General Information

Rurouni Kenshin, the wander, a swords man and man slayer left over from the Meji Revolution. Carrying a reverse blade sword for his weapon Kenshin travels around. This is a funny and serious anime all at the same time. Joined by Kaoru, Yahiko, Sanosuke and so many other so make a grand adventure out of just dealing with every day life and the trials that seem to come there way.

There are two parts to this the OAV which is very serious and holds deeps thoughts within it and the TV series that is a light on the lighter side. The OAV has different characters in it and shows a lot about Kenshin’s past. The TV series takes place about 11 years after the revolution is over with. I recommend you see BOTH!

Rurouni Kenshin takes place in feudal Japan in a time where .... Enter Kenshin, a former assassing who is trying to attone for his past misdeeds by trying to help others. He befriends a group of stange but friendly people who like him for who he is now and don't judge him for his past.

"They are afflicted, the times and the minds of man." – Hiko Seijuro

The Story Line

The story is set in the nineteenth century and starts with a young orphan named Shinta who is travelling in a group of traders who intend to
sell him into slavery. When they happen upon some bandits, everyone bar Shinta is ruthlessly killed in an impressive display of blood. All that saves Shinta from death is the fortuitous intervention of master swordsman Hiko.

Hiko takes on Shinta as an apprentice and his first task is to give him a better name - Kenshin. And so begins years of training as Kenshin is turned into a master swordsman himself. That bit is the easiest to explain as thereafter the story takes a number of splits and frankly becomes a little difficult to follow. Broadly speaking it seems to be showing a split time arrangement, looking at Kenshin's training, his recruitment by Katsura and his work as a master assassin for Katsura.

The overall thrust is the work of Katsura to try and prevent some rather unpleasant fighting that is going to have some rather nasty effects on Japanese history - including the burning of Kyoto. Along the way, the slightly restless nature of Kenshin's heart is revealed and when he meets a mysterious young lady by the name of Tomoe, it seems that he has some problem dealing with his feelings. Katsura encourages a relationship between the two and that is where the two episodes on offer here pretty well end up...after of course plenty of tastefully done murder and massacre.