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, a manga and anime series created by mangaka Nobuhiro Watsuki, is set during the early Meiji period in Japan. The English versions of the OVAs as well as the movie are sold under the Samurai X name. The series tells the story of an assassin named Himura Kenshin, who was known as the Hitokiri Battōsai ("Man killer - Master of Battōjutsu"). Kenshin later grieves for all the lives he's taken, and vows that he will never kill again. The manga originally appeared in the Japanese Shonen Jump Weekly Anthology, and the completed work consists of 28 tankōbon volumes. The United States release of the manga has been completed by VIZ Media. Rurouni Kenshin is subtitled "Wandering Samurai" in some English releases, as a rough translation of "Rurouni." Writer Kaoru Shizuka has written an official Rurouni Kenshin novel titled Voyage to the Moon World. The novel will be translated by VIZ Media and distributed in the United States and Canada.
Plot and Series information Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story A prototype series titled Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story first appeared as a pair of separate short stories published in 1992 and 1993 in the manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump Special. The story released in the first manga features an earlier version of Himura Kenshin helping a wealthy girl named Raikouji Chizuru. Chizuru would later be the prototype for Rurouni Kenshins heroine, Kamiya Kaoru. Chizuru also makes a cameo in the Seishouhen OVA with Kenji in the final scene. The second story, which though released second in the manga format was indeed the first 'Rurouni' one-shot, has Kenshin saving the Kamiya family's dojo from a corrupt crime lord who seeks to marry the family's oldest daughter, Megumi (later to become Takani Megumi), with the aid of her younger siblings, Kaoru and Yahiko (the heir to the Kamiya dojo, later to become Myojin Yahiko). While Kaoru and Yahiko's characters are similar to their incarnations in Rurouni Kenshin, Megumi's personality is distinctly different as she is more timid and submissive than her eventual incarnation in the series, and Watsuki has noted her personality from that part has been transferred to the character of Sekihara Tae. Rurouni Kenshin In 1994, Watsuki created an ongoing version that was published in Shonen Jump until its conclusion in 1999. The manga consists of 28 tankōbon volumes. The storyline of Kenshin is divided into three storyline arcs: Tokyo, Kyoto, and the . The Jinchū arc was not animated, except for the parts about Kenshin's background which formed one of the OVAs released. The Jinchū arc contains a large amount of Himura Kenshin's backstory including the meeting of his first wife (Yukishiro Tomoe) and the events that resulted in his infamous cross-shaped scar. The story arc is primarily focused on characters from Kenshin's years spent as the Hitokiri Battōsai, who now want vengeance for wrongs he once did to them. The Jinchu arc also has a stronger romantic theme to it. Yahiko no Sakabatō In 2000, it was followed up by VIZ Media released the story in the September 2006 edition of Shonen Jump. The story follows the character of Myojin Yahiko, who reluctantly accepts an assignment to teach at a do and teach at the Kikuhara Kasshin Shintō style dojo. At the dojo, Yahiko finds that Midori and the three students are being held hostage by a criminal, Mutō Kaname, and his followers. Yahiko quickly defeats Mutō and a police officer, Lieutenant Kitaki, who attacks Mutou with the blind belief that all criminals must be executed for the sake of the Meiji era. Yahiko returns to the students and subjects them to harsh training for the rest of his duration at the dojo. He returns to Tokyo at the end of the month and then takes off to Akabeko to visit Sanjō Tsubame, not knowing the whole trip was planned by Kenshin for Yahiko to become stronger. Kenshin Kaden A guidebook with a full color story. It contains one final story, titled Haru ni Sakura, detailing the fates of all of the Rurouni Kenshin characters. The story is six pages long and in full color. The story takes place years after the manga's conclusion, when Kenshin and Kaoru have married and have a young son, Kenji. The many of the series' major characters who have befriended Kenshin reunite (or otherwise reveal their current whereabouts) with him in a spring picnic. Anime There are four animated Rurouni Kenshin series, one television series, one theatrically released movie, and two OVAs. TV Anime The televison series was split into three approximate seasons, with the first 27 episodes generally following the Tokyo Arc, episodes 28-62 closely following the Kyoto Arc, and episodes 63-95 being "filler" non-manga based episodes designed to allow for the manga plot line to advance. The anime series slid from high popularity after the Kyoto Arc to eventual cancellation before the Jinchū/Revenge Arc could be animated. The animated series enjoys immense popularity worldwide, and although designed primarily for male fans, its detailed exploration of emotion and relationships (especially the romantic relationship that develops between Kenshin and Kaoru) attracts many female followers. Samurai X was used for the Sony dub of the TV series, which aired in Europe, South Asia, and other countries. The Sony dub, while generally well-received by casual viewers in these countries, has been criticized by fans for its localization of the series. Movie A movie, which tells a story where Kenshin meets a samurai who is trying to start a revolution to overthrow the Meiji government. OVAs The first OVA series was set during the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate and telling of Kenshin's childhood and young adult life. Only a few characters from the TV series appear in this OVA, namely Kenshin, Kenshin's master, Hiko Seijūrō (Seijuro Hiko in the English anime), and Saitō Hajime (Hajime Saito in the English anime), as well as a cameo by Makoto Shishio in silhouette at the end. The second OVA series was set after the TV series and telling of Kenshin and Kaoru's later years, differs from the manga on many key plot points, such as Kenshin and Kaoru falling ill in the 1890's, and details in regard of the Jin-e and Enishi fights. The OVA series, which feature a number of historical characters, attempt to be more realistic and accurate than the TV series, which begins as a romantic comedy but evolves into a period drama. The OVA made use of live footage spliced with animation cells giving the series a different feel than straight animation. Both OVAs were re-released in "Director's Cut" forms that spliced the separate "episodes" together into continuous movies, as well as adding some extra footage. The order of musical cues in both director's cut OVAs were significantly altered, although the tracks themselves were not altered or omitted. Characters Usage note: Character names are given in Japanese order with the given name after the family name. The English anime dub uses the Western order (family name after the given name) while the English manga uses the Japanese order. See: Wikipedia Manual of style, Japan for more info on usage. Nobuhiro Watsuki, in each tankoubon, details the creation of the characters, as well as the influences he had for the characters' personality and design. Influences include historical figures (prominantly seen with members of the Shinsengumi) and fictional sources including X-Men and Marvel characters, and SNK video games characters, mainly Samurai Shodown and Last Blade ones. Trivia
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