Rurouni Kenshin

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, now that you're done, CX, do you care to give your ratings on each arc like we did a few months back?

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yes, I'd like to see that myself! 

[LumRanmaYasha]

Alrighty then, I'll give it a shot.

Tokyo  - 8.5/10: Rurouni Kenshin starts off strong. Really, I thought the first few chapters were quite good, better than what most series can manage in their first volume. Then we get the Jin-ne stuff in volume two. Needless to say, I was impressed. The series wasted no time in jumping right into exploring Kenshin's character, and the Jin-ne stuff was a great first taste. The Oniwabanshu portion of the arc is probably my favorite part, though. Structure wise it's the classic character is blackmailed and held hostage by a villain and main protagonists have to rescue her, but the series makes it feel fresh all the same, and Kenshin's encounters with Hanya and Aoshi, and especially the resolution, was fantastic. After that was Raijuta...which I actually like, especially since I feel it was somewhat of a thematic set-up for Kyoto, but I can't deny Raijuta himself was disappointingly shallow which hurts it a little. The Sanosuke and Yahiko side-story arcs were fun breathers and good character building, so I liked them as well. Overall it was an excellent first arc with a nice, eclectic range of stories, and honestly, I believe Kenshin has the best beginning of any shonen manga I've read. 

Kyoto - 9.5/10: This arc is a really good illustration of a clash of ideologies. We have Kenshin, who fights for the peace of the Meiji era, and Shishio, fighting to create an empire were only the strong survive, basically implying never ending internal conflicts at the very least. I enjoyed how most of the characters showed new layers to their personalities, and even some of the villains like Anji and Sojiro showed there was more to them than met the eye.  Kenshin's struggle with his past as Hitokiri Battosai, and his eventually overcoming it, was fantastic character development and I like how it sticks in the Revenge arc. And of course lots of great moments all around like Misao and Kaoru defeating Kamagatari, Yahiko proving himself in battle, Sanosuke getting stronger to really earn Kenshin's trust in him as someone he could always rely on, Aoshi eventually realizing being the strongest wasn't what was most important, etc. All in all ti's just a really solid, well-crafted arc. I guess the only thing I was disappointed in was that I was expecting more political turmoil/public chaos than just the Great Kyoto Fire, but that's not really a problem I have with the arc than something I would have liked to see. Really, this is just a really great arc, and reason enough for people to love the series, though I like the next two arcs even more. I'll probably watch this arc in the anime sometime soon.

Remembrance - 10/10: This is, like, classic tragedy. Kenshin's whole life is shaken to the core. An idealist who believed who could use his sword for the greater good, he soon realizes the cold reality of war, and as a killer, becomes mentally scarred and corrupted. Tomoe provides him a light and she saves him from becoming someone like Shishio, but the relationship was based on pretense, and is unraveled when the harsh reality of the revolution rears his head again at him when Enishi visits. About to lose the person closest to him, Kenshin recklessly rushes to save Tomoe, and ultimately suffers tragedy when she saves his life at the cost of her own. And then he finds out the truth about her, and realizes that the only way to atone for her death is to see the rebellion through, and then never kill again. So...yeah, a classic tragedy tale,  one written so effectively it can stand on it's own without even seeing the rest of the series, and is easily one of the best character backstories in any manga. Though honestly it's only 14 chapters so I'd probably just lump it as a part of the Revenge arc if I ever were to rank my favorite manga story arcs. Which reminds me, I should really watch Trust and Betrayal as soon as I can. 

Revenge - 10/10: This arc feels like the true culmination of the entire series. Every major  character's story arc is resolved perfectly here, and Kenshin confronts the last thing he needed to face in order to stop being a rurouni - the ghosts of his past, represented by the vengeful Enishi. It might not have the scale of Kyoto, but on a character level, I found this to be the strongest arc. Kenshin can't erase his past, but he had to learn to live with it and accept it. Considering the importance one's past played in the series, with characters such as Shishio, Anji, Sojiro, Enishi, and Sanosuke among others, this is the series' main theme and it represents and deals with it flawlessly. On that level I find Kenshin as a whole the most thematically well-developed manga I've ever read aside from Monster, and really it's just a freaking entertaining series, and this arc in particular wowed the hell out of me, and has cemented the series in it's place as one of my top favorite manga.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Nice summary!

I agree with your assertions which add up to why it's my favorite shonen manga overall. Tokyo is a great starter arc, Kyoto is a great deeper arc, Remembrance is great back story, and Revenge is a great end to an already fantastic manga. Though the beginning has a slight bit of filler, it's all good, and the manga never stops rolling after that point until the ending.

[LumRanmaYasha]

So...there's a spinoff manga about Shishio coming.

Not really sure what the point of this is, since we learned everything we really needed to know about Shishio in the manga and I doubt being shown more backstory about him would in any way make him more sympathetic or a better character than he already is. I know it's going to be a short little thing to tie-in with the movie, but it seems like such a waste. A manga seeing what happened to Enishi or Soujiro after their encounters with Kenshin would be much more interesting and would have some potential to take those characters to new places, unlike Shishio, since we know how his story ends. Hell, even a manga about Saito or Aoshi and the Oniwabanshu showing what they did in the revolution would be better ideas. Oh well, I guess we'll see how this turns out.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Perhaps, but I can't really complain about more Shishio. He's one of my favorite villains.

