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Last edited by Tony K. on Tue Jan 09, 2024 2:28 pm; edited 43 times in total

Season 01: Rurouni Kenshin (TV 2023)
Season 02: Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Dōran(TV)
Season 03: Pending

Original Series (discussed here)

Source: Manga (completed @ 28 volumes, by Nobuhiro Watsuki)

Demographic: Shounen

Animation Studio: Liden Films

Genres: action, comedy, drama, romance

Themes: assassins, atonement, Bakumatsu era, conspiracy, factions, historical, idealism, martial arts, Meiji era, ninja, politics, redemption, revenge, samurai, Shinsengumi, swordplay, tragedy

Plot Summary: Himura Kenshin is a vagabond with a dark past and sunny disposition. Not a ronin but a rurouni, he was never a samurai, but an assassin of utmost skill in the Meiji restoration, who in the turning point of the war simply walked away.

His travels lead him to Tokyo in the 11th year of the Meiji era, where he befriends a female Kendo master, a former thief, a brawler and a doctor all with their own secrets. Together they fight off the enemies surfacing from the dark past that Kenshin cannot escape.

Air Date & Platform:
Season 01: July 6, 2023 (Thursday)
Available on: Crunchyroll

Season 02: Pending
Available on: (probably Crunchyroll)

Season 03: Pending
Available on: (probably Crunchyroll)

Episode Count / Runtime:
Season 01: 24 episodes
Season 02: Pending
Season 03: Pending

Total: 24 episodes
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EPISODE INDEX

(Clicking on the episode will take you to my post that has a summary, comments, and screen-caps)

(Note: The arc names are fan-made, but will hopefully help break the series down for easier time management or binge-watching)

- Season 01 (Tokyo)

(Kenshin-gumi)
Episode 01: Kenshin・Himura Battousai
Episode 02: Tokyo Samurai・Myoujin Yahiko
Episode 03: Kasshin-Ryu・Reborn
Episode 04: The Fighter for Hire・Sagara Sanosuke
Episode 05: And Then, Another

(Udou Jin-e)
Episode 06: Kurogasa
Episode 07: The Two Hitokiri

(Oniwabanshuu)
Episode 08: Beauty on the Run
Episode 09: The Oniwabanshuu Strike
Episode 10: A Reason to Act

Episode 11: Savage Han'nya・Honorable Shikijou
Episode 12: Okashira・Shinomori Aoshi
Episode 13: Battle's End

(Yahiko & Tsubame)
Episode 14: Yahiko's Battle

(Isurugi Raijuuta)
Episode 15: That Man・Raijuuta
Episode 16: The Ideal Man
Episode 17: Settling the Score

(Tsukioka Tsunan)
Episode 18: Sanosuke & Nishiki Paintings
Episode 19: Tsunan & Nishiki Paintings

(**Filler)
Episode 20:
Episode 21:

(Saitou Hajime)
Episode 22:
Episode 23:
Episode 24:

OP1 (w/ Lyrics): "Fly" by Ayase×R-Shitei
ED1 (w/ Lyrics): "Edge" by Reol
----------------------------------

- Season 02 (Kyoto)

Pending
----------------------------------

- Season 03 (Jinchuu)

Pending

Episode 1

I have not watched the original anime adaptation, even though I own it. I figure I'll watch this version first. I guess the idea is that this adaptation will be more faithful to the manga? In any case, enjoyed the first episode. Nothing spectack, but it got the job done. However, Kenshin's speech pattern is highly irritating, that it is.

#1

The original series aired decades ago, and I'm surprised it was given the remake treatment given the creator's current tarnished reputation. However, the story itself has spawned live-action movies of its own which did well on the box office in Japan and abroad, so the studio probably gambled that enough fans would pay for a nostalgia hit. With the OP alone, I can already tell how far this one will go before the quarter is up, so how well the studio performs on the technical front will determine if the gamble succeeds or fails.

Same VAs as the original, some of them like Kaoru's are veterans now when the role they had back then was probably the breakout role. The dialogue hasn't changed much either; the only difference being the opener which viewers of the Tsuioku arc OVA will remember as the finishing scene before the credits.

