I knew I shouldn’t have watched it. -_- WHY DID THEY HAVE TO MAKE HIM DIE?! T_T The happy manga ending is good enough for me~ WAHHH and of all things to die from.
And so… I accidentally posted the same thing twice and wasn’t able to finish. -_- Of all the animanga I’ve seen, I probably still know the most about RuroKen and CCS. They brought me into the world of subtitled anime afterall. I still need to rewatch GW subbed. Annnd I don’t even know the fulll actual name for Ronin Warriors… lmao.
Just to clarify. The timeline of the story is Tsuikohen (Trust/Betrayel), Anime, then Seisouhen (Reflection). The anime includes the Tokyo and Kyoto arc of the manga. The 3rd arc, which was not included in the anime is elaborated upon by the two OVA’s. Tsuikohen does a wonderful job with the Kenshin/Tomoe backstory. It’s my favorite OVA, queationably of all others I’ve seen. Seisouhen, while I actually applaud the dramatic effects (flashback fillers don’t work however), just did not do justice for the Jinchuu arc (best arc of the manga IMO). Not enough Enishi.
And, the primary reason I refused to watch Seisouhen was because… Kenshin doesn’t die in the manga. He doesn’t need to die. And it’s not some muscle disease because that’s not transmittable. The issue with his Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu is only in the manga, to the best of my knowledge.
The manga ending is cute. Kenshin deserves a happy ending. While this somewhat parallels Tomoe’s death… it’s just… not right.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve been a loyal RuroKen fan for many years now.
As for the fading scar, it’s representative of the completion of his atonement.
Ya know… Storylines like Bleach and Naruto are wonderful and all… But they don’t have that lasting impression on you. =\ Aside from some few randomly sad moments… they lose the dramatic aspects of RuroKen. Actually, I still go back to wondering if I’ve seen another better series.
My biggest beef with the OVA is Kenshin leaving his wife and child behind to wander again. No way in 100 years would he do that in the manga, or even the anime. In the canon time line, Kenshin finds his will to live, his truth and his answer, thereby attaining release from his need to wander and deny himself happiness. In the OVA, Kenshin learns the will to live, the truth and the answer too, apparently, yet somehow after passing the Sskabatou to Yahiko, he forgets everything he learned and goes back to being the angsty, tormented wanderer. Very dissatisfying.