[Anime] Samurai Flamenco: Dream or Delusion?

Standing for truth, justice, and making a difference no matter how small, it's SAMURAI FLAMENCO!

Brief Synopsis: Hidenori Goto -- a blase and unambitious local cop -- has a run in with an unfortunately dressed costumed vigilante by the name of SAMURAI FLAMENCO! Okay, so Flamenco isn't actually "unfortunately dressed" when he first meets Goto. In fact, he is quite naked after a small mishap ruins his super hero duds. This was not Flamenco's first screw-up as an amateur superhero, and it most definitely won't be his last. Goto and Flamenco (real name: Masayoshi Hazama) soon become friends while Flamenco continues to fight small-time crime (jaywalking, littering, etc.) with Goto as his witness/occasional rescuer. 

Although my summary is Goto-heavy, the first handful of episodes are Hazama's origin story -- sweet, small, naive Hazama, who just wants to make the world a better place. He's spent his entire life idolizing the superhero dramas of his childhood, and, he now has a successful career as a male model, which affords him the time and money to finally bankroll his dream. What dream is that?  His dream of being a masked crusader of justice of course! 

To be honest, I kinda wrote this show off initially when the trailers and synopsis first went up. The Super Sentai genre has never really appealed to me, and the whole "ordinary man tries to become a real-world superhero but falls flat on his face initially" isn't exactly new material. Samurai Flamenco quietly won me over. The show does an excellent job of balancing the bonkers with some really thoughtful moments. It's absolutely charming.

Thus far Episode 3 has been my favorite. I watched it last weekend and had "all the feels" about it. However, since no one that I know is watching this show, hey Internet, I'm going to blog about it at you. In it, Hazama's secret identity is almost revealed to the world on live television, but thankfully (perhaps?) an impostor steps in to claim the title of SAMURAI FLAMENCO! (If you haven't caught on yet, Samurai Flamenco is impossibly fun to shout. Go ahead. Try it. I'll wait.) What's more, that impostor turns out to be none other than one of Hazama's childhood heroes whom Hazama is meeting for the first time! Yay! 

This next bit gets a little spoilery. So if I've already convinced you to give Samurai Flamenco a try, watch it on Crunchyroll now.

Highlight for episode review/spoilers: Sure it's a relief that's his secret is still safe. Maybe even a little bit gratifying to learn that Hazama's good deeds have made such a big impression on one of his most cherished idols; however, Hazama is obviously feeling conflicted about a great many things. You just want to give him a teddy bear as he has his sulk after the broadcast. It's never easy meeting your hero and realizing that they aren't all that heroic in the flesh...that's rough. For a true fan, it's the worst feeling ever, but it's even more complicated than that for poor Hazama! His hero is not only kinda a jerk but also in direct competition with him for the Flamenco job. So who is more deserving of the hero label? This is Red Axe we're talking about here! This is the man who in Hazama's mind, where fact and fiction don't always separate cleanly, single-handedly defeated scores of evil villains. "Real" villains and the not middle-school aged children that real Flamenco so recently tangled with. That kind of doubt is crushing for the newly minted hero, and Hazama has some choices to make. Does he give up and let a "real hero" take over the role? Or is Bruce Wayne wrong? Are our heroes just symbols or is there a more personal, individual quality to the men and women behind the masks?

This all sounds so severe, but don't worry, Samurai Flamenco never takes itself too seriously for long. The episode still manages to have a lot of fun and will leave you smiling.

Samurai Flamenco is Kickass without the violence. It' Super Sentai with the cheese-factor dialed back just a little. It's awesome and you should be watching it. (But only if you like fun.)

[RK Rewatch] Episode 8: New Battle! and Live-Action Trailer

It's been a while since I've added on to the RK Rewatch, and it's no wonder - the time has come for Megumi and Aoshi to make their entrances. I've never liked either character much, and if I recall their introductions drag on unnecessarily long. They're just so...bland. And boring. (Please don't hurt me Aoshi fangirls.) So let's power through this and get to the incredible news of the week.  

Episode 8 Summary: Kenshin and Sanousuke cross paths with Megumi Takani, a woman and doctor who is being hunted by a band of ninjas called the Oniwabanshu. Megumi as it turns out is the sole-surviving member of a clan of renowned healers which is good because the group needed a cleric anyway. Megumi takes shelter at the Kamiya dojo. They are attacked again and Yahiko is poisoned. Time for that cleric to earn her keep!  

My Thoughts: We meet 1/2 of the Oniwabanshu group. As I mentioned in an earlier recap, the game has changed since Sanousuke joined the group. Kenshin isn't going to be fighting the same level of two-bit ordinary humans anymore. More and more, enemies and allies will display super-human abilities that only make sense in absurd shonen anime style. That's how we get Hyottoko - the fire eater. The man is literally larger than a house and able to breathe fire. I wish I could explain how, but I can't. I'm not even going to try because I'm afraid I'd have to use the words "flammable vomit" at some point.

