Kenshin le Vagabond

When I first saw Rurouni Kenshin, I was still relatively new to the world of Japanese animation. I had only seen a handful of series before, and though they all entertained me, it had yet to earn the same status with me as so many millions of anime fans claim Japanese animation to be worth. Rurouni Kenshin did that for me.

The first 20 episodes or so were nothing out of the ordinary; A lighthearted comedy series, with a bit of action and drama mixed in. And even though these aspects were handled extraordinarily well, it wasn't anything remotely special. The animation was slightly mediocre, though not too bad considering, but the feel was nice. Good music, great characters and average plots, for a swordfighting anime. But with episode 28, the series made an incredible flip over. The change in atmosphere was shocking in fact, and took me completely by surprise. It was like a complete opposite of the episodes that had come before it. All of a sudden, the plot thickened incredibly. The animation went better. The storytelling of the images changed dramatically and the music went through the roof. (Well, at least for a Japanese animation newb like I was at the time)

But all this was only to increase in the coming arc... The plot turned a lot darker, the lightheartedness was all but erased, and the animation increased incredibly. There's a lot of controversy about this change to the Kenshin fans. A lot of people seem to appreciate the lighthearted beginnings more. I am not one of those.. This new arc (Entitled the ''Kyoto Arc'') was indeed really masterful to me. It enchanted me. And to this day, Rurouni Kenshin ranks above the top of my favourite anime list.

However, don't go rushing out and buy this; after this ''Kyoto Arc'', the series takes a dive for the worse. Apparently unable to keep consistent and on par in release speed to the original ''manga'' comic (Which was released at the same time), the animation studio had no choice but to continue with a self-created filler Arc. It was a tedious, boring and quite frankly annoying arc, which disgraced the beauty of before. Even worse: Bad ratings forced the company to shut and end the Rurouni Kenshin series, leaving the final arcs of the original manga (Which were just as powerful as the previous ones) unanimated and untouched.

However, Rurouni Kenshin (Despite the mistake listed above), is truly a powerful series with a stunning storyline and great characters and I recommend it heavily. Though, if you're looking for some brainless entertainment with lots of ''cool'' action, don't go here. Rurouni Kenshin also pleases there, but you'll get a lot more out of it if you can appreciate all the series has to offer.

(9/10)

This is one of the most memorable and most recognizable anime I know, with a cast of great characters and story lines and funny sub-plots, it's everything you'd want to see in an anime. It starts out as Kenshin Himura a wanderer in the Meiji era, ends with a kendo teacher Kaoru Kamiya, and he starts living with her, and eventually she finds out this is no ordinary traveler, this is Battousai, the slasher! An infamous samurai who killed a lot of people in his past. But finds him to be a sweet gentle man who is kind towards children, who wants to restore peace, and end his days as a slasher. Later more characters appear, Yahiko, and then Sanosuke, then Megumi. A great cast with very dark and dramatic backgrounds filled with tragedies. Every episode seems to give each character some background and info and their dark secrets. The soundtracks are also great, I love the one by L~Arc~Ciel in the latter episodes. The sword fighting is also cool, and unforgettable. But wait, a few characters portrayed or based on actual people, like Saitou Hajime and Aritomo Yamagata, oh my, I wonder if they were really like that in real life, I mean their personalities as seen here. Anyways recommended to all anime fans, and to non-anime fans who are not familiar with anime yet, forget Dragon Ball or Pokemon, watch this.

Excellent!A good story,the best animation ever!I love this series.The story of a samurai who wants a new life and protect the people.The music is superb,and the action scenes are fantastic.This is a good drama.10\10

Rurouni Kenshin, is one of the best animes I've ever seen. I first discovered RK when I downloaded the first chapter of the manga. Then I became addicted to it as the story of a wandering swordsman trying to atone for his sins really got me excited and started downloading more manga issues. The first time I saw the anime version was after I downloaded the first episode. Now Rurouni Kenshin comes on my satellite dish on LBC SAT from Lebenon. I give this anime 10/10 it is an anime masterpiece that shouldn't be missed. A must see not just for anime fans but for fans of the samurai or chambara genre(Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurais and Zatoichi) as well.

I must say that this is THE BEST ANIME I have EVER seen!!! It definitely is the perfect mix of romance, story, history, mystery, and all other good things all rolled into one series!

I especially love it because of its strong storyline and characters. Every character has a history and this anime has been created in a way that allows them to show you that background on each character, making each character all the more interesting. I also like the subtle romance it portrays and the way that it intertwines real Japanese history with fiction - that was probably the best part, actually.

Anyway, from the first episode, I was hooked...I was so hooked, I finished the series within like a month and half. Now, I'm on to reading the manga, which is just as good as the anime. This is one anime that I can watch over and over and not get bored of!