Samurai X
Rurouni Kenshin is a manga and anime series created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. It is set during the early Meiji period in Japan. In other countries, the TV series itself is known as "Samurai X". The movie Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal tells the beginning life of Kenshin but instead of being an anime series like Rurouni Kenshin it is more of an movie then a show. While the anime series Rurouni Kenshin shows Kenshin as not wishing to take anybody life Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal shows a more violent, younger Kenshin who wishes to protect the weak with his sword but instead accidentally creates sorrow for others.
Characters
[edit]- Oro!
- It was to create a world of peace, not to win positions or power, that we raised our swords and killed. If we forget that, then we are no revolutionaries after all.
- A swordsman must be honest about his foes' skills and his own.
- No matter how sincerely you try, there are times when your thoughts just don't reach the students.
- Ah ... It's a doodle? [describing fine art]
- Just being a hitokiri doesn't mean that one enjoys killing people.
- A sword is a weapon. The art of swordsmanship is learning how to kill. That is the truth. What Miss Kaoru says is sweet and innocent talk that only those whose hands have never been stained with the blood of men can believe. But, to tell you the truth, I much prefer Miss Kaoru's sweet and innocent talk over the truth, indeed I do!
- Nikaido Heiho... Shin no Ippo... If a man kills too many, too long, he loses his original purpose and has his heart stolen by the color and smell of blood.
- Doesn't Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu teach us to PROTECT people from suffering? When DO we use our swords, if not now?
- If you want death, come forward.
- No matter what the reason, this one refuses to take another life.
- What about Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu...? What about "Himura Kenshin"...? Once again, I failed to protect the most important person.
- That sweat, those wounds, and this warmth. These are not illusions. They are real. Now I want to protect what's real, not illusions.
- to Kaoru: Thank you for everything...and goodbye.
- No... it isn't sorcery... it's speed! Speed of sword. Speed of body. Speed at reading his opponents' moves. Taking down man after man with the least possible movement! [describing Kenshin the first time she sees him fight]
- It isn't enough for the law to say we're all equal. If the peoples' hearts don't change, none of it means anything.
- to Megumi: Are you gone yet, you vixen??!
- A true fight isn't like a sword duel. The better swordsman doesn't always win. The winner is the one who remains standing!
- Dad, I'm buying your fight! The Ishin Shishi...they aren't your enemy. They are mine, from ten years ago...the enemy of the one who wears the mark of evil on his back.
- (When asked to pay for a restaurant tab) ...Kinda academic, isn't it? You know I'll never pay.
- I can't lose....not...to the men who made Captain Sagara and the Sekiho army bear the evil mark of "aku."
- I can't stand the sound of a fat toad croaking in his little pond, any longer.
- I’ll give you some advice from my experience, “mastered” or “mastery” is not something you can claim so lightly. You should tone down your stupidity and conceit, or you’ll suffer more than just a light burn.
- What's mine is mine and what's yours is also mine.
- For now...I can offer you no glory. But one day...I will.
- Battosai...Until I come kill you, don't let anyone beat me to it.
- Duty is of the highest priority for the Oniwabanshu. And just as I have said, such villains will be sent to the deepest pit by those same dark powers. This is my duty as the last master of Oniwabanshu onmitsu!!
- To defeat you, and to become the one true hitokiri, I will change into anything.
- This world, full of evil and violence, is Hell itself. Don't you think?
- Let's take over our nation.
- In this world, the weak are the sustenance of the strong. The strong live, the weak die.
- If the revolution is over, then I'll start another one!!
- Where do you think? To conquer this place called Hell of course.
- In my battle with the Battousai, the spirits were afraid of me, and chose to side with him. But there's only evil people down here, so that won't happen this time. [Laughter]
Seta Sōjirō
[edit]- to Ōkubo Toshimichi: I came to deliver a message from Shishio. "This nation will be mine"
- If you are strong, you live. If you are weak, you die.
Hiko Seijûrô
[edit]- (When asked who he is by a brigand) There is no point in naming myself to those who are about to die.
- Man or woman, to attain buddhahood without knowing the taste of good sake is a crime. A good sake is the least I can do. What is your name, boy? (the boy gives his name as Shinta) For Kenkaku or "sword arts," that's far too gentle. From now on, your name is to be "Kenshin." I shall also give you my most precious knowledge.
- Even when I wield my sword according to the teachings of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu, too many times I cannot save a soul. I kill and kill, and still the villains, like maggots, spring from the corpse of a Japan decomposing. There will be more and more acts like this...and all I can do is bury the victims.
- I though I taught you...Swords are weapons. The way of swords is the way to kill. However you try to dress it up in phony righteousness, killing is your truth.
- Cherry blossoms in Spring. Stars cover the sky on Summer. Full moon shines on Autumn and in Winter, the snow covers the ground. All these things make sake taste good. If it tastes bad, it's because there is something wrong in you.
- If you're to overcome this, you need to remember what you just saw. You need the will to live.
Saito Hajime
[edit]- The way of a Ruroni is the way of weaklings.
