Series overall plot: During the 1860s, a revolution erupted in Japan between the rebel faction Ishin Shishi and the followers of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Amongst the chaos one man, known as the Hitokiri Batousai (Batoumaster manslayer), turned the tide in favor of the Ishin Shishi, bringing down the Shogunate and opening Japan's doors to the world. But after the end of the Revolution, in 1868, Batousai disappeared...
Ten years later, in Tokyo, a wanderer known as Himura Kenshin met with Kamiya Kaoru, a seventeen year old girl who ran a dojo. Kaoru didn't care about Kenshin's past, and the man once feared as the greatest assassin of the Revolution settled in. Wielding a sakabatou ("Reversed blade sword"), Kenshin had sworn not to kill ever again and make ammends for the sins he commited as a hitokiri. In the way he meets Myojin Yahiko, the son of a samurai, and Sagara Sanosuke, a former gangster. And so begins the second chapter in the life of Himura Kenshin...
DVD Chapters: This DVD contains chapters 28 to 31 in the series. In episode 28 we get to see some flashbacks of the Revolution, as Kenshin squares off for the first time with Saitou Hajime, Captain of the Third Division of the Shinsengumi (a group of samurai who patrolled the streets of Kyoto for the Shogun during the Revolution). Kenshin's sins are haunting him again, and in more ways than one; for Saitou, the lone survivor of the Shinsengumi, is back and looking for the Batousai...
Episode 29 developes Saitou's search for Kenshin, as Himura squares off with Akamatsu, an assassin used by Saitou to divert Kenshin's attention and enter the Kamiya dojo.
Episode 30 has the best fight in the entire anime series, as Kenshin reverts to his Hitokiri Batousai persona during his fight with Saitou. In this episode it's revealed Saitou's true intentions for finding and fighting Kenshin.
Finally, in episode 31 Kenshin has to make a decision that will not only affect his future, but also that of the whole nation.
The Good: This is my favorite anime series, by far. (For the uninitiated, anime stands for "Japanese animation", which spawns an entire new genre. Other better known examples include Dragon Ball Z). One of Rurouni Kenshin's strength is in the characters. All characters have an interesting background, and an interesting psychology as to why they are the way they are. Kenshin is the moral voice of the story, as he continues to make ammends for his sins in the best way he can. Yahiko had been a pickpocket when he met Kenshin and Kaoru for the first time, but he had the honor of samurai running in his blood. Sanosuke hated the Ishin Shishi for the way he was betrayed by them (that's another story told in the fisrt or second volumes of the series). Even the bad guys like Shishio had interesting reasons for doing what he was doing: a former hitokiri himself (and Kenshin's succesor as the main assassin during the Revolution), he felt the new Meiji government was too weak to compete with the rising european powers, and thus decides to overthrow the government and place instead a stronger ruler, which is himself, of course.
Another interesting note on Kenshin, specially during the Kyoto Arc which begins with this volume, is the historical background used in the story. There had been a Revolution in Japan during the 1860s won by the Ishin Shishi, and Himura's archnemesis, the Shinsengumi, trully existed. Saitou was the only survivor of that group which was nicknamed the "Wolves of Mibu" (that's where the title for this volume comes from), and did work afterwards as a policeman under the name Fujita Goro. Basically the only reference to that era that is fiction is the existence of both Kenshin and Shishio.
The music, composed by Asakura Noriyuki, is on par with the series quality. Themes like "The Last Wolf Suite", played during Kenshin and Saitou's battle, enhance the overall experience of the anime. Without its great music the series would still be ok, but perhaps not as enjoyable.
The Bad: Most of the fights would end up pretty quickly if not for all the chatter between the combatants. Kenshin in particular likes to preach a lot, and though he does deliver good messages (and his preaching can work also as psychological warfare on the opponent), the chatter extends sometimes for too long. This is not particularly evident on this volume, but on some volumes of the rest of the Kyoto Arc it can become annoying.
There aren't any real worthy features on the DVD, though one of them is interesting for those who need more knowledge in the background of the story.
Trailers: None of the trailers are RK's, but they are promos for other anime.
Liner Notes: This section is text which explains things like what Saitou's motto (Aku, Soku, Zan) means, who was Okubo Tochimichi, what were the Seinan Wars, and even what is Soba. Basically it explains things that aren't very clear in the episodes, or that need further explanation for you to understand.
Original Epilogue: This is the original epilogue in japanese of episode 31 (which in the DVD is changed to english).
Outtakes: Consists on some english voice-over bloopers.
Set up: This is where you choose which language track you want, english or japanese (I highly recommend japanese with english subtitles).
If you are a fan of anime, and haven't yet seen this series...well, what are you waiting for??? If you aren't an anime fan, perhaps it will be more difficult to like it, but still the overall story of Himura Kenshin is very interesting, and the only setback is that you will have to go through all the long chatter, as I said before (though that is a trademark of many anime series, not just this one). These aren't cartoons in the american sense, though this series was geared at younger audiences in Japan, older audiences can enjoy it too; the story in itself is not kiddie stuff, though many of the characters have their cartoonish comedic moments.
DVD Release Dates
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