Line #19 Fridge/RurouniKenshin


1	'''As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
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4	!FridgeBrilliance
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6	* One WMG revolved around why Shishio was laughing as he combusted. Just figured it out upon re-watching the series: Shishio's wish was for Japan to become militaristic and expand into the world, right? Kenshin thought he was going to stop that from happening if he defeated Shishio--and then [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII what did Japan end up doing anyway?]]
7	* Paraphrasing a Fridge Brilliance I found on the Martial Pacifist page: Shishio is stated to only have 15 minutes to fight before he combusts. The reason is that it is "'the era' choosing who would be victorious—i.e. the world moving into an age where Kenshin's beliefs about protecting the weak have more bearing than Shishio's 'the victor is right by default' stance." Time chooses the victor, not swordplay (and also, allows Kenshin to avoid breaking his "thou shall not kill" philosophy).
8	* From the ''Trust and Betrayal'' OVA, near the end when Kenshin is limping along using his sword for a crutch the sword can be heard making some metallic sounds. This turns out to be the sound of loose pins within the handle, indicating just how out of practice Kenshin had been (thus not maintaining the sword) and emphasizing the desperateness of the situation.
9	** Also, the pin being loose in the reverse-blade sword is actually a plot point in the manga, as it was supposed to be a sign of how the sword was designed to blunt its own force so that it would never kill. Because no one ever died of being hit with a thin metal stick of extraordinary hardness.
10	* At one point, when Okubo asks Kenshin to kill Shishio, some of the Kenshin-gumi wonder if Kenshin would have been executed after the Bakumatsu if he hadn't vanished, which is what happened to his real life counterpart.
11	* After taking some proper Kenjitsu classes, the name 'Battousai' gained a new significance. A ''battou'' is a move you do by drawing the sword really fast--in other words, it's an ''opening'' move. He didn't get the name because he was so much better at doing ''battou'''s compared to everything else; he just happened to kill his opponents that fast. Tropers/{{Zashiki-Warashi}}
12	* Many people point at Saitou's claim of having given up drinking as being a change that Watsuki made, since the real Saitou was known to be a drinker until he died. However, the same scene where he says that he's given up (or is just cutting back) on drinking, Saitou also says that drinking tends to make him want to kill. Being that he was in the middle of an undercover investigation of dirty politicians, (who would certainly fall under Aku Soku Zan, and whom Saitou did later go back to kill off) the drinking thing is probably a polite lie that Saitou made up just so he wouldn't jump the gun and blow his investigation.
13	* While the [[Film/RurouniKenshin live-action film]] is chock full of merits, one thing might get the attention of those who closely watched the anime: Saitou, instead of working for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okubo_Toshimichi Okubo Toshimichi]] (a powerful yet statesman-like Meiji government leader), he was made one of the direct subordinates to Army Chief [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamagata_Aritomo Yamagata Aritomo]] (a known military commander and war-hawk in the Meiji and Taisho period). While both were portrayed as benevolent bosses in the anime, General Yamagata was known in real life to harbor anti-democratic and expansionary sentiments. Considering that Yamagata's policies would pave the way for [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Showa-era Japan's military expansion in Asia]], it was probably quite appropriate that Saitou, the series' KnightTemplar by virtue of his UsefulNotes/{{Shinsengumi}} track record, would side with him.
14	* It used to bother me that Sanosuke was considered the hand-to-hand combat expert of the series, despite there being at least a few characters were far more skilled. But I realized that first and foremost, Sanosuke was a street fighter. His fighting style was less about unarmed combat martial arts and more about fighting his own way [[GoodOldFisticuffs with his two fists]]. While his refusal to follow Saitou's advice could be chalked up to stubborn ignorance, it fits his character and signifies the contrast between the formal swordsmanship and fighting styles with finding your own way.
15	* Shishio's NoSell nature of being able to counter techniques after seeing them once can serve a few purposes. It's a nice contrast to Kenshin's own AwesomenessByAnalysis fighting style; while Kenshin usually has to find clever ways to defeat techniques, Shishio can simply catch the opponent's blade or come prepared.
