Confused about Rurouni Kenshin.

[Godly Paladin]

I saw a handful of episodes a long time ago, and ever since I've regretted not watching all of it. Almost everyone here is a big Kenshin fan, it's got a 10/10 review score, etcetera. So I was planning on buying it since I was fairly sure I'd love it. I was looking for some footage to stave off boredom the other day, and found this:

http://video.freevideoblog.com/player.aspx?fileid=2447381D-81EA-49B0-9C3F-4A21CBBCB545

And now I'm confused, since it looks much more violent than I would have expected, especially since Kenshin can't kill anyone. So I'm looking for more opinions (detailed ones would be nice) and more information about the violence. My sister also wants to know if it "pulls a Trigun", meaning that it goes from funny and cute in the first half of the series to dark and demonically supernatural in the second half. Could you guys help us out here? We were pretty pumped up about the Kenshin experience up until this point.

[ChristianKitsune]

Hmm I don;t have sound...but I think there is a Kenshin Review up int eh anime section

Kenshin is pretty violent, it is about a swordsman after all, and while

[spoiler] he never really kills anyone after he becomes rurouni[/spoiler]

It is cute/serious all throughout the story... but at the end there is a Christian arc, that kinda downs catholics....and shows them in a negative light..

[rii namuras]

(While I haven't watched it yet (not through lack of trying, though), I have been reading the manga every chance, and I have a bit of an answer.)

(You must realize two things: 1. While Kenshin has vowed not to kill, he has no problem with breaking a few bones to protect an innocent. 2. Kenshin's enemies have no such reservations about bloodshed. It will be violent for the simple reason that the bad guys do kill. Kenshin does his very best to stop them, but they still kill. Kenshin's vows don't change that.)

[starfire]

I doubt that this helps, but I've found that even though RK is violent, it's never pointlessly so. The violence almost always has a realistic effect on the characters around it. Killing and death are hardly handled in a light manner, even though the show can be funny at times. I'd say it does a pretty good job portraying the harsh realities of war and violence. I think that's why most people don't have as much of a problem with it. That's my take, anyway.

[Chibi Naru]

It will go back and forth from funny to serious. There IS violence and blood, but it sort of comes with the territory. It's actually a very good series and I myself enjoyed it. It also depends on which version you get, of course, cut or uncut. There's a heavy set of morals in there, and there are some good things. If you're very concerned about it, the Cartoon Network version cleans it up a bit without cutting too much out. Good idea asking around about it!

Anything else I wanted to say was already said. XD

[Radical Dreamer]

Well, being that Kenshin is my VERY favorite anime, I should answer your questions!

Rurouni Kenshin is a fantastic anime that became my favorite almost instantly. It has everything: Comedy, drama, romance, action, history...It's a fantastic anime!

It starts with the Rurouni arc, which is the lighter, funnier portion of the show. Kenshin is introduced as a harmless rurouni (wanderer) who has been wandering around Japan for the past 10 years. He is kind, humble, and very polite, yet he has a dark past. We find out that this "rurouni" was once a hitokiri, or assassin, who fought during the Bakumatsu of the Meiji Restoration. Kenshin is a clumsy, friendly person, but when he must fight, he does so with the elegant and very fast Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryu, along with his sakabatou, or reverse-blade sword (this enables him to attack without killing anyone). He's an amazingly skilled swordsman who hides behind his rurouni self in an attempt to keep himself from killing anymore. The rurouni arc is a good start for Kenshin, however, it does have a lot of filler episodes and some sillier situations. There's less blood, although violence is present throuought the series. Since it's set in this particular era in time, the absence of violence would seem unrealistic, to say the least. The story progresses into the second arc, or the Kyoto Arc, which is the real meat of the Kenshin anime.

The Kyoto Arc is much more violent and bloodier than the Rurouni Arc; however, it's ten times better! I'll put it in spoiler brackets, since it's kind of hard to not spoil it when describing.

