recorded from Canal Buzz that was uploaded to Youtube in 2013 and some forum post from 2005 critizing Canal Buzz for the re-dub.

* DuelingDubs: The TV series has two complete[[labelnote:*]] (except for the direct-to-video Episode 95)[[/labelnote]] English dubs – Sony Pictures Television International's "Samurai X" dub which was distributed in Asia and Europe, and Media Blaster's "Rurouni Kenshin" dub which saw official release in North America. Oddly, both dubs were recorded in Los Angeles and cast Creator/RichardCansino as Kenshin. The difference between them is that, while both dubs are uncut for time, the "Samurai X" dub is a more-toned-down looser adaptation geared to a much younger audience. For streaming, Crackle used the Sony dub[[labelnote:*]] (understandable since Crackle was also owned by Sony)[[/labelnote]] while Netflix got the Media Blasters dub. Fans generally prefer the Media Blasters dub, especially in North America, where the Sony dub did not see release until 2010. Later, Hulu would stream the Sony dub[[labelnote:*]] (while curiously using the Japanese names for Kenshin, Kaoru, and Yahiko in the captions, instead of their respective Sony dub names, Kenshi, Kori, and Yoshi)[[/labelnote]], while Crunchyroll would stream the Media Blasters dub.

* DuelingDubs: The TV series has two complete[[labelnote:*]] (except for the direct-to-video Episode 95)[[/labelnote]] English dubs – Sony Pictures Television International's "Samurai X" dub which was distributed in Asia and Europe, and Media Blaster's "Rurouni Kenshin" dub which saw official release in North America. Oddly, both dubs were recorded in Los Angeles and cast Creator/RichardCansino as Kenshin. The difference between them is that, while both dubs are uncut for time, the "Samurai X" dub is a more-toned-down looser adaptation geared to a much younger audience. For streaming, Crackle used the Sony dub[[labelnote:*]] (understandable since Crackle was also owned by Sony)[[/labelnote]] while Netflix got the Media Blasters dub. Fans generally prefer the Media Blasters dub, especially in North America, where the Sony dub did not see release until 2010. Later, Hulu would stream the Sony dub[[labelnote:*]] (while curiously using the Japanese names of the characters in the captions}[[/labelnote]], while Crunchyroll would stream the Media Blasters dub.

* DuelingDubs: The TV series has two complete[[labelnote:*]] (except for the direct-to-video Episode 95)[[/labelnote]] English dubs – Sony's "Samurai X" dub which was distributed in Asia and Europe, and Media Blaster's "Rurouni Kenshin" dub which saw official release in North America. Oddly, both dubs were recorded in Los Angeles and cast Creator/RichardCansino as Kenshin. The difference between them is that, while both dubs are uncut for time, the "Samurai X" dub is a more-toned-down looser adaptation geared to a much younger audience. For streaming, Crackle used the Sony dub[[labelnote:*]] (understandable since Crackle was also owned by Sony)[[/labelnote]] while Netflix got the Media Blasters dub. Fans generally prefer the Media Blasters dub, especially in North America, where the Sony dub did not see release until 2010. Later, Hulu use the Sony dub[[labelnote:*]] (while curiously using the Japanese names of the characters in the captions}[[/labelnote]], while Crunchyroll would use the Media Blasters dub.

* DuelingDubs: The TV series has two complete[[labelnote:*]] (except for the direct-to-video Episode 95)[[/labelnote]] English dubs – Animax's "Samurai X" dub which was distributed in Asia and Europe, and Creator/{{BangZoom|Entertainment}}'s "Rurouni Kenshin" dub which saw official release in North America. Oddly, both dubs were recorded in Los Angeles and cast Creator/RichardCansino as Kenshin. The difference between them is that, while both dubs are uncut for time, the "Samurai X" dub is a more-toned-down looser adaptation geared to a much younger audience. For streaming, Crackle used the Animax dub[[labelnote:*]] (understandable since Sony owns both)[[/labelnote]] while Netflix got the [=BangZoom=] dub. Fans generally prefer the [=BangZoom=] dub, especially in North America, where the Animax dub did not see release until 2010.

