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xaijar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
I love Rurouni Kenshin! I watched the anime years ago but never read the manga. It's has all the humour that I love! The characters are amazing! The illustrations are fantastic! Some panels remind of Junji Ito's style. The manga and abumea are generally the same so far with some differences. So characters are added or removed in the anime. Now that Rurouni Kenshin is getting a remake of the anime series, they have made it a little closer to the manga so far. I'll be interested to compare it all.
frasersimons's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I’m partial to this, since it’s the first anime I really enjoyed. The manga holds up really well. The humour is handled better and, at least in this translation, Kenshin just refers to himself as “this one”, instead of weird, antiquated codas every sentence in the anime, which I greatly prefer. Otherwise I remember everything that happens still, and it covers a heck of a lot of ground, unlike other manga I’ve been reading lately (20th Century Boys being absolutely glacial). Each instalment is pacey and well plotted. A ton of things happen, characterization is good, and you get a bunch of asides about the historical aspects that certain things are based on, which is just really enjoyable, since I know literally none of the subject matter.
Also, Kenshin is just a great character, especially as a hero. Is feminine, he doesn’t want to fight, he doesn’t act like an INCEL, there’s no harem trope. It’s like a completely different Shonen than the ones I’ve been making my way through. The worst affront is that the author tends to damsel the women after he characterizes them well. Strong, independent, smart. But, oh yeah, they gotta be kidnapped. How else could we make interesting stakes for Kenshin? It’s a bit lame, which makes the last issue less interesting.
Also, Kenshin is just a great character, especially as a hero. Is feminine, he doesn’t want to fight, he doesn’t act like an INCEL, there’s no harem trope. It’s like a completely different Shonen than the ones I’ve been making my way through. The worst affront is that the author tends to damsel the women after he characterizes them well. Strong, independent, smart. But, oh yeah, they gotta be kidnapped. How else could we make interesting stakes for Kenshin? It’s a bit lame, which makes the last issue less interesting.
puzumaki's review against another edition
4.0
Had to read this version because it is three in one like the second volume I picked up. Again, the anime is a mirror of the manga thus far.
armeneely's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the original anime and live action movies. The manga does not disappoint.
watson_face's review against another edition
4.0
I so want to give this a 5 star rating (because it is such an awesome manga) but it loses a quarter of a star for the main heroine, Kamiya Kaoru. In the first few chapters she starts out pretty badass, displaying her sword wielding skillz like whoa, wearing bindings like a true ninja, and then just fizzles into the typical whiney fretting female girlie girl character. She runs a Kenjutsu dojo for crying out loud! She’s not as annoyingly enraging as Bulma but she’s bordering on Hiruno Sakura age 12. It becomes very tiring to see her take a back seat in the fighting department unless some other woman bats her eyelashes at Kenshin then it just turns catty and that’s just disappointing. Though I do enjoy the silliness of some of the panels when she bonks one of the guys on the head and they fly out of the frame in a twisted position.
The rest of the manga is truly, truly magnificent; the art work is just beautiful and the story is not only interesting but soaked in ancient Japanese culture. I like the use of Japanese terminology and it honestly piqued my curiosity to learn more about these historical figures mentioned within the chapters.
The rest of the manga is truly, truly magnificent; the art work is just beautiful and the story is not only interesting but soaked in ancient Japanese culture. I like the use of Japanese terminology and it honestly piqued my curiosity to learn more about these historical figures mentioned within the chapters.
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