(CR) Rurouni Kenshin (new TV series)

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Mad Pierrot

Sorry. I'll be more subtle

By the way. I noticed something weird about the handling of Kenshin so far. He never uses violence to defend himself like the guys who tried to arrest him in the first two episode. He only uses it when people are being in danger. I don't remember the term but it's the value of the sword he and Kaoru share. Satsujinken maybe? In case somebody remembers, Raiden from Metal Gear Rising constantly mentions this until he confesses it was all a facade. It's a common value of swordsmen apparently.

Satsujin-ken is the opposite, a blade meant to take lives. You're thinking of Katsujin-ken. It's not a concept Kenshin invented, its roots date back to Yagyu Shinkage-ryu.

[magnumcyclonex]

Sanosuke gets a proper introduction and learns about his new opponent, the famous Himura Battousai.

2 people got flicked today, one came off easy haha.

Nice cliffhanger as there's no one hit kill when it comes to fighting Zanza.

[zztop]

Seeing Kaoru freely selling off her grandpa's painting for extra cash reminds me how the Kamiya dojo's money/student attendance problems were a focal point of the manga's storyline compared to the live action movies.

Spoiler for Liveaction Kamiya dojo:

Even though the Kamiya dojo was suffering in Origins due to Kanryu and Jin'e's slander, by Kyoto Inferno Kaoru already had students back and the place was rather thriving - to the point that even she was invited to be a guest instructor at a police training facility.

[frubam]

Good.

One of the things I was hoping wouldn't happen in this adaptation is the overdramatization of moves. Stuff like leaping high into the air, and yelling on the way down while the opponent stares at them, or repeating an impact hit 3~4 times to emphasize the strike, or whatever. The show was already avoiding this in previous episodes, but this is the first opponent he hasn't beaten in 1 strike, and seems fairly competent. They DO slow it down in-between movements(as obvs, Kenshin can move fairly fast and we need to see the relative speed between him and his opponent), but the actual strikes aren't exaggerated. I do think Zanza's kicking up dust when he got knocked away was though(I mean, they were on side-river gravel ). Also, the music during the initial strike was great. Kinda hyped it up for me. Hope we get more themes like that one for future fights.

Side note: I like Kaoru's personality in this version better. Much less childish, despite her age.

[Master_Yoma]

So Sanosuke is finely here and wielding that ridiculous big sword like it was nothing

So Kenshin putting his sword to good use chopping wood when Yahiko starts swing

[grecefar]

sanosuke, the first opponent of kenshin that is not beaten in one hit.

well, after they spend all the chapter on him and his character, at least he was given that but we all know how is going to end.

[Frontier]

It's nice to see Yahiko committing to his training while Kenshin uses his sword to, of all things, break wood. Because that's totally the last thing you'd expect a samurai, let alone a manslayer, to do! Plus we've got Kaoru using her grandfather's personal artwork to make money, I guess when you're strapped for cash it's fine to use your deceased family to your advantage. Not that it improves Yahiko's opinion of Kaoru .

That's Mamiko Noto as Tae!? Wow, wasn't expecting that .

It's all well and good to promote democracy and equality for all, but if you're going to be a rowdy drunk and involve innocent people, that makes you no better than common thugs. Which makes it all the more noticeable when a real man steps up and utterly schools these bullies when they lay hands on a lady .

Taku Yashiro as Sanosuke Sagara! He comes off kind of rough and cocky, but he's got a good heart and can not only tank a punch and push your hidden weapon back into your hand but also knock you flat with one finger. Truly a man's man. Of course he acts all cool and confident but also ends up dine and dashing which kind of negates the coolness a little .

The Hiruma brothers are back? Man, the police are so ineffectual they can't even keep the villains from the first episode in jail. And now they're hiring "Zanza" to take out Kenshin. And also having the younger brother cosplay as Sanosuke for comedy purposes .

