Rurouni Kenshin English Anime Torrent
Dimitri Rajawi
The manga was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from April 1994 to September 1999. The complete work consists of 28 tankōbon volumes, while years later it was reprinted into 22 kanzenban volumes. Studio Gallop, Studio Deen, and SPE Visual Works adapted it into an anime television series, which aired from January 1996 to September 1998. Besides an animated feature film, two series of original video animations (OVAs) were also produced. The first adapted stories from the manga that were not featured in the anime, while the second was a sequel to the manga. Several art and guidebooks for Rurouni Kenshin have been published, and writer Kaoru Shizuka has authored three official light novels, which were published by Shueisha. Many video games have also been released for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable consoles. A series of five live-action theatrical film adaptations were released from 2012 to 2021. A second anime television series adaptation by Liden Films premiered in July 2023.
The manga, as well as the first light novel and first guidebook, have received a complete North American release by Viz Media. Rurouni Kenshin is subtitled "Wandering Samurai" in some English versions. The Rurouni Kenshin manga has over 72 million copies in circulation as of 2019, making it one of the best-selling manga series. The series has received praise from various publications for manga, anime, and other media, with both receiving good responses for the characters' designs and historical setting. In 2017, Watsuki began a direct sequel titled Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc in Jump Square.
Being fascinated by the Shinsengumi, Watsuki designed the characters by basing their characteristics on those of the real Shinsengumi members and also using fictional representations of them and other historical characters from the Bakumatsu period of Japan.[10][11] The historical characters were considered a hard task by Watsuki. Due to problems with the characterization of Sagara Sōzō, Watsuki decided to illustrate Saitō Hajime in his own style, avoiding the historical figure. He felt very good about Saitō's character, having noted that he fit very well in the manga.[8] However, Watsuki mentioned that many Japanese fans of the Shinsengumi complained about the personality of Saitō, as he was made sadistic.[10] Additionally, the final shot of Kenshin returning to Kaoru's dojo was inspired by the final shot of the Rurouni Kenshin anime's first opening theme, "Sobakasu", by Judy and Mary.[12]
A second anime television series adaptation by Liden Films was announced at the Jump Festa '22 event on December 19, 2021.[65] The series premiered in July 2023 on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block.[66]
An anime film with an original story, titled Rurouni Kenshin: The Motion Picture (るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚- 維新志士への鎮魂歌, Rurouni Kenshin: Ishin Shishi e no Chinkonka, lit. Rurouni Kenshin: Requiem for Isshin Patriots), also known as Rurouni Kenshin: Requiem for Patriots, originally released in North America as Samurai X: The Motion Picture, premiered on December 20, 1997.[67]
Several drama CDs that adapt stories from the Rurouni Kenshin manga were released. They feature different voice actors than those that later worked on the anime adaptation.[107] In Volume 5 of the manga, Watsuki stated that he was anticipating the third installment, which would adapt the Udō Jin-e arc. He expected it to be "pretty close" to his original, but with additional lines for Sanosuke and Yahiko.[108]
The manga has received praise and criticism from various publications. Mania Entertainment writer Megan Lavey found that the manga had a good balance between character development, comedy, and action scenes. Watsuki's artwork was said to have improved as the series continued, noting that characters also had reactions during fights.[121][122] Steve Raiteri from Library Journal praised the series for its characters and battles. However, he noted that some fights were too violent, so he recommended the series to older teenagers as well as adults.[123] Surat described the series as an example of a "neo-shōnen" series, where a shōnen series also appeals to a female audience; Surat stated that in such series, character designs are "pretty" for female audiences but not too "girly" for male audiences. Surat cited Shinomori Aoshi and Seta Sōjirō, characters who ranked highly in popularity polls even though, in Surat's view, Aoshi does not engage in "meaningful" battles and Sōjirō is a "kid". Surat explained that Aoshi appears "like a Clamp character wearing Gambit's coat and Sōjirō always smiles despite the abuse inflicted upon him.[124] Surat said that the character designs for the anime television series were "toughened up a bit". He added that the budget for animation and music was "top-notch" because Sony produced the budget.[125] Watsuki's writing involving romance and Kenshin's psychological hidden weakpoints also earned positive responses from other sites, with AnimeNation also comparing it to Clamp's X based on the multiple elements of the series.[126][127] In general, Mania found Watsuki's art appealing as well as its evolution across the twenty-eight volumes, as it made female characters more attractive while the male characters seemed simpler while retaining the early handsome looks.[128]
