Rurouni Kenshin 01: The Legendary Swordsman

 

 

Create your own review

Picture this: a feminine-looking, goofy swordsman who has vowed not to kill, but is secretly a lethal ex-assassin known as Battosai the Manslayer.

Yep, the title character of Nobuhiro Watsuki's "Rurouni Kenshin" is a pretty unusual lead for an action series, but then this series is really rather unusual -- a meditation on changing times, and on fighting to preserve peace and life rather than to bring death. And "Rurouni Kenshin - Legendary Swordsman, Vol. 1" smoothly introduces the main characters in a flurry of sword-swinging action, delightfully wacky humor and a teeny hint of romance. Okay, more than a hint.

Searching for the legendary manslayer Battosai, a young dojo owner named Kaoru assaults a sword-carrying stranger whom she assumes is the one she's searching for. Turns out his sword blade is upside-down, and he insists that he's just a wandering swordsman. Unfortunately someone using the name Battosai is disgracing Kaoru's dojo -- and they have their eyes on revenge for an old wrong. It's only then that the mysterious Kenshin shows what he's really capable of, and who he really is -- the true Battosai, who is so skilled that after a brawl with the corrupt police, he's asked to join the military.

Kaoru asks him to stay on, and it turns out to be a good thing -- the dojo becomes embroiled in the fate of a feisty young samurai boy, who's being used as a pickpocket for a gang of yakuza thugs. And there's the Fight Merchant Zanza (real name: Sanosuke), a powerful young man seeking fights with strong opponents who is hired to fight Kenshin. But he has a personal reason to want to defeat Kenshin as well -- he's seemingly the last survivor of a military unit that was sacrificed as a scapegoat.

Nobuhiro Watsuki's "Rurouni Kenshin" has become a classic for its story about overcoming the past, fighting for the sake of peace, and for the setting of the early Meiji era -- when Japan awkwardly leapt forward technologically and socially. But on a less epic scale, it's about one young man with a terrible and bloody past, who is now atoning for his past deeds by using his sword to protect instead of to destroy.

It starts off fairly light-hearted, but gradually gains some darker shadings (such as Yahiko's miserable life and the) and explores the sociopolitical corruption and strife of all these sweeping changes (Sanosuke's tragic captain Sagara). And obviously any series with a swordsman is going to have some action, and these scenes deliver a whirlwind of sword blows and superhuman leaps, which can do anything from smashing an opponent's arm to hammering a crowd of people to the ground.

But there's also plenty of comic relief in here, usually supplied by Kaoru's short fuse (particularly when Kenshin tries to save her from suicide) and Kenshin's sheepish space-cadet attitude and tendency to get in trouble by doing the right thing. Not to mention the most unsubtle mugging in the history of thievery.

Kenshin is a pretty likable if odd hero -- he's goofy, spacey, eager to please and polite to a fault, with rumpled red hair and threadbare clothes. But he gets creepy empty eyes when he gets serious about fighting. Kaoru makes a good counterpart, being as blunt and strong-willed as Kenshin pretends not to be, while Yahiko is an unexpectedly likable younger sidekick. And Sanosuke makes a good addition to round out the cast -- he's got a tragic past as part of the unjustly-maligned Sekihotai "false army," which still drives him on.

"Rurouni Kenshin - Legendary Swordsman, Vol. 1" is a brilliant introduction to Kenshin, a manslayer-turned-wanderer with the upside-down sword. Definitely a must-see for fans of anime.

I said it in the title this review is for the all of the episodes the show is great but is has som bad points and parts that just seem to drag on. but the show is awsome and the charters are good.

if you've been reading the rest of the reviews and the synopsis that amazon provided then you already know what the series is about, so i'll just get right to it:

i bought this dvd after reading reviews on amazon and hearing a friend at work mention it, and since i'm making decent money this summer i decided to splurge and buy it. i was excited when it came in the mail, expecting this samurai guy going on adventures with awesome sword-fighting scenes. what i got was a mediocre anime, somewhat of a cross between dragonballz and pokemon. let me explain:

i would have absolutely loved this show if i were 12-14 or so. this anime is strongly not recommended for 18+ or older audiences like myself. 3 things ruined this dvd for me:

