Post by Lionheart on Aug 13, 2004 0:37:07 GMT -5
[glow=green,2,300]Rurouni Kenshin = The wandering Samurai[/glow]
[glow=red,2,300]At age 8 raised by Seijuro Hiko, a master swordsman who once saved him from murderous robbers, Kenshin's skills are put to the test as he decides to take side in the revolution currently raging in 19th century Japan. With his intense training in Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, this future wanderer first becomes the Hitokiri Battousai, one of the most feared assassins of the Tokugawa era. Warned by his master that killing men to salvage others would accomplish nothing except turn him into a tool for the power-hungry, Kenshin's humanity slowly suffers the same fate as his victims... until the day he meets Yukishiro Tomoe, who teaches him the value of the life of others, and his own. For multiple reasons (wich i wont post cuz it'll be a spoiler to those who havnt seen it) he becomes a wanderer as he gave up killing.
The Anime takes place 10 years later, when he met Kamiya Kaoru, an 18 year old woman. He finally found a place where he can call home... but his adventure has just started as his past comes back to confront him.
The anime series is 95 episodes (including 1 extra "lost" episode). It also contains 2 different OVA's and 1 full-length movie. The first OVA is 4 episodes long and takes place before the TV series. It is highly regarded as one of the best made anime OVAs of all time. The second OVA, Seisouhen, takes place many years after the anime TV series ended, and is 2 extra long episodes. Although the anime series is a very hefty 95 episodes, it does not cover the entire Rurouni Kenshin series as it was originated in its manga form.[/glow]
[glow=purple,2,300]Himura Kenshin was a real Samurai, maybe even the best, in the Edo era, his real name: Kawakami Genzai.
Most of the events were true and taken place between the last years of the Tokugawa era and the first of the Meiji era.
Kawakami was of the Shiranui Ryuu (he invented it himself)
According to documents, Kawakami was a man of short stature, kept his hair long, quiet, and was often mistaken for a female. In fact, something like Kenshin.
Kawakami was a supporter of the Jyoi movement, his most famous killing being that of Sakuma Shouzan, the great thinker who was the teacher of Yoshida Shoin, who in turn was the teacher of Kido Koin (Katsura Kogorou) and other Choshu shishis. Sakuma believed that in order to protect herself from foreign threat, it was essential for Japan to open up her self to Western influences and learn about all the technologies the West had to offer, so that Japan would have the ability to fight back against colonialism. Needless to say, this made him a target for radicals who believed that Japan musn't be contaminated by foreingners. Kawakami was arrested after the assassination, and was thrown into jail. He was freed after the Restoration. However, the new Meiji government, comprising of young political blood, believed in Sakuma's views and was practising the concept of 'Western Technologies, Japanese Soul'. Kawakami disagreed strongly against this, for according to Watsuki, he didn't want to see the efforts of his comrades in the Jyoi movement who had since passed away, and also those who had died under his katana, to go to waste. In fact, it was based on this spirit that the character of Himura Kenshin is designed. In the end, he became such a nuisance to the Meiji government, that he was decapitated in the 4th year of Meiji, 1871.
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[glow=red,2,300]At age 8 raised by Seijuro Hiko, a master swordsman who once saved him from murderous robbers, Kenshin's skills are put to the test as he decides to take side in the revolution currently raging in 19th century Japan. With his intense training in Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, this future wanderer first becomes the Hitokiri Battousai, one of the most feared assassins of the Tokugawa era. Warned by his master that killing men to salvage others would accomplish nothing except turn him into a tool for the power-hungry, Kenshin's humanity slowly suffers the same fate as his victims... until the day he meets Yukishiro Tomoe, who teaches him the value of the life of others, and his own. For multiple reasons (wich i wont post cuz it'll be a spoiler to those who havnt seen it) he becomes a wanderer as he gave up killing.
The Anime takes place 10 years later, when he met Kamiya Kaoru, an 18 year old woman. He finally found a place where he can call home... but his adventure has just started as his past comes back to confront him.
The anime series is 95 episodes (including 1 extra "lost" episode). It also contains 2 different OVA's and 1 full-length movie. The first OVA is 4 episodes long and takes place before the TV series. It is highly regarded as one of the best made anime OVAs of all time. The second OVA, Seisouhen, takes place many years after the anime TV series ended, and is 2 extra long episodes. Although the anime series is a very hefty 95 episodes, it does not cover the entire Rurouni Kenshin series as it was originated in its manga form.[/glow]
[glow=purple,2,300]Himura Kenshin was a real Samurai, maybe even the best, in the Edo era, his real name: Kawakami Genzai.
Most of the events were true and taken place between the last years of the Tokugawa era and the first of the Meiji era.
Kawakami was of the Shiranui Ryuu (he invented it himself)
According to documents, Kawakami was a man of short stature, kept his hair long, quiet, and was often mistaken for a female. In fact, something like Kenshin.
Kawakami was a supporter of the Jyoi movement, his most famous killing being that of Sakuma Shouzan, the great thinker who was the teacher of Yoshida Shoin, who in turn was the teacher of Kido Koin (Katsura Kogorou) and other Choshu shishis. Sakuma believed that in order to protect herself from foreign threat, it was essential for Japan to open up her self to Western influences and learn about all the technologies the West had to offer, so that Japan would have the ability to fight back against colonialism. Needless to say, this made him a target for radicals who believed that Japan musn't be contaminated by foreingners. Kawakami was arrested after the assassination, and was thrown into jail. He was freed after the Restoration. However, the new Meiji government, comprising of young political blood, believed in Sakuma's views and was practising the concept of 'Western Technologies, Japanese Soul'. Kawakami disagreed strongly against this, for according to Watsuki, he didn't want to see the efforts of his comrades in the Jyoi movement who had since passed away, and also those who had died under his katana, to go to waste. In fact, it was based on this spirit that the character of Himura Kenshin is designed. In the end, he became such a nuisance to the Meiji government, that he was decapitated in the 4th year of Meiji, 1871.
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