First let me just say that I'm a huge fan of Rurouni Kenshin. I bore witness
to the final season of the TV series via fansubs during my first year at university
before the commercial release was announced, and I loved it. I'm currently
watching the fansubs (borrowed off a friend) of the rest of the series, and you
can expect a review of that once I've finished the entire thing (and it's LONG,
too, I must say).
But first let me explain my reason behind the two reviews for the story, ne?
I've separated it into two distinct categories (FOR Kenshin fans and for those
who have yet to really be introduced to the series) because the OVAs are more
of a background to Kenshin, occurring during the years of political upheaval
in Japan in the 1800s right before the Meiji era began (known as the "Bakumatsu").
The TV series is based 15 or so years into the Meiji era. Kenshin is no longer
a killer, but a wandering samurai who has professed not to kill for any reason at
all. He has red hair, ports a cross scar (hence the "Samurai X" of the title) on
his left cheek, and his skills with a sword are phenomenal and quite nearly unparalleled.
But how did Kenshin become like this? When did he decide to abandon his killing
ways? How did he get that cross-scar on his face? What was his job during the
Bakumatsu?
First, some Kenshin basics: During this uprising he was a master assassin, known
as the "Hitokiri Battousai", which loosely translates to something along the lines
of "sword-drawing man slayer" or "sword-drawing master assassin". He was the best
that the faction he was a part of, the Kiheitai (they were anti-Shogunate and ended
up forming the new government in Japan) had. And while we don't see Kenshin kill
during the TV series, in these four 20-min episodes we witness him kill countless
times, and it's always quick and expedient. Phenomenal.
But that's just some background for you. There's more, of course. We see that
Kenshin was once a slave (his parents having been killed by cholera), and his
owners were massacred by bandits. Three women protected Kenshin, whose original
name was Shinta, and he witnesses their deaths, as do we (warning: the violence is
GRAPHIC, and seeing a sword run a woman through her throat is very disturbing to me).
We then see a man enter the scene just as Shinta is about to be killed. This man,
Seijiro Hiko, becomes Shinta's master after saving his life (well... after witnessing
Shinta's regret in how he couldn't protect those three women). Seijiro renames Shinta
"Kenshin" ("Shinta... too soft for a swordsman. From now on, you shall be called Kenshin.").
And so began the saga of Himura Kenshin.
The main issues in this 4-episode OVA are how Kenshin got that cross-scar on his
left-cheek (something never revealed in the series) and where he got his peace-
loving views.
During one of Kenshin's assassinations, he ends up in a surprisingly long fight
with the guard of a statesman (after the statesman and his other guard had been
dispatched by our Battousai). In the final blows of the fight, the guard cuts
Kenshin's left cheek, but Kenshin kills the guard.
As the guard dies, we see images of flowers and of his lovely bride. Then Kenshin
puts him out of his misery.
Problem: the cut won't stop bleeding. Supposedly this is the guard getting his
revenge on Kenshin in death.
So we witness Kenshin kill and kill and talk. We see more of Kenshin's past through
flashbacks, such as his decision to leave Seijuro and try and help forge a new world
with his sword. We see his recruitment as an assassin, and we see his first few
kills.
Then, at the end of episode one, he is ambushed. As he kills the assassin dispatched
to take him out, a young woman emerges from the nearby bar: Tomoe. She's drunk, and
blood rains down on her as Kenshin cleaves the assassin and saves his own ass.
Tomoe is taken back to where Kenshin is staying, and she becomes a servant girl. You
can see something happening between the two of them, but you know nothing is going
to happen.
Then Kyoto (where this all takes place) is burned down and the Kiheitai is attacked.
They are forced to leave the city, and the Kiheitai's leader, Katsura Kogoro, asks
Tomoe to be Kenshin's "sheathe" and help him try to retain his humanity.
Pretty intense stuff, ne?
There's more. By episode two, it's revealed that there's a spy hidden in the Kiheitai
ranks. Kenshin's side is forced to move more carefully because of that. There are a
lot of politics in this, and a good knowledge of the times can help phenomenally..
So, why does Kenshin decide to eventually abandon the life of the Hitokiri and become
a Battousai? How does he get that cross-scar? If you think I'm about to answer these
questions for you, you're completely insane. That would reveal too much of the plot
and story than I'd like to say.
What makes this so kick ass, you say? Well, on its own, the story is actually quite
good, but it bears more importance and weight if you know the Kenshin series and story.
There are even a few fight scenes that are cool to watch on their own, but if you know
the TV series, then they're even cooler. Again, on its own these are four fabulous
episodes that should not be missed by any serious anime fan, but they're even more important
for any and all Kenshin fans.
(NOTE TO FANS: these are serious; no comic relief and SD as in the series)
The animation is beautiful, by the way. Seamless and jawdropping. Motion-picture
quality is what you're looking at. Wow. I can't say enough. Five stars all the way
here. Not enough can be said about the animation (action sequences, dialogue sequences,
all of it is spectacular).
End note? Go and see it. Go out, pick up the subtitled or the DVDs and watch the
damn thing. It's more than worth it, if you know the series or not (and if you don't,
then just know that this will likely make you want to see the series just to know
what happens to Kenshin when he stops being the Hitokiri and becomes the Rurouni).
NOTE: extra info for names and history in this review is borrowed from The Battousai Shrine: version 2.0