** Narrowly averted by Kaoru's actress: after shooting ''Kyoto Inferno'' and ''The Legend Ends'', Emi Takei got pregnant and subsequently married to her then-boyfriend, singer TAKAHIRO (of boybands ''Exile'' and ''Ace of Spades'' fame) in 2017 and was almost replaced for the Jinchuu Arc adaptation. Some industry insiders noted if actresses got pregnant and/or married (or any conduct that can be considered bad for PR), it would mean that they are counted as breaching their contract's terms with the companies they got hired at and unable to reprise their roles (partly justified in this series' case as Kaoru hasn't gotten hitched until the epilogue of the original manga). Takei and her agency later worked out on new terms so that she will still be able to continue her role for the final two film sequels.
*** Amusingly, [[DeadpanSnarker Takeru Satoh]] later remarked on this matter during the ''Road to Kenshin'' press tour interview, where he said that at the end of the film, Kaoru hasn't become a mother yet, but Takei already is.
** Perhaps none of the film crew hit it harder than Yusuke Iseya, who was forced to end his role as Aoshi during filming because he was arrested for drug possession. As a result, a major portion of his fight with Mumyoi was cut (the original planning was supposed to be longer with Aoshi tag-teaming with Misao to finish Mumyoi with ''Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren'' as part of [[CharacterDevelopment their budding]] [[RelationshipUpgrade relationship like]] in the manga, but that part was done with Misao alone in the final version).

* CreatorBacklash: Watsuki has expressed regret at creating Raijuta. He's often cited as saying that Raijuta is his least favorite character.

** Japanese
*** Kenshin was voiced by Creator/MegumiOgata in the drama CD while Mayo Suzukaze, a Takarazuka actress, went to voice him in the anime.

** English
*** Averted for Kenshin, who was voiced in the TV series by Creator/RichardCansino (both dubs), and by J. Shanon Weaver in the OVA's.

** Curiously averted in the Colombian Spanish dub, as all the characters are voiced by people of their respective genders, including kids.

* NoDubForYou: The Latin American Creator/{{Netflix}} feed does not include the controversial Colombian Spanish dub, partly due to the quality of that dub and partly because the last episode was never dubbed.

** For the 2023 series, everyone will be inevitably recast. Many examples include:

* TheOtherDarrin: Due to the Live-Action films being distributed by Creator/{{Funimation}}, the original cast members from the anime were replaced, although Creator/DavidWald, who previously voiced Shishio in the New Tokyo arc OVA, also voiced Shishio here. The new casting includes Creator/MicahSolusod as Kenshin, Creator/AlexisTipton as Kaoru, Creator/EricVale as Sanosuke, Creator/AlisonViktorin as Yahiko, Creator/TrinaNishimura as Megumi, Alex Organ as Aoshi, Creator/RobertMcCollum as Saitō, Creator/BrittneyKarbowski as Misao, Creator/JustinBriner as Sojiro and Creator/ChristopherSabat as Hikō.
** PlayedWith in the English dub ''The Final''. While Creator/BangZoomEntertainment handled the dub like with the original anime, the cast was comprised of the Live-Action films' voice cast, with the exceptions of Yahiko being voiced by Creator/CaseyMongillo instead of Creator/AlisonViktorin[[note]]The latter was forced into retirement over some politically controversial comments on Twitter[[/note]] and Aoshi being voiced by Alan Lee instead of Alex Organ[[note]]Organ retired from voice over to focus on theater work[[/note]].

** In English, the TV series and OVA's dubs were recorded in completely different areas (LA vs. Austin, Texas), so naturally they use completely different casts. Fans tend to dislike the OVA dub due to some questionable casting choices and a too-liberal script (though the script for ''Reflections'' is much tighter; fans dislike ''that'' due to its content).

** With the 2023 series, it's already known that the cast will be brand new (and Kenshin will avert CrossdressingVoice in animation):
*** Kenshin: Mayo Suzukaze --> Creator/SomaSaito
*** Kaoru: Miki Fujitani --> Creator/RieTakahashi

* TheOtherDarrin: Due to the Live-Action films being distributed by Creator/{{Funimation}}, the original cast members from the anime were replaced, although Creator/DavidWald, who previously voiced Shishio in the New Tokyo arc OVA, also voiced Shishio here. The new casting includes Creator/MicahSolusod as Kenshin, Creator/AlexisTipton as Kaoru, Creator/EricVale as Sanosuke, Creator/AlisonViktorin as Yahiko, Creator/TrinaNishimura as Megumi, Alex Organ as Aoshi, Creator/RobertMcCollum as Saitō, Creator/BrittneyKarbowski as Misao, and Creator/ChristopherSabat as Hikō.

* HilariousInHindsight: As noted above, Tatsuya Fujiwara portrayed Okita Soji in NHK's ''Shinsengumi!'', [[BastardUnderstudy whose character became the sort-of protege]] of [[BadBoss the uncouth and violent]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serizawa_Kamo Serizawa Kamo]], who Shishio was supposedly based on. In portraying Shishio, he is in a way following through.