Kenshin doesn't want to fight Sanosuke, but even if Sanosuke didn't see Kenshin as a worthy opponent perfect for a real fight, Kenshin's involvement with the Imperialists is enough to make him want to take Kenshin down. Sanosuke's definitely seems to have a lot more going on with him than he appears at first glance .

I love how Kenshin and Sanosuke realized the brothers were there the whole time and planned to shoot Kenshin but put an immediate kibbosh on that plan. This is just about them, not the brothers and their latest scheme. Though it's kind of sad that Kaoru still seems to care about Kihei .

Not often you see man effectively wielding a zanbato, perfect for smashing with, though while Kenshin is faster than Sanosuke and sends him flying like he does everybody else, he's got an inhumanly sturdy body and endurance that enables him to be the first man to tank a hit from Kenshin and get back up ready to fight. This fight definitely isn't over yet !

[Mad Pierrot]

So Kenshin had another oro moment but it was an actual plot point. I'm surprised he still is intimidating though the new actor also deserves praise. About moves, Kenshin kinda has a tendency in the first chapters but it varies a bit between calm mentions or yells. In the video games he yells everything like he was Pegasus Seiya. Also, I think Sanosuke's zanbato lance like sword originates from China where it had a different name.

By the way, have you seen the previews where Kenshin and Kaoru talk. There they downright break the fourth wall and have random talks about their series.

[Magin]

Man, I'd forgotten how crazy the first encounter/battle between Kenshin and Sannosuke was.

Another thing I like here, because too many shounen shows just gloss over it: it's cool and all to be a fighter... but you still gotta eat, and in a time when the fighting-while not completely gone- is dwindling down, that can lead to some issues for those who's fighting skills are their strong points.

[Frontier]

Kenshin vs Zansa Act Two! Sanosuke can swing that Zanbato around but he lives himself too wide open for how efficient and fast Kenshin is, especially when he delivers more and more hits. That should be enough for him to go down, but this fight is just too personal for him to just give up .

So Sanosuke was part of the Sekiho Army, the civilian-enlisted vanguard of the Imperial Army, lead by none other than his namesake Sozo Sagara (Daisuke Ono!) who believed in the ideals of the revolution and bringing equality to Japan. He was an inspiration for the kids following him, especially Sanosuke. Which just made it all the more tragic what really happened .

It's one thing to basically screw over the people for following the orders YOU gave them to carry out just to save face because they proved unpopular with the farmers you have to get on the good side of...it's another thing to have them willingly surrender themselves without fuss only to end up beheaded and made an example of and write them off as criminals. The Sekiho Army didn't deserve that and I totally get why Sanosuke hates Imperialists so much .

Kihei has another gun! Make that two guns! He's dual-wielding!!! Although their mistake was thinking Kenshin can't block a bullet with his sword guard, let alone threatening Yahiko and Kaoru, because that's enough to make Kenshin and Sanosuke team-up and mess with the faces of both brothers. They won't be looking in a mirror any time soon .

Kenshin understands where Sanosuke is coming from, and he can respect that he's willing to fight and can withstand a special move that ordinarily fells anyone with one strike, but all his anger and brawling is a discredit to what Sozo Sagara stood for. It's just violence without true purpose, and worth a borken zanbato and a Kenshin punch to the face. Because while Kenshin has his fair share of sin and knows full well the corruption of the post-revolution government, he knows that all he can do is continue to fight for others and try to make the ideals of the revolution a reality to make up for the lives that were lost in the process. And Kaoru understands that .

So Sanosuke is supposed to be laid up for a while and he's just brawling and dine and dashing like nothing ever happened...though the gang can't help but poke his wounds for the heck of it. But hey, now Sanosuke respects or acknowledges Kenshin enough to want to follow him and see his example, someone close to Sozo, so it seems like we'll be seeing plenty of him moving forward. I can only imagine how big a tab he is at Tae's place at this point though .

Next up: Tomokazu Sugita is killing a bunch of people !?

[magnumcyclonex]

What an episode, and what a fight! Honestly, it went by so fast I think I need to rewatch it again, minus the interruption.