One thing the original animation was notorious for was variable visual quality. Back then, different studios took charge of different episode batches. So the quality between episodes could be vastly different even though they would air within a week of each other. For instance, the Madhouse package (episodes just before the Saitou main fight and the episodes prior to Kenshin learning his final techniques) was a cut above the episodes which aired around it done by a different studio. Now that this adaptation is under one studio (Liden), the quality good or bad will at the very least be more uniform.

As far as entertainment goes, this should please the fans as no risks are being taken with the source material. Whether or not the story stands the test of time in the face of vastly different competition from its original print and air date remains to be seen.

I didn't start watching anime until a few years after 2010 (2013 at the earliest, 2015 at the latest). I know that Darker Than Black was on Netflix at the time because that was my Gateway anime as it were.

As such, I'm pretty enthusiastic about the idea of classic anime remakes. The first one I saw (to my knowledge) was Fruits Baskets and I really enjoyed it.

The flip side of that is that I have slightly higher expectations for anime remakes. I figure the source material must have something worthwhile going for it to have formed a lasting fanbase.

So I was a little disappointed by this anime, not because I thought it was bad, but because I thought it was just okay. I thought they did an above average job of making the older brother bandit despicable. I thought they did a below average job of making the fight scenes interesting. Those one move swipes that sent 5 people flying at a time were pretty lame animation wise.

And if I understood the situation/implication correctly, did Kenshin leave those people injured but alive because of some special design hampering his blade? That seems incredibly contrived to me if true.

Otherwise, story-wise, voice acting wise, I thought it was okay. Worth another look.

Blood- wrote:

However, Kenshin's speech pattern is highly irritating, that it is.

In the manga he refers to himself as seisha ("this one"), and the gozaru ("that, it is") thing is a character quirk used to differentiate his personality. I guess if I were to liken the switch between rurouni and Battousai modes, think of it as Keanu Reeves switching between his Bill character (from Bill and Ted) and John Wick. He's normally goofy, humble, and loveable, but when you kill his dog (or if it were still Bakumatsu), he'll unleash cold, calculated, and exacting death on everyone. A running theme in the series will be his duality between the personalities and which one is his "true" self.

If this season leads up to where I think it will stop, then you'll get some good glimpses of how ferocious Hitokiri Battousai was. And hopefully his actor will do a good job in the speech variation.

Ejwald wrote:

I thought they did a below average job of making the fight scenes interesting. Those one move swipes that sent 5 people flying at a time were pretty lame animation wise.

Those brothers and their goons are so small, they're like the seasoning you put on side items. Not even the main entree, but like, the smallest side item you got. And they're low-quality Great Value seasoning from Walmart, too.

I'm sure (hoping?) they're conserving the budget and man hours for some of the better characters and fights Kenshin will encounter around the early, mid, and end points of this season. Don't wanna' say too much, but I'm really looking forward a better adaptation of "those guys" who I think will be in the middle part.

Edjwald wrote:

And if I understood the situation/implication correctly, did Kenshin leave those people injured but alive because of some special design hampering his blade? That seems incredibly contrived to me if true.

His sword is a sakabatou (reverse-blade). It is specially designed because he openly tries not to kill anyone (anymore). You'll eventually see why.

Last edited by Tony K. on Wed Aug 23, 2023 4:52 pm; edited 5 times in total

Original discussion started here.
----------------------------------

Episode 01: Kenshin・Himura Battousai
----------------------------------

Summary:

In the 11th year of Meiji, a wandering swordsman, Himura Kenshin, is encountered by a young swordswoman, Kamiya Kaoru, who is in search of the fabled Hitokiri Battousai, a legendary assassin from the Bakumatsu. Another man is wreaking havoc throughout town claiming to be Battousai, but also claiming to use Kamiya Kasshin-ryuu (Kaoru's family sword art) to sully their family name.
----------------------------------

Comments:

Not even sure where to start. I talked so much Kenshin, years ago in the '96 series thread, but haven't really talked to anyone about it, since then (it's been almost nine years!). I have such a good memory and remember so much of the old series, Tsuioku-hen OAV, manga, and lore of the franchise, it feels like barely any time has passed at all. And there're so many themes and characters I wanna' analyze and talk about that'll probably take weeks to months (maybe years?) to get to.