So that seems like a pretty good note to end on. I really have nothing to say about this episode as nothing  happens. Sanousuke suspects that Megumi is involved in the opium business that killed one of his friends, but nothing is revealed or resolved. Moving on to the best news of the week - a teaser trailer was released for the live-action adaptation! Check it out! 

Anime adaptations are often terrible, so I'm really trying to lower my expectations. It's hard though because visually they've nailed it thus far! And I'm pretty happy that they opted to do away with the pink haori for this and play up the penniless hobo look. What do you think? I think I'm in love.

[RK Rewatch] Episode 7 - Deathmatch Under the Moonlight: Protect the One You Love

Brief Summary: Jin-e and Kenshin fight to the death with Kaoru's life on the line.

My Thoughts:  While they wait, Kaoru and Jin-e bicker back and forth about who knows Kenshin better.  When Kenshin arrives, Kaoru is shocked to see how much he is changed. His eyes are cold and the color has changed to a deep red for added aesthetic effect.  Okay, it looks cool but it is pretty unnecessary. It's clear enough that Kenshin is not himself.  Or is it that he's more himself than ever before? His speech patterns have changed too, and he's no longer being so formal.  Visually, it's an interesting scene.  Kaoru is tucked away inside a shrine that sits between the two fighters denoting that there is something sacred about her innocent faith and ethics. This fight really is as much about the argument between Kaoru and Jin-e as much as it is about Kenshin internal struggle against his code of ethics.  The duel forces her face some hard questions. Does Kaoru really know Kenshin at all?  And if she doesn't, can she EVER hope to understand him since unlike Jin-e she didn't fight in the Revolution and hasn't felt the burden of taking a life?

Although Kaoru's kidnapping has clearly angered Kenshin, he's still holding back. So Jin-e ups the ante by using his special attack, the Shinoippo on Kaoru to paralyze her lungs. The only way to break the spell is through Jin-e's death or in the unlikely event that Kaoru is able to break the spell herself (only if her will is stronger than Jin-e's).

To be brief, Kenshin kicks Jin-e's ass and it is awesome! At the crucial moment, fueled by her feelings for Kenshin, Kaoru breaks Jin-e's spell with the strength of her own will proving that she isn't just a damsel in distress.   Her true strength is the strength of her convictions which is an area which Kenshin sometimes shows weakness. He's more susceptible to the temptation of a quick-and-easy kill to achieve the greatest good because he has the carnal knowledge of first hand-experience.  When he falters in this fight, it is Kaoru's belief in him that ultimately brings him back. As a fighter it would be unfair to hold her to the same standard of those that survived the chaos of the Revolution.  A life of theoretical knowledge and sword study isn't quite the same as wartime where a fighter's skills and spirit are tested under the greatest pressure on a daily basis.

[RK Rewatch] Episode 6 - The Appearance of Kurogasa: Visitor from the Shadows

Summary:  A rogue Manslayer from the Revolution is on the loose systematically killing officials of the new Meiji government.  The police come to Kenshin and ask for his help as all efforts to apprehend and/or slay this criminal have ended in failure.  Although the residents and friends of the Kamiya Dojo: Kaoru, Yahiko, and Sanousuke, are thoroughly against it Kenshin agrees to help the government once more.

My Thoughts: So the Meiji government can’t handle or escape their past can they? That sounds familiar.  Luckily for them, they’ve undercovered the whereabouts of their former ally - Battousai the Manslayer.  I really feel for Kenshin in this episode and empathize with Sanousuke’s anger towards the government.  The former Imperialists are using Kenshin to clean up their dirty work as they've always done; nothing has changed.  It’s no wonder that Kenshin kept wandering for over ten years. Since he started setting down roots in Tokyo it’s been a constant life of battle for him.  I wonder if this sort of thing happened often during his rurouni period; somehow I imagine not.  Otherwise the Meiji government would have found him sooner if Kenshin Himura - an unusually gifted and helpful swordsman with a cross-shaped scar on his cheek had begun to make a name for himself among the poor and distressed. But being too noble for his own good our Meiji-Era Ned Stark agrees to assist the police.

It becomes even harder to muster any sympathy for the government once we meet the official whom the police are protecting.  He is your typical short, fat slime-ball willing to throw down any amount of money in order to save his sorry skin regardless of the cost of human life.  It’s pretty obvious that he’s a corrupt official.  I assume that is government money that he’s using to hire the roomful of muscle that he’s gathered to protect him.  It makes you wonder if all of the other officials killed by the rogue Manslayer were equally as loathsome.  Maybe we ought to be cheering for the assasin?

Oh second thought…maybe not.  He seems pretty evil. And scary. Yeah that smile is the thing of nightmares.

When the mysterious assassin arrives on the scene he makes short work of the police and paralyzes the room of armed guards through a hypnotic attack emanating from his eyes.Sanousuke is caught in the assasin’s spell, but Kenshin’s will is too strong to be overcome by such simple mind tricks. (He would have made such a bad-ass Jedi. Just sayin') The two fighters of the Revolution face-off and of course...Kenshin is recognized instantly as Battousai the Manslayer.

