Rating: 
Summary: It happens sometimes
Review: It's true, it does happen, a product will comeout and begin to steamroll its way to success, and more often that not it will have more to do with the fanboy culture of the fans than the show itself. As is certainly the case here. Kenshin isn't the only title out there like this and it's certainly not the worst, Dragon Ball Z fanboys are quite annoying creatures at times and even some Webcomics (namely Megatokyo) seem to acchieved succes by the same means.So how is this title exactly? Well, this is essentially a review of the first disc, the first series at most. It has nothing to do with the Kyoto Arc, I haven't seen it yet, it's going to take some courage to venture farther. I just hope that some of the more creadible I have are right about it beign a significant improvement over Wandering Samurai. Rurouni Kenshin Wandering Samurai isn't a terrible series, but at the same time it's hardly fantastic either. The likes of titles such as Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Seriel Experiments Lain, Nadesico, Utena, Excel Saga, Escaflowne and even the admittedly fantastic first OAV (Trust & Betrayl) all tower over it for both production standards, consistance of feel and direction. I hesitate to call this a story, even the general format of a new small plot per episode found in Cowboy Bebop has more direction than this does, when one gets to the end of the series there is an inevitable feeling in the air... so what? It just seems to jump from one challenge to the next with no real sense of overall direction or any significant character development. There is a little character development actually, but it's all quite predictable. The music, also, dosn't quite fit the bill. There are a couple of tunes that to work and sound quite nice, but in general it's made of cheesy guitar that just fail to fit in with the setting. Animation is also a little under par. Sure, I will promote the orriginal ending to Evangelion until I'm blue in the face, but there is one key difference. Eva 25 and 26 were substance and nothing but, they didn't need quality animation to make them great. It certainly would have helped Kenshin however, a lot of the time the fights are very formulatic and rely on still screens and simple glow effects. Sometimes they are quite well done, but other times they simply aren't. It doesn't help the series much that it feels a need to spell out its moral message to you as if you were five years old and lacking a few braincells either, I don't have much against the 'message' itself but the way it is so frequently delivered can make dialogue feel unnatural. I have been harsh, it's true. Maybe even a little unfairly. But this series has been unfairly praised far more than it has been critisized. It is fun to watch at times and occasionally does have its moments, the quality jumps around a bit and occasionally a few sparks of greatness shine. But overall, while its hardly down at the level as such titles as Guyver and Beyblades, there are also many more titles that are far more deserving of your money. I can only suggest looking into this is you have spare cash to burn on a series to watch in the background of something else. The score would be two and a half stars if there were half stars to be given also, it marks average. Not terriffic, but not appalling either.
Rating: 
Summary: In the land of justice and politics...
Review: One of the greatest animated series to come from the rising sun. Ruroni Kenshin tells the tale of the lengendary Hitokri Batousai, the greatest assassin to ever walk the earth. Now turned Ronin, masterless samurai, Kenshin roams the land in hopes to redeem himself for all the death he caused during war in fuedal Japan by protecting the innocent from rebel clans. And so begins a saga you will never forget. I HIGHLY suggest you get the entire set, it will blow you away!
Rating:
Summary: You've gotta see this!
Review: Rurouni Kenshin is one of my favorite animes, and he is definitely one of my favotre characters. It kicks ..., but he certainly doen't look like he could. There's more to this swordsman than meets the eye. He 'oro's his way through uncomfortable situations and talks politely to friend and foe alike. All in all, he is one of the greatest characters ever! And his supporting cast is great too! Buy it! You'll love it! Oro oro!
Rating: 
Summary: Low-key intro to a high-grade series
Review: There are plenty of other general summaries here on amazon.com about the story of this series in general, so I'm including more specific information in these reviews. One thing worth special note about the American AnimeWorks release of this series, is that (in my opinion) the English vocal dubbing is very well done (better than the ADV release of the theatrical film, although not better than the Trust/Betrayal OVA). This DVD features episodes ('eps') 1-4, first season. They are all critical eps, insofar as they introduce important characters and/or move the main story along. All eps are taken from stories of the original manga (Japanese graphic novels). None of the eps move the story very far. All are written quite well. There are no significant threats to Kenshin in these first episodes, although there are plenty of people who _think_ they're awesome.|G| Consequently the amazing fighting scenes you may have heard about, don't really begin on this DVD. The DVD ends with a split of a two-episode story arc, which slightly annoyed me. These episodes feature one of the better end-title song/credit sequences for the series, 'Tactics' (although the actual words, when translated, are extremely dippy.|g| This is normal for the series, btw.) The English version of the end-title song is sung by Lex Lang, the actor who plays one of the main characters (introduced in the 4th ep), which is sort of cool (if you can get past the puerile lyrics |g|). I found the opening title song, 'Freckles', to be annoying, even listening to it in Japanese.
