Written by: Robert Murphy
Taking a step back into a time period of transition in
Japanese history, the ways of the samurai are becoming obsolete and all those
rebellious samurai who would not change with Japan were being eradicated.
However one of these samurai, the most ruthless and powerful among them, a man
named Battousai, sees all the horror and turmoil he has caused and can no longer
stand to live with himself and sets out to become a rurouni; a wanderer who
uses his skills to protect rather than hurt. In this time the law was not yet established,
and lawlessness was still strong, only Battousai or as he refers to himself now
as Himura Kenshin, was there to protect the innocent from those who would take
away what little freedom there is.
Throughout “Rurouni Kenshin” we follow Kenshin as he is
regaining his innocence through each life he saves, or spares, he seems to gain
a bit of his old self back, the man he was before becoming a flawless killer
samurai. For the most part Kenshin is able to live a relatively peace with his
spunky friend Kaoru, and their growing collective of friends. Almost every
single characters, as well as a good portion of the lesser characters in the
show, have great characterization both on the side of good and “bad”, I use bad
lightly mainly because many of the enemies that come up in the show have a good
side but must work for someone corrupt in order to survive. This makes for an
interesting element to the show because you could be cheering on Kenshin one
moment and then finding yourself rooting for his enemy a few episodes later.
Another great aspect to “Rurouni Kenshin” is the plot which
holds this together well with its drama and action elements, the show isn’t
over the top by any means and isn’t utterly logic less like some animes can get
with girls that have giant bouncing breasts and nothing else. The background
tone is also well-done and helps in highlighting the mood to the shows timeline
which gives a very authentic theme to sound to the show. One bad aspect to the
show is that latter on viewers will have to suffer through some filler episodes but this happens
with long running shows so it’s to be expected and tolerated especially since
as far as fillers go “Rurouni Kenshin’s”
were pretty good.
Overall the show is top notch and offers something for
everyone, an action element as well as drama with a dash of romance, which fits
the bill for male and female watchers alike. Kenshin himself is a strong
character, with his motivations, and the conflict always present between the
truly human Himura Kenshin who wants to live in peace and to find his humanity
again and his other self, Hitokiri Battousai, the blood thirsty killer. Other
character such as the wild-tempered, but good hearted Sanosuke, and Yahiko, who
will grow on you…..like a tumor, give this show a well rounded feel and makes
the show even better. All over the show hits a high mark and I hope you all get
the chance to take a look at what “Rurouni Kenshin” is all about.
Good:
-Solid plot
-Great for both male and female watchers alike
-Well rounded group of characters
Bad:
-Gotta hate those pesky fillers
Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10