Rurouni Kenshin - End Song (Episodes 91-95)

Rating:
Summary: This is the end of Rurouni Kenshin, that it is
Review: "Rurouni Kenshin: End Song" presents the final five episodes of the Japanese anime about the masterless, roving samurai named Himura Kenshin. The first four episodes cover the rest of the Feng Shui story arc that began in the previous episode and then we have the final episode where the question of whether the wandering samurai is going to start wandering again or what:

Episode 91, "The Magic of Feng Shui: Kamiya Dojo is Targeted," involves a lot of exposition to explain what is going on with all those pentegrams on the map of Tokyo. It seems that at the start of the Tokugawa Shogunate a series of shrines were built by Ieyasu Tokugawa (circa 1603) that helped to define triangles in which evil spirits would be sealed. The triangles were joined to make penegrams which make them even more powerful and provide a clean chi for the great city. The "Circle of Eternity," defined by Mt. Fuji, the gulf of Edo, and the two great rivers, has been built and maintained by the Wind Clan. But the Water Clan wants their own circles and has returned to try and destroy the Circle of Eternity so that what happened to China with the Opium War will happen to Japan as well. So basically the fate of the nation is once again at stake for Kenshin and the gang, this time from the threat of a form of Chinese astrology.

Episode 92, "Tokyo Under Martial Law: The Deadly Ryu Myaku" is about the effort to defeat the giant "dragon" of the Wind Clan, while Episode 93, "The Enemy Awaits in Senjo Gahara: In Search of the Jade Crest" actually has a key personal element as Kenshim finally resolves to live with his past, which has key consequences for the Hitokiri Battousai and his reverse blade sword. The battle climaxes in Episode 94, "The Elegey of Wind and Water: A Last Desperate Effort." The Feng Shui story arc is a bit over the top, but this is what happens when you keep trying to up the ante with each story line. By fans of "Rurouni Kenshin" have already agreed that the Kyoto story arc was the highlight of the series.

Then we come to the end of the road with Episode 95, "End of Wanderings: The Bond of Scarlet and Azure is in the Sound of the Sea." As the title indicates, this is a rather poetic ending to the series in an episode that uses film for some interesting effects (including having characters animated into the film). The episode has two functions, the first being to resolve the situation between Kenshin and Kaoru, and the second to be a curtain call for the cast of characters. The latter takes away from the former a bit as we get flashbacks on series highlights, but the episode does achieve a sense of the lyrical on how it resolves the situation. I was afraid they were going to use some comic bit again to do this, as with Sanosuke and Megumi, but they actually come up with a small series of moments to play out the end song, and the final line spoken in the series is both appropriately simple and important.

I was rather surprised to find out that these 95 episodes all took place within half a year, but they beyond the specific period of the Meiji Restoration I was not paying attention to the dates. So when we find out at the end that it is late summer in the 11th year of the Meiji (1878), there was no special significance to me. There is an impressive set of liner notes for this final DVD edition along with the usual sprinkling of outtakes and some trailers.

Originally published in "Weekly Shonen Jump Japan" in 1994, "Rurouni Kenshin" was created in manga form by Nobuhiro Watsuki and ended up being told in 28 manga volume, these 95 episodes, and two OVA specials. The problem was that Watsuki was still working on completing the Jinchuu story arc when the Kyoto arc animation was done and anime original episodes were created as filler, which is why the ratings for the show plummeted in Japan and why we see such a noticeable drop off in quality in the Tales of the Meiji episodes.

Still, overall this is one of the better anime series out there, despite its problem with coming up with really good story arcs after the Kyoto high point. The characters, the attention to strategic details in the sword fights, and the backdrop of Japanese history (not to mention the comic elements) make it stand out apart from its competition. As much as I was happy to see a resolution to the romantic subplot of the series I was more impressed that the reverse sword idea came to an appropriate conclusion as well.