1. poor action scenes. don't listen to all the kiddies jumping on the bandwagon in the reviews above saying that there are "totally awesome fight scenes!!!" because there aren't. in a typical fight scene, what you see are a character (usually kenshin) jump into the air and pull his sword back like he's going to hit something, then the screen turns black and you see white "sword-slashing" marks go across the screen, then you see the bad guy fall down hurt. you rarely see footage of them ACTUALLY fighting, just the jump-sword slash marks-bad guy falls down. repeat. no blood.
2. the unnecessary goofy faces. they make these bug-eyed weird faces to try to bring out humor, but it isn't funny. it takes away from the cool samurai character that kenshin is supposed to be. kenshin does this at times where all the girl did was talk loud...why the goofy face for that? this happens quite a bit and get annoying.
3. the absolute WORST thing that ruined this series for me was that listening to kenshin talk was like listening to yoda (from star wars) talk. no joke. i don't remember any quotes, but it's similar to,"you shouldn't do that, no you musn't." and, "you should do this, you should." i think they were trying to make kenshin sound like the old, wise samurai guy, but it's just really, really annoying.

i am sorry that this review was almost all negative, but if you're younger, you will probably enjoy this series. it's a cool, fun adventure and i know for a fact i would have loved this series if i were under 12. but if you're older, expecting a cool samurai show with a lot of cool fight scenes, expect to be disappointed. buy ninja scroll instead.
ADD 1-2 STARS IF YOU'RE YOUNGER AND LIKED DRAGONBALL-Z AND THE PREVIEW LISTED FROM AMAZON APPEALS TO YOU.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 59 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS GREAT
THIS IS AWESOME AND DON'T LISTEN TO THE BAD OPINIONS WHO SAYS IT ISN"T BECAUSE IT IS.AND SO ARE ALL THE OTHER FILLERS!!!!!!!

Published on Feb 21 2004 by A. Deming

5.0 out of 5 stars Rurouni Kenshin, Vol. 1
Himura Kenshin is a wandering swordsman. Ten years before, he was an assassin and a warrior for the Choshu clan, in the revolution against the Togogawa Shogunate(forgive me if I... Read more

Published on Dec 19 2003 by dclc13

5.0 out of 5 stars Well, I'm Hooked!
This is an amazing opening to what I hope will turn out to be a great series. I have only seen this first volume but I am absolutely hooked to these characters. Read more

Published on Nov 28 2003 by M. Hencke

5.0 out of 5 stars The best anime ever!
There, I've said it. Ruroni Kenshin is definitely one of my favorite anime, probebly my favorite. I watched it and I completely fell in love. Read more

Published on Oct 20 2003 by mangaanimelover

5.0 out of 5 stars The beginning of a masterpiece
Though the Kenshin series is certainly lighthearted compared to the four OVAs (Trust, Betrayal, Samurai X the Movie, Reflection)... its appeal is not lessened. Read more

Published on Aug 29 2003 by Gregory N. Stern

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart of the sword
Rurouni Keshin is one of the best kenshin's there are. It is exciting and you wish you dident have to ever stop waching it!

Published on Aug 26 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm a huge fan of this entire series OVA's included
Before I start rambling on about my favorite anime series here, I would like to say here that buying the entire series when it comes out on DVD is the only thing that makes sense... Read more

Published on July 28 2003 by bor0mir

5.0 out of 5 stars No other anime comes close
It's funny that no one can say bad things about rurouni kenshin. I've talked face to face with teenagers from Louisiana to Hawaii. Read more

Published on July 25 2003 by r-34

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-See for Kenshin beginners!
This DVD (or VHS, I have the DVD) is a must-see for all Kenshin fans just starting out. These four episodes introduce some of the main characters seen throughout the Rurouni... Read more

Published on July 21 2003 by C. Corbett

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent anime- my favorite!
I'm not planning to delve into the story behind the anime, there are other reviews for that. I am only here to recommend this DVD to you, and I do. Read more

Published on July 4 2003 by Nathan Sharp

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 59 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!