The assassin is a former member of the Shinsengumi called Jin-e Udo or Kurogasa " the Black Hat". The Shinsengumi were a unit of the Shogun’s forces that opposed the Ishin-shishi and Choshu factions in Kyoto and they were Kenshin’s greatest rivals. However, Jin-e was cast out of the Shinsengumi for his brutality and honorless love for blood and murder.  Kenshin and Jin-e never fought each other during the Revolution, but Jin-e is thrilled to finally be able to cross blades with the Battousai and prove himself to be the strongest. Only it’s quite clear to Jin-e after exchanging blows with the Sakabatou that Kenshin has grown soft.  Jin-e calls a time-out to the battle and announces that he’s sparing the official only because his new target is the Battousai.  He makes it pretty clear, however, that he wants to fight the Battousai and not Kenshin Himura before withdrawing, leaving Kenshin with a heavy decision to make. It's a lose-lose situation. Kenshin is not sure that he can win against Jin-e as Kenshin Himura.   He could renounce his vows and let go of his restraint - in a sense killing the man that he has become or die honorably in the duel thus leaving Jin-e free to poison the new era. However, no matter the outcome it's a safe bet that Kenshin is likely to start wandering again as settling down is proving to be far too dangerous.

That dummkopf*, Kenshin, sends a message back to the Kamiya Dojo stating that he will not be returning home right away. This way he can focus on the fight so they should all just wait for him.  I think he's known Kaoru and Yahiko long enough to know what's likely to happen, but sometimes Kenshin can be far too trusting.

Knowing that if Kenshin is forced to kill again he'll run away, Kaoru chases after him. Dear, sweet, oblivious Kenshin takes way too long figuring out what she' trying to say by lending him her favorite ribbon, but Kaoru is desperate to get some kind of commitment from him to return to her. Given how often Kaoru is overcome by her own emotions, I find it interesting and adorable that she's not very good at expressing them. It's a darn cute moment; however, before it can get any cuter the samurai storyline interrupts and Kaoru is captured by Jin-e. Curses!  I know this is what irks so many people about Kaoru.  She is constantly getting into trouble and needing rescue or help, but she thinks with her heart first and not always her head.  I actually love that about Kaoru.  I think it's sweet, and it wasn't like she was unwilling to listen to reason this time.  She was ready to return to the Dojo and wait for Kenshin to come home when Jin-e snuck up on them.

The episode ends with Kenshin alone at the riverside screaming with unrestrained anger at Jin-e. Oh boy! Shit's about to get real!  Will we finally get to see Battousai the Manslayer?

Best Line:  "She's scarier than Jin-e, she is!" ~ Kenshin

*Apologies for the german. I have been reading Scott Westerfeld's Behemoth of late and this is my new favorite word.  Translation: dolt

[RK Rewatch] Episode 5: The Reversed Blade Sword vs The Zanbatou

Summary: Kenshin and Zanza/Sanousuke meet again to finish their duel and the story behind Sanousuke's past is revealed.

My Thoughts: In this episode we find why Sanousuke holds such a grudge against the Imperialists. As a child, Sanousuke was an orphan who was taken in by the Sekihoutai,an army under the command of the Ishin Shishi (the Imperialists for whom Kenshin fought). The Sekihoutai were sent into the countryside to spread news of the coming regime change and act as a propaganda machine to bring the peasants to the side of the Imperialists. They did so with promises of lower taxes, promises that the new government was unable to uphold after the Revolution ended. The Sekihoutai was condemned as a rogue army who had acted without orders from the Imperialist government. In Rurouni Kenshin, Sanousuke alone managed to escape when the Imperial army arrived and executed the Sekihoutai. Sanousuke, took his last name from the leader of the real life Captain of the first unit of the Sekihoutai, Sozo Sagara. He chose the life as a fighter-for-hire to become stronger, but I think he also chose the life of a criminal because he couldn't accept living peacefully in the world won and created by the Imperialists who had betrayed him and the only family he had ever known.

One of the things that I love most about Rurouni Kenshin is the history involved. Granted, this "history" ought to be taken with a grain of salt as it is taken and overly romanticized to suite the story; however, there remains a lot of truth in the show. The Sekihoutai did exist and were set up by the Ishin Shishi once the revolutionaries had no more need of them. Sanousuke Sagara did not exist, but Sozo Sagara - the Captain of the first unit did.

Kenshin himself is unaware of Sanousuke's connection to the Sekihoutai until the end of their duel, but allows himself to be baited into the fight anyway. I mean, I know Kenshin had to fight Sanousuke for the sake of acquiring this character among the good guys and that Sanousuke was not likely to ever stop coming for him until they had their duel, but come on! Kenshin usually has to be dragged into a fight (even when the enemy is a two-bit thug like Gohei that could in no way cause Kenshin much trouble or angst) yet this time his curiosity seems to overwhelm his pacifism.

The fight itself felt slow to me as I watched it probably due to all the flashbacks and the play-by-play narration by Kaoru which broke up the action; however, there were a couple of really interesting things happening during the bout.

