I’ve gotten into my liking of Rurouni Kenshin a bit on my Anime Faves page, but let’s just pretend I didn’t write that for a moment.

Rurouni Kenshin holds the proud distinction of being both my favorite anime TV series and my favorite manga I’ve read.  I think that the manga is overall better (mainly in that author/artist Nobuhiro Watsuki mostly avoided padding his series, which I can not say the TV staff at Studio Gallop managed :p ), but I believe both are absolutely amazing at what they do.  I learned a lot about Japanese history, which is quite a feat for a shonen series to do, and the character designs are awesome.  I can’t say that Watsuki dropped the ball on any of the major players – all of them are cool to watch, either in Watsuki’s penstrokes or as moving key frames.  I particularly like Kenshin, Sanosuke, Aoshi, Shishio, Sojiro, Misao, Enishi and Saito, but the main cast I didn’t mention are all well done, too.

The manga has incredible artwork to it.  Watsuki shows improvement from the beginning to the end, and by that point the linework is stunning (that’s not to say he didn’t start off well, because he most certainly did!).  To say that it’s among the finest I’ve seen in a manga would not be an understatement.  The anime holds up that torch adequately, but has unfortunate bouts with budget constrains and an alternative character designer that mucks up some of the filler/less essential episodes.  The fights with key villains like Jin-e, Aoshi, Saito and Shishio and his Juppongatana are exceptional, but there’s a drop in quality in other areas that is distinct, and it sort of throws off the pleasure of the show at times, which, to me, makes it more impressive that the show overcomes these issues and remains my favorite TV series.  While the first two arcs (especially the second, which removes nearly any sort of filler and is a great representation of the manga’s Shishio plot) are solid and well worth watching, I must make an appeal to you now, though – do not pick up the third arc of the TV series.  Watsuki was not done with the Enishi arc by the time the anime producers wanted to continue onward, so they plowed ahead with their own storylines, and it’s a trainwreck from what I understand.  I have had several Kenshin fans tell me to avoid it if I didn’t want to have the show’s awesomeness tarnished, so I haven’t, and will pass on their advice to you.

The OVA’s (known as Samurai X over here) are animation showcases, with beautifully detailed characters and luscious animation (beyond Samurai X: The Movie, which is basically an extended episode from the TV animators, and doesn’t rise much above that level of quality).  They had a high budget, and it shows.  Truth and Betrayal are the two worth watching in my opinion – it is directly from the manga, capturing the tragedy of Kenshin’s Battosai days into gut-wrenching, gorgeous motion.  Reflection is not penned by Watsuki, and he was not fully satisfied with the script, and it’s sort of obvious why if you watch it.  It is one enormous downer, with a most unpleasant ending that did not please me in the slightest.  It’s Enishi’s only screentime, though, and seeing his brief appearance really makes me yearn for someone to properly pick up the third manga arc for an anime. *sigh*  The Movie, as I mentioned, is merely an extended episode from Studio Gallop, and it’s another original script without Watsuki’s input.  Another issue with the OVA’s is that the English voice actors are all different, since Media Blasters got the rights for the TV series, but ADV picked up the OVA’s and Movie.  If you watch it in Japanese, this won’t be much of an issue, but in English, the only character who comes close to sounding like their counterpart is Kenshin (which is a good thing, considering he’s in all of these quite prominently).  Kaoru, Yahiko and Sanosuke all fail at attempting to mimic their Media Blaster actors, and the result is quite jarring.

Speaking of voiceovers, the English dub for the TV series is good, although the poor guys are saddled with awkward translations (WHY CAN’T YOU SAY KATANA?!?) or downright goofy lines, but I think that the voices themselves are solid.  I love Richard Cansino (or Hayworth, as he’s credited here)’s Kenshin – he defines that character so well.  I think Steve Blum also nailed Shishio’s wickedness.  Dorothy Slias-Fahn (Melendrez)’s Kaoru is her best role, yet I unfortunately find her a little obnoxious thanks to her other roles as Meryl in Trigun and Naru in Love Hina.  In those, she screamed more often than not, and her shrieks are not all that pleasant to listen to.  Some people can do that kind of thing, but Elias-Fahn isn’t one of them.  Thankfully, she rarely enters that frantic phase as Kaoru, and is a good suit to the character.  Lex Lang’s Sanosuke is suave, handily representing the character’s shifting emotions.  Alas, Lang has gotten a high amount of atrocious dialogue, which harms him a bit.  Philece Sampler (aka Debra Cunningham) handles Misao’s feisty behavior quite well, and manages to not be annoying in shout-mode, a handy trait when you have a character that does that a lot.  Aoshi, voiced by Terrence Stone, is cold and calculating, which is perfect.  Yahiko is voiced by Wendee Lee (as Elyse Floyd), and she is more than able to make a believable kid out of Yahiko (she also gets to utilize what I call the Faye Valentine voice with Shishio’s lover Yumi in the second arc, which suits Yumi, so excellent casting there).  Kirk Thompson’s Saito is well done, with Saito’s sarcasm and passion well represented.

Rurouni Kenshin spins around and beyond its shonen roots quite well, becoming far more dynamic, realistic (beyond all of the crazy special moves, anyway) and incredible than many of its contemporaries.  With fantastic characters, a compelling plotline, rich artistry and a great balance between action, reflection and love, Rurouni Kenshin is everything I could ask for in an anime/manga.  I heartily recommend it.