Introduction

Are you new to Rurouni Kenshin? If yes, then this is the section for quick overviews about the series. At the left side navigation, the characters link will guide you about the main characters of the series and lastly, for luck, would provide some medias such as icons, wallpapers, and to name a few.

“140 years ago in Kyoto, with the coming of the “Black Ships”… there arose a samurai called Hitokiri Battousai. Killing men with his blood-stained blade, he closed the chaotic Bakamatsu Era… and slashed open the new era known as the Meiji. Then he vanished. And with the flow of time became a legend. This tale begins in the 11th year of Meiji, in the middle of Tokyo.”

Himura Kenshin is a Rurouni, a wanderer who wanders the countryside of Japan offering protection and aid to those in need. He has a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, red hair, and is wearing a sword and worn out clothes. When arriving in Tokyo in the 11th year of Meiji (1878), he meets a young woman named Kamiya Kaoru. She accuses Kenshin of being the Hitokiri Battousai, but Kenshin denies this accusation stating that he is a harmless Rurouni. Kaoru doesn’t believe him since he is carrying a sword, but when she pulls it out of its sheath she finds a Sakabatou (“reverse bladed sword”).

Shortly after their conversation she hears some whistles and goes to check out the commotion and finds the real impersonator; Gohei, from the swordsmanship school that she teaches; Kamiya Kasshin. She thinks he is the Hitokiri and tries to attack him but gets beaten instead and at the knick of time Kenshin saves her.

After discovering that Kenshin is the real Battousai who has given up the way of the sword and has vowed never to kill anyone, Kaoru offers him a place to stay at her dojo noting that he is peace-loving and not cold-hearted, as his reputation implies. Kenshin accepts and begins to establish lifelong relationships with many people such as Sagara Sanosuke, a former Sekihou Army member; Myoujin Yahiko, an orphan from a samurai family; and a doctor named Takani Megumi.

The story, of course, doesn’t end here as Kenshin is faced with many foes and enemies since his name is getting out and they are challenging him to battles from the past. But can Kenshin stick to his non-killing self, and what is it that happened in his past that made him become this way? Will he be able to protect the ones he loves from his past enemies like Saitou Hajime (the leader of the Shinsengumi) and the Hitokiri that took his place after he left, Shishio Makoto? But perhaps more importantly, will Kenshin be able to save himself from the most deadly enemy of all: himself?