The despicable old guy had not one, not two, but three guns! Kenshin dodged the bullet and was able to subdue him after Zanza sliced the younger brother's nose.

Poor Zanza, his captain was beheaded and it was shown to all the villagers back then. He had already lost the fight but remembering his youth and being on the other side of the war reignited him. It's just that, Kenshin is just too good.

Sanosuke looks like he's 23-26, but is actually 19. So that puts him just older than Yahiko, then it's Kaoru, and then it's Kenshin who is the oldest, correct?

Next episode true evil appears.

[SeijiSensei]

My bet is Sanosuke and Kaoru are about the same age. Kenshin is probably in his twenties.

[Master_Yoma]

Just forgot just how tough Sanosuke really is taking that beating and still standing tall and Kenshin with his superhuman ability

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Kenshin is probably in his twenties.

He already said that he is 28.

[grecefar]

it was a nice fight, but kenshin is in another league but props to sanosuke to take two attacks from kenshin and he was still standing.

[zztop]

For comparison, here is the live-action version of the Kenshin vs Sanosuke fight, shot at the Kurashiki Bikan quarter in Kurashiki, Okayama.

What are your thoughts and opinions on it compared to the original?

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

My bet is Sanosuke and Kaoru are about the same age. Kenshin is probably in his twenties.

Someone on Reddit mentioned that age wise, Kenshin (28), Sano (19), Kaoru (17), and Yahiko (10). Which is funny given that in the liveactions, Sano's actor (Munetaka Aoki) is 9 years older than Kenshin's actor (Satoh Takeru).

[ChronoReverse]

I don't like the common live-action trope of the agile character using the crowd. I feel that Kenshin would stand his ground and fight rather than even slightly risk bystander injuries.

[Amarantine]

Sanosuke mini-arc was neatly done. The fight didn't boast incredible animation or anything, but it got the point across well enough, and as it was still a very one-sided affair with an obvious outcome, I can understand them not spending a lot of budget on it. The 1996 anime also took a while to give us truly visually impressive battles.

And as usual, it’s the secondary, episodic characters that get the great veteran seiyuu that someone like me who doesn’t watch as much anime anymore can recognize. Daisuke Ono as Sozo, Mariya Ise as the young Katsu, and the biggest surprise at the end: it’s none other than Tomokazu Sugita who’s taking over the juicy role of Jinei that belonged to Akio Ohtsuka in the 1996 anime. And he sounds like he’s going to have a lot of fun with it, so I can’t wait to hear more next episode. This upcoming story is arguably the peak of the overall Tokyo arc too (either that or the Megumi/Aoshi story), so hopefully they really nail it and prove they've got the chops to do Kyoto and Jinchuu justice when they get to those.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Amarantine

Sanosuke mini-arc was neatly done. The fight didn't boast incredible animation or anything, but it got the point across well enough, and as it was still a very one-sided affair with an obvious outcome, I can understand them not spending a lot of budget on it. The 1996 anime also took a while to give us truly visually impressive battles.

And as usual, it’s the secondary, episodic characters that get the great veteran seiyuu that someone like me who doesn’t watch as much anime anymore can recognize. Daisuke Ono as Sozo, Mariya Ise as the young Katsu, and the biggest surprise at the end: it’s none other than Tomokazu Sugita who’s taking over the juicy role of Jinei that belonged to Akio Ohtsuka in the 1996 anime. And he sounds like he’s going to have a lot of fun with it, so I can’t wait to hear more next episode. This upcoming story is arguably the peak of the overall Tokyo arc too (either that or the Megumi/Aoshi story), so hopefully they really nail it and prove they've got the chops to do Kyoto and Jinchuu justice when they get to those.

Ah yes, even casting prominent seiyuu as the kid VA's .

Definitely not the character I would've expected them to cast Sugita...

[ditn]

I remember this to be different than the original i watched, which one was the original one compared to the manga?