[spoiler]The Kyoto Arc is based around the scenario in which Kenshin must travel alone to Kyoto to fight the hitokiri, Shishio Makoto, and keep him from his devious plans to take over Japan. While this arc is a lot more violent than the previous arc, all of the killing is done by Shishio's men, the Juppon-Gatana, or by Shishio himself. Kenshin (nor any of the other "good-guys") kill anyone. Also, in the Kyoto Arc, the character Anji makes his appearance. Anji is a fallen Bhuddist priest, which is the one weak point of the Kyoto Arc, especially in the anime. In the end of Anji's story, it kind of glorifies Buddha, although this doesn't happen to such an extent in the manga. It's really not too problematic; however, since Anji only appears as a major character 3 or 4 times. This one bump in an otherwise smooth series is not much to worry about, it's not enough to make it not worth the watch. n.n[/spoiler]

As far as the third arc in the anime is concerned, I'll have to let someone else explain it. <<^_^; I have yet to pick that one up, since it's completely filler episodes, and I hear it's not as good as the other two arcs. I'll have to pick this one up from Netflix...XD

Anyways, I highly reccomend this series, and I think you should definitely give it a try! It's very clean, the language isn't too too bad, and there is no sex whatsoever. One of the Juppon-Gatana, Yumi, does have a very low kimono, and another character, Kamatari (also from the Kyoto Arc), is meant to be a homosexual. It's completely one-sided; however, and is meant more for comedic relief. Also, since Kamatari is one of the antagonists, all of the main characters look down upon him/her and his/her lifestyle. Other than those two, everything's great! n.n

Anyways, hope this little "clarification review" helped you out, and I hope you end up watching this series! It's definitely one you shouldn't miss!

[Godly Paladin]

That helps quite a bit. My sister was wondering about the enemies...she hates supernatural freaks. Are there a lot of them?

[Radical Dreamer]

That helps quite a bit. My sister was wondering about the enemies...she hates supernatural freaks. Are there a lot of them?

None at all in the first two arcs. In Rurouni Kenshin, there's a trick behind everything. Since it's meant to be a more realistic series, there's not much magic within my knowledge of it, ask someone about the third arc, though. The only thing I can think of is Udo Jineh, who uses a hypnosis-type attack to paralyze people.

[avidrkfan]

Don't forget about the apallingly bad Fung Shui story arc in the last season. (I'm not kidding, they actually had a story based around Fung Shui) It is, however, so laughably ridiculous that it's relatively easy to dismiss it. I mean come on, lines of 'spiritual energy' converging on Tokyo? Better go move the couch three inches to the left! We wouldn't want the bad old energy line to run smack into it! (sorry, I just couldn't help myself. I actually know people who decorated their house according to the principles of Fung Shui)

That's about as 'occult' as it gets. The last few episodes were essentially filler episodes. The best part ended with the Kyoto story arc.

If you're really worried about violent content, you'll probably want to give the OAV (Samurai X Trust and Betrayal movie) a miss, as it was a lot more violent than the anime series that was aired on TV.

[Heart of Sword]

If violence bothers you, DO NOT WATCH THE OAVS. They're extremely violent.

Okay, as for supernatural freaks...Kenshin is a realistic Anime so you're not going to get Trigunish villains. There's a character later on who claims to be the Messiah and seems to use magic but

[SPOILER]He turns out to just be a really skilled astronomer/scientist...so the real reason he seems to be able to make the sky black out is because he knows when the eclipses are. And Kenshin sets him straight in the end. This is actually a very good arc and, though a lot of people find it controversial, you have to realize that Kenshin is historical fiction and things like that really happened.[/SPOILER]

But yes Kenshin can be very, very violent. However there's not much language...I didn't even hear any "S-words."

[Shao Feng-Li]

I think it helps that the seires isn't about fighting and violence so much. You know, that's not the piont, even though the fights are awsome.