1. This was the first time that Kenshin did not fell his opponent in a single stroke, foreshadowing that the enemies are about to get MUCH tougher.
2. It's also the first time Kenshin uses a named attack in a fight which is again - significant foreshadowing. Similar to how in Fantasy all special weapons tend to have names, advanced techniques will usually also have unique names, special effects, unique costs etc. Now we'll start to see what Kenshin's Hiten Mitsurugi style is really all about.
3. Firearms show up in this episode and it's implied that they are the tool of the corrupt. We're shown that the Sekihoutai were mercilessly gunned down by the Imperialists, and later Gohei (who can no longer wield a sword) fires a handgun at Kenshin after Sanousuke fails to defeat the Battousai. I should mention that Sozo Sagara, Sanousuke's mentor, was not shot in either the manga nor in real life but decapitated instead as punishment; however, this minor change does help to further illustrate the conflict between modernity and the way of the samurai in the show.

I believe I promised you a rant about the Zanbatou in my last episode summary, but as this write-up gets longer and longer I find myself asking - do I even need to? I mean...LOOK AT IT!?  As Kenshin points out, because of its size and weight it can only be swung at a diagonal or straight down making it very easy to predict. How did Sanousuke as Zanza become the most feared gangster in the Tokyo underworld with a weapon like that? I wish I could say that this is the most ridiculous weapon we'll see in Rurouni Kenshin, but alas I remember quite clearly that it is not.  I am so happy that the Zanbatou gets destroyed in this battle.  Sanousuke is a great character and a much better street brawler.  He doesn't need to be burdened by a ridiculous weapon with a fancy name. 

I loved the resolution of this fight. Sanousuke get's the snot beat out of him, but stands up time after time because his rage towards the Imperialists won't let him stand-down although he is clearly outmatched. What Kenshin finally tells him to diffuse the situation was brilliant. "Did the Sekihoutai teach revenge against those who wronged you or did they teach you to complete the Revolution." As we've already seen, the Meiji Era is no utopian. With so much corruption in the world there is still a reason for warriors to exist and fight to protect the innocent. In that moment Sanousuke realizes that what Kenshin stands for is the same principle of his former mentor. I think he also realizes that he wasn't serving anyone but himself in his pursuit to become strong and that's not true strength. As a fighter-for-hire, he never achieve his ideal to be strong like his Captain and stronger than any Imperialist.

[RK Rewatch] Episode 4: One word: Evil! The Fighter for Hire

Summary:  Yay! Another new character is introduced, Sanousuke Sagara, and an old (and annoying) villain returns, Gohei Hiruma - the false Battousai. Boo.

Angry at the Battousai for humiliating him and disabling his sword hand permanently, Gohei turns to Tokyo's underworld to find a fighter strong enough to defeat Kenshin Himura.  He finds a thug named Zanza aka Sanousuke Sagara, a tall and overly eager brawler who conveniently carries a major grudge against the Imperialist government and hires him to defeat and kill the Battousai.

My Thoughts:  This episode opens with the residents of the Kamiya dojo trying to justify the expense of a fancy beef pot at the Akabekko once again, leaving me hungry as usual and wanting to know just what the hell is in that beef pot!  Opium?!

At the inn the situation gets a little heated when a group of drunk patriots supporting Democracy in Japan start causing trouble, but for once Kenshin doesn't end up resolving it.  After one of the waitresses gets involved in the fight, Sanousuke steps in and takes the men outside.  He defeats the ruffians with ease and a minor assist from Kenshin when one of the men draws a concealed sword.

I did notice some not-so-subtle attitude towards the policies of certain *cough, cough* democratic nations in this episode. Example: "Somehow I always thought that Democracy existed for the weak or is it that the Democracy that you fools preach is the freedom to get drunk and give innocent folks a hard time with your big mouths." ~ Sanousuke.

It does make a lot of sense given what was happening historically.  In 1853 and American fleet lead by Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into a Japanese harbor and negotiated/demanded that Japan open itself up to free trade with the West. Prior to that the Tokugawa Shogunate enforced an isolationist policy that lasted for over 350 years designed to avoid trade with foreigners and keep the Japanese spirit and culture pure from their influence and invasion.  It seems that the Shogunate was right to be afraid of the threat that foreign influence and modern ideals posed to their sovereignty because sure enough, it wasn't long before the flames of revolution ignited after the first Black Ships arrived in Edo Bay. However, the revolution itself caused a lot of problems and heartache for many low-born and high-born families alike.  There was still a lot of resistance to the new world order and those that did not want to see the old, right ways disappear. So it is logical that the attitude towards Democracy and the West was less than favorable among some folks.  Perry and the other new Westerners certainly could be viewed as bullies from a certain perspective.

