Rurouni Kenshin

That's what I liked about the Jinchuu arc honestly; Shihio was undoubtedly more Badass, and was a far bigger physical threat to Kenshin than Enishi, but the latter was a bigger personal threat that Shishio ever was.

Enishi represents Kenshin's past catching up with him hard, and he deserves massive props for doing a rarity; breaking a Shonen hero completely. Yea, it was temporary, but with most Shonen heroes being known for never giving into despair, it's pretty interesting to see when it actually does happen. And it felt real too, like I legit thought Kaoru was dead as well, so props for the fake out.

Shishio may be more memorable, but Enishi is a much more effective villain in my eyes. Although the latter has never been seen outside the manga, and a few shots in an OVA. Hopefully the Jinchuu arc will be animated one day. It deserves it.

edited 17th Jun '14 8:02:55 AM by BlackYakuzu94

Anyway, bumping this, because the RK live-action sequel opened last weekend to the biggest opening for Japanese live-action films in 2014. (But preliminary reviews are suggesting that it might be a bit rough in execution, especially with the Oniwabanshuu.)

I only read one review thus far, and he said that while it was enjoyable, it felt like the movie was just build up for the next movie.

edited 16th Aug '14 5:20:23 PM by AkoSiKuya23

Some movie differences from the anime/manga

Sorry to restart this thread, but I just gotten into the franchise, and I noticed this difference between the anime and manga:

Manga: Doctor patching up Kaoru being Himura Kihei.

Anime: Doctor patching up Kaoru being an anime-only character with granddaughters. So can we say that, for the anime, Kihei got turned into Genrai and that they made not related to Gomei and making him a good guy?

Think the doctor shows up in the manga as well. Kihei and Gensai are completely different characters.

Sorry for the bump. But there is one thing I would like to know in regards of Nobuhiro Watsuki.

We know he's caught having child porn but... I'd like to know if it's known since when he started possessing those porns? Did the police ever found out?

Try to keep it short or else I think this could spiral out for worse very fast.

Out of curiosity, why does it matter?

Oh huh. I didn't know that the revival was back on track. That said, our page on the guy is embarrassingly complimentary about him in regards to that: "However, with the announcement of the Kenshin revival returning in June 2018, It appears that he is using what's left of his career to make things up as much as he can."

... seriously.

I'd like to know WHEN he started doing that, is it since the beginning or is it after the end of writing Rurouni Kenshin (since afterwards, he couldn't create such a big hit as before)? Maybe part of my curiosity about how low he was revealed to be, did he write RK while doing that dirty hobby in secret (which made him an utter Hypocrite, considering RK's message), or did he do it afterwards? (In other words, he could've been fine when writing RK, but afterwards, he fell to the Dark Side.)

Unless there is a direct statement from Watsuki himself, probably that should be removed. (Though not exactly possible, while he might still be able to continue writing, I do not think even the Japanese companies had the balls to do interviews with him anymore)

They were purchased while Watsuki was in Brazil, so July 17-19 2015. I did notice he looked terribly uneasy the day I saw hi, so I assumed he was just a really shy guy back then. When the news stated when the purchase happened, it was a huge Harsher in Hindsight moment for me. I almost threw away my autograph when I learned about it.

Huh. I see. I wonder if the police found more porns bought before the date.

Edited by ChrisX on Jan 13th 2019 at 10:36:36 PM

I always come back to this scene. It's my favorite in the 60 something episodes of this anime. But Kaoru ruins it, snapping Kenshin back to normal because she can't stand to see him so bloodthirsty. Bah.

Are there any other moments of "Manslayer" Kenshin coming back I didn't know of?

Edited by Soble on Jan 22nd 2019 at 7:09:11 AM

His first fight with Jin-E is the first time it happens.

So only those two then.

Saito is just... just the best. I don't think there's a scene with him that isn't a highlight of the series to me.

I loved seeing him manhandle Sanosuke (whom I also like, mind you) and then choking Kenshin out with a shirt? Fucking baller as shit.

Yea basically. As cool as battousai Kenshin is, it's a plot point that he doesn't like to act that way and Kyoto arc is about him exercising that out of him.

And yea, the fight with Saitou is the best. The setup and the fight itself is just breathtaking. It firmly establishes that Kenshin and Saitou are soldiers determined to kill when push comes to shove.

It's so good, it kind of overshadows the fight with Shishio tbh lol.

Yes, the Saito fight is a top fight of the series. Utter work of art.

I rewatched up through the Kyoto Arc a few months ago.

Still good, not quite as good as I remember but such is life. Music is still fuckin' awesome, the comedy is absolute garbage, not enough badass women (I love Misao, though) and Kamatari needed more screentime.

Best thing about the rewatch is I actually know about Japanese history now. I once said RK took pace in "feudal Japan." Agh, I am baka gaijin.

Edited by Nikkolas on Jan 22nd 2019 at 11:50:49 AM

I also like it because it's one of the few fights where you can feel the seriousness and focus between the two combatants to kill each other; no needless talk, just concentration and skill.

You say that, but the peanut gallery feel the need to comment on everything that happens.

Yahiko: Hey Kenshin...we won, isn't that right? So that means we were right, right?

Kenshin: If you're saying that the one who wins is right then you'd be the same as Makoto Shishio. We all fought for what we believed was right during this hard battle and we defeated Shishio in the end. However, Shishio himself was also trying to prove his rightness through winning battles. He acted upon his beliefs, that he did. In that respect, he is no different from any of us. In the end, perhaps the times did indeed choose to side with us and what's "right" will be determined by the people of the next generation based on a history that's being created right now, that it will.

This exchange always stuck with me ever since I was little. It seems so simple now but really that's mostly because I spend a lot of my time reading actual philosophy these days. Truth is, not enough regular shows ever have a moment like this. It is good that our heroes defeated the villain but the fact they won a fight isn't why they are good. The battle itself proves nothing. Light Yagami of all people invoked this when he said if Kira won he was Justice and if he lost he was a monster. Well he lost but that had zero bearing on how monstrous he was.

Too many series act like the righteous prevailing shows something, that the protagonist beating the villain invalidates what the villain fought for. They need moments like this where a younger character, troubled by confusion and guilt over having witnessed how human and even somewhat noble his opponents were, tries to assuage their conscience with this false ideal of victory = good. War is a complicated thing and nothing is more natural than trying to dumb it down. But then an older, wiser character corrects them. There are no easy answers. The people you fought and maybe even killed are still people and it's fine to mourn for them. But never think that your triumph has any bearing on how right you were or how wrong they were.

That's a beautiful exchange between Kenshin and Makoto.

Makoto Shishio is the villain and he is dead. That exchange is between Kenshin and Yahiko.

Trailer for the new anime just dropped via Aniplex's Anime Online Festival 2022!

I'm genuinely surprised we're still talking about Rurouni Kenhsin what with Nobuhiro being a pedophile that got a slap on the wrist thanks to his status as a famous manga creator.