- to Kenshin: Sword with its blade turned towards yourself a eventually will cause suffering to only yourself.
- Live by the sword, die by the sword. There is no other way for you and me.
- The essence of combat is to strike at the vulnerabilities of one's opponent. There is no "fair" or "unfair".
- Shinsengumi is Shinsengumi. A wolf is a wolf. And a hitokiri is a hitokiri. Right... Battōsai?
- Swift death to evil: That was the code upheld by both the Shinsengumi and the Hitokiri.
- Aku-Soku-Zan. ("Slay. Evil. Immediately.")
- A fool who relies so much on his own toughness that he learns nothing of defense, also has nothing to rely on.
- The police are like the Shinsengumi. Our duty is to protect Japan, and the lives of people. Once we take on that duty, we accept that death must be part of it. To obsess over every life, as does Battosai, is folly. It is my duty to finish this matter so that those who died may pass safely into the afterlife. But revenge? I hold not one thought of it. If your Shingan won't tell you, then I will. What drives me so deep...? SWIFT DEATH TO EVIL! I bring my own brand of justice.
- One may train a dog with food, or a man with money. But taming a Wolf of Mibu...that, none may do.
- It doesn't matter if you don't understand. I will get no joy out of settling the score with a hitokiri who no longer kills.
- I was the only one of the Shinsengumi said to be invulnerable.
- This man, Hitokiri Battousai, will be killed by me, Shinsengumi squad three captain, Saito Hajime.
- Makimachi Misao need give her name to no villain!
- One there was a wandering monk, who while walking worked up a funk. He found a well by a path and said "Now for my bath." But oh no! The bucket was sunk!
- I'm not about to just stand here and let her (Kaoru) die!
- Women and cash.
- You have been training me to handle myself, haven't you?! So trust your student!
- to Kaoru Ugly!
- about Kenshin and Sanosuke gambling Watch 'em have lost it all and come home in their underwear!
- It's not the end yet! No! I won't let it end like this!
Takani Megumi
[edit]- Kanryu took me in...and I became his woman
- We only use each other. He uses me to get the opium...and I use him...to survive
- Ohohohohoho!
- Ken-san! [in the English dub of the anime: "Sir Ken"]
Udo Jin-e
[edit]- Blood...Not enough...There is not enough blood!
- Those who bathe in blood...should be praised!
- to Kaoru: If I take you hostage, it would enrage Battosai. Rage makes one return to the way of killing.
- Let's settle this, Himura Batousai.
- [laughing] Uhu-hu-hu
- Mmm... this feeling... so sweet... [describing his suicide]
Other/Minor Characters
[edit]- Han'nya: Aoshi found this wolf -- and rescued him!! He trained me into a first-class onmitsu!! He gave me the Edo castle oniwabanshu, my comrades -- and my reason to live!! If I can be of any use to Aoshi, what need have I for a face?!!!
- Han'nya: I told you before. It was inevitable that we fight.
- Yukishiro Tomoe:
- This man stole my happiness, and gave me another in its place. He will kill more people before he's done. But...in the end, he will protect far more than he's killed. I can't let him die here. Goodbye...the second man I have loved...
- You truly make blood rain...
- Yukishiro Enishi:
- Suffer, Battosai. Your suffering is my only joy.
- There is no defense! There is no need for defense! You have already robbed me of the only thing I ever wanted to protect!
- I'm counting on you, Kujiranami-san. With your new right arm [a cannon], ignite the fire that signals the beginning of revenge.
- Now, here is the question - Stealing from the family would have been enough... Why did the child massacre them? Answer 1 - The family resisted. Answer 2 - The child was a psychopath. Answer 3 - For the child, whose sister was killed by a merciless hitokiri, destroying his happiness... the sight of a family living in happiness was unbearable. The correct answer... is, without debate, number three.
- Komagata Yumi: Amusing, isn't it? Slaves are human, but prostitutes are cattle? We who suffer so much for men's pleasure are women no longer, but cows!
Dialogue
[edit]- Hiruma Gohei: Are you here to talk about swords that give life too?
- Kenshin: No. A sword is a weapon. No matter what pretty names you give it, swordsmanship is the way to kill. Kaoru-dono speaks as one who has never bloodied her hands in combat. She maintains a sweet naive lie. But in the face of such awful truth, the naive lie she tells is so much better. If this one had a wish, it would be that her lie would become the truth of this world.
- Kenshin: [in pain] Dislocated groin!
- Kaoru: Dislocated brain!!!
- Kenshin: Are you that bothered by your lack of power, young one?
- Yahiko: Damn. I want to be strong. So strong I won't need your help... Strong enough to defend my father and mother's pride on my own.
- Kenshin: ...Of course.
- Kaoru: And you! You say you're 28?! That's a lie and you know it!
- Kenshin: Would "30" make you happier?
- Kaoru: ...No, it wouldn't...
- Kenshin: [exasperated] This isn't going to be easy...
- Kaoru: But why do you still have your battle expression?