But enough about government for now, this episode marks a change in the show that becomes the new norm eventually.  We're moving into the episodes where the villains become increasingly more-and-more superhuman in their abilities and endurance.  For instance: Sanousuke takes a DAGGER to his HEAD and remains uninjured. Not only does the dagger fail to cave his head in like a melon, Sanousuke breaks his opponent's arm by STANDING THERE.  I guess it was his thick head and the strength of his fighter's spirit that shattered bone. This kind of thing requires complete suspension of disbelief, but it is somehwat necessary to further the action of the series.  The caliber of Kenshin's enemies until now has been very so we've not gotten to see the rurouni really let loose.  Since Kenshin is one of those superhuman characters himself, Nobuhiro Watsuki - the creator of the series, had to start providing him with enemies that could challenge his abilities and test the strength of his moral code.  Because if Kenshin can defeat every enemy in a single blow, it's just not that interesting is it?

After the fight at the Akabeko, Sanousuke is hired by Gohei who reveals the truth behind Kenshin's identity. The fighter-for-hire arrives at the Kamiya Dojo anxious to fight the strongest fighter of the Imperialist Army in order to fulfill some personal vendetta against the Imperialists; however, the fight is interrupted when they are discovered by Ayane and Suzume - the two adorable children whom hang out at the Dojo and have adopted Kenshin as an uncle.  It is agreed by the fighters that their match will have to wait because the children shouldn't be exposed to such violence. (Aww, isn't that sweet of them, but I wanted to see some fighting, darnit!!!)

This episode ends before anything really get's started, and was over before I even realized that we were coming to the end.

I'm going to save my rant about the Zanbatou for next time.  The what, you ask? Check out the above photo. No, that is not a surf board that Sanousuke is trying to bludgeon Kenshin with.  That is a sword and perhaps the most ridiculous weapon ever created  next to Cloud's busterblade or Squall's gunblade. For now, just have a good long LOL.

[RK Rewatch] Episode 3: Swordsman of Sorrow - The Man Who Slays his Past

Brief Summary: While off on an errand Kenshin runs afoul of the Police Swordsmen, an elite and corrupt group of lawmen who are the only people who are legally authorized by the Meiji government to carry a sword in public.  Meanwhile, a squad of city policemen show up at the Kamiya Dojo ready to arrest the Hitokiri Battousai whom they've learned is currently in residence.

My Thoughts:  I can still remember my reaction to this episode on my first watch of the series.  This was the episode where I knew I was hooked. It's the first really satisfying fight of the show. In this fight we see Kenshin's soft exterior slip and get our first glimpse at how the Hitokiri Battousai must have fought.

Kenshin unsheathes the sakabatou and within moments all but the leader of the Police Swordsmen are down while Kenshin stands over the bodies looking very unlike the wide-eyed rurouni we're used to.  The reversed blade sword is nestled in the crook of his arm and his posture is still and relaxed; however, there is no mistaking his demeanor for anything other than deadly and confident.  It's not a defensive stance.  It's not an offensive stance.  It's not even a neutral stance!  Kenshin's stance says that he doesn't respect his opponents swordsmanship enough to take this fight seriously. The police swordsmen are no threat to him. It is definitely a cool moment, but a strange one for a peace-loving rurouni.  Kenshin is baiting his opponent almost like he's toying with him, and it works.  The captain of the Police Swordsmen flies into a rage and attacks with his signature strike to no avail.

At the conclusion of the duel the city police rush in to arrest the Battousai, but an old friend and comrade from Kenshin's revolutionary days, Aritomo Yamagata, steps in to stop them.  (Fun fact: Aritomo Yamagata actually existed; was the leader of the Japanese army during the Meiji Era; and had quite the handsome mustache!)  It was Yamagata that issued the warrant for Kenshin's arrest in hopes of driving him into the open again.  Yamagata had been searching for Kenshin for some time now and wanted to offer him a position in the new government, but Kenshin refuses Yamagata stating that he has no desire to be rewarded for manslaughter. Yamagata calls him out one more time trying to force him to accept the position and takes a stab at the futility of Kenshin's position as a single swordsman trying to find a purpose in the modern age, but Kenshin rejects him again with characteristic politeness. 

The episode strikes home how hard it must be for Kenshin to carry on in the Meiji Era.  We still don't know his reasons for disappearing after the revolution ended or why Kenshin refuses to kill again.  We are are told that Kenshin fought alongside the Imperialists for a better world, but ten years later appears that corruption has replaced corruption. 

A Particularly Ominous Line: "Even if it's only the handful of people that I meet on the street, I can still protect them with just one sword, that I can." ~ Kenshin Himura

You seem pretty confident about that, Kenshin.  Let's test this theory over the next 92 episodes, shall we?

Go Team Kaoru Moment:  Kaoru totally unleashes a can of Judo-whop-ass on the city policemen as she tries to make her escape in order to go warn Kenshin.

[RK Rewatch] Episode 2: Kid Samurai - A Big Ordeal and a New Student

Brief Summary:  It’s been a little too quiet at the dojo lately so Kaoru thinks to liven things up by having Kenshin take her and Dr. Gensei’s family out for a moderately extravagant lunch -extravagant at least to the penniless wanderer!