As a result of the series taking a darker tone in later story arcs with Kenshin facing new threats and at the same time his Battosai self, Kat Kan from Voice of Youth Advocates recommended it to older teens. Kan also found that anime viewers will also enjoy Watsuki's drawings due to the way he illustrates battles.[129] This is mostly noted in the "Kyoto arc", where Mania Entertainment writer Megan Lavey applauded the fight between Himura Kenshin and anti-hero Saito Hajime, which acts as the prologue of such a narrative.[122] Mania remarks on the buildup Aoshi, Saito, and other characters bring to the story due to how they share similar goals in the same arc, with newcomer Misao helping to balance the style by bringing more comical interactions with the protagonist.[130] Although the site Manga News enjoyed Seta Sojiro's fight and how it connected with Shishio's past, they said the sixteenth manga's best part was Kenshin's fight against Shishio due to the buildup and symbolism the two characters have.[131] The eventual climax led to further praise based on how menacing Shishio is shown in the battle against his predecessor, although he questioned if Kenshin had been a superior enemy if he had kept back his original killer persona.[132]
Yamamoto said that he used to watch all Rurouni Kenshin works during his youth, and was in particular impressed by the original video animations for it different artwork. He came to think the main appeal of the series was how the series showed people's lives in the Meiji era and how Kenshin not only fought enemies but also helped them redeem from their crimes while interacting with them. The latter was further noted to make Kenshin as a man every viewer wants to be like. From the beginning, he was thinking that he wanted to show "a way of foreshadowing" but wanted the details to be subtle, similar to the dramas that often air next to Kenshin. In contrast to the more comical original work, Yamamoto aimed to make the narrative more serious and avoid slapstick or superdeformed designs in order to make it more realistic. In animating the work, they used 3DCG with 3-D models of the rooms a fitting for the modern age. Horse carriages were animated through CGI as they were a common vehicle used in the Meiji. In regards to the action, the animation was given a more unique style for fight scene when Tokyo. The designs were made by Terumi Nishii under supervision by Yamamoto and Watsuki. Careful detail was given to the kimono and other clothing featured in the anime.[14]
Among many supervisions of the series, Kaoru Kurosaki [ja] and Watsuki aimed to make it fitting for the Reiwa era as well as accessible to both newcomers and returning audience. The story arc involving Raijuta was revised in order to improved in the 2023 anime. Kurosaki in particular revised the scripts of the Raijuta episodes. Kurata came up with new ideas to revisit Sanosuke's backstory in order to bring further depth to the character.[15] Meetings were done in order to supervise most episodes. While the clothing remained the same, the way bodies are drawn were revised due to improvements from the graphic style from the manga and 1990s version. Soma Saito was chosen because the staff found him fitting to portray both the gentle and rude demeanors of Kenshin. After the musical based on the manga was done, the staff found the manga very comical and wanted to generate different style with the new anime, to the point Kenshin no longer says his expression of "Oro?" meant to sound as comic relief to his reactions in jokes. Nevertheless, there was still a desire to keep some comical scenes.[16]
The MC is called Himura Kenshin. And Kenshin is a name given to him (meaning "heart of the sword", or something similar). But I can't remember "rurouni" ever being mentioned whatsoever in the series? I know "rurounin" means wanderer, and "rurou" has a similar meaning (e.g. vagrant). But looking it up to confirm it, the title is literally "rurouni" kenshin. So what the hell is "rurouni"? Why is it named that way?
I am anticipating this to be rather like the Hunter X Hunter reboot. Initially I was wary as the original HXH anime had much to recommend it, but I was eventually won over and consider the remake to be substantially superior to the original due to its consistent adaptation of the manga and excellent production standards throughout. If the Kenshin reboot follows the same process it will be fantastic.
aa06259810