[Heart of Sword]

Oh and...what about...

[SPOILER]
How Jin-E dies?
[/SPOILER]
That was nasty. @______@

[Kkun]

Also, I think I should mention a character by the name of Kamatari who appears in the Kyoto arc.

[spoiler]Kamatari is a homosexual transvestite. It's only touched upon briefly that he is in love with Shishio but the fact is, it's there.[/spoiler]

That said, Rurouni Kenshin is a wonderful series. I love it to bits and pieces and death and all kinds of other things. The end of the third season leaves much to be desired but that's why you can stop at the Kyoto arc of the TV series and just read the Jinchuu arc of the manga.

Still, as others have said, it's a show about swordsmen in post-revolution Japan. You can't expect it to not be violent. It does take a turn like Trigun, where it starts out happy and ends up much darker. I would say gather as much information on it as you can. I will say, however, that I began buying the DVDs when I was about 14 and finished them up by the time I was like 15 and a half, so I didn't think it was damaging to me or anything like that. Just gather as much info on it as you can before buying it and make a good, well-thought out decision.

[Godly Paladin]

Well, thank you all. This was pretty helpful! My parting question would be about the Kenshin OVA...what is it about and is it a 'must-watch' like Endless Waltz?

[Shao Feng-Li]

Oh and...what about...

[SPOILER]
How Jin-E dies?
[/SPOILER]
That was nasty. @______@

Well, it was worse is the manga. For what it was I don't remember much blood... but it's been a while.

[Radical Dreamer]

Well, it was worse is the manga. For what it was I don't remember much blood... but it's been a while.

Aw, that wasn't so bad. The bad part was the CN edit. You didn't even know what happend to him! XD For the longest time, I thought he had been knocked out or somthing...XD Jineh was a craaaazy guy...

[Shao Feng-Li]

Aw, that wasn't so bad. The bad part was the CN edit. You didn't even know what happend to him! XD For the longest time, I thought he had been knocked out or somthing...XD Jineh was a craaaazy guy...

Oh I know. All we saw was Keshin like touch his sword and Jine falls to the ground. lol

[CrimsonRyu17]

i've been reading this thread and its made me determined to get back into it. but please can someone give me some ways to tell my mom that its not bad ya know. she's way overly protective about these things and well i just need some advice on how i should tell her. but yes i loved rouroni kenshin too but ever sinced they stopped airing it i've been troubled on if i should by the DVDs or not ( because my mom). oh and does anyone else have the same problems i have?

sorry to interupt your thread Godly Paladin but this might help you too. once again sorry.

[Radical Dreamer]

It's historical, clean, very cool, and not Pokemon. XD Really though, get your mom to watch it with you. I'm sure she'll come through, especially since it actually is based on real historical events. Education, I say! XD

[CrimsonRyu17]

yeah i guess that could work. yeah, thanks but the only problem is getting her to watch it with me:lol: , but yeah i did'nt really see anything wrong in Rouroni kenshin but i only saw it like 5 or 6 episodes and loved it. but thanks, now i think i will get it, even though my mom will think i'm crazy:lol:. and one more question what do you think, about which is better the dubbed or uncut?. i havent really seen any of the uncut but by what i've heard so far it sounds better than the dubbed. but is there anything i need to worry about in the uncut?

[CrimsonRyu17]

thanks i think i will get the DVDs and i did'nt really see anything wrong in it did you?and maybe hopefully my mom won't have a problem. but 1 more question. if i do get the DVDs which should i get. i mean i've only seen the dubbed and what i'm hearing of the uncut is really sounding good. but is there anything to worry about in the uncut? i don't mind the violence but i'm talking about demons and mess if you know what i mean?

[Radical Dreamer]

thanks i think i will get the DVDs and i did'nt really see anything wrong in it did you?and maybe hopefully my mom won't have a problem. but 1 more question. if i do get the DVDs which should i get. i mean i've only seen the dubbed and what i'm hearing of the uncut is really sounding good. but is there anything to worry about in the uncut? i don't mind the violence but i'm talking about demons and mess if you know what i mean?

