First Impressions – Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023)

OP: “Hiten (飛天)” by Ayase x R-Shitei (R-指定)

Without question, this is one of the most surreal moments of my life as an anime fan and writer.  To be blogging Rurouni Kenshinreal Rurouni Kenshin – closes the circle in so many ways.  I did cover the truly execrable Okada Mari original OVA 8 or 10 years ago, and a couple chapters of the “Kinema-ban” manga.  But this – this is Rurouni Kenshin.  This is the series that, as much as any, nests at the core of my anime being.  It’s so ingrained that it’s basically part of my DNA at this point.  I can’t imagine anime or manga without RK, and I’m not even sure I’d be a fan today without it.

Of all the series that have had reboots over the years (and they’ve become quite trendy) one could argue that Rurouni Kenshin makes the most sense (along probably with FMA and Hunter X Hunter).  It’s a truly massive property, one of the most popular manga in Weekly Shounen Jump history, with an enormously big TV series and OVAs. It spawned a series of blockbuster live-action films.  Yet the anime never adapted the manga’s large and beloved final arc, “Jinchuu”, instead veering off into original and sometimes baffling directions.  It should have happened years ago, long before the reason came along to justify why it hadn’t.  But here we are now, anyway.

There are some question of where “here” is, to be sure.  Simply getting what looks like a faithful re-adaptation is itself huge, to be sure.  But in theory this is a 24-episode series – on NoitaminA no less – and if that were that it would be a disaster in the making.  I’ve been somewhere between hoping, guessing, and assuming that’s a “for now” number, and this reboot is going to go much longer with some season breaks interspersed.  Truthfully, to finally – finally – reboot Rurouni Kenshin at last and not adapt Jinchuu would be bizarre.  Not to mention skipping the manga’s (and maybe shounen’s) greatest arc in “Kyoto”.  I  mean, why even bother?

I’m not one for counting embryonic chickens – the production committee system has beaten that out of me.  But the fact that there were both Kyoto and Jinchuu Easter eggs in the first episode is certainly a good sign.  If they’re not being adapted this series is pretty damn cruel, that’s for sure.  As to the episode itself, the short answer is, “whew”.  It was good, really good.  On-point Kenshin, very faithful to the manga – more so than the 1996 premiere was.  It looked more than good enough, and the voices all clicked for me – though that’s a complicated part of this story in and of itself.

Let’s start with the OP, since the themes were such a big part of the original anime experience.  I didn’t care for this one, to be blunt.  I’m not waxing nostalgic for JUDY and MARY – it’s just that “Sobakasu” blows this out of the water.  The ED was much better.  For me the high water mark for Kenshin themes was Bonnie Pink’s “It’s Gonna Rain”, which accompanied the Kyoto Arc, but Reol’s “Kissaki” could have been one of the ’96’s EDs and not sounded out of place.  “Tactics” (Yellow Monkey) was a great ED, but this new one definitely holds its own.  As does the BGM, reminiscent of the original but not derivative.

Now, the voices.  I knew we’d be getting an all-new cast this time.  Some of the original have passed away, for starters, but it’s just been a long, long time.  It’s a big change hearing Himura voiced by Saitou Souma – because it would have been with any male seiyuu.  I can call Suzukaze Mayo’s performance in the original iconic, but that doesn’t begin to do it justice.  But Kenshin is a man, after all.  And by the end of the episode, I was vibing on Saitou’s voice just fine – he’s a good actor, and he captures the spirit of the character.  As for Kaoru, Takahashi Rie is frankly not a big departure from Fujitani Miki – which is fine.  It’s a seamless transition and I have no issues with that whatsoever.

Kenshin Himura is the heart of all this of course, as great as the supporting cast is.  For me he’s as close to a perfect protagonist as manga has ever produced.  He’s overflowing with pathos, with a phenomenal character arc.  The contrast between the demeanor of the man and what he carries inside him is one of the most powerful literary creations in manga for me.  Himura is a noble man in the best sense of the word – the man he is now is who he is, not the one he was during the war.  But he can never escape his past, and it will always be a part of him.  His hero’s journey is unique and spellbinding, and his gravitational pull exerts itself on everyone and everything else in the story.

The execution here was pretty faultless for me.  Director Yamamoto Hideyo is not what I would call an auteur but he’s extremely experienced.  And writer Kurata Hideyuki is a formidable figure both in adaptations and originals.  The implication from the premiere is that this version is going to be more faithful to the manga than the ’96 in the same way HxH 2011 was than the 1999 version.  The differences in terms of plot are fairly small (like making Kihei (Chou) Ba-faux-sai Gouhei Himura’s (Takagi Wataru) brother, as the manga did.  But the tone is quite different this time – the violence is more stark, and the interaction between Himura and Kaoru more strait-laced and less comic.

In truth, these first chapters – while great – are not the best Rurouni Kenshin has to offer.  As with most great long-running shounen (again, like Hunter X Hunter) it takes time for the series to really shift into high gear.  I think Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan 2023 adapted the very beginning about as well as it could be adapted – which is obviously a great sign for what’s to come.  Lidenfilms has been all over my radar screen for the last year, and while they haven’t always been top-shelf they’ve never whiffed, either.  They clearly know what they have here, and are serious about doing it justice.  Hopefully that means a series length that allows them to do just that.

