Asakomi

Ahh, an old classic. A series that any true anime fan should watch, right?

The first season of Kenshin give us an introduction to the main characters of the series. Himura Kenshin is a swordsman whose prowess and strength were unparalleled during the revolution. He slaughtered many in an effort to bring about change. Now he wanders from place to place, trying to *save* people with his reversed-bladed sword, instead of killing them. He ends up living at the Kamiya dojo with the assistant instructor, Kaoru. Eventually we also meet the spunky Yahiko, who becomes a student of Kaoru’s, and the ex-killer-for-hire Sanosuke.

As far as character development goes I think Kenshin has done an ok job of it in the first season, but it could be better. We know a little about the pasts of each of the major players. There has been nothing in-depth so far, which disappoints me a little. But since I know the series goes up to 95 eps, they still have plenty of time so I haven’t completely given up hope..

I was expecting a darker and more serious series, and at first I was a little disappointed by the comedic elements that permeated the majority of the episodes. Maybe this comes from having watched the prequel OAV first. Once I got over my initial disappointment I really began to enjoy the silly side of the show, and I have to admit I giggle profusely every time Kenshin goes “oro.”

The story itself is episodic, with nothing tying all the events together in a grander story arc. The main theme seems to be that everyone wants to kill Kenshin because he’s the “battousai” and they hate the imperialists.

I have a minor rant with episode 22. What the heck happened to the animation?? It looks like it went to the dogs. Their faces looked distorted half the time. It was like they were trying to make the movements more fluid, but it ended up making the characters look like stretched out noodles.

And um… I thought the part where Kenshin came charging in on a HORSE (after falling off the moving train into a rushing river) and then using said horse to jump from ship to ship and then to land.. was utterly ridiculous. That horse was practically flying across the huge gaps between ships.

No matter what thought, Kenshin is just plain cool. I DO hope that a deeper story develops as time goes on, but as it stands right now I’m thoroughly enjoying the comedy even if it can’t compare to when Kenshin pulls out that sword and gets serious! I want to know more about Kenshin’s past, and I suspect that as time goes on it will come back to haunt him even more. I also look forward to the budding romance between Kenshin and Kaoru (you can blame that on me being a girl if you want..lol ^_^).