Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Disturbance

Summary

The 2023 anime adaptation of Rurouni Kenshin retells the manga's story, starting with the Tokyo arc and continuing with the Kyoto arc in a later season. The series features a new cast and updated animation.

Synopsis

The new anime series, Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan, is a faithful re-adaptation of Nobuhiro Watsuki's popular manga. The first season covers the Tokyo arc, introducing the main characters, including the wandering swordsman Kenshin Himura, and focusing on his battles and interactions with those around him. The storyline progresses to establish Kenshin's relationships with Kaoru Kamiya, Yahiko Myojin, Sanosuke Sagara, and Megumi Takani, as well as his encounters with formidable opponents like Aoshi Shinomori and Saito Hajime. The narrative progresses through a series of conflicts and challenges for Kenshin. A second season, subtitled "Kyoto Disturbance," is planned and will adapt the Kyoto arc, which promises more intense battles and deeper exploration of characters and plot points. The series is currently being streamed and dubbed on Crunchyroll.

Characters

Kenshin Himura

Age: 28 Birthday: June 20, 1849 Height: 158 cm Weight: 48 kg Kenshin Himura, also known throughout the anime as Hitokiri Battousai (Battousai the Manslayer) or Himura the Battousai is the main character of the anime series Rurouni Kenshin. His original name was Shinta (心太). His parents died of cholera when he was very young and as a result, was adopted by three slave women in a traveling slave wagon. Soon after meeting them, bandits had raided the convoy and killed his three new guardians and were about to kill him when a man named Seijuro Hiko killed the bandits. Hiko soon adopted the child and because Shinta was not a name fitted for a swordman, he renamed him Kenshin, meaning "Heart of Sword," took him under his wing and taught him the Hiten Mitsuruugi Ryu. >! However, before full completion of the sword style could be passed on to Kenshin, the Japanese Revolution had been happening at the time and right before Kenshin's eyes. Because of his kind nature and seeing people suffering, he knew he needed to do something about it. He left in the middle of his training and without his master's blessing and joined the Imperialists. It was during the Revolution where Kenshin met Tomoe, his first love and wife. (See Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal OVAs). During the revolution, Kenshin was given the nickname of Hitokiri Battousai because of his god-like speed of drawing a sword to kill the enemy instantly. >! >! After helping the Imperialist to a position where they would undoubtedly win the revolution, Kenshin left the revolution all-together with a vow to never kill again and the reverse-blade sword handed to him by Shakku-dono. It was Tomoe's death by his hands that pushed him over the edge of never to kill again. The next time Kenshin is seen is 10 years later as he has become a wanderer who helps out anyone in need who is suffering right before his eyes. Those long 10 years have taken him from Kyoto, all over Japan to where we find him in episode one of the anime, in Tokyo, still keeping his vow never to kill again. It is here where he meets Kaoru Kamiya and his whole life begins to change once again. (See Rurouni Kenshin anime). Kenshin is usually depicted as a care-free swordsman who is very aloof and tends to be a bit simple-minded when it comes to living normally. He is seen to be doing many of the chores around the dojo that he stays at with Kaoru, (i.e., cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.). He believes it is his way of repaying Kaoru with allowing him to stay at her dojo. (although it seems he has gotten attracted to kaoru in the end). However, his swordsmanship ranks among the elite as he is seen defeating every rival (with the exception of Hajime Saitou which ended in a draw). His battle senses are top-notch and he recognizes even the slightest of advantages, strategies and tactics during a sword battle. (Source: Kenshin Wikia)

Sanosuke Sagara

Age: 19 Sagara Sanosuke left home at an early age to join the Sekihō Army (Sekihō-tai), leaving behind his father (Kamishimoemon), his mother (Naname), and his younger sister (Uki) who adored him. He would return home years later to discover that his mother was dead, having died a couple of years after the birth of his younger brother, Ota, who immediately began to admire Sanosuke for his bravery and boldness. Sanosuke would also find out that his family name was now Higashidani, although he would never use it himself. His sister, after Sanosuke's disappearance and then her mother's death, became overprotective of her younger brother and father, who worked as a local merchant and farmer with the infamy of being a local fighter. Ota, after Sanosuke leaves his family again, would eventually follow his brother's advice and train at the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryū style dojo to become strong. The Sekihoutai fought for the imperial alliance at the end of the Tokugawa regime and Sanosuke admired his captain, Sagara Sōzō and took the family name Sagara from him. The Sekihō Army were on assignment to spread word of the halving of taxes proclaimed by the revolution. However, when the revolutionary government encountered financial problems, they labeled the Sekihoutai as frauds to bury their promises. This setup was engineered by Shindō Tatewaki, a former officer in the imperial alliance. The Sekihoutai were designated scapegoats and to be executed; Sanosuke was the only survivor, other than his friend Tsukioka Katsuhiro. The exact circumstances of Sōzō's death differ between the animated version and the manga; in the manga Sanosuke realized he had been killed after seeing his decapitated head on display as a warning, while in the anime a wounded Sōzō pushed Sanosuke to safety off a cliff in order to save him before dying himself. Full of anger and bitterness, Sanosuke made a living as a fighter-for-hire who bore the nickname "Zanza" derived from his weapon, the zanbatō. Sanosuke's sword, the heaviest katana ever made in the Rurouni Kenshin universe, originates from the Ōnin Struggle. Due to wear the blade no longer has an edge. Sanosuke uses the sword to smash and crush. Hiruma Kihei and Gohei hire Sanosuke to kill Himura Kenshin, but after the former assassin defeats Sanosuke and Sanosuke learns of the truth of Kenshin's no-kill approach, Sanosuke becomes a valuable ally. He later adopts a boxing-like fighting skill, known for the strength of his right fist. Because the zanbatō broke during the fight, Sanosuke no longer wields it on a regular basis, using only one more time in the manga to defend the Kamiya dojo during the Jinchu arc. At the end of the manga series, Sanosuke leaves Japan to avoid becoming wrongfully arrested and travels the world. He is not heard from until five years later during a reunion of the Kenshin-gumi, in which he tells them via a letter that he is in Mongolia and will stay there for a while before heading back to Japan. (Source: Wikipedia)

Kaoru Kamiya

Age: 17 Birthday: June 1862 Sign: Gemini Height: 155 cm Weight: 41 kg Blood Type: O Affiliations: Kamiya dojo, Kamiya Kasshinryuu The primary instructor of the Kamiya Kasshinryuu fighting style developed by her late father, Kamiya Koshijirou, Kaoru inherited a small dojo from her father after he was killed during the Seinan War and operates it by herself. Naturally, she is independent, possessive, compassionate, courageous, feisty, strong-willed, and a great fighter to boot- with only the occasional mood swing. Kaoru is also known for her cooking disliked by her friends and family and her ability to see the good in others.

Yahiko Myoujin

Yahiko is a samurai descendant. Yahiko's father died during the Battle of Ueno during the Boshin War, slain at the Keneiji Temple. His mother died of syphilis in a brothel to put food on their table not long after giving birth to her son. Yahiko was originally forced to live as a thief for the local Yakuza, who tricked him into believing that he still had to pay off the money the gangsters gave to his mother to buy medicine. With the help of Himura Kenshin and Kamiya Kaoru, he becomes an apprentice of the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryuu style. Yahiko has a friend/rival, Tsukayama Yutarou and a sweetheart, Sanjou Tsubame, who works at Akabeko.

Quick Info