Customer Reviews

Rurouni Kenshin 01: The Legendary Swordsman

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!!!!!!!

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 spelled it wrong), and he was called Battousai, the Manslayer. Wanting to repent for his sins, for all the lives he took in the revolution, he has become a wanderer, with his Sakabatou (reverse-bladed sword) he helps others in pain, and fights those who still oppress others. As Kenshin wanders around Down town Tokyo, he meets a girl on the streets named Kauru. After saving her from a ruthless killer, who was going under cover as "Battousai the Manslayer", Kauru invites Kenshin to stay and live with her. As the episodes go along, they meet Yahiko, a pickpocket who is a descendent of a long line of samurai's, and they also meet Sanosuke, a.k.a. Zansa, the fighter for hire. Overall, this video is really great, and I recommend it and this series to anyone who loves action, comedy, and a great story.

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. Everyone of them has a soul and is well developed. I also found the animation to be quite striking. A very well directed show. One of the best I've seen...At least so far.

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. With just the right amount of action, romance, comedy, and drama, it keeps you at the egde of your seat the whole time. The animation I absolutely wonderful, most of the dubbed voices are good, too. If you don't buy this, you don't know what you're missing.

BUY IT@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Though the Kenshin series is certainly lighthearted compared to the four OVAs (Trust, Betrayal, Samurai X the Movie, Reflection)... its appeal is not lessened.

The dynamics of Kenshin's personality, the almost goofy romantic that is trying to save lives with his sword, is out to atone for his murderous past and making great friends along the way.

True, the same heroic elements are in any many other series. But Rurouni Kenshin, in a trait it shares with the OVA's, gives the viewer the sense that this peace will be fleeting as Kenshin's past catches up with him during the fledgling years of the Meiji government.

Whether you are looking for a classic save-the-day hero or a fantastic story of turning over a new leaf after such a violent past, Kenshin has something for many viewers.

Terrorism, light romance, trust, friendship, betrayals, and great sword fights make this series one of the greatest of all time.

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!

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 but if you are going to start anywhere and see if you are willing to shell out that cash, you ought to start at the begining.

Kenshin - Samurai X and Rurouni Kenshin - is probably my favorite anime series thus far. I absolutely love this series and while the Trust and Betrayal OVA's chronologically are the beginning of the series, in terms of the story line of the series I would recommend watching the OVA's after around the sixty-second episode of the series, that being after the Kyoto Arc. The most logical place to start watching this is this particular DVD is what i'm trying to say at any rate...

This series is an interesting mix of history and fiction. Perhaps the reason I love this series so much is because the characters are based on real people. Some examples of this are Saito Hajime and Seta Soujiro. While some people may look at this and see DBZ with swords I personally see this series as much, MUCH more. Yes action is a large part of this series however there are many underlying themes within the series. One of the main themes that I certainly identified with as I believe most people will, is the idea of changing one's outlook on life. I find the characters to be fairly well developed and I find they all provide necessary roles to the series. A good blend of comedy and gravity is represented by the "cast" of Kenshin.

I know Kenshin is not for everyone but I highly recommend you give the series a shot. While the series is fairly action filled there are some spots that move more slowly. The dialogues the characters engage in are relavent and therefore do not take away from the series in my opinion.

I believe the series (as in not the OVA's) is suitable for children for the most part but in my opinion this isn't the sort of thing to buy for children. The OVA's are more dark than the series and more violent I would not think them suitable for young children.

That's it, hope you buy it and enjoy it.