While out on the town, they run across a young pick-pocket named Yahiko Myojin. Yahiko has been forced into service for the local Yakuza in order to pay back a debt owed to them for medical expenses incurred by his now deceased mother.  Tender-hearted Kaoru pushes her way into the situation hoping to convince Yahiko to leave the syndicate and gets the both of them in-over-their-heads.

My Thoughts: There really is not a lot to say about this episode.  It is quite basically a vehicle to introduce Yahiko’s character.  Funnily enough, I think Kaoru is more interesting in this episode than Yahiko.   In the RK fandom there are two camps: those that HATE Kaoru and those that absolutely love her.  Kid Samurai illustrates many of the major arguments of these opposing sides.  

We definitely see the worst of Kaoru’s bossy nature as she bullies Kenshin into lunch and literally drags him around Tokyo.  She shows no restraint over her temper and acts according to her whims and wants rather than from any mature calculation of the moment.  And predictably in what will become a trend of the show, she winds up in the hot-pot after barging into the Yakuza headquarters and getting tricked into a game that she cannot win.  

But we also see that her spontaneity comes from her enthusiasm to do good in this world and protect those that need protecting.  That her personal safety could be at risk comes as a secondary consideration.  It’s a pretty typical stance for your standard Anime heroine, but I think it is absolutely necessary for Kenshin to have that around him and is what endears her to him. 

What I liked about this episode is that it does show Kaoru as a warrior and not just a damsel in distress even if she does end-up needing a bit of rescuing at the end.  To her credit, she is not a bad swordswoman.  She successfully fends off a group of eight Yakuza before being disarmed by their leader.  She wasn't even doing badly against said leader until he pulled out a concealed sword and shattered her bamboo blade.  Kaoru was not unqualified as a fighter to stand up for Yahiko, but wooden swords cannot stand up to steel and the Meiji Era is not yet a perfect world where her innocence and idealism can survive. 

[RK Rewatch] Episode 1: The Handsome Swordsman of Legend

The show opens with a brief (very brief) history lesson of the revolution that lead to the Meiji Era in Japan (1863-1912). It's a pretty typical thing to do in Anime, but I feel like it has gotten less common now and is a characteristic of more dated Anime.  I find it interesting though that the summation is told from the perspective of our modern age which the audience never again returns to (in my memory) in any recap, info dump, or preview.

150 years ago amidst the chaotic times of the Bakumatsu, a revolution that would spell the end of the 350 year reign of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the (completely fictional) legend of Battousai the Manslayer emerged.  The Hikokiri Battousai (roughly translated in the English dub as 'Battousai the Manslayer') was a swordsman of extreme and legendary skill who helped the Imperialist forces achieve victory over the Shogunate and restore the Emperor to his throne.  With the Emperor leading the country again, the isolationist policies of the Shogunate came to an end and free trade with the West in goods and ideas resumed unfettered by the conservative ideals of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Meanwhile, swordsmen like the Hitokiri Battousai passed on into stories and were never heard from again after the age of the sword came to a close.

The opening sequences show a young Kenshin, kicking ass with cold hard eyes. It's a pretty awesome fight scene set against the backdrop of the city of Kyoto burning to the ground. You're thinking 'Wow!  This is awesome! I can't wait for more of this!' until we flash forward ten years and oh my,...it seems like the Battousai has fallen on some rather rough times.

The audience recognizes this wide-eyed, effeminate swordsman wearing a ratty pink haori as the Battousai of legend and we definitely won't be the last to do so.  Oh and the most feared swordsman of the revolution: yeah, he's taken a vow never to kill again.  His katana is called a sakabatou - a fictional sword that has the sharpened and dull sides of the blade reversed thus preventing Kenshin from delivering fatal wounds to his opponents in combat. Bummer.

In this episode we're introduced to the man that the Battousai has become after he comes to the aid of a local girl in Tokyo named Kaoru Kamiya.  Another man claiming to be the Battousai has been hanging around the city lately and killing unlucky townsfolk in the name of his sword style - Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. This is the style of swordsmanship that had been mastered and passed down through Kaoru's family for generations.  As the last of her line and with her ancestral dojo on the brink of financial ruin, Kaoru is hellbent on restoring the honor of her family's swordsmanship.  Kamiya Kasshin Ryu teaches that the sword is a tool to protect the innocent and that it should never be used to take a life for either revenge or justice.  They fight exclusively with wooden swords which is probably a good thing given that it is illegal to carry a bladed weapon in Meiji Japan. It doesn't really sound like the sword style belonging to aN assassin does it? But the suspicion that these incidents have cast on Kaoru's school is enough to drive away all her students.

Feeling some responsibility for what has happened, Kenshin hangs around in an attempt to get to the bottom of this mystery.  He is forced to reveal his identity as the real Hitokiri Battousai after the fake Battousai, a former student of Kaoru's father, sneaks into the dojo to take his final revenge on Kaoru for the banishment and humiliation that he received at the hands of her father.