I guess I'll start with the story. In a very basic nutshell, the Kenshin franchise is about a reformed guy who did some bad things in his past, but is wandering the country and trying to atone. He meets people and uses his idealism to convince them to be better and help the weak (and eventually become stronger themselves). But then remnants of his past consequences come back to haunt him. The meat of that probably won't show until season 2. But I'm hoping season 1 will have a really great buildup for it.

This episode was pretty good for an introduction. You see your main character, learn there's something more to his past, and the entourage starts to assemble. I'm actually glad they didn't show off too much of Kenshin's skill, 'cause like I mentioned earlier, these guys are puny compared to what happens later. Kenshin's goofiness, as I also alluded to earlier, will be important to keep in mind, as his personality switch is kind of a big thing (also later on).
-----

- Art / Animation:

Feels slightly above average for a pilot episode. Night time scenes (for all anime, these days) look great since the advent of modern digital animation techniques. I remember when stuff was still drawn traditionally (like in Kenshin '96) and night time was basically dark blues and grays because of budget and color constraints back then. I'm also loving the line detail in certain shots.

It's not quite as pronounced as Demon Slayer (my go-to for line detail), but it's pretty good. The animation itself wasn't quite as slick as I was expecting. But Liden Films isn't exactly MAPPA or Madhouse. So I hope what I said about them saving up for the bigger action sequences and fights will hold true.
-----

- Music:

Seems okay, for now. Kenshin '96 had some wonderful compositions by Noriyuki Asakura. But this Yū Takami has very little frame of reference for me to draw from. There were a couple of pieces that seem like they have potential. And I do like the more orchestral approach. I hope he can surprise me with some memorable themes, melodies, and instrumentation. The opening and ending songs were pretty catchy, though.
-----

- Voice Acting:

I'm pleasantly surprised with Souma Saitou, thus far. From the initial trailer, his voice seemed a little too deep. Granted, the previous iteration of Kenshin was played by a woman (Maayo Suzukaze, who was awesome). But like I mentioned about the nuance of Kenshin's personality-switching, it's a very fine line to be able to manipulate. She did that with ease. And from what I've heard in Saitou's inflection, there's a certain softness he radiates, that I think he'll be able to pull off Battousai mode pretty well, when the story gets there.

Rie Takahashi sounds very similar to the original Kaoru (Miki Fujitani, who actually has only played Kaoru and Chun-Li in Street Fighter: The Animated Movie). In fact, I'd even say Takahashi is more energetic. She has a slightly deeper voice than Fujitani, but I feel it'll help emphasize her character growth and make her action-y moments stand out more, later on.

The Hiruma brothers was some irony. Kihei (the older one) was played by Chou and Gohei (the brawler) was played by Wataru Takagi, who I both instantly recognized from their time together in Great Teacher Onizuka as Vice Principal Uchiyamada and Eikichi Onizuka. I was a little disappointed Takagi was regulated to such a one-off character, but I'm sure he'll add a lot of comedy to that role.
-----

Lookin' forward to how the next recruit of Team Kenshin is handled in Episode 02.
----------------------------------

Screen Caps:

1:

Hmm, no.

When I first heard that Rurouni Kenshin is going to be readapted, I didn't like it. I never like the idea of reviving classics, and this applies not just for anime but for any kind of media. Why make another adaptation of a classic that has so much nostalgic value? Unless it offers something novel or entirely new to the title, it's only going to be a pale (or worse, inferior) shadow of the original series.

And that's what I see here. Who is this show meant for? The young generation of anime viewers? Millennials who should feel nostalgic for the original series? As a millennial, I surely don't feel that way. In fact, this show made me want to go back and just rewatch the original one! The 1996 series may have its imperfections, but it was monumental when it made its debut, and people today still love that show. I still do; it has a special place in my heart and I don't think it should be readapted in any way.

And too bad, this readaptation is exactly everything I was concerned about. Sure, the production values may be better, and you can argue that Kenshin's voice actor is more appropriate for his character. But it lacks a "soul", and the production values for the original series were actually really good for its time.