As to the other element, no, I’m not ignoring it.  But there’s not any point in my talking about it at this stage – I’ve already done so ad nauseam.  I won’t stop anyone else from doing so in the comments, as long as they do it respectfully.  But I’m not going to let that dominate the discussion, because no one’s mind is going to be changed at this point.  That’s all I have to say on that subject – as to Rurouni Kenshin itself, I’ve been waiting for this for a long time so good luck trying to shut me up about it.

ED: “Kissaki (切っ先)” by Reol

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15 comments

  1. A

    I never understood the practice of hiding the episode count of new series. I remember last year no one knew Ao Ashi was 24 episodes up until around episode 12. And the latest Magus Bride season’s pace didn’t make a lot of sense until we found out there’s a second cour in fall. If there is indeed a continuation for kenshin after those 24 episodes, what’s the merit in keeping it a secret?

  2. A

    If i remember correctly mayo suzukaze isn’t really a seiyuu but more like a stage performer. And i only found that fact years after finishing english dubbed kenshin in animax asia

  3. A

    My favorite ending from the original anime series was Heart of Sword, but I liked all of them just fine, even the very oddly short run for Fourth Avenue Cafe. That said Sobakasu was really funky to me back in the day, since it had the heavy rock start but transitioned into a pretty different song. It was a bit strange at first, but I quickly came to be one of my favorite openings. I’m not sure I’ll get used to this new intro at all but we’ll see. As for the episode, I never actually read the manga for the first arcs, I only picked it up at the end of Kyoto/Jinchu since that’s when the anime diverged most heavily. So I don’t actually have any idea how closely this stays true or deviates, but I’m interested to see where it goes. Kenshin is not my first anime by far, but it is probably the first anime tv series I watched to completion that was not dubbed/brought over to the US when I watched it. So it definitely has some big memories for me.

  4. S

    I’m liking the upgraded visuals and am actually glad that Kenshin is voiced by a male actor (as he is an adult man compared to the usual shounen teenager) and a pretty adept one to say the least. To me, RK is one of the most unique WSJ series and one that I hold in the highest regard. I find it interesting that this airs in the same year as Vinland Saga as both series’ main character go through a similar journey physically and psychologically.

  5. RK is – like many of the best shounen IMO – very seinen-like in many respects.

  6. y

    This series was one of my all time favorite, combat scene at the end felt so badly executed, i really have to check original to see the difference, probably after all those years we just saw too much to be impressed by easily.

  7. A

    I was reading an article yesterday about the premier being lackluster. People seemed to be forgetting something. From what I saw of the early parts of the manga, 1996’s premier seemed to be a pretty faithful adaptation, barring a couple odd changes. So I don’t quite understand how they could criticize it for being too similar.

    Kenshin, to me, is a series where if you make it feel very different from the original…you are definitely doing something wrong. I haven’t gotten very far in the manga, but unless it starts diverging drastically, I would say they pretty much nailed it, not counting some odd changes.

    So criticizing something for doing exactly what it set out to do, especially when it does so in a practically flawless manner…it just makes no sense to me. Also, apparently a surprising number of peope there were totally new to Kenshin. I’m glad it got some new attention, but I am glad I came across this site, as your article is much more in line with my own thoughts after seeing the episode for myself. The changes back in ’96 were subtle in themselves, so a shift back would be equally subtle. What more do people, even long time fans, want?

    I was completely satisfied with it, personally. Rurouni Kenshin is a personal favorite, but even with this first episode of the remake, I can see what they’re trying to do and so far, I like it.

  8. Well, I assume you’re talking about the A*N piece and if so, I would say consider the source. That’s not a place to go for insightful and balanced anime criticism IMO.

  9. No prior experience with this series in either medium, so I’m just coming along for the ride.

  10. D

    I am anticipating this to be rather like the Hunter X Hunter reboot. Initially I was wary as the original HXH anime had much to recommend it, but I was eventually won over and consider the remake to be substantially superior to the original due to its consistent adaptation of the manga and excellent production standards throughout. If the Kenshin reboot follows the same process it will be fantastic.

    For those not well versed in the Kenshin manga and anime, as well as live action, I would make one recommendation; Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal (1999). A 4 part OVA (later made into a movie) this, for me, was the game changer in terms of Kenshin. The quality of the production, the character development, the storyline, all exceptional.

  11. Thanks, excellent comment. If I’m honest I’m not a fan of Trust & Betrayal (and neither is Watsuki). Whatever its charms (and it is a good production) it strays very far from the manga in both letter and spirit. But most people disagree with me and I’ve certainly come to accept that.

  12. R

    Seems like most of western fans are pretty divided about covering Kenshin or even watching it.

    I’m just glad you are focusing on Rurouni Kenshin goodness rather than beating a dead horse about it.

    Excellent premiere, takes me back when I was elementary school watching this in my local tv.

  13. When reading reactions to this ep, I can’t help think back on the reactions to the premiere of HxH 2011, and all the whining about how much better the 1999 (also directed by Furuhashi) was.

    I love most of RK 1996 but it’s not perfect. I’m just looking at this one objectively and the stuff I think it does better or worse, I’ll say so. As for the other element as I said in the post, I just don’t see anything to be gained by rehashing it here.

  14. L

    So, I was a fan of the American release of Kenshin on cartoon network’s anime block many years ago .
    I haven’t followed the various off shoots, so the reference to “other element” of the property that has been over discussed was a puzzling reference to me.
    Anyone have a pointer to a summary of the controversy?

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