Rurouni Kenshin (Wandering Kenshin) is the story of a wandering swordsman in 1870s taking place in the Meiji era. It consists of 95 episodes, 4 OAV eps and 1 movie for the anime, the manga on the other hand consists of 28 books.
Rurouni Kenshin is a story about a feminine looking man who was once known as the Hitokiri Battousai. Hitokiri Battousai who was a famous killer during the end of the Bakumatsu working for the Ishinshishi to bring fourth the new Era where if can be safes for the people of Japan.
Though it sounded like a good place, the Ishinshishi and Battousai had a lot of skeptics who had gone against their new era. The Shinshengumi, who rose to battle the Ishinshishi to stop this new era simply because the new era would of forbidden to use of the sword and replaced with guns. The sword to them meant a great deal of honor and they weren't about to give it up. Sadly, they lost and after the last war Battousai mysteriously disappeared. What became of the Hitokiri? I doubt many wondered about him, since he was so feared.
Hitokiri Battousai who had now changed his name to Himura Kenshin vowed never to kill again, and using his sakaba sword (a sword similar to a katana, but with the sharp edge on the other side.) to help other people when they needed it and to make up for the people he killed. Wondering around Japan, he had became a rurouni.
the story doesn't end then, one day as he is wandering in the streets of Tokyo, he is suddenly stopped by a girl, Kaoru. She accuses him of murdering people in the city using her dojo's name. Although the misunderstanding was resolved, the murderer was still out loose. She runs off to find the real murderer this time, but she was no match for him, luckily the rurouni saves her. Seeing that they both shared the same budo, she gladly accepts him into her home. And this is where the story begins. Soon, Kenshin and Kaoru would be joined by many other friends who help them through many crisis and vice versa. A story where the past comes back to haunt the characters, a story about friendship and loyalty with a plenty of comedy and action.