*** Amusingly, [[DeadpanSnarker Takeru Satoh]] later remarked on this matter during the ''Road to Kenshin'' press tour interview, where he said that in the end of the film, Kaoru hasn't become a mother yet, but Takei already is.
** Perhaps none of the film crew hit it harder than Yusuke Iseya, who was forced to end his role as Aoshi during filming because he was arrested for drug possession. As a result, a major portion of his fight with Mumyoi was cut (the original planning was supposed to be longer with Aoshi tagteaming with Misao to finish Mumyoi with ''Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren'' as part of [[CharacterDevelopment their budding]] [[RelationshipUpgrade relationship like]] in the manga, but that part was done with Misao alone in the final version).

** Watsuki mentioned in his notes his concept for a fourth arc of the story which would revolve around Kenji competing against Yahiko and Tsubame's son to inherit the reverse blade. Interestingly, Kenji Himura would most likely been the antagonist of the arc, from what Watsuki had stated about his concept. That, plus the fact that the story would have been set in the beginning of Japan's move towards nationalism and militarization makes one wonder what the story would have looked like...

** Perhaps none of the film crew hit it harder than Yusuke Iseya, who was forced to end his role as Aoshi during filming because he was arrested for drug possession. As a result, a major portion of his fight with Mumyoi was cut (the original planning was supposed to be longer with Aoshi tagteaming with Misao to finish Mumyoi with ''Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren'' as part of [[CharacterDevelopment their budding]] [[RelationshipUpgrade relationship like]] in the manga, but that part was done with Misao alone in the final version)

** Senkaku (Shishio's henchman and villain of the Shingetsu village mini arc) originally was going to be a member of the Juppongatana, and a speechless, beast-like brute.

*** Hiko: Joe York and J. Hudson Brownlee --> Creator/AndrewLove

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: The anime suffered this on Creator/CartoonNetwork after they realized it probably should have went to Creator/AdultSwim. The show got moved from its Creator/{{Toonami}} weekday slot to a slot on the Creator/SaturdayVideoEntertainmentSystem block without much warning, and the run was ended at episode 62 (''right before'' the anime-only third season) out of the 95 episodes total aired (despite CN acquiring the rights to the whole show).

* TheOtherDarrin: Due to the Live-Action films being distributed by Creator/{{Funimation}}, the original cast members from the anime were replaced, although Creator/DavidWald, who previously voiced Shishio in the New Tokyo arc OVA, also voiced Shishio here. The new casting includes Creator/MicahSolusod as Kenshin, Creator/AlexisTipton as Kaoru, Creator/EricVale as Sanosuke, Creator/AlisonViktorin as Yahiko, Creator/TrinaNishimura as Megumi, Alex Organ as Aoshi, Creator/RobertMcCollum as Saitō, Creator/BrittneyKarbowski as Misao, and Creator/ChristopherRSabat as Hikō.

** The Media Blasters dub, while mostly consistent, did have a few changes. Most prominent of all would be Sojiro, who was voiced by '''three''' different actresses during his screentime. At first, Tara Sands provided his voice but after she returned to New York (for the time). Lynn Fishcer replaced her as Sojiro for a couple of episodes before ''she'' was replaced by Melissa Fahn for the battle with Kenshin and the DarkAndTroubledPast flashback. Bizarrely, Tara still voiced Masukami for her appearances during the Aoiya battle even after giving up Sojiro. For the aftermath of the Shishio battle and her cameo in the Christian arc, Masukami was voiced by Creator/MichelleRuff (Tae and Tsubame). Plus, in one of the last episodes of Season Three, Dina Sherman filled in for her.

*** Omine, one of the four minor Oniwabanshu members, was voiced by Bridget Hoffman for most of her appearances, but in two different episodes Dina Sherman (voice of Ayame) and Melodee Spevack (Kamatari) filled in. Her last appearance in the third season had her being voiced by Mona Marshall (Suzume's actress).

*** Minor characters weren't exempt from changes either. Sakata, Yutaro's servant, was voiced by Robert Axelrod for Episodes 19 and 21 while Lex Lang (Sanosuke) filled in for episode 20. Eiji's older brother Eichiro was voiced by Herman E. Sherman for his introduction (and death) in episode 35 while in episode 37 Creator/SteveStaley (voice of Captain Sagara) substituted.

** The OVA and film cast from ADV also went through a couple changes between projects. Kaoru was voiced by Kara Bliss in the movie but Katherine Catmull replaced her for the second OVA. Hiko was also shared by a couple actors in the OVA; Joe York for ''Trust and Betrayal'' and J. Hudson Brownlee in ''Reflection''.
*** When the ''New Kyoto Arc'' was dubbed years later by Sentai Filmworks, only Kenshin and Sanosuke's actors, J. Shannon Weaver and Gray G. Haddock respectively, returned to their parts[[labelnote:*]] Except for Lowell Bartholomee and Charlie Campbell who voiced and directed on the previous projects and Meg Bauman who had previously voiced Tsubame and had returned as Misao[[/labelnote]]. All the rest of the returning characters from the previous works dubbed by the now defunct ADV Films were recast:

** Due to the Live-Action films being distributed by Creator/{{Funimation}}, the original cast members were replaced, although Creator/DavidWald, who previously voiced Shishio in the New Tokyo arc OVA, also voiced Shishio here.
** PlayedWith in the English dub ''The Final''. While Creator/BangZoomEntertainment handled the dub like the original anime, the cast was comprised of the Live-Action films' voice cast, with the exceptions of Yahiko being voiced by Creator/CaseyMongillo instead of Creator/AlisonViktorin and Aoshi being voiced by Alan Lee instead of Alex Organ.