Rating:
Summary: This is the end of Rurouni Kenshin, that it is
Review: "Rurouni Kenshin: End Song" presents the final five episodes of the Japanese anime about the masterless, roving samurai named Himura Kenshin. The first four episodes cover the rest of the Feng Shui story arc that began in the previous episode and then we have the final episode where the question of whether the wandering samurai is going to start wandering again or what:

Episode 91, "The Magic of Feng Shui: Kamiya Dojo is Targeted," involves a lot of exposition to explain what is going on with all those pentegrams on the map of Tokyo. It seems that at the start of the Tokugawa Shogunate a series of shrines were built by Ieyasu Tokugawa (circa 1603) that helped to define triangles in which evil spirits would be sealed. The triangles were joined to make penegrams which make them even more powerful and provide a clean chi for the great city. The "Circle of Eternity," defined by Mt. Fuji, the gulf of Edo, and the two great rivers, has been built and maintained by the Wind Clan. But the Water Clan wants their own circles and has returned to try and destroy the Circle of Eternity so that what happened to China with the Opium War will happen to Japan as well. So basically the fate of the nation is once again at stake for Kenshin and the gang, this time from the threat of a form of Chinese astrology.

Episode 92, "Tokyo Under Martial Law: The Deadly Ryu Myaku" is about the effort to defeat the giant "dragon" of the Wind Clan, while Episode 93, "The Enemy Awaits in Senjo Gahara: In Search of the Jade Crest" actually has a key personal element as Kenshim finally resolves to live with his past, which has key consequences for the Hitokiri Battousai and his reverse blade sword. The battle climaxes in Episode 94, "The Elegey of Wind and Water: A Last Desperate Effort." The Feng Shui story arc is a bit over the top, but this is what happens when you keep trying to up the ante with each story line. By fans of "Rurouni Kenshin" have already agreed that the Kyoto story arc was the highlight of the series.

Then we come to the end of the road with Episode 95, "End of Wanderings: The Bond of Scarlet and Azure is in the Sound of the Sea." As the title indicates, this is a rather poetic ending to the series in an episode that uses film for some interesting effects (including having characters animated into the film). The episode has two functions, the first being to resolve the situation between Kenshin and Kaoru, and the second to be a curtain call for the cast of characters. The latter takes away from the former a bit as we get flashbacks on series highlights, but the episode does achieve a sense of the lyrical on how it resolves the situation. I was afraid they were going to use some comic bit again to do this, as with Sanosuke and Megumi, but they actually come up with a small series of moments to play out the end song, and the final line spoken in the series is both appropriately simple and important.

I was rather surprised to find out that these 95 episodes all took place within half a year, but they beyond the specific period of the Meiji Restoration I was not paying attention to the dates. So when we find out at the end that it is late summer in the 11th year of the Meiji (1878), there was no special significance to me. There is an impressive set of liner notes for this final DVD edition along with the usual sprinkling of outtakes and some trailers.

Originally published in "Weekly Shonen Jump Japan" in 1994, "Rurouni Kenshin" was created in manga form by Nobuhiro Watsuki and ended up being told in 28 manga volume, these 95 episodes, and two OVA specials. The problem was that Watsuki was still working on completing the Jinchuu story arc when the Kyoto arc animation was done and anime original episodes were created as filler, which is why the ratings for the show plummeted in Japan and why we see such a noticeable drop off in quality in the Tales of the Meiji episodes.

Still, overall this is one of the better anime series out there, despite its problem with coming up with really good story arcs after the Kyoto high point. The characters, the attention to strategic details in the sword fights, and the backdrop of Japanese history (not to mention the comic elements) make it stand out apart from its competition. As much as I was happy to see a resolution to the romantic subplot of the series I was more impressed that the reverse sword idea came to an appropriate conclusion as well.

Rating:
Summary: This is the end of Rurouni Kenshin, that it is
Review: "Rurouni Kenshin: End Song" presents the final five episodes of the Japanese anime about the masterless, roving samurai named Himura Kenshin. The first four episodes cover the rest of the Feng Shui story arc that began in the previous episode and then we have the final episode where the question of whether the wandering samurai is going to start wandering again or what:

Episode 91, "The Magic of Feng Shui: Kamiya Dojo is Targeted," involves a lot of exposition to explain what is going on with all those pentegrams on the map of Tokyo. It seems that at the start of the Tokugawa Shogunate a series of shrines were built by Ieyasu Tokugawa (circa 1603) that helped to define triangles in which evil spirits would be sealed. The triangles were joined to make penegrams which make them even more powerful and provide a clean chi for the great city. The "Circle of Eternity," defined by Mt. Fuji, the gulf of Edo, and the two great rivers, has been built and maintained by the Wind Clan. But the Water Clan wants their own circles and has returned to try and destroy the Circle of Eternity so that what happened to China with the Opium War will happen to Japan as well. So basically the fate of the nation is once again at stake for Kenshin and the gang, this time from the threat of a form of Chinese astrology.