After the business with the fake Battousai is wrapped up, Kaoru asks that Kenshin stay on and help her rebuild her school.  Kenshin is hesitant at first fearing that others will come after him and cause trouble for Kaoru, but her insistence that she doesn't care about his past moves him to accept her hospitality with the understanding that there may come a day when he'll have to wander off again.

So conveniently our no-kill samurai has come to stay at a no-kill dojo belonging to a kind and compassionate female lead.  Let the Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story begin!*

Some random thoughts:

Besides being an angsty, ass-kicking, Bishounen warrior, Kenshin cooks, cleans, and is great with children.  It's no wonder the character has such a rabid fangirl following. Kenshin relies on politeness and his good humor to hide amongst the crowd.  It makes him really endearing, but I find it interesting that he rarely takes any pains to hide his physical appearance other than to dress like a ragamuffin.  He could have very easily adopted one of the western hairstyles that you see cropping up in the Meiji era, or better yet -  dyed that mane of red hair as much, as I hate to say it.

Gohei, the fake Battousai and two-bit criminal, is able to match Kenshin pretty easily to a description that he's heard of the real Battousai so Kenshin's reputation is fairly widely known. I often wonder if Kenshin is unable to accept and really understand the fame that his title has earned him.  After all, he doesn't value it or view any of his actions during the war as anything noble.  In his mind he was simply an assassin and murderer.  He believed in the cause, but probably can't see himself as a hero of rumor and legend.  The only adjustments he makes in the post-Tokugawa world are behavioral. He intentionally acts in every way contrary to what he fears might be his true nature.  Kenshin the Wanderer is a quiet-mannered, polite man who does not assert himself (especially not around bossy women). And although he doesn't kill anymore, but it remains to be seen who Kenshin Himura really is.

*The full series title of Rurouni Kenshin is Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story.  Nobuhiro, the original creator, was very clear that this was a Romantic story and not a Love story.  While the romantic elements are very strong in this series it remains an action samurai story that can be enjoyed by both boys and girls.

[Anime] Rurouni Kenshin Rewatch: Introduction

Okay, I've been wanting to do this for a while now, and because of THIS I feel pretty darn motivated to finally commit to it.

You might want to look away for a moment. I'm going to have a fangirl meltdown for just a minute before getting into a serious explanation of the series. I'm sorry; I can't help myself. After ten long years, the universe has seen fit to give my favorite Anime of all time some small revival.

Fangirl Momment (Watch out!): OMG OMG OMG!!!  *breathes*  OMG OMG!!  

Brief Summary:  Rurouni Kenshin follows a "peaceful" swordsman by the name of Kenshin Himura who has taken a vow never to kill again as he tries to find a life for himself in the Meiji era of Japan.  The brief Meiji era is one of my favorite time periods to study.  It is a period of rapid westernization for Japan, yet many still struggle on to maintain the old ways of life.

It has been over ten years since the television series ended in Japan after a disappointing third season. In the U.S. the Rurouni Kenshin anime was distributed by Media Blasters and the manga by Viz Media.  It was well received in both countries and was briefly run on cable as a part of Cartoon Networks' Toonami line-up.

Realistically, I'm expecting a new straight to DVD film(s), but with the recent treatment that Inuyasha, Full Metal Alchemist, Dragon Ball Z, and Evangelion all received it's hard not to hope for more.  What would make me happy would be to see the Jinchuu ARC done properly.  The Jinchuu ARC was a storyline in the final volumes of the manga that was never animated for the television series, and only briefly recapped in the Seishouen OVA that came later after the television series had ended. What would make me happiest to the point that my heart might explode would be to see the series redone like Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood - newly animated and adhering more closely to the manga.

I will be watching the episodes in English although I imagine this might be irritating to some fans.  I know, I know - I know all about the flaws, but I am incredibly fond of Richard Cansino's voice as Kenshin Himura and several of the other cast members.  I appreciate the original Japanese and I think Mayo Suzukaze does a wonderful job, but this is a rewatch after all and the English dub is how I most often chose to watch the series when I was younger.

It's been almost six years since I last watched all the episodes.  I've been a fan of the series since the first DVD release in 2000. It pains me sometimes to think about how much money I spent collecting that 26 volume series.  At almost $30 dollars a DVD in those early days (including tax), I spent $1,000 dollars on Rurouni Kenshin.  Eeep!  The dumb things we do in high school when we don't have to pay rent, right?  But on the other hand, I think I had a lot of fun waiting on pins and needles all month for the next installment.  Now-a-days, we are able to leap into the fansubs while we wait which isn't quite as thrilling in my opinion.  Some things are worth waiting for.

I only hope that I'll be able to say those same words after the new Rurouni Kenshin project finally airs.

[Anime] Angel Beats: Death is War

I finally got the chance to see the second epilogue of Angel Beats and the special bonus episode last week. It's been a couple months now since I've seen the bulk of the episodes, but I'll try to review the show from memory as best I can.

