There are, in general, two types of anime. The slow, deliberate, character-driven type, and the frenetic Happy-Seizure-Robots type (I suppose one could argue that there is a third type, that of the incomprehensible-to-anyone-outside-of-Japan-and-I'm-not-even-convinced-they-know-what-is-going-on-either-and-perhaps-it's-all-one-big-joke type, but let's just go with the first two). Rurouni Kenshin is more of the former type, but considering it's about a wandering samurai, there is action enough. This is a swordsman-based anime with a heart.

Set in the early years of the Meiji era in Japan (late 1800's, after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate), the story follows Himura Kenshin, the titular wandering samurai. Trained to beyond-expert level skills in swordsmanship, Kenshin had been used as an assassin during the revolution, earning him the nickname of Battosai the Manslayer. Realizing that he should instead be using his skills to help people, he takes up a reverse-blade sword and swears never to kill again. The series starts out as he meets Kaoru, the cute teacher of a wooden-sword-using sword style. After he helps her out of a jam, she invites him to stay at her dojo, despite learning of his past. Soon added to this little mix are Yahiko, the young son of a samurai and Kaoru's only student, and Sanosuke, a fighter-for-higher who has his own history with the government. These four make up the core of the show, though there are a variety of different characters who regularly show up.

What makes the show so good and well worth watching is the character development inherent within. Sure, there is action, and there is something to be said for watching Kenshin kick major ass when he needs to (and he does), but it's really about the characters. We learn about the internal struggles that Kenshin deals with between who he wants to be (the simple, peaceful wanderer) and who he occasionally has to be (the near-unstoppable killing machine) -- in fact, there is a little of a split personality issue for Kenshin throughout the entire series. But it's not just about him - we see Yahiko struggle to grow up and get stronger to live up to his family's name (and honor), we see Sanosuke try to figure out how to improve himself to reach the same level of skill that Kenshin and others exhibit, and we see Kaoru's struggle to keep Kenshin grounded in who he wants to be.

But yes, there is still action and some kickass sword fights. Fret not about that. Added to many of the fights are discussions of the different (fictional) sword styles, and why/how certain techniques work. It's rather intellectual for sword duels, really, but cool.

The progression of the show is a little interesting in how it is handled, in that the first season (of three) is all about random one-off episodes, or occasionally a two or three-parter. Sometimes completely random subjects (a wayward sumo wrestler, pirates, or a circus in town), sometimes issues from different characters' pasts coming up (another Manslayer fron the previous era wanting to test himself against Kenshin, an old friend of Sanosuke wanting his help in starting a new revolution). The 2nd season, though, is all one big story - the assassin who took over for Kenshin 10 years previously has resurfaced with aims to take over Japan and Kenshin is the only one skilled enough (or is he?!) to stop him. These first two seasons are all based upon plots from the original manga. The third season, though, is not. It's made up of various multi-episode arcs, but the feel of the show changed a bit (partly due to the not-based-on-the-comics, and partly due to the change in animation studio, though that latter isn't too noticeable). That 3rd season is a little disappointing overall, but the first two seasons are so good that it's hard to pass up watching all of it.

There is also quite an argument over whether or not to watch the show in the original Japanese with subtitles (unless, of course, you speak Japanese), or with the English dubbing. I, for one, think the dubbing is pretty good. I think most of the voices fit the characters quite well, though a few of the minor characters have odd accents (a southern American accent? Really?). Kenshin's voice is a little interesting, though. In Japanese, he's actually voiced by a woman, and he has a very formal way of speaking that doesn't translate well to English. So for the English dubbing they had to figure out a new style for him (and he's voiced by a guy). It's a little odd, but works for the character. Basically, you can't go wrong with either language.

Bottom line for the series is that it's a little slower paced than one may want out of a show focused on a kickass swordsman. But if you take the time to watch the show, you can really appreciate the overall story and the characters. It is well worth the time. And if you want an introduction, there are a few movies available (the Samurai X movie, about another example of something from Kenshin's past coming back to haunt him, Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal, a prequel to the series, showing how Kenshin became an assassin and what led to him leaving, and Samurai X: Reflection, a epilogue of sorts [though this latter has the same problem as the third season of the show…it's not based on the comics much and doesn't have the right feel to it]). There are even rumors of both a new animated series and a live-action version (which could either be really freakin' awesome, or completely suck my will to live…we'll have to wait and see).

And after re-watching the series again for purposes of this review (gosh, sometimes I just hate my job), I kinda want to go practice my sword-drawing technique.

   -- K. Burtt