English Dub Season Review: Rurouni Kenshin – Kyoto Disturbance

This past year has been pretty generous with its remakes of classic and iconic anime, and this second season of Rurouni Kenshin is no exception. Following up from the first remake season, which did the expected establishing of all the characters, this season moves into possibly the best remembered arc of the series: the Kyoto Arc. Despite making new friends with Sannosuke and Yahiko and a special connection with Kaoru, Kenshin departs from his new home to Kyoto, in order to stop the sinister machinations of Makoto Shishio and his clan, which includes the Ten Swords, some of the greatest fighters in Japan. However, while there’s certainly a fair amount of action this season, don’t expect too much, as this is mainly set up for the payoff in the one that comes next. Yeah, it’s a lot to get through just for so little but if you know what’s coming next, then it should be incentive enough to keep watching. I mean I don’t remember, but that’s because I haven’t read the manga or watched the old anime since the 90’s, so my memory’s kinda blurry there. But for now, let’s examine how this first part of the Kyoto Arc did on its own merits.

The thematic heart of this season fittingly lies with the ongoing mental and moral struggle for our title character, Kenshin Himura. A former “Battosai”, or skilled swordsman, Kenshin’s past as a killer of men haunts him to the present, and despite his efforts to avoid killing, his ever approaching encounter with the Shishio Clan makes him think of breaking that vow. Along both that physical and emotional path, he finds Misao, a member of the Oniwabon, a group from last season led by a man named Aoshi, who now swears vengeance against Kenshin. That may seem like a lot of connections, but Aoshi, as well as Shishio himself, highlight the key difference between them and Kenshin in their fighting styles. While Aoshi and Shishio will sacrifice everything, even their own humanity, for the sake of revenge, while Kenshin fights for the sake of protecting those he cares about, which in turn inspires others to do the same. He’s not the only one who helps spread that spark by any means, but the highlights of this season come from when Kenshin is potentially pulled to the point where he may be forced to kill, but his sense of honor and decency keep him back from it.

 I can’t tell you how to spend your time or money, but if you want to watch this series through methods that don’t benefit this author directly, I’m sure you’ll find something. What I can say is that Rurouni Kenshin is a much beloved series for good reason, with likable characters, awesome fights, and an impactful story, which are all unfortunately stained by the fact that it is written by someone who falls well below the standard he sets for his characters. However, for the time being, there’s at least one more season of this coming that you may want to check out if you enjoyed this one, and if that one does well then maybe they’ll adapt the rest of the manga that never got animated. Until then, keep your blade at your side and stay safe on your travels.