Episode 92, "Tokyo Under Martial Law: The Deadly Ryu Myaku" is about the effort to defeat the giant "dragon" of the Wind Clan, while Episode 93, "The Enemy Awaits in Senjo Gahara: In Search of the Jade Crest" actually has a key personal element as Kenshim finally resolves to live with his past, which has key consequences for the Hitokiri Battousai and his reverse blade sword. The battle climaxes in Episode 94, "The Elegey of Wind and Water: A Last Desperate Effort." The Feng Shui story arc is a bit over the top, but this is what happens when you keep trying to up the ante with each story line. By fans of "Rurouni Kenshin" have already agreed that the Kyoto story arc was the highlight of the series.

Then we come to the end of the road with Episode 95, "End of Wanderings: The Bond of Scarlet and Azure is in the Sound of the Sea." As the title indicates, this is a rather poetic ending to the series in an episode that uses film for some interesting effects (including having characters animated into the film). The episode has two functions, the first being to resolve the situation between Kenshin and Kaoru, and the second to be a curtain call for the cast of characters. The latter takes away from the former a bit as we get flashbacks on series highlights, but the episode does achieve a sense of the lyrical on how it resolves the situation. I was afraid they were going to use some comic bit again to do this, as with Sanosuke and Megumi, but they actually come up with a small series of moments to play out the end song, and the final line spoken in the series is both appropriately simple and important.

I was rather surprised to find out that these 95 episodes all took place within half a year, but they beyond the specific period of the Meiji Restoration I was not paying attention to the dates. So when we find out at the end that it is late summer in the 11th year of the Meiji (1878), there was no special significance to me. There is an impressive set of liner notes for this final DVD edition along with the usual sprinkling of outtakes and some trailers.

Originally published in "Weekly Shonen Jump Japan" in 1994, "Rurouni Kenshin" was created in manga form by Nobuhiro Watsuki and ended up being told in 28 manga volume, these 95 episodes, and two OVA specials. The problem was that Watsuki was still working on completing the Jinchuu story arc when the Kyoto arc animation was done and anime original episodes were created as filler, which is why the ratings for the show plummeted in Japan and why we see such a noticeable drop off in quality in the Tales of the Meiji episodes.

Still, overall this is one of the better anime series out there, despite its problem with coming up with really good story arcs after the Kyoto high point. The characters, the attention to strategic details in the sword fights, and the backdrop of Japanese history (not to mention the comic elements) make it stand out apart from its competition. As much as I was happy to see a resolution to the romantic subplot of the series I was more impressed that the reverse sword idea came to an appropriate conclusion as well.

Rating:
Summary: thank god..the fillers are done
Review: DO NOT mistake these terrible filler episodes (from the end of the Kyoto arc to this DVD) to be the ending of the rurouni kenshin series!! To see the TRUE ending that was actually based off of the RK manga, reserve a copy of the Samurai X: Reflection DVD that is to be released March 25th! This is the last OVA of the kenshin series, and the real ending!
DO NOT waste your money on the filler DVDs.

Rating:
Summary: stupid opinions
Review: everyones bad opinions about this movie or anything else that has to do with kenshin just amaze me.For one thing there is nothing wrong with anything that has to do with kenshin so lets get real here for a second!!!!.for one thing the guy who said that samurai x:reflection was a butcher to the series shuld be sought out and assassinated,this dvd alone is an example of how perfect everything in the kenshin genre is(ova,filler episodes"and everything else is PERFECTION!!!. and i'll tell you

something else, everyone who has a narrow minded opinion of the filler episodes saying there "bad,unfit to watch,and an abomination of kenshin,and that they don't fit the manga" can go get raped by 5 elephants and then go hang themselves because everything in the kenshin series includeing the fillers are awesome I enjoyed everyone of the filler episodes and screw anyone who did'nt because in the end it depends on what the individual thinks. and furthermore to anyone who thinks differently about anything i've said in this review you are irrelevant to my kenshin happiness so SCREW YOU ALL!!!!.

