B2112's Anime Reviews - Episode 2: Rurouni Kenshin

A quick preface - This review encompasses the show until the end of the Kyoto arc in Season 2, as well as the 4-part OVA "Trust & Betrayal."

Sometimes it can be fun to talk with people about their favourite shows from when they were kids. When it comes to anime, if you talk with people my age here in North America you will often hear people say they loved watching Pokemon, Dragonball Z, or Sailor Moon. Truth be told, I was among them - I would watch all three after getting home from school. But when I was having this talk with my SO (who is not from North America), she mentioned that she watched Rurouni Kenshin (RK) religiously at the same age. I had not heard of it, so I looked up more about it. Well... As it turned out, I actually had heard of it, but here in North America it was more commonly known as Samurai X. It never aired where I lived, but when I'd reached high school, I remember friends saying they had it on VHS. Fast forward to 2017, and I decided "well, let's give it a shot."

This is not my first time having watched a show which was recommended to me this way. The other experience I had with a nostalgia piece was when my friend recommended Yu Yu Hakusho to me. I gave that show an earnest shot, but I had only made it halfway through the Dark Tournament arc (second season, which is supposedly the best arc) before dropping it. It was not appealing to me - I found it boring, rote, and stupid; but my friend still insists it is a masterpiece. I was worried that maybe my SO would have the same rose tinted glasses with regards to RK; but decided to still move forward and see what it was about.

It should be noted, even before starting the show, I was warned to stop watching after the Kyoto arc since most fans consider it to be the end of the show (despite there being another couple dozen episodes after). To my knowledge, all that comes after are goofy filler episodes that are comedic, pithy, and with regards to the canon, not of any worth.

So what is the premise? In Japanese, "Rurouni" is a play on the word "Ronin," which translates in English to "Wandering Samurai," and Kenshin is the lead character's name. It is set in late 19th century Japan, and follows the titular character's journey. Kenshin is a silly, spry young man with bright red hair, a cross-shaped scar on his cheek, who carries a sword and has the determination not to kill. To be honest, at first, I was a little worried the show was going to be a bit too childish for me - there first several episodes have a lot of moments of slapstick humour, silly jokes, and eye-roll-inducing visual gags. Thankfully I stuck with it though. As is standard with a Shounen-style anime, there are many smaller arcs which are centered around battles. The first major battle is between Kenshin and a fellow named Sanosuke. Sanosuke wields a sword which would make FF7's Cloud nervous, as it is roughly the the length of the equivalent height of a two-story building. Kenshin and Sanosuke's battle is glorious, and sets the standard for the rest of the show. As is established from this first encounter, the battle scenes are beautifully animated, have a great attention to detail, and you can tell a lot of care went into their craft.

Suffice to say, by the end of Season one, I was invested in the characters and their motivations. The main cast revolves around four characters - Kenshin, Sanosuke, Kaoru and Yahiko. Admittedly, I am not a huge Yahiko fan; but the rest are great! Also, the worries I'd had at the start about the show being too kiddy? They were certainly assuaged by the time I'd reached the second season. RK does not beat around the bush with its violence. There is death, there is blood, and there are consequences to both. There's betrayal, there are political motivations, there are attempted assassinations, there are revolutions... The story goes places, and I think the tale it weaves is intricate and well-executed. Though the story is very good, it isn't the best part - that honour goes to the characters.

I could easily go on and on about every character, but to start, I'd like to talk about Kenshin. Though he starts as a silly, comedic character, it is gradually revealed that he is very much a changed man from who he once was. When he was a samurai, he was a ruthless killer who helped form the new government. He was considered one of the most fearsome murderers who helped form the current political landscape by carving it with his bloody sword. There are a lot of allusions to his past, and the heinous crimes he committed in the past, which have led him to his "I will not kill again" attitude that he carries with him. It's very intriguing, and I will return to him in a little. More impressively, I think some of the best characters in the show are actually the antagonists.

The norm with Shounen (at least those which I have seen) is that the bad guys tend to be stereotypes. They are pure evil, and should not exist, and you want them to die. Well... That isn't the case in RK. This show is the embodiment of "shades of grey." Every character's motivation makes complete sense, and you can respect their perspective (even the most evil ones). One of my personal favourite examples would be the monk character, Anji. He was once a peaceful monk who oversaw the care of several orphaned children. One day he came back to his home, and found it burnt to the ground, along with all of the kids. He wept, internalized his pain, and grew strong with the hopes of rebuilding society. This is obviously skipping over a ton of details (some of which I do not want to spoil if you watch the show, because they're beautiful), but even with that short summary, I can still understand and respect his motivations. I could give many more examples, but I believe it is safe to say that the characters are what set this show apart.

Now... The end of the Kyoto arc was good. It was satisfying, it wrapped things up in the way you'd want (without being too sappy), and I was glad I watched it. I'd say that by the end, it was a solid 4/5 show with some points taken off because there were enough eye-rolling, logic-defying moments that I thought "ehhhhhh." However, my thoughts changed upon watching the OVA "Trust & Betrayal."

Near the end of the Kyoto arc, there is a certain scene which goes unexplained involving Kenshin visiting a grave. I asked my SO about it, and her immediate reaction was "we need to watch the OVA." Now... For me, normally OVAs don't add much. From my perspective they're usually silly, cute, side-stories; but I firmly believe that the RK OVA is akin to a prequel movie, and is 100% necessary.

Trust & Betrayal is the tale of what happened to Kenshin before the show. It is his upbringing, his training, and his role in forming the new government. The art style is much different than that of the show - it is less exaggerated, and more realistic. It maintains the same voice actor(s), however, so the visual differences really make you feel like you're watching the same characters in a scenario with a completely different tone. It is also far more grizzly. The violence does not shy away from being extremely brutal, and there is a lot of it. I won't delve into any story details of the OVA, but I will say this: If you watch RK, it is not the complete experience until you see Trust & Betrayal. It will make you retroactively re-contextualize everything about Kenshin as a character. It is brilliant, and I cannot recommend it enough.

I am sincerely glad I took the time to watch Rurouni Kenshin. It was a fulfilling, occasionally insightful, and always fascinating experience. It is not what I was expecting from a "kid" show from the 90s. It was violent, there were often sexual implications, there was death, politics, etc. RK stands up on its own merits, and its praise by my SO was not simply influenced by nostalgia. It is genuinely a great show, and I have no hesitation in recommending it for anyone who is interested in a beautiful, character-driven action tale. (Though maybe stop after the Kyoto arc)

I rate Rurouni Kenshin (including Trust & Betrayal): 5/5

B2112's Anime Reviews - Episode 0