Rating:
Summary: The beginning of Rurouni Kenshin
Review: Some people argue that watching the "Wandering Samurai" saga is worthless because its msotly filler and no action really hpapens, I disagree, the first DVD of Rurouni Kenshin doesnt reveal much about Kenshin, just introduces him and the fact that he is battousai, and Kaoru, the female lead in the series who Kenshin moves in with, they also introduce Yahiko, this little iratating brat who also ends up moving in with Kaoru and Kenshin and making fun of Kaoru, and at the very end they introduce Zanza, or Sanosuke, whom will later settle his differences with Kenshin and become a valued ally all in all this DVD is essentail if you want to start an anime DVD collection, it has humor, a little action, and a tad bit of romance I recomend that you buy the 2 Samurai X DVDs and watch them together, that way you understand why Kenshin isnt Battousai anymore
Rating:
Summary: Needs MORE Than 5 Stars !!!
Review: There is as much "junk" as there are masterpieces in the world of Japanese animation - whether you call it by its original title or by its title for the U.S. market ("SAMURAI X"), this is simply one of the finest anime series ever. Enough Said.
Rating:
Summary: That you should.
Review: When I went to Japan town (Yes it's a place. Not China town, JAPAN Town) I bought 3 DVD's all of which were highly recommended: Grave of the fireflies, Trigun vol.2 and Rourouni Kenshin vol.1. I would give all of these 5 stars but Rurouni Kenshin is by far the best. It Follows Kenshin, The legendary "Manslayer". He has a bloody past but he has vowed to never kill again. His blade is sharpened on the wrong end. Meaning he can't kill anyone with it. (well I suppose it's possible but it'd be kinda hard) Kenshin (in the dub version at least) has a very odd way of talking. It's quite humorous actually. He ends almost everything he says with, "That you should", "Yes I did", "That he will", and other 3 syllable things starting with either yes, no or, That. The animation is nothing special but it isn't by any means bad. What truly makes Rurouni Kenshin worth while are the great characters and incredibley well done fight scenes. It's hard to find a non-rated-R anime that has smooth and fast paced action. It's almost done as well as Princess mononoke. The dub is another thing that everyone should apreciate. None of the voices sound farmiliar but they're done very well. Some people might be disappointed that the opening credits theme was dubbed into english, but I apreciate it. Nothing great in the special features, Sorry. Oh, and one more thing. Don't be discouraged by the what looks like a girl oriented cover. Rurouni Kenshin should be watched by both sexes.
Rating:
Summary: Great start to a Wonderful Series
Review: In this volume of Rurouni Kenshin, we are introduced to Kenshin the Battousai, Kaoru Kamiya, the Assistant Master at the dojo, young, proud and bratty Yahiko, and Sanosuke, a fighter-for-hire. Kenshini was the deadliest assassin in the Meiji Revolution (for more information, watch the Trust and Betrayal OVAs). After he helped facilitate the revolution, Kenshin swore never to kill again, and to turn the sword into an instrument of protection, not murder. To do this he uses a "Sakaba-tou", which is literally a "Reverse-bladed katana". It is sharpened only on one side, so Kenshin cannot slay an opponent without turning it over. Its purpose is to let his opponents know that he COULD have killed them if he wanted to, so they think twice about drawing Kenshin's wrath in the future. I highly recommend this series to everyone - it contains great humour, and is easy to understand, although some scenes may disturb young children.
Rating:
Summary: Oro?
Review: Kenshin is the story of a famous samurai who worked for the imperialists during the revolution leading to the Meiji era. Now retired, Kenshin is trying to escape his bloody past and use his skills for good. This is the beginning of a great series. I have only seen the first 12 episodes or so, and it begins to get repetitive, but it's still well worth seeing. The DVD by Anime Works is nice. The subtitling of Kenshin's peculiar speech seems a little awkward but I'm not so familiar with the honorifics he uses. The menus are beautiful and the music is great. The dub is pretty good; though they did have the nerve to dub the intro and end songs, they are ok too. The liner notes and bios contain text that is too small to read. Unless it works with DVDROM or you have a zoom feature you will probably be stuck. Still this is a good series and DVD. 4 stars.
Rating:
Summary: The Begining of a Strongly Addictive Series
Review: There really isn't much to say without causing a spiolier. Kenshin is just a pretty cool series. I'm afraid to say it's better than Neon Gensis Evangelion. All I have to say is this is the best anime series ever. Better than the rest with an original setting. Don't plan on getting this unless you plan on finishing the series.
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