Rating:
Summary: What happened?
Review: First of all, i really like Rk, but this ending was weak. After the Kyoto arc, the series bombed out. When i finished watching the last episode, i said, "what?! that's it. what kind of ending is that???" They don't even tell you what happens to the characters and whether or not Kauru and Kenshin ever get together. that really made me mad. i would suggest viewers buy the kyoto arc and finish there. it would be a waste of perfectly good money to by these last episodes. just rent them or something....you'll regret buying these unless you are an upmost devoted RK fan. Overall it was very diappointing watching my favorite series end this way.

Rating:
Summary: A dissapointing ending to great series.
Review: I am a great fan of Kenshin but is was very dissapointing ending. Of course, it left it somewhat open if the creator ever wanted to start it up again but in most cases, most creators don't really restart the series again. I mean look at Star Wars, Mr. L went further back to do E1 to E3 instead of continuing the story after E5. Usually, anime do not continue once it is the "end" of the series. Unfortunately, the ending was "cr**py" but I gave it 3 stars because I was a fan of it. The story in the series of the Meiji series wasn't that interesting or pressing like the other series. Actually, towards the end of the whole Kenshin series, the storylines began to go in a downward spiral. Let's just say that Kenshin always finds a way to defeat the "magic" powers of the enemy and the corrupt Meiji gov't is once again safe to rule Japan.
I don't really want to discuss the series but let's just say they kick the bad guys butts, all the couples in the series get closer (not physically) ie: Kenshin and Kaoru; the "fox"y Megume and Sanosuke; and so on. I'd have to give credit to the openning and ending text portions to the different episodes. They've changed it in terms of pics and music but that is not a really significant portion of the dvd. I'd recommend getting the dvd to complete your collection or if you're really curious on how the series end. But like the originally episodes of Evangelion, it was "cr**py". Instead, if you haven't seen or bought the Samurai X series, go for it and the movie too.

Rating:
Summary: weird ending.
Review: I first have to say that Rurouni Kenshin is one of the greatest anime series ever. All of them were good the ova's samurai x were good, the wandering samurai arc and the legend of kyoto arc were perfect, even the motion picture was good. But I was not completly sure about the tales of the meiji arc it looked sort of weird and confusing but it was still rurouni kenshin and I respected that. There are five episodes in this DVD and all of them were good but weird and confusing. My favorite episode is the last one with Kenshin and Kaoru stuck together that was a pretty good episode because again it shows how much Kaoru cares for Kenshin. I don't really think that this is the last episode I mean I think that they are still dubbing the other arc that was supposed to come out the "Jinchu arc" because the real episode is when Kenshin and Kaoru were supposed to get married and have a son named Kenji.
If anyone happen's to know if anymore kenshin arcs coming out in the future please contact me.

Rating:
Summary: Jenny Shaffer
Review: I liked it very much. I read the manga and i have reflection. the ending was very good and it showed cllips form the koyto arc. you can see that kenshin has Feeling for karou in this one and he dose show it. you can Either read the manga or you can wacth end song and reflection But no matter what anyone says this was a good ending to kenshin. i hope that kenshin and the gang will live in your hearts as whlie as mine

Rating:
Summary: a disapointing end to an awesome series.
Review: I love rurouni kenshin. I loved the tokyo, and the kyoto arcs. I even liked the christian, and the black night stories (what can i say, im a sucker for romance). But this is just plain lame. Im not going to restate the story because everyone already has. But magical feung shuei people are one of the lamest ideas for villans, i wish that they would have ended w/ the black knight story so i wouldent have been so dissapionted.
Another good idea for the last 5 episodes would have been good old fashioned funny kenshin episodes. I would recomend this for hardcore fans of kenshin, like myself, just dont expect to be wowed in the end.