[LumRanmaYasha]

The spinoff manga will be about how Shishio and Yumi met. It will also show how Shishio formed the Juppongatana. The series will be two chapters long, and the first chapter will be published July 4th.

Okay, that does sound pretty interesting. Should be a fun read.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

It has my interest. Let's see if Watsuki still has any good stories left in him.

[gunswordfist]

That sounds pretty cool. I'd read it.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Sounds like a good idea.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Viz will publish the first chapter of the Shishio spinoff in next week's issue of the U.S. Shonen Jump.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Nice to see that they still treat one of their best licensed manga nicely by staying on top of new material released for it, as miniscule as it may be.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Well, they did publish all of Restoration in the U.S. Jump too, so this wasn't too much of surprise to me (plus, this spinoff is only two chapters long anyway).

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Hence why I said that they are treating the license well. Most companies wouldn't bother to pay attention to minor content like this, especially for a series that is long finished and, while popular in its prime days, is nowhere near as profitable as juggernaut properties like Dragon Ball or One Piece.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Top 10 Fights:

10. Aoshi vs. Gein
9. Yahiko vs. Hyogo
8. Aoshi vs. Okina
7. Sanosuke vs. Anji
6. Saito vs. Usui
5. Kenshin vs. Enishi (both fights)
4. Kenshin vs. The Yaminobu
3. Kenshin vs. Saito (anime)
2. Kenshin/Sanosuke/Saito/Aoshi vs. Shishio
1. Kenshin vs. Soujiro

I can explain my choices:

Aoshi vs Gein was just really well done, and a great way for the former to complete his character arc, whereas his fight with Okina was a great personal struggle for him and really intense (and also really underrated). Both of his fights with Kenshin were also great, but I honestly just felt that his other two solo fights were stronger and less predictable.

Sanosuke's fight with Anji was also very personal, and Anji was also an underrated character who had a good theme going for him and that tied in with Sanosuke's. Their fight addressed that, and was also "technically" great thanks to some very clever use of strategy, the way Sanosuke blocks Anji's best attack being particularly memorable.

Yahiko gets a lot more flak than he deserves from fans just because he's a kid, but I've always liked him as a character, and no one can deny how great his fight is where he shows his leadership ability and gets several police officers to help him hold off an enemy much tougher than him and save tons of people in the process.

Saito's fight with Usui really shows more layers to his character. As someone who was on the losing side of the war leading into the Meiji Era, you would expect him to be all for Shishio's cause to overthrow the government, but Saito isn't that petty. He can adapt and accept the new era, and that's why he prevails against a guy who can't seem to get over his own personal past. Also, the fight is just so bad-ass. His fight with Kenshin, particularly in the anime, is a thing of beauty. You learn so much about each character through visuals alone, and the dialogue merely only complements the intensity of the short but memorable fight.

I'm sort of cheating with #5, but I consider both fights to be essential. Kenshin's conflict with Enishi is easily his most personal, and their first fight is brilliant in just how intense and unpredictable it is, while the second is a great capper to both of their character arcs. While I don't get quite the same emotional impact from them as I do from the fights ranked above it, I do still place it in my top 5 for a reason.

My #4 choice has more to do with story and character than the actual fight itself. The ending of this fight means so much. It is the tragedy and emotional core to Kenshin's character, and perhaps more than any other fight delivers the strongest emotional punch to my gut. It's so iconic for a damn good reason.

The battle with Shishio is a classic, plain and simple. Kenshin and three people who were formerly his enemies working together to take down a common foe only adds to that. On a "technical" level, in terms of strategy, iconic scenes, "oh shit" moments, and thematically relating to and closing the conflict of the arc, it's arguably the best in the series, and all against a villain who can't even sustain a fight for more than 15 minutes. Brilliant stuff.

Now as for my #1 choice, it's my personal favorite because it represents what the entire series is about at its core. You may feel that the fights with Shishio and Enishi are more thematically tied to the theme of the series, but I'd argue that they are more tied to Kenshin's character arc and his own personal past. However, as a whole, RK is about not just the past, but moving forward from it. Soujiro is far younger than Kenshin and of a new generation. He represents the future. Shishio has corrupted him to believe in the old ways of the past, so it falls upon Kenshin to open his eyes and teach him not to try and become a part of someone else's past, but instead to forge his own future. It's an excellent way to represent more than just the characters themselves, but the meaning of the series as a whole. Soujiro is a symbol of what the future could be, and it's up to Kenshin to not let the future be plagued and corrupted by the past. On top of that, the fight is expertly paced, contains very strong emotional moments, especially in the anime, which is so effectively enthralling and intense with some of the best use of music and cinematography that the series has to offer. That's why it's my personal favorite upon re-watching it.