So far this has been one of the most boring Summers yet, what with a lot of my friends having already moved away after graduation, and so as strange as it may sound I've been looking for things to "get in to". I had never really been a fan of anime (which is best described as Japanese Style Animation to those who didn't know), but one day while I was flipping through the stations I discovered a little anime series known as Rurouni Kenshin. This series looked somewhat interesting to me, and so I set down the remote and watched a little. After watching the episode I came to the conclusion that the episode was alright, and I decided that it wasn't anything that I would go out of my way to watch. Then after watching a couple of episodes I started looking forward to the episode every day, and then I started making absolutely sure not to miss it, and now, I'm a complete Rurouni Kenshin addict.

Background Story
Rurouni Kenshin takes place during the late 1800s in Japan. The story begins when a party is attacked by bandits, only a young boy by the name of Shinta is permitted to live. The orphan is taken in by a man named Seijiro Hiko who changes Shinta's name to Kenshin. Seijiro teaches Kenshin the deadly form of fighting known as Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu while Kenshin is in his care. Despite being a soft spoken fellow, Kenshin earns the title of the Hitokiri Battousai for his mastery as an asassin. After some tragic events Kenshin makes an oath to never kill again, and he steps down from his title and becomes a wandering samurai. This all happened ten years before the series begins.

Kenshin has still kept his oath despite the fact that he made it so long ago, he has been wandering around for ten years. When Kenshin arrives in Tokyo he decides to use his sword only to protect people, but his oath could cause problems with using his blade, and so now he uses only a reverse blade sword, this is a unique sword in that it does not slice through opponents, and the reason Kenshin uses it is so that he can still fight and stay true to his oath at the same time. Here in Tokyo Kenshin meets Kaoru Kamiya; a young woman who's Dojo has been given a bad name by a man claiming to be the mystical Battousai, and so Kenshin decides to help her out by fighting the fake Battousai. This is the start of a beautiful friendship between the two characters, and Kenshin makes more friends and lives his life in the name of justice. One thing is for certain; this is only the first of many opponents.

The Main Characters
Rurouni Kenshin features many unique and interesting characters that are introduced throughout the 90 episodes in this series. Here are a couple of the main characters.

Kenshin Himura
Kenshin is the most distinguishable character in the series; he has long red hair and an X shaped scar on his left cheek. Despite being one of the most deadliest fighters in Japan, Kenshin refuses to kill anymore because of his dark past, but he won't hesitate to defend lives with the use of his reverse blade sword. Kenshin believes in and trusts his friends with all his heart. Kenshin is widely known as the past Battousai, and only the most cocky or skilled of warriors will even challenge him to a fight. Kenshin does have a weakness however, and this is his oath, as he will often not attack his opponents with his full strength. Kenshin's love interest in the series is Kaoru Kamiya, and the love is mutual between the two characters. One thing is for certain though; Kenshin is one of the most skilled warriors in Japan, and few people are strong enough to last in a fight against him.

Sanosuke Sagara
This character is one of my favorite characters in the series. Sanosuke is the comic relief in the series, he's the guy who eats all the time and puts it on his tab but never pays for it. As a child Sanosuke (or Sano as his friends call him) was a member of the Sekihoutai group. Sanosuke had no family, and so he took the last name of the leader of his group and the man that he respected the most; Captain Sagara. Sanosuke lost everything when the Sekihoutai was attacked and he was the only one that was spared. After growing older Sanosuke lived only for revenge, that is until Kenshin beat some sense into him. Sanosuke detests the Meiji government, and now fights alongside Kenshin and the rest of their friends. For being such a brash and comic guy, Sano comes through for his friends when they really need him.

Aoshi Shinomori
Just about every character in this series seems to have a troubled past, and Aoshi is no different. Aoshi was once the leader of the respectable Oniwaban group until an unfair attack against them in which Aoshi's men died protecting him. Aoshi survived that day but it has never left his thoughts, and he plans to defeat Kenshin to prove that he is the strongest man in Japan; he thinks that this will restore the honor to the Oniwaban group. Aoshi thought so much about this that he went mad, and is now driven by rage to destroy Kenshin. Aoshi has joined forces with the new Battousai; Lord Shishio so that he can defeat Kenshin and prove to the world that he is the strongest there is. Aoshi is one of the few people who's skill is even close to that of Kenshin's.

