If you've never heard or seen Rurouni Kenshin, you're probably missing out on one of the best animes/mangas ever created. Created by Watsuki Nobuhiro, this anime features an eclectic mix of action, comedy, and romance. For those who are still unconvinced should definitely start out with the episodes which got me hooked. The episode featuring Jine (please see episodes 6 and seven on my episode guides page) is an excellent example of what Kenshin is like. The action and clips of comedy are just a glimpse of what the anime's really like (ex: Saitou vs. Kenshin battle ^_~).
Rurouni Kenshin starts in the 11th year of the Meiji era where a man is walking slowly down the streets of Tokyo. A young woman suddenly demands for the Hitokiri Battousai, a legendary swordsman who killed mercilessly, to stop. The man turns around slowly in confusion to face the young woman who charges at him. The man dodges, lands in a pile, and falls down as the pile collapses beneath him. The woman is surprised an wonder how such a weak person could be the Hitokiri Battousai. The man smiles and explains he's only a rurouni, or wanderer, who would never kill anyone. To prove his case, he shows her his sword. The woman is even more surprised to find out the sword is practically new with a reversed edge. The man, relieved, smiles as she realizes that such a sword wouldn't be used to kill someone.
Time passes and through a series of events, the young woman, Kaoru, grows fond of the rurouni. He seemed peaceful and kind to everyone. However, Kaoru still remained curious as to why such an unskilled man would carry around a sword, especially a sakabatou (reversed edge) no less, when the government had strictly forbidden it at the start of the Meiji Era.
A few days later, Kaoru is being held up by an enormous man claiming to be the Hitokiri Battousai and his hostile group, the same people she had been trying to hunt down. However, just as the man decides to kill her, the rurouni shows up. The group laughs at his feminish appearance, and Kaoru tries to warn the rurouni to escape while he could. The rurouni calmly steps forward towards the man and pulls out his sword. His eyes narrow, his voice gets deeper, and with a venomous look and deadly voice, he reveals that he is the legendary Hitokiri Battousai. The group can only stare at the person claiming to be the swordsman both famous and infamous for his fierce fighting skills using the style of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu to perform hundreds of assassinations during the Bakamatsu Era to pave the road to the new era. However, he also adds that he no longer wishes to be known as the Battousai nor live up to it. With that, the man drops Kaoru and orders his group to kill the rurouni.
The group rushes at the rurouni, still thinking that he is nothing but a weakling who trying to claim the title of the Hitokiri Battousai. However, whatever doubt they had about him was cleared up as the rurouni sped towards them with unbelievable speed. Within a second, every group member fell onto the floor, defeated by the nonchalant rurouni. The man in charge of the group grows furious and thinks he can defeat the rurouni since he's almost twice as big as him. However, as the man swings his sword down, he realizes the rurouni has disappeared. Suddenly, he hears a voice coming above him. It was the last thing he heard before the rurouni's sakabatou connected with flesh and bone.
Kaoru, stunned at the identity of the man she had taken into her home, realizes that the rurouni hadn't killed anyone at all. She becomes surprised and notices that they had just been knocked out by the force of his sword. After a moment of silence, the rurouni apologizes for the trouble he caused. He also adds rather sadly that he would leave since he knew that she wouldn't want a Hitokiri living under her roof. As he turns to open the door, Kaoru shouts out at him. She tells him that he is no longer the Battousai and doesn't care about his past. She then blushes, and asks the rurouni for his name. The rurouni tells her that his name is Himura Kenshin. With that, Kaoru tells Kenshin that he may leave if he wants to, but she hoped that he would stay. Kaoru hears the door open and close, and she heaves a sigh, thinking Kenshin had left. However, a voice startle her and she realizes that Kenshin was still there. On a final note, Kenshin smiles warmly and tells Kaoru that he would give up being a wanderer for awhile and stay.
