Rurouni Kenshin: Series Review

I have a pattern of being uncontrollably addicted to TV shows. It's the potato chip problem. Once you watch one, you have to keep watching. And then I rationalize it all to myself -- if I finish sooner, I will waste less time later. Well tonight, I finally finished my one week blast-through of the entire 95-episode (plus 1 movie and 2 OVA) anime series, Rurouni Kenshin. Overall, I guess I liked it, but it's hard to put an "overall" to this very uneven series. Below is my attempt at a review.

Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal

I start my review with the original video animation, Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal because it makes the most chronological sense. This OVA is set in the Bakumatsu, in the years directly preceding the Meiji Restoration.

First, the storyline was great. Kenshin's origin story is very well done. But the historical backstory was a little bit confusing, even though I had studied this very period of Japanese history in college. I thought it was very cool that the OVA attempted to include as characters real historical figures like Kido Koin, who was known as Katsura Kogoro in the anime. And overall, I thought the OVA did a fantastic job of capturing the chaos of the era.

The art was amazing. Absolutely beautiful. Because Kenshin was the Battousai during this time in his life, the OVA was wonderfully bloody. The fight scene in the snow was simply stunning. Kenshin's character design in Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal is more effeminate than the one in the TV series, but I sort of prefer it. Overall, this OVA was really fantastic and got me hooked on the show.

Season 1

Season 1 of the show (episodes 1-27) starts off a little shaky, but has a few gems throughout. I was a little impatient with the first few episodes, which introduce the series' major characters. I was immediately annoyed by Kaoru, the female lead, and remained irritated by her through the rest of the series. I also initially had trouble getting used to what I call "sissy Kenshin," the one that says "oro" and gets pushed around and is generally passive, although by the end of the show I grew to appreciate that Kenshin.

The finest of the episodes must be the ones with Jinei, the former hitokiri (manslayer), and the ones with Aoshi Shinomori. That's when I started to fall in love with the show's action sequences, even though they are extremely unrealistic. The rest of the episodes in the season were for the most part kind of blase, but overall, the first season is a strong one.

Oh, and regarding the art of the TV series, it's actually pretty good. The colors are not as dark as I tend to like (as in Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal), but are still well done. The characters' eyes are styled in traditional anime style (so, abnormally huge), but I don't mind that so much. Too many of the characters had too much hair, IMHO, but overall I was a fan of the character design, despite the brightness of the show. Again, I have a slight preference for Kenshin's OVA character design, versus his appearance in the TV show, but whenever Kenshin was in fight scenes in the TV shows, I was perfectly satisfied.

Season 2

Season 2 of the show (episodes 28-62) is phenomenal. Seriously phenomenal. Immediately, the season opens with fantastic episodes in which Hajime Saito, a former leader of the Shinsengumi and rival of the Battousai's during the revolution, is introduced. Saito is one of my favorite characters, and the episode in which he and Kenshin fight in the Kammiya dojo (and in which Kenshin reverts to his kickass battousai self) is one of my favorites of the entire series.

And then just when things couldn't get more exciting, the series embarks on its Kyoto arc, featuring the evil machinations of the awesome villain, Makoto Shishio. There are SO MANY awesome fight scenes. One of my favorites has to be between Kenshin and Sojiro the Tenken, oh, and the one between Kenshin and Aoshi Shinomori, and I guess also the final fight between Kenshin and Shishio. Oh, plus you get to see Kenshin learn the final attack of the Hiten-Mitsurugi style. SO KICKASS.

Anyway, I can't say enough good things about this action-packed, awesome season of the TV series. Definitely the heart of the show, in my opinion.

The only letdowns of this season, I would say, are that (a) another irritating female character, Misao Makimachi, is introduced; (b) most of the members of Shishio's Juppongatana (except for Sojiro, the monk, the blind guy) end up sucking and being extremely disappointing; (c) it had to end and give way to the sucky third season of the show!

Season 3

Season 3 of the show (episodes 63-95) pretty much sucked. Apparently, the anime caught up with the manga and then didn't have the manga author's ideas to go off of anymore, so they came up with their own crap. There were a few sort of okay episodes (i.e., the comedic engagement ring episode, the other comedic episode with the fake Battousai). But most of the individual stand-alone episodes SUCKED. Particularly the one with the stupid dog. Ugh.

The Shimabara story arc, whose historical roots like in the actual Shimabara Rebellion and are based on Japanese persecution of Christians, was okay, I guess. But I found the primary antagonist - the other Hiten-Mitsurugi style user - annoying. His sister was also really annoying. Plus all the land of God stuff was really annoying too. But this story arc at least was okay.

The divine medicine / Yutaro mini story arc was tolerable, I guess. I liked the return of Yutaro and the relationship he had with Yahiko. But I found both the Black Knights and the Sanada Ninja to be extremely retarded and weak characters. Lieutenant Melder was a lame main villain. Extremely lame: his power came from a weird-ass lance, armor, and a horse that he somehow brought underground. I thought it was pathetic that Kenshin was that badly injured in his fight against the stupid foreigner.

The final story arc, the Feng Shui story arc, was so awful that it was virtually unwatchable. In fact, even though I technically watched through most of them and got the gist of the storyline, towards the end I had to skip forward in order to not strangle myself from disgust. I also opened Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal on the side and watched that instead. No words can describe how bad that last story arc was, which is an unfortunate way to end an otherwise great series.

Samurai X: The Movie

The movie was done in the style of the TV show, but had some kickass Battousai sword fight scenes, so it was cool. I watched it a while ago and don't really remember, but I think mostly I thought it was fine. Although ... there was yet another annoying female character - the sister of the guy who Kenshin killed.

Samurai X: Reflections

This OVA is done in the same artistic style as Trust and Betrayal, but is overall really disorganized and disappointing. I liked that all the characters got older -- particularly Yahiko -- and that Kenshin and Kaoru finally got together and had a son, Kenji, who then went to train with Kenshin's master. But I was dissatisfied with the movie overall, although again the art was gorgeous.

Mostly, I didn't like how it ended. And I didn't like the revenge story arc. My internet research reveals that the revenge story arc in the manga is supposed to be awesome -- even more awesome than the Kyoto story arc. It makes me want to go read the manga.

Overall

Again, it's hard to give an overall rating to an uneven series, but I'd say I still come out with positive impressions of Rurouni Kenshin. But again, Season 3 sucked, and the Reflections OVA was not great either. Still, Season 2. SO GOOD. And Trust and Betrayal: seriously beautiful animation.

I think I'm looking to own Seasons 1 & 2 and Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal. Eventually. After I get the complete Avatar: The Last Airbender. Eventually. After I start making some money...