(CR) Rurouni Kenshin (new TV series)

[shmaster]

Originally Posted by Mad Pierrot

The additional cast includes:

*Ryotaro Okiayu as Hannya
*Hiroyuki Yoshino as Beshimi
*Fukushi Ochiai as Hyottoko
*Tetsu Inada as Shikijō

Okiayu is the only one I know. I think he voiced Gemini Saga/Kanon from Saint Seiya and Zero from Mega Man

I have to make a guess you don't watch Gundam in general?
Trieze, Harry, Hallelujah.

[Guardian Enzo]

Those are all big names, not surprisingly. Yoshino would not have been my choice, but the others are all fine.

Considering how many seiyuu worked on the original anime and presumably all have an “X” through their name, they may start running out of options if they get to Jinchuu.

[Amarantine]

There's also a new PV for the Oniwabanshu arc previewing the newly announced voices:

YouTube

https://youtu.be/UxypFcHDTkY

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Hannya was not the character I would have expected for Okiayu, but it's nice to have him in this regardless and I'm sure he'll do a great job as always.

[Frontier]

Jine might've had a point about how a Hitokiri will live and die as a Hitokiri...but Kenshin is going to do his utmost to leave that part of his life behind and live earnestly as a Rurouni, with Kaour and the gang by his side .

Kaoru seems a little too into the idea of Kenshin as her dog .

"Beauty on the Run" is pretty self-explanatory with an obvious beauty on the run from some thugs. And she's voiced by Saori Onishi, which just makes her even more appealing !

What better ways for bros to hang out and lighten the mood after a serious arc than go gambling? All the better because Kenshin makes it a guarantee success, and it's not like he can complain about the legality with him lugging a sword around. Also, dice waifu !

Although Sanosuke finding out about his buddy dying of opium addiction kills the mood, even moreso when Megumi runs in and throws herself at Kenshin and gets the pair embroiled in some trouble. She's not quite a damsel in distress though, even if she plays to the part well, being much more cunning and self-centered and downright sassy than she looks at first glance. And she's definitely involved in the opium problem and how it relates to Kanryu .

Hiroyuki Yoshino as Beshimi! He and his deadly drill bits that move in the blink of an eye are quite dangerous, but Megumi lucked out with Kenshin's reflexes, and then he and Sano gang up on him. But this just the beginning of a whole host of problems .

What an emotional whiplash of Kaoru debating in her head whether she wants to see Kenshin down to his fundonshi (her blush says yes) only to find him bringing home another woman who is all over him and insults her home. Then everyone just rubs it in her face. Can't really blame the girl for kicking them out .

They're not just dealing with some dangerous rich guy who even hardened criminals leave alone, they also have to tangle with a special ninja squad lead by none other than Aoshi, someone who could immediately recognize Kenshin even in a crowd and looks like he can back up that intense glare. And here I am just finding it so surreal to hear Yuma Uchida as Aoshi, of all characters .

Well, at least Kaoru is getting some positive reinforcement and headpats so she doesn't think Kenshin is ditching her for Megumi .

Megumi might come off callous and only in it for her own protection, but watching Team Kenshin bicker like a true family seems to remind her of her own .

The Oniwaban attack! Courtesy of a giant voiced by Fukushi Ochiai !

[grecefar]

The oniwabanshu, that did spark a little memory there in my head. I remember shinomori too.

[Kanon]

I think the character designer completely messed up with Megumi. She looks like a random NPC.

Other than that, it was good. I can certainly take a story about stopping opium from being sold more seriously than one about selling weed (Spy Classroom, which I watched just before).

[GDB]

The only thing I remember about this arc are striped sleeves.

[FlareKnight]

Kaoru has really decided to max out her cuteness after the whole Jine incident. It does make sense of course. She did have to power of love her way out of that situation to keep Kenshin from going across a line he couldn't come back across. So she's especially uneasy right now regarding any absence he takes, him getting close to other girls, and being weak to declarations that she will be protected. If nothing else though she's definitely a treat to watch right now.

Megumi is pretty shady and quite cocky for someone that just plain lucked into running into Kenshin and Sano. What naive strategy to think she can sneak off during the fighting and get away. No idea why she is considered so valuable, but there's no chance she can get away without others cleaning up this situation for her.

Despite what she said, I'd presume this situation is all about the drugs. I'm not sure how, but clearly she's essential here.

[Master_Yoma]

So from gambling to opium Kenshin having a full life hanging around Sanosuke

[Mad Pierrot]

They keep trying to tone down the comedy but they couldn't get away with a bit of slapstick. In the original series it was way more overthetop. I think this episode adapted 3 chapters though action chapters tend to be shorter. Hyotokko's (big guy at the end) design seems kinda different from the original too.

[Amarantine]

I was wondering who would replace the great Nobuo Tobita as Kanryuu. Mitsuaki Madono is a great choice, spot-on casting there.

Originally Posted by Kanon

I think the character designer completely messed up with Megumi. She looks like a random NPC.

I felt this episode as a whole had weaker art work than the rest, in particular when it came to the new characters. It wasn't just Megumi, Kanryuu and Aoshi looked kinda off in some shots too IMO. Hopefully this will be improved in the coming episodes.

[Mad Pierrot]

Originally Posted by Amarantine

I felt this episode as a whole had weaker art work than the rest, in particular when it came to the new characters. It wasn't just Megumi, Kanryuu and Aoshi looked kinda off in some shots too IMO. Hopefully this will be improved in the coming episodes.

