Rurouni Kenshin

Here's one of the few manga series that I started buying from start to finish. Death Note is the only other one that's up to snuff, but it only has 12 volumes, so it's not as impressive. At a whopping 28 volumes, Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin has great length and a great story all the way. Taking place in the early Meiji period after a revolution for equality, the story is about a wandering swordsman who fights for those within his sight who are too weak to fight for themselves. Doesn't sound incredibly original, and I suppose it's not, but it is good. Himura Kenshin has vowed never to kill again because of the grief from the lives he had to take during the revolution. However, when enemies constantly threaten him and his friends, promising not to kill can be a real drag.

The story is rather straight forward and easy to understand. There's no heavy symbolism, clever plot twists, or much left to the imagination. The simplicity is part of the charm though: it's funny when it needs to be, it's deep when it needs to be, and it's all action...y when there's nothing left to be. The thing I love most about this is the vast assortment of characters. My personal favorite manga/anime character of all time is Saito Hajime, even though most people see him as a bad guy. I can see why, but I can't change what I like and such, so that's the way it is. Then again...Yukishiro Enishi is also up there on my top 5, so I seem to have a thing for the crazies...

Anyways, the anime that goes along with this story is decent enough, it almost follows the manga, but it's more for younger people than the manga. I seem to recall an episode where Kenshin fights a man while using a parasol in a circus. While I am in full support of turning good manga into good anime, that seems like a step backward. They also skipped an entire story arc probably for the sake of the violence. Unfortunately, it's also the arc where it explains most of Kenshin's past, so there are a few OVAs and Movies that cover the arc loosely. Also, the manga is being re-released (would it be a waste to get them all again?) with new covers in Kanzenban form. I don't know what kind of features are going to be in them, so I can't miss what I've never seen...guess I might skip out on that one.

Rating: A+