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Rurouni Kenshin - Legendary Swordsman, Vol. 1

Rurouni Kenshin - Legendary Swordsman, Vol. 1

List Price: $29.95
Your Price: $26.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The greatest show ever. Period.
Review: This is my favorite TV series, not just anime series but series PERIOD! It has a deep passionate story, a lovable hero trying to redeem himself for his dark past, the beautiful history of Japan, stirring music and enough emotion to bring me to tears. One note though--after about the first 10 episodes it gets very silly and random, then gets more intense around epsiode 28, so dont lose patience, hold out for the Kyoto arc! The episodes based on the manga by Watsuki Nobuhiro (genius! ) are the best! ^_^

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is for the serries
Review: I said it in the title this review is for the all of the episodes the show is great but is has som bad points and parts that just seem to drag on. but the show is awsome and the charters are good.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A decent start to a superb series
Review: (Very Neo-esque) Whoa. This is the first time I've seen any episodes of "Rurouni Kenshin," and I must say, I'm really impressed. Great story, great animation, great voices (well, save for the dub actors), yadda yadda yadda...

New to Kenshin? Boy, have you been missing out on something incredible. This anime is a *seemingly* light-hearted comedy, but soon turns to be very deep and emotional (*cough* OVA *cough*). The story is based on a fictional account which just adds even more "coolness" to it. "Hitokiri Battousai" lived in the Tokugawa regime. He was an assassin for a group of idealists that wanted to created a new world where everyone could be free. The Battousai did that job, but at the end of the war, he mysteriously leaves his life to become a Rurouni (a wanderer). Fast-forward ten years: it is now the Meiji Era. Swords have been banned. In Tokyo, a wandering samurai bumps into Kaoru. And from there it's all history.

To start off, the animation is gorgeous. The battle scenes are very different from DragonBall Z. In DragonBall Z, you can see most punches and kicks and blasts directed at each other and you can see them getting beat up and stuff. But, in Rurouni Kenshin, it's usually just one frame that slowly zooms out, while you see slashes being... uh, *slashed* at the bad guys. It's completely different from a lot of other animes, but is incredible, nonetheless.

The music is marvelous. It has the original Japanese music and sound effects. The dub voices are so-so, but I have a few problems with the dialogue. An important part of Kenshin's character is that he says things like "Oro?" which roughly translates into "Huh?" Also, if he were to say "The man is strong," he would say it as "The man is strong, he is." In the English dub, they would just cut out the "he is" part, which is vital to Kenshin's character, in my opinion. (But, maybe the subtitler just got Kenshin's lines wrong...)

That was the actual content's review, and here's the DVD part. In the original (when it was played on television), the animation was made for commercial breaks. Of course, that's gonna create some problems for the home video. Whenever the video fades out for the intended commercial, the screen stays black for a few seconds. However, the black flickers back and forth between black and grey, which is very annoying. The extras are un-needed. They include trailers, the original Japanese closing, a textless version of the introduction, liner notes, art gallery, and character profiles. Sounds pretty nice, huh? Well, seeing as how the art gallery has two (yes, you heard me, two!!) pictures, and the character profiles only having four biographies, it's not too much. Well, you really shouldn't be expecting anything like deleted scenes like in regular movies, so I can't see this as a disappointment.

Setup? The versions are pretty much like "DragonBall," with English voices, Japanese voices, and Japanese voices with English subtitles. Oh, which reminds me: the subtitles work very well.

Ah, great subtitles. Most companies merely put the standard yellow subs that can sometimes be hard to read, but AnimeWorks put in the new white ones with a black border. Much easier to read.

All in all, this is a decent start to a great anime. The episodes are mainly "filler" until the Kyoto Saga comes on. And boy, you'll be glad you took the time to understand the characters. The DVD is definitely worth buying, and I highly recommend it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Miracle Begins (by Joey L. Abdullah)
Review: I first watched rurouni kenshin on cartoon network,I liked it,than I watched it on VHS...I loved it,BUT anyone who wants to watch this sould first watch'Samurai X',which tells the story of kenshin when he was evil.I liked this story so I think anyone who likes samurai storys will like this too.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Something for Everyone
Review: Ruroni Kenshin looks like a girl. With Elizabeth Taylor's violet eyes and a matching kimono, he is prettier than his love interest, Kaoru Kamiya. That aside, Ruroni Kenshin is an energetic, easy-to-watch series. The colors in this series are beautiful and vivid, maybe a little too vivid.

This first volume contains the first four episodes of the anime series. I appreciated that they wasted no time in introducing us to the four main characters. Viewers meet them all in this volume. Two hunks, a little boy, and a girl.

In general, this is a series that combines elements of bishounen and bishoujo anime. There are great action and fighting scenes for the boys, and cutesy and romantic things for the girls. For example, in the first episode, Kenshin creates rice balls with berries and vegetables added so they look like bunny rabbits. Then he defeats a murderer by paralyzing the murderer's remaining good thumb. The opening song, "Freckles," is all J-Pop sweetness and light. The closing song is a metal riff-laden, throaty, sexy song with suggestive lyrics and great graphics. Kenshin looks like more of a man in the pics shown during the closing song than the episodes in this volume. I personally prefer the closing song.

