"Rurôni Kenshin: Meiji kenkaku roman tan" (1996) TV series 1996-1999

User Rating:

8.9/10   

Directors:

Kazuhiro Furuhashi
Kaeko Sakamoto

Writers:

Michiru Shimada (screenplay)
Nobuhiro Watsuki (comic)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

10 January 1996 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | History | Thriller

Plot:

The adventures of a young wandering swordsman who stumbles upon a struggling martial arts school in Meiji era Japan.

Plot Keywords:

Swordsman | Japan | Revolution | School | Martial Arts

Cast

Yûji Ueda

...

Sanosuke Sagara / ... (1 episode, 1996)

Also Known As:

"Rurouni Kenshin: Wandering Samurai" (USA)
"Samurai X" (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

25 min (95 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:15 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M

Company:

Fuji Television Network

Trivia:

Another real-life personality in the show is Toshimichi Okubo. Okubo was one of the men who overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate, and was one of the founding members of the new Meiji government.

Quotes:

Sanosuke Sagara (Zanza): Hey, Kenshin, what are you doing?
Kenshin Himura: Oh, I was just rummaging.
Sanosuke Sagara (Zanza): Rummaging, uh? What's in the box? Is it food?
Kenshin Himura: No, actually it's...
Sanosuke Sagara (Zanza): Never mind, don't care.
Kenshin Himura: Uh, ok.
[sighs]
Kenshin Himura: That's just like Sano...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Last Samurai (2003)

Soundtrack:

DAME!

A great series unfortunately plagued by sub-par filler episodes

I've read most of the manga series before I saw the anime, so I was a bit disappointed by it. Since the anime came out at the same time as Watsuki was drawing the manga, there were many occasions in which filler episodes were drawn because the show had to continue. Not only were these fillers not in the original manga continuity, many of them were totally lame and poorly written. There are a few gems among these fillers, but for the most part the anime was at its best when it was totally true to the original work.

The voice actress (yes, actress) does a very good job as Kenshin when he's being serious, but in "rurouni" mode it becomes painfully obvious that she is a woman trying to sound like a man. However, many others are of the opinion that this is exactly what makes her the perfect role for Kenshin: she portrays the two sides that Kenshin embodies--the rurouni who has given up the killing sword, and the hitokiri still thirsting for blood--very well. If this gets released in the United States, I highly urge you to get the subtitled version, and I definitely recommend that you read the manga as well.