I found it something like this in general when characters are drawn from a far distance rather than directly. Like if they lose the bishonen appeal from the normal designs

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Mad Pierrot

They keep trying to tone down the comedy but they couldn't get away with a bit of slapstick. In the original series it was way more overthetop.

You mean something like this from the same scene in this episode?

YouTube

https://youtu.be/KtaUrgGBg9k

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Not gonna lie, I do miss the slapstick sometimes

[zztop]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I think the character designer completely messed up with Megumi. She looks like a random NPC.

Someone on another forum commented that Megumi's new design doesn't quite capture the "fox-faced" aspect of the 90s design.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/ke...20121007230118

Even they felt live-action Megumi (played by Aoi Yuu) got the fox-face better.
https://vendyxiao.com/wp-content/upl...ani_megumi.png

Although they did think her new voice is spot on!

Originally Posted by Amarantine

I was wondering who would replace the great Nobuo Tobita as Kanryuu. Mitsuaki Madono is a great choice, spot-on casting there.

What about Teruyuki Kagawa as Kanryu? Comparing Mitsuaki's voice here leans more towards slimy upper-class, Teruyuki's came across as more uncouth robber baron. And those platform shoes too!
https://pics.filmaffinity.com/Ruroun...1259-large.jpg

[Alchemist007]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

Not gonna lie, I do miss the slapstick sometimes

Bug eyed worrywart Kaoru was pretty good.

[Frontier]

It's Hyottoko of the Oniwaban Group! A giant colossus of a man! A perfect choice for Sanosuke to fight off! Except it turns from a brawl into trying to survive the fierce flames Hyottoko can spew from his mouth .

Of course we have Kenshin being Kenshin, he can even slice through flames, which is awesome enough on it's own...but Sano isn't about to be undone, so he straight up punches through the flames like the brawler he is. And if his arm is too burned to function? He'll just kick Hyottoko into unconsciousness. Nice to see both of our leading men get to show off and to give Sanosuke a win .

Megumi's about to bail when she sees how serious it's getting but Kaoru isn't about to let her leave when she's the reason they got into this mess, fully believing in Kenshin and Sanosuke's ability to overcome even the toughest opponents. That's our Kaoru !

Beshimi you ungrateful little worm! It's bad enough he aims for Megumi and Yahiko takes the hit, doubly so when it turns out the screw was poisoned, but he just had to go and glaot about it...and leave him completely open for Kenshin to attack. No wonder he's the lowest in the Oniwaban Group .

Han'nya! Not only does the dude have a really cool look and the soothing voice of Ryotaro Okiayu, but he can also block Kenshin's hits and even send him back with Kenpo. Not that he got out of it completely unscathed .

Megumi seems like a completely different person when it comes to giving someone proper medical care, which is exactly what they need with Yahiko poisoned. I love Kaoru just shaking a weakened Yahiko in joy when the poor kid needs bed rest .

The dojo's resident doctor and Kenshin recognizing Megumi's from Aizu fill in the blanks of Megumi's backstory. Coming from a long line of family doctors who didn't distinguish between class or gender when it came to practicing or distributing medicine, basically the ideal of all doctors, even to the point of learning Western medicine. But it all came apart when the Battle of Aizu lead to her losing her entire family. Yet another character who suffered from wartime Japan .

It gets even worse. Megumi then tried to follow in her family's footsteps by working with a doctor, but wouldn't you know it, he was making drugs for Kanryu, and he got too greedy and Kanryu killed him, leaving Megumi their only source for making the special drugs that the doctor came up with. So Megumi trying to live by her family's ideals and help people, hoping that it would someday reunite her with the rest of her family, was forced to make drugs that ruined peoples' lives. Is it any wonder she's so cynical ?

But Kenshin, charmer that he is, makes Megumi realize she's just a victim in all this, and Kaoru recognizes this too. Of course Kaoru will let Megumi stay there for her safety...provided she doesn't make the moves on Kenshin. Seeing how much Megumi was blushing around him, I don't blame her .

Looks like Aoshi has figured out they're dealing with none other than Battosai .

The British! Kanryu's dealings with the West. So much engrish .

[zztop]

I recall the old moustached doctor treating Yahiko being more prominent in the 90s anime. He was named Gensai, had 2 little granddaughters, and they were regular visitors to the Kamiya dojo. Was this from the manga as well?

Also, was the English quality here intentional or unintentional? It reminds me of an older anime series, Terror in Resonance, where one antagonist character, Five (voice by Han Megumi) was supposed to be a US intelligence agent raised there for many years. However it was clear the Japanese voice actress' English skill was less developed than what the written role called for; I remember some anime watchers getting a laugh of what was meant to be a serious English conversation.

[grecefar]

that engrish was funny thought.

yahiko was a hero and thanks to that we got megumi backstory.

[magnumcyclonex]

Good show of skills by both guys against the low level fire breather, but interesting that the masked person who recovered the two others also suffered injuries from Kenshin.

Megumi had a tough life and just seemingly cannot run away as Kenshin never changed topics lol. She did provide instructions to the old doctor to make "western" medicine, so it looks like Yahiko will do alright. She will however get kicked out if she ever makes a move on "Ken-san"

What can money buy? Apparently a lot of weapons. I'm thinking some type of long range gun since pistols/handguns already exist. And the English probably was really that bad back then, so what we heard was perhaps a relatively accurate portrayal.

[Kanon]

I wish they had subtitled the Engrish scene because I couldn't understand half of what they said. Not that I think it was important.