"Hitokiri Battōsai... Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū"
A young woman named Kamiya Kaoru mistakes Kenshin for a murderer known as "Hitokiri Battōsai". However, when she notices Kenshin's reverse-bladed sword, or sakabatō, she comes to the conclusion that he could not be the murderer. Kenshin saves her from certain death in battle against the real murderer, who claims to be a practitioner of Kamiya Kasshin Ryū, Kaoru's own style, while using the name "Hitokiri Battōsai". Kenshin takes her back to her dojo and Kaoru tells him of recent events while a man named Hiruma Kihei patches up her arm. Later, it turns out that Kihei and the murderer, whose real name is Hiruma Gohei, were working together to compel Kaoru to sell the dojo. The brothers Hiruma take Kaoru hostage and send their henchmen to attack Kenshin, who takes them all on with his superior speed and sword skill. Before destroying Kaoru's dojo floor with Gohei's face, Kenshin tells everyone that "Hitokiri Battosai" doesn't use Kamiya Kasshin Ryū, but an ancient style of the Sengoku era that pits one against many: Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū. If not for such a sword, the body count would increase tenfold" (Watsuki 46). Thus having revealed his identity, Kenshin makes ready to leave -- until Kaoru asks for his name and for him to stay.
Himura Kenshin is an ex-hitokiri with the title "Hitokiri Battōsai. During the story Kenshin wanders around Japan to help those in need in order to atone for the murders he committed during the Bakumatsu. When he arrives in Tokyo, Kenshin meets a young woman named Kamiya Kaoru who invites him to live in her dojo despite finding out that Kenshin is a hitokiri. Significant instances transpire from that point, and Kenshin establishes lifelong relationships with many people, including ex-enemies.
Kaoru is the teacher from a kendo school from Tokyo called Kamiya Kasshin-Ryū. The school starts to lose all its students when a thief from the city starts killing a large number of people and claims to be the "Hitokiri Battōsai from the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryū". Kaoru encounters him but before being killed by him she is saved by the real Hitokiri Battōsai, now a wanderer, Himura Kenshin, to whom she offers to stay in her dojo.
Sanosuke is a former member of the Sekihotai who becomes a fighter-for-hire after its destruction. During his introduction he encounters Kenshin, who defeats him easily and makes him note he was just fighting to delete his anger. Since that moment, Sanosuke becomes a friend of Kenshin and also his partner.
Yahiko is an orphan from a samurai family and works as a thief to live. When he meets Kenshin, he decides to quit and becomes a student from the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryū wishing to become as strong as Kenshin. As the series progressess, Yahiko becomes skilled at the swordmanship and comes to face many opponents.
Megumi is a woman who lost her family during the Boshin Wars. She created a advanced version of the opium and due to it, she started working to industrialist called Takeda Kanryū to produce more. When Kanryū is arrested, Megumi becomes a doctor and a friend of Kenshin.
Misao is an Oniwabanshu that lived with Shinomori Aoshi during her childhood. Misao appears in the story after Kenshin goes to Kyoto alone. She finds out that Kenshin met Aoshi and stays with him to know about the development of Aoshi.
In 1994, Watsuki created an ongoing version that was published in Shonen Jump until its conclusion in 1999. The manga consists of 28 tankōbon volumes which sold over 47 million copies in Japan as of 2007.[3] The storyline of Kenshin is divided into three storyline arcs: Tokyo, Kyoto, and the Jinchū . The Jinchū arc (also known as the "Ending Arc", "Revenge Arc", and sometimes spelled "Jinchuu Arc") was not animated, except for the parts about Kenshin's background which formed the release of one of the OVAs.
The Jinchū arc contains a large amount of Kenshin's backstory including the meeting of his first wife, Yukishiro Tomoe, and the events that resulted in his infamous cross-shaped scar. The story arc is primarily focused on characters from Kenshin's years spent as the "Hitokiri Battōsai", who seek revenge against him for his past actions. The Jinchū arc also has a stronger romantic theme to it.
In July of 2006, the Japanese publishers of Rurouni Kenshin released the kanzenban edition. Each kanzenban volume features a new cover, and there is a color panel inside the book that is new art as well. The kanzenban is slated to run 22 volumes (as opposed to the original 28 tankōbon each book will contain more chapters than the basic editions), with two coming out monthly. As a bonus, the kanzenban will include Yahiko no Sakabatō, an extra story that ran in Weekly Shonen Jump but was never collected into a book in Japan.
The television series was split into three approximate seasons, with the first 27 episodes generally following the Tokyo Arc, episodes 28-62 closely following the Kyoto Arc, and episodes 63-95 being "filler" non-manga based episodes designed so that Watsuki could have more time to finish the Jinchuu plot so it could be animated. The anime series slid from high popularity (after the Kyoto Arc because of all the "filler" episodes) to eventual cancellation before the Jinchū/Revenge Arc could be animated. The anime series began airing on Japan's Fuji TV on January 10, 1996 and ended on September 8, 1998. It was produced by Aniplex (formerly SPE Visual Works) and Fuji TV, and was animated from episode 1 to 70 by Studio Gallop, whereas the episodes from 70 onwards were animated by Studio Deen. The TV series was later licensed in North America by Media Blasters.