16	** Secondly, it provides a good justification for how he easily defeated Saitou, Sanosuke, and Aoshi. While it could simply be attributed to being just that &badtastic&, he already had knowledge of all three of his opponents techniques: He blocked off Saitou's gatotsu with his headband, and since Saitou's gatotsu is merely a set of variations was able to counter it. With Sanosuke, he already had knowledge of Anji's techniques and knew he could merely take the hit. And he had already tested Aoshi with four of his mooks.
17	** Shishio's entire body has been burned and scarred over. Likely, the majority of his nerve endings have been cauterized and scarred over. It's very likely that the attacks that he gets hit with are actually causing damage, but he barely feels any pain.
18	* Kenshin was pretty much losing it at Shishio for stabbing Yumi just to get to him. Apart from his general respect for non-combatants (even if they are not sympathetic to him), the situation probably reminded him of [[AccidentalMurder that tragic moment when he accidentally killed Tomoe]], [[TearJerker in the middle of a battle while she was supposed to be defending him]].
19	* This troper realized upon rewatching the Kyoto arc that Shishio killing Yumi goes much deeper than it originally seemed. The reason why Yumi is begging Kenshin to stop, even though she knows as well as the rest of us that Kenshin isn't going to kill Shishio, Kenshin doesn't kill anyone. But she also knows that SHISHIO isn't going to stop until he's dead, and there's no way of talking him down. So she's actually begging Kenshin to surrender and leave so that Shishio can live. Ultimately it's Shishio who says no, and continues the fight, ignoring Kenshin's mercy (because let's face it, Kenshin would have done it) because he needs to prove his position. If Kenshin ends the fight with both of them alive, then Kenshin, the "victor", spared the loser thus turning Shishio into the antithesis of his very core belief: he lost, and yet lived. And even if he twisted it to be Shishio is the victor and Kenshin the loser, then Kenshin still isn't dead. Either way, the climax ends with Shishio in the wrong; it is possible to resolve a conflict between two people without the strong feeding on the weak. The moment Shishio and Kenshin fought, the battle could not end with both of them surviving. He isn't just continuing the battle to prove he's right by defeating Kenshin, he's continuing the battle to prove he's right ''win or lose''. If he wins and Kenshin dies, then he was stronger than Kenshin. But if he presses the battle to the point where he dies, then that will prove that Kenshin and his positions were ultimately the correct path of Japan's future, even if Shishio personally rejects them. Kenshin himself directly objects to this premise that their victory over Shishio means that they are correct, addressing the unspoken argument of Shishio. It's why Shishio bears no grudges in the afterlife, and moves on to take over hell. His loss was simply because the will of Kenshin's convictions was stronger than even Shishio Makoto himself, and the weak are food for the strong.
20	* People get annoyed about the MagicCountdown in the Live Action movie that Jin-e gives Kaoru, saying she had "2 minutes max", before she passed out from lack of air. 5 minutes later, she's still kicking. But it's really only 2 minutes later; Kenshin and Jin-e's swordfighting is being slowed down so we can keep up with it.
21	* Yahiko being able to master Hadome[=/=]Hawatari very quickly is very impressive but it makes a whole lot of sense you remember that he used to be a pickpocket. Even after leaving his pickpocketing days behind, he still regularly shows that he can quickly strip items off people with relative ease. The Hadome[=/=]Hawatari simply allows him to use that same talent in the heat of battle.
22	* Saito is the middle ground of Kenshin and Shishio. Kenshin refuses to kill, supports the government and is associated with leaves. Shishio loves to kill, wishes to overthrow the government and is associated with fire. Saito kills when necessary, works for the government and smokes cigarettes- using fire with leaves.
23	* After Kenshin defeats Shishio, thanks to Shishio's spontaneous combustion, it's said that "the age chose Kenshin." This would really only be natural: it's said many dozens of times that Kenshin fought for the new age (that is, the Meiji Era) so if "the age" is a metaphorically living, breathing entity with the power to choose the winner of a swordfight, of course it's going to choose the one that fought to bring about its existence instead of the one trying to replace it.
