I have a few anime series that are very close to my heart and Rurouni Kenshin is one them. I remember when I first watched this series in it’s entirety I actually started to do research into the time period in history it covers and for an anime to make me do what was basically at the time “homework” was pretty impressive. But that was years ago and I recently re-watched the series from the beginning with one of my house mates so now with the ignorance of youth behind me I think it would be a good time to give Rurouni Kenshin the TV series a review.

Synopsis:
This series starts in the 11^th year of Meiji (1878) and we are introduced to Kenshin, a peace loving wonderer who carries a reverse bladed katana. He meets a young woman called Kaoru whose dojo is under threat by the legendary Hitokiri Battosai, the most feared samurai warrior of the Bakumatsu revolution. Kenshin confronts the man and reveals that he is in fact the Battosai and very quickly takes out the fraud and all his mates but without killing a single one of them. Kenshin decides to stay with Kaoru for a while and it’s not long before new friends arrive at the Kaoru’s dojo. But Kenshin’s past returns to haunt him and with it come enemies who may end up forcing the return of his Battosai persona.

Kenshin and his famous "Crossed Shapped Scar"

Rurouni Kenshin (RK) is a lot of things. It’s an action anime, a period piece, a romance, a comedy, but most of all it’s a tale of redemption. Kenshin’s past is dark, he killed an awful lot of people in the revolution and the burden of this weighs heavily on his soul. His Battosai persona is feared by all, but he suppresses it and tries to live his life as the peaceful Rurouni. In dong this Kenshin changes the lives of almost everyone he comes into contact with. As people come to understand his strength partnered with his humility they soon see the error of their ways, be it cowardice, arrogance, greed or selfishness. A cynic would say that this is all done in a rather superficial way…and to be honest they’d be right. The first season is basically made up of different encounters with various people, good and bad, who Kenshin befriends or fights or sometimes both, but other than introductions to new people and character development this doesn’t really go anywhere; Despite it’s comedic spots, interesting fights and likeable characters the first season can drag a bit.

But then the story changes. Towards the end of the first season the plot focuses up and we start to see that the all of the first season encounters have been build up to something bigger that is about to happen as Kenshin fights an old enemy and makes a difficult decision that leads onto the over arcing story of the second season and realistically the whole RK series.

This series is what I would call a classic, it’s set the bench for so many other samurai anime that came after it, but it’s also starting to feel a little dated. Watching it a second time round in 2009 has shown me that actually the animation isn’t as polished as we would like it to be, the colours are still bright but the artwork is also starting to show it’s age. But that’s far from being a major issue here. One of the strengths of RK is it’s variety of interesting characters, Kenshin is actually a very likeable lead; noble most of time, goofy in places and always compassionate (although it is noted that Kenshin does look a bit like a girl at times). Kaoru is considerably less annoying than the standard anime “I’m in love the hero” girl and grows to be actually quite strong willed and very likeable. Yahiko is an annoying brat but also matures over the series and Sanosuke is just a BadAss.

The music in this  show is pretty good and very varied, from bitter goodbyes and tense fights the music is there to move you and make the experience that much more enjoyable.

Kenshin’s fighting style is all bassed on speed and reading other peoples movements and this leads to some really interesting fights. The chorography isn’t particular flowing but they are still very entertaining and very varied, considering the wide variety of people who fight in the show. From street brawlers to fire breathers and ninjas to the incredibly strong, there is a something for everyone and more.

Kenshin, Kaoru, Yahiko and Sano

But what is it that makes this show so special? Why do people have it in there top 10 anime series of all time? How is it a show from 1996 can still be watchable when animation has come so far since then? The answer is simply this: RK is about people. All of them trying finding their way through life, and as they get to a cross roads where they have to make the decision that will change them forever we are there with them. This series has one of the most well made, gut wrenchingly, emotional scenes I’ve scene in anime two episodes before the end of the first season. It wasn’t even a death of someone, it was a scene that normally would be quite simple but I remember watching it and being shocked and actually a little upset about what had just happened, and it was at that point that I realised they had me. RK is about people, but most importantly it’s about people you care about. You want Aoshi to find redemption, you want Kaoru to be happy in her relationship with Kenshin, you want Yahiko to prove himself and grow to be strong and honourable, you want Sanosuke to keep on being a BadAss and you want Kenshin to be able to find a place to call home after 10 years of wondering alone. The plotline is fantastic in the second season but it’s pushed along by the fact that you are invested in these characters.

