Rurouni Kenshin - Samurai Anime Epic

[yongbifan]

I read the manga and I liked it very much. I didn't watch the anime and Do you think its worth watching the OAVs? Thank-you.

the RK OVA Trust and Betrayal is probably the best anime movies i have ever seen definitly a must watch

[Ghaleon]

I finally watched the RK anime. I just finished the Kyoto Arc. Is it worth watching from episode 63-95?

I keep hearing how the Kyoto Arc is the best arc and that the last third of the series is "filler" material and not worth watching.

One thing that i loved about the Kyoto Arc was that the fight scenes were awesome and that there was a central plot throughout the season. I'm not a big fan of those stand-alone episodes.

[Guo Xiang]

I finally watched the RK anime. I just finished the Kyoto Arc. Is it worth watching from episode 63-95?

I keep hearing how the Kyoto Arc is the best arc and that the last third of the series is "filler" material and not worth watching.

One thing that i loved about the Kyoto Arc was that the fight scenes were awesome and that there was a central plot throughout the season. I'm not a big fan of those stand-alone episodes.

Yeah... I heard the rest of it sucks but I've watched them before and I thought they were okay. @.@; Maybe you should just watch it to get your own opinion.

[Ghaleon]

Thanks... Actually instead i just bought the manga in the new VizBig special editions. Cost me a bundle but supposedly its even better than the anime series. The last two VizBig editions should be coming out in the next 5 months. The entire manga has a total of 9 VizBig edition volumes.

[Ghaleon]

Overall, I like the manga over the anime counterpart for the following reasons:

1) The anime TV series only covers up to the Kyoto Arc. The Jinchu Arc (the final arc in the manga) is not depicted.

note: The Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal OVA does cover the beginning of the Jinchu Arc, namely the Remembrance chapters of the Jinchu Arc in the manga.

2) The TV series and the Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal OVA does a poor job showing the transition from Battosai to future Rurouni. If you watch only the OVA and TV series and don't read the manga, you won't have a good grasp of Kenshin's character. In fact, you probably will think that the OVA Kenshin is different from the TV series Kenshin. The manga does a better job bridging the gap between the ice-cold Battosai and happy cheerful Rurouni.

3) The first season of Kenshin (the Tokyo Arc) contains lot of filler that are not relevant to the overall storyline or character development. The Tokyo Arc in the manga is more shorter and compact.

However the Kyoto Arc in the anime followed the manga very closely (about 95% accurate). The Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal OVA also followed the manga pretty closely (about 80% accurate).

4) You'll have a better appreciation of the martial arts and techniques when reading the manga. It's almost like reading a wuxia comic. Every special move that Kenshin unleashes on his enemy is named.

5) When you read the manga, you get to see the (romantic) relationship between Kenshin and Kaoru naturally develop over time.

In conclusion, if you're a Kenshin fan, or if your a fan of Samurai/Wuxia Comics, you must read the Kenshin manga Now when I think back, the TV and OVA series felt very disjointed and unorganized in comparison. It's only when I read the manga that I really had a full grasp of the Kenshin universe.