During the Bakumatsu that lead to a new age for Japan, a
swordsman, renowned and feared, brought death and chaos to the Shogunate. This man, the Hitokiri Battosai, vanished
when the war came to a close. Ten years
later, he wanders the country as a Rurouni: a swordsman without a
destination. When he stumbles across a
beautiful dojo master in need of assistance, Kenshin Himura, once Himura
Battosai, begins to find a place where he might finally belong. But despite his efforts, the past just keeps
catching up with him and it wants Kenshin to embrace his Manslayer persona once
more.
I’m actually surprised Rurouni Kenshin was finally
getting a second Anime TV adaptation.
The 90’s series is a beloved gateway Anime and, personally, the Manga is
probably my all time favorite.
While
there was definite hesitation greenlighting a new Kenshin project in light of
the original authors…legal troubles, there’s also the success of the Live
Action Kenshin films to consider.
I
don’t know if anyone was still interested in a Rurouni Kenshin reboot but here
we are and in the same year it’s fellow 90s gateway brother Trigun gets similar
treatment no less.
Unlike Trigun:
Stampede, this Kenshin retelling is getting the traditional hand drawn
treatment of the new decade.
Does the
first episode show potential for reigniting interest in the Wandering Samurai?
Having watched a great deal of the 90s Anime and read the
whole of the Manga several times, it’s hard not to look at the first episode of
this reboot with.
The plot of the
premiere is pretty much a beat for beat translation of the Manga’s first
chapter and the first episode of its Anime predecessor.
So in that regard, its not rewriting the book
on Kenshin adaptations.
The animation is
ok, not great but ok.
The character
designs are exactly as they have been for Kenshin and Kaoru for the last couple
of decades though I do miss the more humorous bits of the Manga, particularly
where Kenshin’s clumsiness comes into play.
Sure you get a spiral eyed “Ooooooro” at one point but there could have
been more.
The premiere paints Kenshin
as far more serious that previously displayed.
In other version he certainly has his moments where he has to get real
but when he isn’t, Kenshin is upbeat, laid back and cheerful around everyone he
comes across.
Hopefully future episodes
do a better job at bringing these lighter hearted moments to life.
The one thing this new Kenshin series can improve on from
the 90s series is the action and it is pretty darn good.
The new Kenshin isn’t held back by limited TV
budget saving tactics like still frames to pad out several seconds of a
fight.
The opening battle between
Kenshin and the Shinsengumi is a nice appetizer for the more brutal fights that
the show will hopefully touch upon, especially a proper Kenshin vs. Saito
fight.
Kenshin’s signature Hiten
Mitsurugi Ryu has never looked better in either his past or present
incarnations.
It does make me wonder how
much ground this series plans to cover or if multiple seasons have been
planned.
The kick ass intro and
promotional materials have teased Kenshin battling Aoshi Shinamori and the
Oniwaban Group, Jinee and Saito, which takes us from the Wandering Samurai Arc
to the very beginnings of the Kyoto Arc.
Could that aforementioned Kenshin vs. Saito duel be the intended season
cliffhanger?
While it didn’t blow me away and there are elements from
past series I miss, like Kenshins beautiful theme from the 90s Anime (the
Guitar version especially), it’s good to see Kenshin back on TV Screens again
with a new coat of paint and the energy of a 2020’s Anime.
I wonder how it will stack up against other
Shonen heavy hitters, especially since Jujutsu Kaisen is back.
Either way, I’ll see what happens with this
one.
If nothing else, it might get me to
go back to an abandoned special event idea I thought I was going to do for the
blog this year but haven’t been able to crack…involving another Manga
comparison but not to the Anime.
More on
that another time.
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