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Rurouni Kenshin

Duo

As the Rush Comes
25 Apr 2003
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I started watching Rurouni Kenshin about 4 years ago, and since then, althought I always had seen animes as a child such as City Hunter, Saint Seya, Captain Tsubasa etc, I really got into Animes. It was Rurouni Kenshin in fact that pushed me to learn more about Japan in General. I was just wondering if there are any other people there who think that Kenshin is perhaps the best anime in recent times, even better than Cowboy Bebop or Trigun. For me is still #1 although i have seen many other animes. I still watch it sometimes , it's just too good. 😌
 
Yeah, it's among the best that I've seen. I liked it more than "Cowboy Bebop" and "Trigun," and the best part of the series was the Kyテエto-hen by far. The rest of it was just kind of mini-series, so to speak. I like underlying storylines to stretch over 40-50 episodes.
 
I agree the Kyテエto-hen is the best part of the anime. The real fun starts from episode 28, when Kenshin begins to recall the fights with the Shinsengumi. After episode 63, it kinda goes more mellow. The whole story with Shishio is very well done
 
.... I know there are some hardcore kenshin fans out there, so I hope no one takes the following too personally.

I felt the series did an attrocious injustice to the OVA (4 parts). The OVA, in my mind, is an absolute work of art, and is worthy of such superlative (sorry, couldn't think of a different word) praise.

But then, I may not have given the series enough of a chance (if the real fun didn't start until ep. 28)--but by the sixth or seventh episode, I was ready to stop, and had no interest in continuing--I felt the story had sold out, essentially. Perhaps I don't know what I've been missing.
 
chiquiliquis said:
.... I know there are some hardcore kenshin fans out there, so I hope no one takes the following too personally.

I felt the series did an attrocious injustice to the OVA (4 parts). The OVA, in my mind, is an absolute work of art, and is worthy of such superlative (sorry, couldn't think of a different word) praise.

But then, I may not have given the series enough of a chance (if the real fun didn't start until ep. 28)--but by the sixth or seventh episode, I was ready to stop, and had no interest in continuing--I felt the story had sold out, essentially. Perhaps I don't know what I've been missing.


I'm sure many people feel just the same as you do. I myself watched thea amazing OVAs, which i agree is perhaps better than the series, after i had seen the Kyoto Arch. I also stoped watchin Kenshin after like the 5th episode because it didn't really connect to me, yet somehow i began to watch it again during episode 28 for some odd reason, and since then the story really captivated me. I think the first 4 OVAs were meant to be seen only after Kyoto Arch. For me at least, watching the OVAs after the Kyoto Arch made me like them even more. All the hype that is created in the series about the past of Kenshin, and his legendeary alter ego, Battousai, is finally shown. I agree that the OVAs are just amazing, the sountrack and the animation quality is really suberb, yet i also think that the series has much to offer.
 
Yeah, I somehow managed to catch somewhere around episode 40, and that was enough to spark my interest in the series. I hadn't seen the OVA prior to that, but seeing them after having seen the series perhaps added to their effect. The OVAs were pretty amazing. I was sad at the end of the Seisテエhen, when Kenshin finally makes it home. Man, that was a sad ending. :( It was really good, though. I have yet to see the movie; I wonder how that is.
 
Glenn said:
Yeah, I somehow managed to catch somewhere around episode 40, and that was enough to spark my interest in the series. I hadn't seen the OVA prior to that, but seeing them after having seen the series perhaps added to their effect. The OVAs were pretty amazing. I was sad at the end of the Seisテエhen, when Kenshin finally makes it home. Man, that was a sad ending. :( It was really good, though. I have yet to see the movie; I wonder how that is.