Summary: High school student Yuzuru Otonashi wakes up in a strange new school with no memories of his recent past.  The school turns out to be a purgatory for the souls of teens who have died but are unable to pass on to be reincarnated on Earth.  At the school the students are expected to fulfill their youthful dreams and come to terms with their deaths; however, there is a group of students called the Shinda Sekai Sensen (The Afterlife Warfront or SSS) who rebel against these expectations.  Afraid that when they are reincarnated they'll loose their personality and thus truly die, the SSS create havoc on the campus on an almost daily basis.  The theory is that by resorting to delinquency and by spurning all the rules they'll never have to face their unfulfilled dreams.  There is a single student with the ability to transform her body into a weapon that is trying to restore peace at the school.  It is believed by the other students that she is an Angel sent by God to force them to cross over, and they want none of that.


My Thoughts: Angel Beats is an exceedingly high-energy show, almost annoyingly so at times; however, the high-energy hi-jinks work most of the time. The cast is purposefully stocked with various anime cliches, but the creators are aware of this and frequently poke fun at these tropes which I always like to see.

The soundtrack of Angel Beats is also pretty awesome. The opening and closing endings are appropriately haunting, but the real stars of the show are the songs released by in-story band, Girls Dead Monster.  They are so much fun!  My favorite song from the soundtrack was the one called Alchemy (in-story) or Crow Song  in the real world which is sung by Marina.



You get the picture.  It's pretty catchy.

I know I make this sound like a light-hearted comedy, but there are two things that I would like to point out.  The first of which is the sheer amount of blood and cartoony violence that each episode brings.  This is a world in which you can be hurt, maimed, killed and you will always wake up in the nurse's office completely uninjured. Despite this obvious fact (that everyone is perfectly aware of) every death is treated as dramatically as possible.  The show gets points for creativity too.  I think the only thing that I didn't see was someone getting thrown into a wood chipper.  There's not a lot of gore so the faint of heart and stomach need not worry; however, expect to see some comical blood fountains and nosebleeds.

And secondly, over the course of the thirteen episodes and one special, Angel Beats takes on a level of depth that I wouldn't have expected from the show based on the first three episodes.  The students are forced to grapple with some pretty big issues.  What does it mean to be alive?  Do we exist as merely the sum of our experience or is there a more permanent quality to the human soul that endures? Are our dreams worth everything?  What is God?  What does it mean to rebel against him?  They have to deal with death on multiple levels: their own and the grief they feel after the disappearances of their close friends whenever one of them accidentally finds peace.  There are typical teenage struggles but many darker problems too.  Some of these children remember exactly how they died, and it isn't usually pretty.  There is so much going on beneath the surface of Angel Beats, and yet amazingly it never loses the fun factor. 

I'm shocked by how long this review has gotten.  As I said it has been months since I've seen all thirteen episodes, but it's the kind of show that does stick with you for a little while at least.  I don't believe the show has been licensed yet, but it was rumored that Aniplex was expected to bring out the North American release.

It's under 9,000? Review: Dragon Ball Z Kai

A lot of people are at least familiar with Dragon Ball Z even if they don’t follow the Anime industry closely. They’ll be remembering its censored Cartoon Network days. I loved Dragon Ball Z as a kid and I still have my Vegeta punching bag. I’ll be honest though, in the intervening years between middle school and my adult life, Dragon Ball Z got harder and harder to watch. DBZ was terribly flawed, but those were different days in the industry. The dubbing and translations were horrible. The filler was endless and the pacing was dreadfully slow. Did it really need to take five episodes for Namek to explode when Goku only had twenty minutes to make his escape? Why couldn’t this have been done in real time?

But now we have Dragon Ball Z Kai, and I am such a fan. It’s a reboot of the series using the original animation digitally cleaned up or redrawn in cases where the cells had deteriorated past the point of being useful. In the first 13 episodes the story already reaches the first exchange of blows between Vegeta and Goku, skipping the all that boring filler along Snake Way and the training episodes. There are a few things we miss out on. Some of my favorite filler didn’t make the cut. Vegeta’s and Nappa’s side adventure on the bug planet is not included. “Nappa’s Best Day Ever” is severely truncated, but sacrifices needed to be made for the sake of brevity (which was characteristically lacking in the original series). The action and story sped along and the sequences fit together well despite the cuts. Overall I was happy with a lot of the changes. And hey, they even redubbed the whole thing. The horrible pronunciations were fixed and in my opinion they got a marginally stronger performance out of the returning crew. The cast members that were replaced, were replaced for the better. Gohan actually sounds like a young boy now.

The first box from Funimation comes complete with 13 episodes on two discs. The exterior of the collector’s box has a much more modern and clean look to it compared to those god awful orange boxes that I hated (and yet still bought).

There is one last thing and I must applaud Funimation for even if it makes me mildly grumpy. They went so far as to change the most iconic line from DBZ so it would match the original Japanese broadcast. So now:

Nappa: “Vegeta, what does the scouter read?”
Vegetta: “It’s over EIGHT thousand!”

Damn, that’s attention to detail but...but..it just doesn’t feel the same anymore. The moment is gone. The original meme is now...retro. In short: I feel old!