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Rurouni Kenshin

Series, 1996, The TOM years, Set in Meiji-era Japan

Rurouni Kenshin is #10 of 16 in release order and #10 of 16 in chronological order in the Toonami Classics.

The story

The Meiji Era was one of great renewal for Japan, where swords and killing were outlawed. However, many survivors from the time of Revolution still live, lurking in the shadows and waiting for a chance to use their killing blades again. Only Kenshin Himura, formerly one of the most brutal of killers, hopes to keep his swordsman's honor and still live in the new era.

Rurouni Kenshin recap

In the early Meiji era of Japan, Kenshin Himura, a former assassin known as the Hitokiri Battosai, wanders with a reverse-blade sword after vowing never to kill again. In Tokyo he is taken in by Kaoru Kamiya, who runs a struggling kendo school, and gathers a found family: Yahiko, a boy Kaoru trains, Sanosuke Sagara, a street fighter, and Megumi Takani, a doctor. Old enemies and rivals come for him, including Aoshi Shinomori and the Oniwabanshu ninjas. In the Kyoto arc, the government asks Kenshin to stop Makoto Shishio, his scarred, burned successor as assassin, who plans to overthrow the new government; Kenshin returns to his old master to learn his school's final technique. After Shishio's defeat, the TV anime does not adapt the manga's last arc and instead runs original stories, including an arc about a Christian uprising in Shimabara.

Rurouni Kenshin ending explained

The TV series ends with filler stories and a final episode, "End of Wanderings," that never reaches the manga's ending. The OVA Trust & Betrayal (1999) tells Kenshin's past as an assassin and the death of his wife Tomoe, and Reflection (2001) shows his later life with Kaoru. A 2023 remake has re-adapted the manga, covering Tokyo and Kyoto, with a third season announced.

Ratings

IMDb 8.5/10

Where it fits

Cast