Search - Rurouni Kenshin - TV Series Season One on DVD

Sword of peace

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 01/13/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Picture this: a feminine-looking, goofy swordsman who has vowed not to kill, but is secretly a lethal ex-assassin known as Battosai the Manslayer.

Yep, the title character of Nobuhiro Watsuki's "Rurouni Kenshin" is a pretty unusual lead for an action series, but then this series is really rather unusual -- a meditation on changing times, and on fighting to preserve peace and life rather than to bring death. "Rurouni Kenshin - Season One" is a brilliant combination of sword-swinging action, delightfully wacky humor and a teeny hint of romance. Okay, more than a hint.

Searching for the legendary manslayer Battosai, a young dojo owner named Kaoru assaults a sword-carrying stranger whom she assumes is the one she's searching for. Turns out his sword blade is upside-down, and he insists that he's just a wandering swordsman who won't kill anybody. Unfortunately someone using the name Battosai is disgracing Kaoru's dojo -- and they have their eyes on revenge for an old wrong.

It's only then that the mysterious Kenshin shows what he's really capable of, and who he really is -- the true Battosai. Kaoru asks him to stay on, and they're soon joined by Yahiko and Sanosuke, a teenage ex-pickpocket and a young "fight merchant."

Among the other problems: a corrupt assassin who is murdering officials, corrupt police, a bogus faith healer, a sumo wrestler being bullied by his peers, a teacher being forced to take up his sword again, a band of treacherous pirates who capture Kenshin, train robberies, circus sabotage, an old friend of Sano's who is bent on vengance, and a fanatical swordsman who wants to make a warrior kingdom. On the grimmest note, they clash with an amoral businessman who is forcing a young doctor to create a super-potent opium... and has hired the Oniwaban Group (ninjas) to enforce his will.

Based on Nobuhiro Watsuki's manga, "Rurouni Kenshin" has become a classic for its story about overcoming the past, fighting for the sake of peace, and for the setting of the early Meiji era -- when Japan awkwardly leapt forward technologically and socially. But on a less epic scale, it's about one young man with a terrible and bloody past, who is now atoning for his past deeds by using his sword to protect instead of to destroy.

The first season starts off fairly light-hearted, but gradually gains some darker shadings (the whole opium subplot) and explores the sociopolitical corruption and strife of all these sweeping changes (Sanosuke's tragic captain Sagara). And obviously any series with a swordsman is going to have some action, and these scenes deliver a whirlwind of sword blows and superhuman leaps, which can do anything from smashing an opponent's arm to hammering a crowd of people to the ground.

But there's also plenty of comic relief in here, usually supplied by Kaoru's short fuse (and her perpetual spats with Yahiko and Sano), and Kenshin's sheepish space-cadet attitude and tendency to get in trouble by doing the right thing.

Kenshin is a lovable, rather odd hero -- he's goofy, spacey, eager to please and polite to a fault, with rumpled red hair and threadbare clothes. But when he fights seriously, he gets creepy empty eyes. Kaoru is blunt and strong-willed but also quite kind, while Yahiko is a sharp-tongued, good-hearted kid. And Sanosuke makes a good addition to round out the cast -- he's got a tragic past as part of the unjustly-maligned Sekihotai "false army," but with Kenshin's influence he begins to move on.

The first season of "Rurouni Kenshin" is a mixture of more lighthearted filler and darker, bloodier arcs from Nobuhiro Watsuki's manga. A brilliant classic anime."