Shishio Makoto
After Kenshin disappeared and became a wanderer, Shishio took over his role as the Hitokiri Battousai and began slaying countless people. Shishio was well known to desire power and he didn't care who he stepped on to achieve it, that is why the restoration army attempted to kill him by burning him beyond recognition, surprisingly though he survived and is now as corrupt as ever. Shishio's goal now is to overthrow the Meiji government and take over Japan. Shishio has managed to gather up a respectable amount of skilled warriors to help him in his fight. One thing is really holding Shishio back from taking over though, and this is Kenshin and friends, as Kenshin and Shishio are pretty close in terms of skill.

Kaoru Kamiya
Kaoru is the proud owner of a dojo in Tokyo, she has a short temper, but a kind and understanding heart. Kaoru teaches Yahiko the sword technique of her father, which is used only to protect people. Kaoru cooks for Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Yahiko, but Kenshin is the only one of the three who can stand her cooking, as Sanosuke and Yahiko do not hesitate to tell her how terrible it is. Kaoru's biggest fear seems to be losing Kenshin, as she worries about it far too often, and when Kenshin leaves Tokyo she follows him. It's pretty obvious that her and Kenshin are in love with each other, even if they don't say it.

Yahiko Myoujin
Yahiko is the youngest of Kenshin's friends at just 10 years old, but this doesn't make him any less useful to the series. Yahiko's parents both died, and so he had nowhere to go when he was picked up by a gang and forced to become a pickpocket. Yahiko was eventually saved from the gang by Kenshin, who then made Yahiko join Kaoru's dojo in hopes of becoming stronger. Kaoru and Yahiko have a hard time getting along sometimes, as they often fight. Yahiko dreams of becoming as strong as Kenshin, and he might just match him someday as Yahiko can fight off grown men while he's at the age of just 10.

The Series In General
I'm glad that I stumbled upon this series, as it is now my second favorite anime series. The story is very rich and fluid, and at the same time each character is interesting and brings a little story of their own to the series. One thing that I especially like about this series is the interactions between the characters and the humor associated with it.

One slightly annoying aspect of this series is that sometimes episodes will end too quickly. What I mean by this is that the episode will be too busy showing flashbacks and broadcasting the thoughts of the characters to really show much action. This isn't quite as annoying as it is in other anime series, but I would rather the story progressed than just to see what I already knew happened through flashbacks.

For those of you looking to give Kenshin a chance, I recommend watching a couple episodes from the series just to see if you like it, and if you end up enjoying it then you should definitely check out the OVAs (Original Video Animations) for the series, as they show exactly what happened before the series began, and they even show how Kenshin got the cross shaped scar. After viewing the OVAs you should check out the rest of the series, and ultimately the Samurai X movie. Keep in mind though, the OVAs are much darker and violent than the series.

Rurouni Kenshin is a series that's best watched by young adults; it's not really for kids at all. By young adults I mean people who are 14 and older, as most parents would probably not want their children watching it due to the violence and mature theme. This is really the first anime series I've been able to enjoy that isn't made for children. You should remember this though; you have to watch more than just a few episodes of this series to get into it.

Animation Quality
The series looks fairly clean on the television screen, with great character designs and backgrounds. One thing that I particularly liked about the animation is the eyes, as they convey the emotions of each character quite well, and this works better on Rurouni Kenshin than a lot of other anime series, even the really modern ones. The backgrounds are also nicely drawn with vibrant colors and soft edges on distant objects. This is one of the better looking series out there.

So When's It On?
Cartoon Network used to air Rurouni Kenshin every weekday, but recently they've changed their schedule and only air it on Saturdays at 9:30 p.m. Sadly enough, that's the only time it's on anymore.

Final Recommendation
If you are new to the anime scene then there is no place better to start than with Rurouni Kenshin. With a great plot, cool characters, and some easy on the eyes visuals I can recommend this series to people who don't even particularly want/are not interested in anime. Check it out and stick with it, you won't regret it.

Recommended: Yes

Type of Program: Cartoon or Animated
Program Quality: Thought-provoking, original material
Best Suited For: Other