Yeah I also thought the ending was very sad. Almost made me cry :( . But after all I think that it was a good ending, it kept Kenshin's life motives true until the end. And when the scar disapears right at the end, that was just horribly cruel. About the movie, it is basically in the same format of the series, the animation is the same, the action as well, and also the story line is sort of similar, some old warriors of the Bakumatsu that want to avenge their comrades against the curropt Meiji Gov, and Kenshin comes to the rescue with his non-killing ideology etc. Don't get me wrong, it's an ok watch, but dont expect it to like the OVA, is almost 99% like the series
 
e i e n said:
Kenshin was the best anime i have ever seen. 👍

Same for me as well. I haven't seen another anime that can top it.
 
Okay we need to do some Kenshin 101

The whole series originated from a manga drawn by Watsuki Nobuhiro, he is considered to be in the elite of manga story tellers. The whole plot and characters and setting are his creation, but as you well know he uses a lot of history to flesh out his story. The Manga looks and feels a lot like the first 56 episodes of the television series, probably because the animators used it as a storyboard. The first 4 OAVs, which depict events recounted in the revenge arc of the story, which was not recounted in the television series. Really it窶冱 the OAVs that are different from the general story. I like to think they are just different. Personally, I love the Bakufu, its one of my favorite periods in history, and I loved the Ikedya tea affair depiction with the shinsengumi. Although Nobuhiro didn't participate, it didn窶冲 deviate from the story that nobuhiro put out so that they were great.

And that brings me to the thing I hate the most, the two 窶徨eflections窶 OAV. Several words come to mind when I think of them, all of them with four letters. PG-13 version 窶 CRAP. The OAVs in my mind have NOTHING to do with Kenshin and are just a money grab. It doesn't even follow the themes of Kenshin. Nobuhiro never made a death scene for Kenshin, in the last manga he has him living a peaceful life in the future. Why would kenshin go and work for the government, one that he loathes, to become a negotiator/ general/whatever? He always said he was a killer nothing more.
 
noyhauser said:
Okay we need to do some Kenshin 101

The whole series originated from a manga drawn by Watsuki Nobuhiro, he is considered to be in the elite of manga story tellers. The whole plot and characters and setting are his creation, but as you well know he uses a lot of history to flesh out his story. The Manga looks and feels a lot like the first 56 episodes of the television series, probably because the animators used it as a storyboard. The first 4 OAVs, which depict events recounted in the revenge arc of the story, which was not recounted in the television series. Really it窶冱 the OAVs that are different from the general story. I like to think they are just different. Personally I love the Bakufu, its one of my favorite periods in history, and I loved the Ikedya tea affair depiction with the shinsengumi. Although Nobuhiro didn窶冲 participate, it didn窶冲 deviate from the story that nobuhiro put out so that they were great.

And that brings me to the thing I hate the most, the two 窶徨eflections窶 OAV. Several words come to mind when I think of them, all of them with four letters. PG-13 version 窶 CRAP. The OAVs in my mind have NOTHING to do with Kenshin and are just a money grab. It doesn窶冲 even follow the themes of Kenshin. Nobuhiro never made a death scene for Kenshin, in the last manga he has him living a peaceful life in the future. Why would kenshin go and work for the government, one that he loathes, to become a negotiator/ general/whatever? He always said he was a killer nothing more.

I think Nobuhiro Watsuki did a great job with Kenshin in general. The way that he used his own fiction and intertwined it with historical events is just incredible. In the ending OVA's Kenshin doesnt go to to be an official for the Government. He is asked to, but he refuses and says he wants to go and help people in the "continent" because there is much suffering there. That is why when Sanosuke finds him, he is an delapilated small hut with no care from anyone watsoever.
 
noyhauser said:
whhhatever. Its not done by Watsuki, or an event alluded to him, therefore, not kenshin.

So basically you are saying that u prefer the series over the OVA's ?
 
I think he's saying that he prefers the first 56 episodes of the series and the first four OVA's ("Trust" and "Betrayal"). At least I think that those are the first four, maybe just two. It's hard for me to tell, because I saw them on Kazaa, and they were separated into four parts.
 
I only liked Rurouni Kenshin Tsuiokuken and Seisouhen. These two are classics in my mind. It may not have been faithful to the manga but it's a darn good production for an anime.