As with most good animes (and this IS a good anime) this is based on a manga of the same name but after the end of the second season the anime deviates away from the manga and you get a filler arc that was supposed to bridge the gap between the Kyoto Arc (second season) and a final arc form the manga. This last Arc was never made as part of the RK TV series and the show does unfortunately decline after the Kyoto arc finishes. But you still have the characters there doing what they do best and the ending episodes dont detract away from the epic that was the RK series up to that point…and besides, the story of Kenshin is far from over.

Extra:
There are 2 OVAs: the First OVA detailing Kenshin’s back-story and history and the Second OVA that jumps a decade or so into the future to show how the story of the “wondering samurai” ends. Both of these are fantastic and reviews will be coming soon.

Zatoichi (AKA The Blind Swordsman: Zatôichi), is one of the even fewer films that I can comfortably say, I’ve had the pleasure of watching more than once.  I watched it for the first time in about 2006/07, when I was just getting into Asian Cinema and absolutely loved it. Every moment of the film was exciting and suspenseful as the story unfolds and elements of various mini-story lines begin to weave and intersect resulting in a crescendo of sword fight/blood bath as the mystery and intrigue continues to unravel before you.

The Poster

What amazed me about the film itself was the extend to which the Director, Takeshi Kitano gets involved. Not only did he direct and write the screenplay for Zatoichi, but he also stars in it. If you are fortunate enough to own the DVD, the extras will show you how he also helped to choreograph much of the sword fight scenes and in particular the unique fighting style that Zatoichi himself adopts in the film.

The pace throughout the movie is swift, from start to finish. At no point are you bored because events quite fluidly move from one to another. The intricacy of the plots, at times can be confusing as you see various snippets at first with context and deeper explanations are only revealed of the course of the story as the various groups come into contact with one another.

A particular element of the movie that does take some getting used to, is the use of CGI for the blood and much of the dismembering which does date the film somewhat. This however, is a very minor issue and is quite easily overlooked as a more a charming characteristic of the film instead of a glaring faux pas. The sword fights are exciting to watch. The viewer only really catches glimpses of the traveling vagrants prowess with a sword but he talent and brutality is not fully displayed till much nearer the end of the film but we are constantly left in no doubt that he is willing and ready to kill should the circumstances for such force as is the case in the gambling den when the house is caught cheating. At the same time we see elements of restraint, in particular the sequence between Zatoichi and Hattori Genosuke in the local bar, upon their first encounter comes to mind.

Kitano Directing a Fight Scene

One of the most interesting elements of the movie (trust me, there are plenty!) is the sword fighting technique Zatoichi employs, which even for a non-sword fighting expert like myself is easy to appreciate. As Zatoichi conceals his sword in his walking cane, the way he draws his sword puts him in immediately an offensive and defensive position as he draws his sword from it’s sheath directly upward in front of him, blade toward attacker. The samurai on the other hand draw their swords from the waist diagonally across their bodies which takes longer and requires larger motions and subsequently more space. Again, the best demonstration of this was in the local bar when the main characters encounter each other for the first time and Zatoichi quite clearly demonstrates a superior skill to that of Hattori Genosuke.

Concluding Remarks
This wouldn’t be much of a review if nothing was said about the plot and the storyline. I’ve watched this film twice and on both occasions, while I expected and predicted the outcome, the execution of the storyline and the deliver of the lines and the slow unraveling of the mystery is done so expertly that it continually exciting every time. Kitano indeed tells a story very well. Towards the end we get to see veil after veil removed as we begin to see the real workings of the puppeteer behind it all. It would be an even greater injustice if I were to spoil this here. My advice to you is to go out and find this movie straight away. Better yet, get the DVD.Kitano Directing a Fight Scene

Let me know what you think in the comments below. Where does this one rank in your Top 10, because it definitely should be somewhere in everyone’s Top 10.