There is also something for History buffs. This series is set just after the Meiji Revolution, when Japan is going through a period of transition. The influence of Europe and America is finally being explored after years of Japan being isolated from the West. Samurai have been defeated, and no one except certain police officers are allowed to carry swords. Kenshin gets away with carrying his sword, because it is a "reverse-blade," and therefore can kill no one. Or so it seems.

I will watch more of the series, but Kenshin's incongrous changing between a home economics teacher to "Battousai the Manslayer" is a little much.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The first, but not certainly not the best...
Review: The first installment of the Rurouni Kenshin anime series acts mainly as an introduction to what is a long series of episodes, 95 in all.

If you have seen the anime on television or know the basics of the characters and their personalities, this isn't for you--you'll want to purchase installments of the second season beginning with volume 7, Shadow of the Wolf, which is when the main plot finally begins to build and action scenes are no longer motionless flashes of light.

However if you are new to the series, I recommend purchasing this volume. It certainly serves its purpose and the purpose of the entire first season, introducing the basics of the characters to those unfamiliar with Rurouni Kenshin. If you buy this and end up feeling disappointed, be aware that it is not the most accurate representation of the content of the anime as a whole.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: for younger audiences
Review: if you've been reading the rest of the reviews and the synopsis that amazon provided then you already know what the series is about, so i'll just get right to it:

i bought this dvd after reading reviews on amazon and hearing a friend at work mention it, and since i'm making decent money this summer i decided to splurge and buy it. i was excited when it came in the mail, expecting this samurai guy going on adventures with awesome sword-fighting scenes. what i got was a mediocre anime, somewhat of a cross between dragonballz and pokemon. let me explain:

i would have absolutely loved this show if i were 12-14 or so. this anime is strongly not recommended for 18+ or older audiences like myself. 3 things ruined this dvd for me:

1. poor action scenes. don't listen to all the kiddies jumping on the bandwagon in the reviews above saying that there are "totally awesome fight scenes!!!" because there aren't. in a typical fight scene, what you see are a character (usually kenshin) jump into the air and pull his sword back like he's going to hit something, then the screen turns black and you see white "sword-slashing" marks go across the screen, then you see the bad guy fall down hurt. you rarely see footage of them ACTUALLY fighting, just the jump-sword slash marks-bad guy falls down. repeat. no blood.
2. the unnecessary goofy faces. they make these bug-eyed weird faces to try to bring out humor, but it isn't funny. it takes away from the cool samurai character that kenshin is supposed to be. kenshin does this at times where all the girl did was talk loud...why the goofy face for that? this happens quite a bit and get annoying.
3. the absolute WORST thing that ruined this series for me was that listening to kenshin talk was like listening to yoda (from star wars) talk. no joke. i don't remember any quotes, but it's similar to,"you shouldn't do that, no you musn't." and, "you should do this, you should." i think they were trying to make kenshin sound like the old, wise samurai guy, but it's just really, really annoying.

i am sorry that this review was almost all negative, but if you're younger, you will probably enjoy this series. it's a cool, fun adventure and i know for a fact i would have loved this series if i were under 12. but if you're older, expecting a cool samurai show with a lot of cool fight scenes, expect to be disappointed. buy ninja scroll instead.
ADD 1-2 STARS IF YOU'RE YOUNGER AND LIKED DRAGONBALL-Z AND THE PREVIEW LISTED FROM AMAZON APPEALS TO YOU.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Rurouni Kenshin, Vol. 1
Review: Himura Kenshin is a wandering swordsman. Ten years before, he was an assassin and a warrior for the Choshu clan, in the revolution against the Togogawa Shogunate(forgive me if I spelled it wrong), and he was called Battousai, the Manslayer. Wanting to repent for his sins, for all the lives he took in the revolution, he has become a wanderer, with his Sakabatou (reverse-bladed sword) he helps others in pain, and fights those who still oppress others. As Kenshin wanders around Down town Tokyo, he meets a girl on the streets named Kauru. After saving her from a ruthless killer, who was going under cover as "Battousai the Manslayer", Kauru invites Kenshin to stay and live with her. As the episodes go along, they meet Yahiko, a pickpocket who is a descendent of a long line of samurai's, and they also meet Sanosuke, a.k.a. Zansa, the fighter for hire. Overall, this video is really great, and I recommend it and this series to anyone who loves action, comedy, and a great story.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Well, I'm Hooked!
Review: This is an amazing opening to what I hope will turn out to be a great series. I have only seen this first volume but I am absolutely hooked to these characters. Everyone of them has a soul and is well developed. I also found the animation to be quite striking. A very well directed show. One of the best I've seen...At least so far.


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