Rurouni Kenshin TV was so so. The best saga was the 2nd one. And I really liked the Saito vs. Kenshin fight. After the holy swordsman battle, the series goes completely stale with all that foreign enemy and magic crap.

Rurouni Kenshin will never be better than Cowboy Bebop for me lol.
 
goggles said:
I only liked Rurouni Kenshin Tsuiokuken and Seisouhen. These two are classics in my mind. It may not have been faithful to the manga but it's a darn good production for an anime.

Rurouni Kenshin TV was so so. The best saga was the 2nd one. And I really liked the Saito vs. Kenshin fight. After the holy swordsman battle, the series goes completely stale with all that foreign enemy and magic crap.

Rurouni Kenshin will never be better than Cowboy Bebop for me lol.

I agree that after the Shogo Amakusa episodes the series goes a little downhill. For me, however, nothing beats kenshin; as much as i really liked Cowboy Bebop, i still say kenshin is better :p
 
Rurouni Kenshin TV would have been FANTASTIC if it were like its OVAs. I guess i can't really compare Kenshin with Bebop - they're completely different.

Hiko Seijuro was completely ruined in Rurouni Kenshin TV. Let's not forget the horrible soundtrack for RK TV. The third season only had good symphonies/orchestrals only because it borrowed music from the Ishinshishi e no Requiem movie.
 
goggles said:
Rurouni Kenshin TV would have been FANTASTIC if it were like its OVAs. I guess i can't really compare Kenshin with Bebop - they're completely different.

Hiko Seijuro was completely ruined in Rurouni Kenshin TV. Let's not forget the horrible soundtrack for RK TV. The third season only had good symphonies/orchestrals only because it borrowed music from the Ishinshishi e no Requiem movie.

I gotta agree that the animation quality is way superior in the OVA. But imagine how difficult it would be to create 95 episodes with that quality. Also I kind of like the animation style in RK Tv; althought it has too many flash action and blank screen going thru and such other thing, it feels like it flows nicely. For me the sountrack during the Kyoto Arch is quite nice. The tracks warrior suite, fallen angel, etc are nice. My favorite about RK tv though is the main theme and some of the dialogue with the other characters. I think the plot of the Kyoto Arch is just sublime :p. Anyways, like any other anime it has its flaws, but overall i'd say that that I thorougly enjoyed both the Tv series and the OVA's.
 
Duo said:
I gotta agree that the animation quality is way superior in the OVA. But imagine how difficult it would be to create 95 episodes with that quality.

LOL i forgot to mention the difficulty part. Yeah OVAs get more time and effort put into them. If RK TV turned out to be near OVA quality, most likely it would've been pay-per-view lol.

Anyway, I don't know, I guess RK TV got pushed way down my ladder because i've seen many other series. When scrutinizing anime, it's easy for me to go off comparing to others lol.
 
goggles said:
LOL i forgot to mention the difficulty part. Yeah OVAs get more time and effort put into them. If RK TV turned out to be near OVA quality, most likely it would've been pay-per-view lol.

Anyway, I don't know, I guess RK TV got pushed way down my ladder because i've seen many other series. When scrutinizing anime, it's easy for me to go off comparing to others lol.

Yeah better and better animes with very good quality animation tend to do that. Wolf's Rain has an amazing quality, it completely shadows over the quality of RK tv series animation.
 
Cowboy Bebop was also a '98 anime like Kenshin and the animation was excellent for it's time i thought.
 
Duo said:
But Kenshin was a 96' anime, I think :?

Oh no! Argh don't tell me my facts were wrong?! LOL. *embarrassment*
'98 must of been the OVA's or something lol. Kuyashii~! Sorry about that lol.
 
goggles said:
Oh no! Argh don't tell me my facts were wrong?! LOL. *embarrassment*
'98 must of been the OVA's or something lol. Kuyashii~! Sorry about that lol.
🙂 No problemo, I think it was 96-97, but I'm not 100% sure, but you might be right and I might be wrong. Anyone know for sure ?
 
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