The animated series enjoys immense popularity worldwide, and although designed primarily for young male fans, its detailed exploration of emotion and relationships attracts many young female followers as well.
The series also has a movie called Samurai X The Motion Picture, known in Japan as Ishin Shishi he no Requiem [25] which tells a story where Kenshin meets a samurai who was very close to a man Battosai murdered in the war. The samurai is trying to start a revolution to overthrow the Meiji government.
In 2000, it was followed up by Yahiko no Sakabatō, which Viz released in the September 2006 edition of Shonen Jump. The story follows the character of Myojin Yahiko, who reluctantly accepts an assignment to teach at the Kamiya Kasshin Shintō style dojo. At the dojo, Yahiko finds that Kikuhara Midori, the daughter of the dojo's master, and three students are being held hostage by a criminal, Mutō Kaname, and his followers. Yahiko quickly defeats Mutō and a police officer, Lieutenant Kitaki, who attacks Mutō with the blind belief that all criminals must be executed for the sake of the Meiji era. Yahiko returns to the students and subjects them to harsh training for the rest of his duration at the dojo.
He returns to Tokyo at the end of the month and then takes off to the Akabeko restaurant to visit Sanjō Tsubame, not knowing the whole trip was planned by Kenshin for Yahiko to become stronger.[26]
Kenshin Kaden is an encyclopedia that includes the story Haru ni Sakura, which details the fates of all of the Rurouni Kenshin characters. Haru ni Sakura is six pages long and in full color. The story takes place years after the manga's conclusion, when Kenshin and Kaoru have married and have a young son, Kenji. Many of the series' major characters who have befriended Kenshin reunite (or otherwise reveal their current whereabouts) with him in a spring picnic.
The Rurouni Kenshin novels were originally from Shueisha's Jump j-Books. They were written by Kaoru Shizuka. Most of them are original stories and was later adapted in the anime. Others are adaptations of manga and anime stories. Only Volume 1 has been translated into English so far.
The OVA series, which features a number of historical characters, attempts to be more realistic and accurate than the TV series. The OVA made use of live footage spliced with animation cells giving the series a different feel than straight animation. Both OVAs were re-released internationally in "Director's Cut" forms that spliced the separate "episodes" together into continuous movies, as well as adding some extra footage. The order of musical cues in both director's cut OVAs were significantly lessened and altered, although the tracks themselves were not altered or omitted.
The first OVA series, Samurai X: Trust and Samurai X: Betrayal, collectively known in Japan as Tsuiokuhen and later edited into a movie as Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal -Director's Cut, was set during the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate and telling of Kenshin's childhood. Only a few characters from the TV series appear in this OVA. The OVA mainly depicts the life of Kenshin as Battōsai and his time with his first wife, Tomoe.
The second OVA series Samurai X: Reflection, known in Japan as Seisōhen[27] and later edited into a movie as Samurai X: Reflection -Director's Cut. It was set both during and after the timeline of the series and tells of Kenshin and Kaoru's later years, much of which is not derived from the manga. It also differs from the manga on some points, such as details in regard to the Jin-e and Enishi fights. The OVA is best described as a montage of singular events surrounding the life of Kenshin, told from the point of view of Kaoru.
The sakabatō ( lit. "reverse-blade sword") is Kenshin's main weapon. It was created by Watsuki as an original weapon that represents Kenshin's unwillingness to kill.
On a normal katana, the outwardly curved side of the sword is sharp, while the inwardly curved side of the sword (棟, mune) is blunt. In contrast, the sakabatō has the cutting edge on the inwardly curved side of the sword.[28] The sakabatō is able to break other katana while fencing because the outward side is blunt, so the edge is more bold and it could damage the sharp edge sword.
There is no record of reverse-bladed katana ever having been used historically in Japan and there is no existing school of swordsmanship that employs them. However, since the manga was published, non-functional[29] and functional[30] sakabatō have been produced for purchase by collectors and fans.
Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū (lit. "Flying Heaven Honorable Sword Style"), also referred to in the series as "Ultrasonic Sword Style", is a fictional ancient sword style that is said to pit one against many. It is a sword art that is passed from master to apprentice, its masters inheriting the name of Hiko Seijūrō. It is stated that the sword style was created in the Sengoku period of Japan's history.[4]
The philosophy of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū is that a practitioner must protect those around him; he may use that lethal force for the protection of the people. When a student of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū understands this, he is ready to complete his training.[31]
Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū's principles are based on utilizing godlike speed and precision to deal powerful blows that usually bring down foes with one shot. The swordsman must also be able to read techniques at an amazing pace as well as interpret emotions as a form of clairvoyance in order to accurately predict what an opponent will do. Combining those two elements with the speed and the precision allows Kenshin and Hiko to subdue opponents before they even act.[4]
The one drawback to the style on a whole is that it is a physically demanding style, only a person of peak athletic ability is able to maintain it. Thus a wide-framed muscular build like that of Hiko Seijūrō is more suited to Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū compared to Kenshin's slender build.[32]
A running gag in the manga with Kenshin upon first meetings is many people often think he is much younger than he really is. After seeing that Hiko also looks younger than his true age, Yahiko and Misao believe that the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū is what causes both Kenshin and Hiko to stay young.[31]