Animania

Rurouni Kenshin is a twenty-eight volume manga series written by Nobuhiro Watsuki. It first premiered in Japan in 1994 and ran for five years. While it was being written and published, an anime adaptation was created from it. The anime series, which premiered in January of 1996, spans ninty-five episodes and was followed by a movie and two OVAs. Watsuki also followed the manga up with a short story, Yahiko no Sakabatō. The manga was being released here by Viz Media, while the anime was released by Media Works. Rurouni Kenshin follows the story of Himura Kenshin, once a manslayer who is now a wanderer who seeks to protect people while upholding a vow not to kill. He ends up living in the Kamiya Dojo after rescuing its owner and assistant master, Kaoru, from a man who sought to steal it from her. Despite knowing Kenshin's past, Kaoru accepts him as he is, as do Yahiko, the son of a samurai who seeks to become stronger, and Sanosuke, a former fighter-for-hire who can act rough but admires Kenshin's strength and ideals. These four form strong bonds, and it is his friendship with the three that helps Kenshin retain himself when he comes close to returning to the cold-eyed manslayer of old.

I was first introduced to Rurouni Kenshin years ago, when I started renting the series. As a whole, I enjoyed the anime series. It had funnies, while also have some serious battles and events. Kenshin is a great hero, strong and fast despite his rather skinny appearance. Sanosuke is just on this side of bad, making him a fun watch. Kaoru is a good heroine, strong yet vulnerable. The growing relationship between Kaoru and Kenshin fulfils my love of love stories. I did, however, find myself so badly disappointed in the OVAs, particularly the hideous ending to the story, that I could not bring myself to even watch, much less buy, the anime series for many years. I finally forgot most of the OVA enough that I purchased the first season set of the anime in January 2006. As I was missing the rest, I didn't really watch it though.

During my hiatus from the anime, I read several times that the OVAs mess up the ending and that the original manga ending is far better. So I started reading the manga from my library, but they only had a few volumes. A month after I bought that anime set, I bought the first seven volumes of the manga. As with the anime, I left them unread since I didn't have the rest. This month, I purchased volumes 8-13, and decided to read all thirteen volumes. It had been quite awhile since I'd seen the anime and since my library readings, so it felt like I was reading it for the first time. I absolutely loved it. Kenshin, Kaoru, Sanosuke, Yahiko, and all the people they interact with. I read all thirteen volumes in two days, and decided that I would be getting the rest within the next two months.

Meanwhile, I decided to watch that first season set again, to get in more Kenshin. Perhaps its because I hadn't seen it in so long, but it was also like watching the anime for the first time. This time, however, with every episode I grew more and more disappointed. What I could not spot in the first viewing, from having never read the manga, was so glaringly obvious now. Why or why did they change so many stories? Some of the best scenes from the manga are missing from the anime, or retooled to be comedic instead of awesome. In the manga, the battles with the Oniwabanshū, their deaths at Kanryū's hands, and Aoshi's reaction are so awesome in the manga, and yet almost shallow in the anime. In the manga, those last interactions with Kenshin, as he gave Aoshi a reason to live, are all gone. The anime ups the comedy, making Yahiko a bigger brat, Kaoru both stronger and weaker, and adds some of the dumbest filler episodes (the train one is the absolute worse). The distinction between Kenshin when he goes into battōsai mode is also totally missing. In the manga, he always calls himself "this one," and his use of I is a sign to those around him that he has slipped back into his battōsai persona, and that they need to bring him back. It is much more obvious that while Kenshin protects those around him, they are the ones saving him from himself, and the killing past he wants to leave behind and atone for.

It is interesting, to me, how much my perception changed. I couldn't particular enjoy the anime the way I did before, though I enjoyed some of the laughs. I've read the manga and watched the anime of many series. Most, I can enjoy equally, even if I think one is better than the other, such as Sailor Moon which infuriates me with how far from the manga it went, and yet I still enjoy and can find many good points about. Yet, for some reason, with Rurouni Kenshin I suspect I may never buy the rest of the anime now. That indefinable something that makes the manga both epic and an A+ series is lacking in its anime adaptation. Where as I'm already itching to re-read the manga, I'm filled with relief that tonight I finished the last disc of the anime series.