Rurouni Kenshin

Dr. Ensatsu-ken · October 06, 2012, 06:59:13 PM

The manga's basically the best version of RK out there. It has the best elements of the TV anime and the OVAs without having any of the crap from either iterations, which is to say that it doesn't have the fillers from the anime or Reflection from the OVAs.

It tells some great story arcs and has a definitive conclusion and a satisfying wrap-up to the entire story. I'd still love to see a full-on anime adaptation of the entire manga from start to finish done the right way. I mean, I loved the Kyoto arc of the original anime and the parts of the Tokyo arc that weren't filler, but the manga deserves a much more straightforward and faithful adaptation now that its been completed for well over a decade.

gunswordfist · October 06, 2012, 07:13:02 PM

Yeah, I was thinking about how the manga could use a more accurate anime adaptation. I really enjoyed what I read.

gunswordfist · October 20, 2012, 08:35:55 PM

Read volume 3 today. Interesting differences between the manga and anime: where Kenshin first sees Aoshi, Kenshin actually fighting Han'nya at the dojo, I believe in the anime, Sano eavesdropped on the forest meeting between Kanryu and Megumi and Han'nya spotted him and chased him and Kaoru doesn't go to Kanryu's estate in the manga.

Pharass · October 27, 2012, 09:57:04 AM

I've read the manga in it's entirety, but I put the anime on-hold after the Kyoto arc was over. Is the third season worth watching? I know that the third season is it's own storyline and has nothing to do with the manga, but what I want to know is whether it can stand on it's own or not?

Dr. Ensatsu-ken · October 27, 2012, 11:37:51 AM

Nope. Unfortunately, its all just crappy filler, so its for the best that you stopped watching after the Kyoto arc, which most fans like myself like to pretend is basically the end of the TV anime and that it never continued past that point. That's not to say that the season 3 filler is necessarily god-awful, but its so damn boring and completely misses the mark about what made this series so interesting and entertaining in the first place.

The same thing happened with the OVAs, IMO, with Trust and Betrayal being a brilliant and dark representation of Kenshin's past, while Reflection was mellodramatic crap with terribly uneven pacing and all of the characters acting completely out of character. For whatever reason it seems like outside of the manga, RK just can't get itself a decent 3rd act.

gunswordfist · October 27, 2012, 03:10:13 PM

I read volume 4
- Whoa at Han-nya's face. I did not know the story behind that.
- So the anime changed where Sano fights Shikijo, huh? Also, this means that Sano never got face to face with Aoshi nor was his ass easily kicked by him in Kanryu's mansion.
-How the Oniwabanshu (sp??) helped beat Kanryu was changed in the anime.
-Forgot/didn't know Kenshin hit Aoshi twice in the neck.
-Holy shit at that whole beheading thing. Don't remember that in the anime.

Pharass · November 03, 2012, 04:30:59 PM

Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on October 27, 2012, 11:37:51 AM
Nope. Unfortunately, its all just crappy filler, so its for the best that you stopped watching after the Kyoto arc, which most fans like myself like to pretend is basically the end of the TV anime and that it never continued past that point. That's not to say that the season 3 filler is necessarily god-awful, but its so damn boring and completely misses the mark about what made this series so interesting and entertaining in the first place.

That's a shame. By the way, I'm curious; does Saito make an appearance in the third season?

Dr. Ensatsu-ken · November 03, 2012, 05:02:26 PM

Its been a long while since I've seen season 3, but I don't recall Saito ever appearing in the anime past the Kyoto arc.

Spark Of Spirit · November 03, 2012, 07:10:22 PM

Which is unfortunate since his role in the last third of the manga was pretty good.

gunswordfist · November 04, 2012, 12:03:32 AM

So, I've been wondering if the Raijuta arc was just filler AKA not going to be in the manga because the anime made that part so filmsy...well, I read volume 5 on Saturday and there goes Raijuta. Ahhh, much better. The anime had all around stupid changes. There is also one more part that I think is just anime filler but I kind of hoping I'm wrong (no, not the pirate episodes. I already know that's filler)

Dr. Ensatsu-ken · November 04, 2012, 12:13:13 AM

I think the only other filler episodes in the Tokyo arc of the anime besides the ones that you already mentioned were those one-off episodes (like Yahiko stealing Kenshin's reverse blade, and those comedic-type episodes like the one with the sumo wrestler, as well as those 2 episodes with that teacher). The problem with the anime was that it was another one of those deals where they started adapting the material when the manga was still not that far into its story-line only because it was a really popular series, and that basically lead the anime to its inevitable doom since it had no choice but to load up on filler material to keep from catching up to the manga. Its really a miracle that it even got all of the way through the Kyoto arc, in the first place, but at least on that one note it did an excellent job of adapting that arc, IMO. It didn't make that many changes and the ones that it did make were minor and hardly affected the story that much. It also didn't get bogged down by any filler and had perfect pacing. To this day its the only part of the manga that has been faithfully and properly adapted into anime form aside from the Trust and Betrayal OVAs.

gunswordfist · November 04, 2012, 08:35:55 AM

By teacher episodes you mean the one with the guy that's voiced by Steven Jay Blum that has a style called Assassin-something? Those are the episodes I was talking about. I also was wondering about the sumo and the one with Yahiko and the reverse blade.

gunswordfist · November 11, 2012, 12:16:47 AM

Read volume 6 over the last few days. Sucks how the last Raijuta fight started and ended. A sneak attack with no buildup was lame and he went out like a wimp. I did go what the hell when Kenshin said he was about to do with one arm Battojutsu though.

Don't remember bomb guy at that party in the anime. Also, interesting how Kenshin does not fight Sano in the manga. That honestly actually bugs me how fan servicey some of the changes in the manga are.

gunswordfist · November 17, 2012, 05:16:49 PM

And today I read Volume 7 which contains the story of my absolute favorite episode...episodes (Saito vs Kenshin) from the show. I enjoyed all the extra backstory in the manga. I love it when things are more fleshed out. I want to watch those episodes in Japanese to see if they did the dialogue better than the English version.

Anyway, love how fast things are moving along. I think the author said all 7 of these volumes have been published within one year. Well damn.

gunswordfist · January 31, 2013, 06:00:14 AM

I read volume 14 yesterday.

Whoa did Saito fuck up Usui. I don't remember the uncut anime version being anything like that. I thought he just nailed him to the wall.

Aoshi vs Kenshin is A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT better than I remember the anime version being. I remember that version being a huge disappointment where Kenshin threw books, was forced to draw his sword and then just beat him with one move.

Also, did they change the end of the Anji fight in the anime? I don't remember the three layers attack, just Sano passing out trying to tell Anji how wrong he is instead of doing that and beating him and then them having Anji watch over Sano. Idk

News:

Rurouni Kenshin