24	* How was Saitou able to contact his old friend, Sugimura Yoshie aka Nagakura Shinpachi at such short notice in the first place during the Hokkaido arc? This doubles into HistoricalInJoke territory, as it turns out. In real life, around the time the Hokkaido arc takes place (approximately 1883), the historical Sugimura just moved with his family to Otaru, Hokkaido in the previous year. Since it was implied in their dialogue that they still keep in touch with each other, it makes a lot of sense for Saitou to give heads up to Sugimura just in case, along with the fact that Otaru is rather close to Sapporo (just a few hours of train ride during the period. In modern term it's 25-minute drive).
25	* I've seen a couple of people wonder how Anji is able to use Futae no Kiwami with the other parts of his body when the way he demonstrates it to Sano (and the way Sano specifically uses it) is by initializing the blow with the finger joints followed by the knuckles. If you look closely at the way it's practiced, it is very similar to the One-Inch Punch, a move popularized by Creator/BruceLee that is practiced by holding out your outstretched fingers towards your opponent and is often depicted as blowing people across the room. However, the keyword here is ''practiced'', as the fingers are only meant to show that the force is being delivered in such a short distance. Really, it is minute muscle extensions and contractions when successfully performing it that makes it powerful (particularly the shoulder, hip, and lower body muscles) and much of those same contractions can be used to great effect in other strikes. The Futae no Kiwami very likely runs on the same principle, using proper form and muscle control to be able to deliver devastating strikes in a number in different ways.
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27	! FridgeLogic
28	* If Shishio's so vulnerable to overheating, why did he fight on a battlefield ''surrounded by fire?''
29	** [[SuicidalOverconfidence He was that confident in his strength.]]
30	*** IIRC, they were fighting in a small arena inside a mountain in late 19th century Japan. The giant torches might have just been for light, and I'm fairly certain that Kenshin said that they were flaring up so much as a reaction to Shishio's ki, like how Kenshin's ki causes leaves to split as they pass by. Of course, since they were doing this in said arena inside a mountain, I guess it might also create the leaves in the first place...
31	** On a related note, how is he able to have sex with Yumi without overheating? (Or cauterizing her vagina shut?)
32	*** For the first question, he probably has a time limit on that too. For the second... overheating is not the same as turning your penis into a blow torch.
33	* Meta example. Hannya's original back story would've had him naturally deformed, which turned him into an outcast. This was changed because (according to the author at least), he had a talk about it with the editor and they concluded that it's too dark and needs to be changed. If that was too dark, what about Soujirou's back story?
34	** It wasn't that it was too dark; it was that he didn't like the message that a person's fate can be decided from birth.
35	** Not to mention the ableist UnfortunateImplications.
36	* One of the WMG asks what kind of training Kenshin still needed given the fact that he only needed to learn Kuzu Ryu Sen and the secret to acquire the complete set of Hiten moves. It hit me that although Kenshin was a Kenjutsu virtuoso, he was not a great tactician and was still naive and immature. Samurai in training not only learn Kenjutsu but Bushido (the philosophy of the sword) and most likely tactics to successfully fight and win on the battlefield. Kenshin's fighting style relies on using his innate reaction ability along with Hiten moves to defeat his opponents, something his master exploits with his training. Although Kenshin is a powerful fighter, he is not a cunning one and relies too much on his innate abilities to win which is why Hiko calls him his "stupid apprentice."
37	** You must also remember that Kenshin was never a samurai and thus never trained in Bushido. It's probably safe to assume that most Hiten successors were not samurai, since Hiko implies in the OVA and in the manga (iirc) that the Hiten sword was typically a sword for hire.
38	** Actually Kenshin did run off before he could learn why Hiten Mitsurugi users don't generally take sides in war and other mental aspects of training. Had he stuck around, he'd have avoided most of the issues that plague him as well as the general messes his interference casused (Meiji Corruption, Shishio, etc)
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40	!FridgeHorror
41	* Has anyone ever thought much about the Kaoru doll and that it was made in her EXACT LIKELINESS, right down to the intimate details? Looks like [[DirtyOldMan Gein's]] [[ThePeepingTom been up to something...]]
