Hello friend!
I have brought you a new,
extremely interesting blog post today. Happy reading!
[WARNING: This contains MAJOR spoilers]
Rurouni Kenshin, also known as
Samurai X, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro
Watsuki. It ran from April 25, 1994, to September 21, 1999 [it’s a pretty old
manga, huh.] It’s set in the eleventh year of the Meiji Restoration [1878] and
follows a former assassin known as Hitokiri Battousai [Hitokiri means
“manslayer” and Battousai means “someone who uses battoujutsu”. Battoujutsu is
a form of sword combat.] Now, this infamous assassin who’s taken countless
lives [without batting an eyelid] during the Bakumatsu [a period of intense
turmoil in Japan. The Shogunate was overthrown, and the Emperor was restored,
leading to the Meiji Restoration. The Ishin Shishi, a political party, played a
major role in overthrowing the Shogunate. Their trump card was the Battousai]
embarks on a journey after the revolution is over, vowing to never take another
life, having realised the importance and irreplaceability of a life. “Rurouni”
literally means “a wandering swordsman.” He discards his old identity, and is
now simply Himura Kenshin, an absent-minded wanderer with a sakabatou [a sword
with the blade and flat edge reversed]. Now I’m sure you’ll think that he’s
completely unrealistic, because how can one survive deadly encounters with
powerful enemies without killing them? I thought so too, but when you’re Himura
Kenshin, anything is possible, I guess. He’s my favourite character!! I’ve read
loads of manga, but Rurouni Kenshin remains my absolute and undisputed
favourite [as you go on reading, you’ll find out why.]
After he’s done with spilling the
blood of his [extremely unfortunate] enemies during the Bakumatsu, the Hitokiri
Battousai wanders through the countryside, offering aid and protection to those
who need it. He never stays in one place too long; he’s afraid someone might
recognise him by the cross-shaped scar on his face. In 1878, he ends up in
Tokyo, where he meets a young woman called Kamiya Kaoru, who is in the middle
of a fight with an excessively violent serial killer claiming to be the
Battousai [imposter!!] who is tarnishing the reputation of her swordsmanship
school [she’s just 17 years old, her father died a few months ago, but she’s
running it single-handedly. Impressive, right?]. Kenshin decides to help her
[noting that she’ll die if she confronts the imposter one more time] and
defeats the man. In the process, Kaoru discovers his true identity, but allows
him to stay at her school, noting that he is peace-loving, not cold-hearted and
brutally cynical, as his reputation implies. He accepts with mixed feelings
[hesitation, because he’s sure he’ll endanger this kind girl, and happiness,
because he’s tired of moving around.] He begins forming lifelong bonds with a
lot of people, such as Sagara Sanosuke, a 19 year old rebel and “fighting
merchant” [also a former member of the Seikihotai, an army made up of the
downtrodden]; Myoujin Yahiko, a ten year old orphan brat who is also living
with Kaoru as her sole student [she had lots of students before, but they were
chased off by the imposter]; and a doctor named Takani Megumi [she was caught
up in the opium trade. She’s very intelligent, compassionate and quick-witted,
and I really like her. Her family is quite famous among doctors; she has
studied European medicine too, you know.] However, since his wanderings have
come to a standstill, his dark, bloody past and enemies catch up to him [he
ends up making a new enemy, too. That’s Shinomori Aoshi, the head of the spy
system, the Oniwabanshu.] He also runs into a very, very bitter enemy of his,
Saitou Hajime [former captain of the Shinsengumi’s third unit. The Shinsengumi
were the elite police force employed by the Shogunate. Their strength in packs
and unique fighting style led to their nickname: “Wolves of Miburo.”] Saitou
becomes Kenshin’s unwitting ally.
After about six months of living
in the school, Kenshin learns that his successor as the Ishin Shishi’s trump
card, Shishio Makoto [a homicidal maniac who kills just for power and the heck
of it], is planning to wrest Japan from the government’s hands by attacking
Kyoto. Feeling that his friends might be targeted by Shishio’s cronies, he says
goodbye to Kaoru [only to her. The rest of them throw a tantrum when they
discover that he’s gone] and leaves for Kyoto, planning to defeat Shishio. His
friends aren’t as easy to shake off as he thought; all of them [with the
exception of Megumi, who needs to tend to her patients] follow him to Kyoto,
prepared to take on Shishio and his elite warriors, the Ten Swords. He also
finds a new friend in an adventurous sixteen-year- old girl, Makimachi Misao. The
two foes’ first meeting goes badly; Kenshin visits his old master, Hiko Seijurou,
in order to learn his fighting style’s [it’s called Hiten Mitsurugi] succession
techniques. After much trial and error [he’s really out of practice. It’s been
fifteen years since he saw his master, too], he masters both techniques and
defeats Shishio in a vicious battle; however, the only one who can destroy Shishio is Shishio himself. He
is consumed by flames due to the rise in his body temperature caused by his
severe burns; the result of a botched attempt on his life.] Oh, and in case you
were wondering, Aoshi becomes Kenshin’s strong ally [after getting all beaten
up and lectured.]
Sadly, it’s not happily ever
after for Kenshin and his friends; upon their return to Tokyo, another deadly
enemy shows up, bearing the form of a psychotic young man called Yukishiro
Enishi [he suffers from Marie Antoinette Syndrome. Here’s a huge, huge shocker:
he is Kenshin’s brother-in-law.]
He’s here after ten years to avenge his
sister’s death at the hands of the Hitokiri Battousai. At this juncture, it is
revealed that during the Bakumatsu, Kenshin had been married to a young woman
called Yukishiro Tomoe [she plays a crucial role in this arc; you’ve probably
figured this out already. Mr Watsuki often associates her with snow; she’s
frail, beautiful in an ethereal way, very pale, soft-spoken; but she also has a
lot of emotions raging in her heart, concealed by a calm exterior.] She had
initially wanted to kill him to avenge the death of her fiancé, Kiyasato, whom
Kenshin had killed, but her wounds healed over time, and she abandoned all
thought of killing him. She was truly, hopelessly in love with him. However,
she couldn’t break the chains she’d imposed on herself, and was betrayed and
captured by the group of assassins which she’d joined when she entered the plot
to kill him. Kenshin rushed to rescue her, killing her assailant [and
accidentally landing a fatal strike on her. She jumped in to save him from a
killing blow]. The eight- year- old Enishi witnessed this, and vowed to kill
the man who killed his sister. Viewing Kaoru as nothing more than a
“replacement” for Tomoe, Enishi kidnaps her and leaves behind a corpse doll [
[it bears a stunning resemblance to her. Everyone thinks she’s dead.] Aoshi
saves the day, insisting that she’s alive [which she is. Killing that hot-headed
girl is no mean task. She fights tooth and nail at times.]
Kenshin and his close-knit group
leave to rescue her; a fierce battle between the two ensues, and Enishi is
defeated, bringing the age-old feud to a dramatic close. He decides to let go
of his hatred, determining to live peacefully for his sister’s sake. He simply
disappears after that, but we catch a glimpse of him in the penultimate chapter
[he smells white plums, which have a bittersweet significance for him. That was
Tomoe’s signature scent.] Sanosuke decides to go see the world [he can’t stay
in Japan. He ran into trouble with the authorities. Trust a born rebel]. Megumi
leaves for her birthplace, Aizu. Four years later, Kenshin and Kaoru have a
cute little son called Kenji. Yahiko, who’s grown into a very strong swordsman,
inherits Kenshin’s beloved sakabatou. Happily ever after! That’s all for now.
See you next time!
Thank you! I hope you liked my
article!
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