- Kenshin: Um... Well... it's a bit odd actually. You see... it's been so long since my eyes were narrowed into this "death glare" and... well... ahem My muscles are stuck.
- Yahiko: Nobody likes fat girls.
- Kaoru: Better than a pointy-eyed midget.
- Yahiko: Oh yeah!? The girls love this pointy-eyed midget.
- Saito: How are you going to protect anyone, assassin who refuses to kill?
- Kenshin: It's enough to protect those within my sight.
- Udo Jin-e: Don't look at me like that, Battōsai. Your eyes were much better before...when you said you were going to kill me. A hitokiri is a hitokiri until death. Another hitokiri tells you this. It cannot be wrong. Keep playing at "rurouni." I'll watch you... from Hell.
- [Later into the chapter]
- Kenshin: Jin-e, are you watching from hell? Even if "hitokiri" is this one's nature, nature shall be surpressed. "Rurouni" this one shall be, until this one's very death.
- Ōkubo Toshimichi: Shishio is scheming at Kyoto.
- Sanosuke: Shishio?
- Ōkubo Toshimichi: He's after one thing...The Meji Government disposed.
- Kenshin : Even now, do you still think them empty words?
- Shinomori Aoshi : It is too early to gloat. One width of paper closer, and I'd have sliced your jugular.
- Kenshin : But that narrow margin is the key difference between me and you in your present form. When I was at the brink of life or death, I used all my will to survive. I drew upon a different power than that of self-sacrifice, and mastered an ultimate technique. Sometimes, the bravest act is to live. That was the ray of light that my master risked his life to show me. As Hitokiri Battousai, I have committed so many sins that I cannot possibly repent for them, that is why I had secretly believed that it didn’t matter whether when I died or was killed. However, now even if I were formally punished and restrained, I will never lose the will to live. Aoshi, you said you have thrown everything away. Anyone can throw away everything if they wish, it’s easy. With your swords, you have become stronger beyond limits, but mentally you’ve gotten so much weaker that you’re far from what you used to be. As the Commander, you wish to give the proof of being the strongest as a title to four men who had gruesome deaths, that I understand. However, with that weakened spirit of yours, saying so becomes an excuse so you can look away from continuing to live. You aren’t doing anything for these four now. All you are doing is swinging your sword full of evil, and blaming these four for it. Beshimi, Hyottoko, Shikijo, Han'nya, face the truth, Aoshi, is it for them that you fight, or it is that they are merely an excuse?
- Sanosuke: Alright, I'll take you on. I'll ask who you are with these fists! [he punches Saito] Sorry, I got serious here.
- [Sanosuke is confused after realizing that his punch has no effect.]
- Hajime: I see, nice punch. That explains why people say that you are the strongest fighter in Tokyo. However it is good only for the peaceful times like current Meiji era. In Kyoto, during the Bakumatsu, a punch like this would get you killed.
- Kaoru: Are you really going?
- Sanosuke: Yeah, but I'll try not to make it goodbye for good. Make a kid or two with Kenshin, and show them to me next time we meet.
- Kaoru [embarrassed] Wh-wh-what are you saying?
- Sanosuke: Don't be modest!
- Kaoru: Stay here.
- Kenshin: I promise I'll return.
About Samurai X
[edit]- Rurouni Kenshin started as a short story, so I didn’t do much research on it, but in the year and a half between the story and the start of the series, I spent a lot of time reading them (books about Meiji). I did the manga because I wanted to draw Kimonos and swords, so don’t count on all of the details to be completely accurate.
- Q: Why did you choose the Meiji era for RK?
- A: Because I didn’t want to draw those samurai hairstyles. You know, those weird hairstyles from ancient periods. If you want to draw swords but no strange hairstyles, then you have to go to the Meiji era. Also, I am a big fan of the Shinsengumi. But drawing in this period means that I’m going to be drawing a lot of historical stuff.
- Q: Why was Kenshin a killer so young?
- A: Kenshin was originally supposed to be in his thirties, but the director says that the main character in a manga can’t be 30! So I looked at the timeline and the youngest that I could get him was 28. But anyway, in the Meiji life spans are shorter, and many people started to fight in their teens.
- Watsuki Nobuhiro Question session for Watsuki Nobuhiro at Anime Expo in Los Angeles California on July 5, 2002 from noon to 1pm.
- I have always wanted to illustrate a story that is different from other comics, that is about the unclear nature of good and evil. Kenshin himself is not a person of a purely good character. He has a past as the Hitokiri Battousai. It's hard to say if he was an absolutely good or absolutely villainous character. That's what Rurouni Kenshin is about.
- The sakabato is something original that I came up with. The reason for it is very simple: I didn't want my main character killing anyone. But a bamboo or wooden sword isn't intimidating enough, so I came up with the idea of a sword that has its sharp and blunt edges on reversed sides. That way the main character is able to fight the way he always does, and still be able to refrain from killing anyone.
- Watsuki Nobuhiro "Interview with Nobuhiro Watsuki, author of Rurouni Kenshin: The Manga. Abit spoilery" Toon Zone, March 20, 2003.