42	** How familiar would anyone who examined the body have been with Kaoru's intimate details?
43	*** Considering the one who examined Kaoru's "body" was Megumi, a doctor, she would have been familiar with anatomy. It's also safe to assume an autopsy was not performed considering the big reveal had to be instigated by Aoshi.
44	*** Seeing as the creator of the doll was able to essentially build power armor, that could pass as either a human or a beast in the 19th century, it's entirely possible, that being his greatest work of art, even an autopsy would appear normal.
45	* A small hint but made clearer in the live-action movie. With Japan's strict LastNameBasis, and Kanryuu calling Megumi just "Megumi". Her family was killed, and her being the only survivor. Also his yes-men call her only Megumi. Could this perhaps mean that they... [[RapeAsDrama gang raped]] her?
46	** Uhm, [[UnfortunateImplications rape is NOT the only way to traumatize a woman]]. It's ''far'' most likely that they're doing it less as a sign of sexual abuse, and much more as a not-so subtle way to [[BreakTheCutie de-humanize her]] ''without'' needing to resort to other ways to mistreat her.
47	** I could be that the "Takani" clan were all wiped-out except for the female Megumi, this could be a subtle dig against Megumi to remind her that her famous doctor-family-lineage is now gone and that she belongs to them, without an identity of her own.
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49	* After Enishi abducts Kaoru, I’m assuming he takes off her kendo clothes and has them put on the dummy, because Kaoru wakes up in the island in a bathrobe. AND in the middle of the dojo battle, Enishi actually makes time to get Kaoru’s favorite kimono (the one with the sakura design) and bring it with him to the island. He gives back the kimono to Kaoru later on (neatly wrapped!), and she wears it during the beach battle scene. How thoughtful.
50	** Enishi undressed Kaoru! Or maybe Gein or one of his henchmen did. Still, it’s pretty traumatic addition to the whole kidnapping spectacle.
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52	* When Eiji Mishima shows off a map of the region that shows that Shingetsu was wiped off the map, the location of the village is merely given an X over it. To modern day viewers, this would seem kind of silly, but to think about it would give every reason why to not go to somewhere with an X on it. Not only would such a place not have treasure, throughout the developing world at this time, and even for developed places like the United States of America, things like electricity and telecommunications were not in place yet for civil infrastructure, and even out in the country, plenty of areas were still stuck in post Dark Ages levels of rustic development. Not only would this mean that there would be no such things like cellphones, but neither ways to communicate to the police, and mankind in these days prior would generally have a warrior caste to deal with such things like overzealous killers and highwaymen if anyone wanted to travel, which in the Meiji Era, was pretty much disbanded immediately. Having an abandoned village out in the country would mean that it would be filled with animals like bears and wolves, or as a good hiding place for criminals and bandits. The fact that Senkaku and his men essentially rule over Shingetsu and will be all to willing to enforce a death penalty on outsiders would definitely have the village fall into the latter.
53	* The reason Kenshin became the pacifist rurouni he is now is because of his tragic past as a manslayer for Ishin Shishi. But what would've happened if Kenshin did not join Ishin Shishi and remained with Hiko until he fully mastered Hiten Mitsurugi skills? Obviously Kenshin would've done more than just [[SurpassedTheTeacher surpassing Hiko]], Kenshin would've inevitably killed Hiko with his newfound ''[[FinishingMove Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki]]'', as it is said that [[YouCannotFightFate the pupils of Hiten Mitsurugi school are destined to slay their respective teachers to master the ultimate attack]]. Take note that the only reason Hiko (and practically every Kenshin's opponents) survived Kenshin's ultimate attack in canon is because of Kenshin's sakabatou, which Kenshin would've never had if he did not join Ishin Shishi. Without the bitter experience of a manslayer and the wisdom of a war veteran, [[DespairEventHorizon Kenshin will definitely break]] after [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone killing his teacher]].

Context Fridge / RurouniKenshin