** [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]] with Kasumi Arimura, who is 27 during filming of ''[[Film/RurouniKenshinTheFinal The Final]]'' and ''[[Film/RurouniKenshinTheBeginning The Beginning]]'', playing the 18-year-old Tomoe in the flashback and presumably a what-if 33 year old version in the images of Kenshin's vision. 26-year-old Mackenkyu almost hits the mark playing the 23-year-old Enishi.

* PlayingGertrude: A male example in the live action films. Kenshin is 28 years old at the start of the manga, substantially older than Kaoru and the other main characters, but his actor Takeru Satoh was only 22 at the time of the first film's release. (Then again, in the manga Kenshin looks the same age as everybody.) Averted with his nemesis, Shishio, who seems to be in his thirties and is aptly played by the 32-year-old Tatsuya Fujiwara in the second and third films.

** Perhaps none of the film crew hit it harder than Yusuke Iseya, who was forced to end his role as Aoshi during filming because he was arrested for drug possession. As a result, a major portion of his fight with Mumyoi was cut (the original planning was supposed to be longer with Aoshi finishing Mumyoi with ''Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren'', but that part was done with Misao in the final version)

* Perhaps none of the film crew hit it harder than Yusuke Iseya, who was forced to end his role as Aoshi during filming because he was arrested for drug possession. As a result, a major portion of his fight with Mumyoi was cut (the original planning was supposed to be longer with Aoshi finishing Mumyoi with ''Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren'', but that part was done with Misao in the final version)

** Narrowly averted by Kaoru's actress: after shooting ''Kyoto Inferno'' and ''The Legend Ends'', Emi Takei got pregnant and subsequently married to her then-boyfriend, singer TAKAHIRO (of boybands ''Exile'' and ''Ace of Spades'' fame) in 2017 and was almost replaced for the Jinchuu Arc adaptation. Some industry insiders noted if actresses got pregnant and/or married, it would mean that they are counted as breaching their contract's terms with the companies they got hired at and unable to reprise their roles (partly justified in this series' case as Kaoru hasn't gotten hitched until the epilogue of the original manga). Takei and her agency later worked out on new terms so that she will still be able to continue her role for the final two film sequels.

*** When the New Kyoto Arc was dubbed years later by Sentai Filmworks, only Kenshin and Sanosuke's actors, J. Shannon Weaver and Gray G. Haddock respectively, returned to their parts[[labelnote:*]] Except for Lowell Bartholomee and Charlie Campbell who voiced and directed on the previous projects and Meg Bauman who had previously voiced Tsubame and had returned as Misao[[/labelnote]]. All the rest of the returning characters from the previous works dubbed by the now defunct ADV Films were recast:

** Due to the Live-Action films being distributed by Creator/{{Funimation}}, the original cast members are being replaced, although Creator/DavidWald, who previously voiced Shishio in the New Tokyo arc OVA, also voiced Shishio here.

** The Media Blasters dub, while mostly consistent, did have a few changes. Most prominent of all would be Sojiro, who was voiced by '''three''' different actresses during his screentime. At first, Tara Sands provided his voice but after she returned to New York (for the time) Lynn Fishcer replaced her as Sojiro for a couple of episodes before ''she'' was replaced by Melissa Fahn for the battle with Kenshin and the DarkAndTroubledPast flashback. Bizarrely, Tara still voiced Masukami for her appearances during the Aoiya battle even after giving up Sojiro. For the aftermath of the Shishio battle and her cameo in the Christian arc, Masukami was voiced by Creator/MichelleRuff (Tae and Tsubame). Plus, in one of the last episodes of Season Three, Dina Sherman filled in for her.

** The Jinchuu arc films finally avert this, as Sato was 28 years old during filming.

* ReleaseDateChange: The ''Saishusho'' duology of films (''Rurouni Kenshin Saishusho the Beginning'' and ''Rurouni Kenshin Saishusho the Final'') were scheduled for August 7th, 2020 and July 3rd, 2020, respectively. Both were pushed back to Spring 2021 in the wake of [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic a certain viral pandemic]].