Awesome! You should definitely buy the uncut versions. The CN edit is sooo so horrible! XD Besides, when buying the uncut versions, you get the Japanese track and the English track, which is a bonus! The uncut version does have a little more blood in it, but there isn't too much to worry about there. There are no demons or anything like that in Rurouni Kenshin, though. Udo Jin-e does use an attack called "Grasp of the Demon," but I can't remember whether that was just in the manga, or in the anime too. There is some Buddhism later in the series (Kyoto Arc), but the character linked with this is an antagonist, and is therefore looked down upon, even though the anime kind of glorifies Buddha in a way at the end of this character's story. It's not mentioned much at all, though, and isn't enough to keep you from viewing the series. As I've said before on this thread, I have yet to watch Ruroken's third arc, so you may want to ask someone else about that. The third arc is nothing but filler episodes anyways, so I suggest you read the manga's third arc! XD Anyways, hope you enjoy the series, and hope your mom does, too!! n.n

[Godly Paladin]

No problemo, Crimson. 'twas indeed helpful!

[CrimsonRyu17]

ok now i'm positive about getting the uncut versions. i thank you for giving me advice and hopefully it will all go well. thanks:grin:

ps: oh and sorry about the 2 posts about the same thing. i'm having alittle comp problem.

[EKmisao]

The one about the OAVs hasn't been answered yet. WATCH IT. We do have to warn you that it is indeed more bloody than the TV series. That said, you have to watch it, because it gives the story of Kenshin before as Battousai, meaning as a trained assassin, and what made him choose to stop being that.

The third arc is optional to see, because it is NOT based on the manga. But here's a little tip, though: watch the Daigoro/Beni Aoi arc (the one after the Christian arc, before the Black Knights arc). It's a little known fact, but one I found out from a website. THAT one is based on an RK novellete (not manga, a semi-short story), from the manga writer. So it's official stuff, and doesn't have weird enemies. ^^

Also, I had similar problems with my mother. ^^V I understand her concern, because it is indeed more violent than usual. What I usually tell her is, at least it's not like YuYu Hakusho where are there are demons and monsters BESIDES the violence. ^^ RK is just humans fighting, erm, semi-normal weird humans. I think she was the most queasy seeing Shishio and Hannya. ^^V But I have managed to watch the fights with Saitou, Shishio and Soujirou without her telling me to change the channel, NOW!

I agree with those who say you have to watch it uncut. Some things that were cut need not be. In my country RK was aired 80% intact, at a timeslot when KIDS can get to them, and no one is the worse for it.

EK 8 )

[Godly Paladin]

Does the OAV have the same animation style as the series? I'm a bit confused as to ovation movies and Samurai X.

[Roy Mustang]

Does the OAV have the same animation style as the series?

Yes and no. Samurai X: The Motion Picture has somewhat the same animation style but I not fully like the animation style that they used in TV series. The other two movies, they change the character designs in it. The OVA had Kazuhiro Furuhashi doing the character designs in it, he was the director and storyboard Rurouni Kenshin, TV series.

Hatuki Tsuji did the character Designs for Samurai X: The Motion Picture and he was also the director for the movie.

I'm a bit confused as to ovation movies and Samurai X.

Samurai X name was uses the movie and the two OVA's.

As for order of t

Samurai X: The Motion Picture is a sequel of Rurouni Kenshin (TV)

Samurai X: Reflection (OAV) is a sequel to Rurouni Kenshin (TV) but it was mostly flashbacks of stuff that happen in the TV series. I guess they made this, so the the people wouldn't be lost when they saw Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal (OAV) and have never seen Kenshin the TV series.

Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal (OAV) is a prequel of Rurouni Kenshin and base on his Battousai past.


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