This show reminds me of the new Fruits Basket series in terms of how I feel toward new adaptations. In fact, this show made me rewatch the first episode of the original series. I was at least curious at what kind of approach this adaptation is taking, and now I know. I'm not going to follow this one.

So, full disclosure, I have not seen a single episode of the original version. I liked the first episode of this well enough. There was nothing especially noteworthy yet, but it is good enough for me to keep watching. Since the original is so beloved I can only assume that this has a lot of good story/content coming up.

I'm very relieved a woman was not cast for Kenshin this time-de gozaru.
The original Japanese version never appealed to me because of that so I liked watching the dub of the 90s show-de gozaru.

Don't like the OP's verses that much; the refrain is fine and the ending song is great-de gozaru.

Everyone looks really pretty in the updated animation-de gozaru.

ACｘS wrote:

This show reminds me of the new Fruits Basket series in terms of how I feel toward new adaptations.

Good sir, the new Fruits Basket is far superior to the older one-de gozaru.

smurky turkey wrote:

Since the original is so beloved I can only assume that this has a lot of good story/content coming up.

The best stuff will be in season 2 (Kyoto Arc) and, presumably, the beginning of season 3 (Remembrance Arc). On a side note, now that I think about it, RK96 took 35 episodes to do Kyoto, which is an odd number by today's cour standards of 12-13. But by those new standards, and depending on what story elements Liden decides to lengthen or shorten, they could theoretically do Kyoto in 36-39 episodes, which would be pretty close to close to what RK96 did.

Anyway, fret not. These first few episodes will have some character introduction and world-building. But once those are established (maybe by Episode 05?), the pacing should pick up for a good stretch. RK96 had a bit of filler in its second half of season 1 (we'll call this season the "Tokyo Arc"). So I'm interested to see how they handle the material past "those guys" and leading up to the Kyoto prelude, since there won't be any filler, now.

Shoot, the Kyoto prelude material was pretty intense. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it! Assuming they get to the stopping point I think they will, that should make for a great season-ender!

Chiibi wrote:

Good sir, the new Fruits Basket is far superior to the older one-de gozaru.

I tried watching the new series. Never clicked with me.

This is just me with readaptations: unless they offer something substantially different, they usually won't get my approval. The only show that did something like that was FMA Brotherhood, and it was a contentious one for me. Still vividly remember the huge debate on which series was better on another forum: FMA 2005 or FMA Brotherhood.

ACｘS wrote:

1:

Who is this show meant for? The young generation of anime viewers? Millennials who should feel nostalgic for the original series? As a millennial, I surely don't feel that way. In fact, this show made me want to go back and just rewatch the original one!

Sounds like a win win to me. If people like you go back and watch the original, and people like me watch the remake, the studio wins either way.

#2

If you've watched the original episode, it's fun trying to spot the differences between this week's offering and what came before. It's not surprising that this episode's quality is better than what was on air decades ago, but there are stylistic differences which I liked about this week. For instance, doing panoramic shots of Meiji-era Tokyo streets shows off the period drama aspect of this series (can't call it a Meiji Romance without showing off the time period after all) as well as doing a more detailed explanation of the Boshin War victors and what happened to them after their victory is helpful for non-Japanese audiences. Getting Yamagata off his carriage to witness the final stages of the battle between Kenshin and the sabre-bearers is a plus for me; makes Yamagata less of the high-handed official he turned out to be and someone who still had the humility to speak to Kenshin on level terms.

They may have changed the VAs completely for this remake, but the voices are eerily similar to what came before. The pitch is almost identical for Yahiko, and even the uppity swordsman Ujiki sounds similar to the original casting decades ago. I don't know if this was a deliberate decision from the casting directors to recreate even the voice performances, but I'm fine with it and am interested to see how much difference there is between the cast members by the time the series concludes.

Virtually no difference between the pacing of this remake and the original, so next week and the week after is more or less set in terms of what's to come.

Another solid episode: several new characters, a bit of action and a fair amount of history to understand the setting better. I do hope the sword bearing soliders get dealt with properly though.

I think "solid" is the appropriate word for my reaction so far but I'd like to like it more. The show isn't doing anything wrong in my book but for some reason it's not kicking into a higher gear for me. My expectation is that I am going to get more into it as time goes on.

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