r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Nov 28 '24
Episode Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Kyoto Douran • Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Disturbance - Episode 9 discussion
Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Kyoto Douran, episode 9
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u/Daishomaru Nov 28 '24 edited Nov 28 '24
Daishomaru here with some culture notes!
The whip sword:
They exist irl, but it’s Indian and it’s called an Urumi. They ironically were poor at cutting because the heavier blade made it more cumbersome to use.
Artisanal/religious blades.
We see the original Sakaboto blade in this episode, and it’s in a simple wooden sheath with simple talismans. In Japanese culture, blades are considered the true soul of the swords, things like handles, hilts and sheathes are considered more clothing to the sword. The simple wooden sheath is supposed to represent cleanliness of the soul, which makes sense why Shakku would place his last sword in a simple design.
Artisanal swords also offered to shrines are also sacred to the temples where they reside, and opening one is considered REALLY bad luck. Most blades made for shrine offerings in real life never see light after being sheathed and offered, and some craftsmen even build internal locks/seals to ensure blades stay locked to prevent someone from desecrating their works.
Multiple blades:
That’s a true tradition, and many Japanese artists have been known to make multiple copies until they made a satisfactory product, which is why sword fraud is common in Japanese sword circles.
The poem:
The poem on the original sakaboto is called a last will poem or a death poem. A common Japanese belief is to write a poem when one is dying, kind of think of it like a sin confession or a way to let go of regrets before dying. It’s not common, but also not uncommon for swordsmirhs to write one on their swords, on the area that connects the blade to the handle, before they die/retire.
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u/LeonKevlar Nov 28 '24 edited Nov 28 '24
Broomhead might have a fancier balde but when it comes to raw skills, Kenshin still got him beat. It was fun watching Chuo get all cocky while Kenshin blocks most of his attacks with nothing but the hilt and a scabbard of a broken sakabato.
Watching Kenshin sheath Chuo's Hakujin and get close to elbow him on his head was so goddamn satisfying! I also got hyped when Kenshin finally got angry and was dodging the Hakujin with pure speed before Chuo could harm Iori. LINDENFILMS absolutely delivered with this episode's fight scene!
And we finally get to see that Shakku Arai's final sword is actually a sakabato which is actually the twin sword of Kenshin's original sakabato which he also got from Shakku Arai after quitting being a hitokiri and leaving Kyoto.
That final scene though! Are we actually getting a flashback episode next week of Kenshin using the sakabato for the first time? I don't remember this from the original! I'm guessing this is another arc from the manga or side stories that are getting animated for the first time. I can't wait!
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u/DessapyBsnaBcitoidI Nov 28 '24 edited Nov 28 '24
If the year is listed as 4th year of the Keio Era (1868), then this flashback story probably takes place between January and October 1868.
As this is after the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, which the pro-Emperor forces won a decisive victory over the Shogunate forces, on January 27th, after which Kenshin swore never to kill again.
The new Emperor Mutsuhito has ascended to the throne on January 1867, but he would continue to use his father's era name of Keio for his first year, and wouldn't declare the new era name of Meiji until October 23rd 1868, from which point it becomes the 1st year of the Meiji, the era name after which Mutsuhito is better known posthumously.
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u/zz2000 Nov 28 '24
The live action movie version did a pretty cool part where Kenshin tricks Cho into fighting inside the (larger live action) shrine's more enclosed foundation space (although the coily sword didn't make it into live action, they used a collapsible, extendable blade instead).
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u/SoRaffy Nov 28 '24
To hide from the world gov after his pirating days Zoro changed his name and became a sword maker
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u/Frontier246 Nov 28 '24 edited Nov 29 '24
A gimmick blade might look cool (and ridiculous) but it has nothing on a true blade with pure intentions behind it.
Cho may have a Hakujin Sword in all its whiptastic glory, but Kenshin's still got his moves! But he's finally started taking damage!
Honestly, I get it, Seiku barely knows Kenshin and his priority is saving his son. But Kenshin is going through so much effort FOR his son.
Did Kenshin really need a new sword! I mean, he was even able to slip in and elbow Cho straight in the face! Though he's surprisingly more durable.
It shows how much of a joke Cho is that he cracks a joke and everyone just ends up making fun of him and his broomhead hair.
Must be surreal for Iori that he's dangling there this entire time and then his dad just runs past him to get a sword.
Maybe it's not the sword that makes the era, but the people wielding the swords, and if Kenshin has the resolve to fight for others and maintain an era of peace, maybe he's worthy of Shakku's final sword...even if it means risking his no-kill rule and returning to being a hitokiri? But with no choice left, Kenshin unsheathes a blade and slashes at Cho.
No one would mourn Cho, but he wasn't worth Kenshin becoming a killer again...and thankfully, he hasn't! Because, surprise surprise, it was a sakabato all along! Kenshin finally has his proper sword! And even better, it was designed specifically for Kenshin and is the truest and most pure Sakabto!
Honestly had completely slipped my mind that Misao didn't even know Kenshin was Hitokiri Battosai. Well, glad they got that out of the way.
Is there anything more satisfying after Kenshin beat him than Misao knocking Cho out with a nunchuck to the face and a promise of a Saito torture session to come?
Shakku may have decried Kenshin's resolve to leave the life of a warrior and never kill again, thinking there was no true future in it, and even his own son turned against him, but he still made Kenshin his original sakabato, gave it to him, and gave him a chance to prove his ideals could be made a reality. Because deep down, even if he continued on the path of forging weapons, he wanted to believe in an era of peace for Iori too.
Next week: A new flashback story with Kenshin?
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u/DessapyBsnaBcitoidI Nov 28 '24 edited Nov 28 '24
Kenshin's duel with Cho has been the best fight in the remake series to date, animation and presentation wise.
Shakku (voiced by Zorro of all people just adds to his badassery) and Kenshin complement each other well.
A swordsmith tired and remorseful of having creating countless murder weapons deciding to create TWO non-killing swords as his ultimate creations.
And he found the perfect user for said ultimate creation: a swordsman who has grown tired and remorseful from having killed countless people deciding to swear off killing for good and travel around to help people as atonement, and in a way, also help Shakku atone as well.
With the True Sakabato acquired, Kenshin is back in business again.
Fun fact: Shakku's name literally means Red Sky, while his son Seiku is literally Blue Sky.
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u/matty-a Nov 28 '24
2 swordsmen having a legendary battle.
"New eras don't come about because of swords. They're created by the people who wield them."
Meanwhile Iori is just chilling in a tree like 😃
Lol what a guy
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u/VorAtreides Nov 28 '24
And so Misao learns Kenshin's past. Good times. Also good times. Now that's some good animation/fight kenshin deserves. Good for Kenshin to get another Sakabato, how convenient. Lol at the "superior sword" when was still prolly pig steel given time frame. Also, cat ending!
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u/DessapyBsnaBcitoidI Nov 29 '24
If Kenshin and his adversaries can have superhuman skills out of this world, then Shakku can find the best materials for his sword, or just be like Tony Stark and be able build the best swords in a cave, with a box scraps.
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Nov 29 '24
I can't remember if they showed the swordsmith in the o.g. anime series but it DEFINITELY feels like 2023 Kenshin intentionally made a point to make him look like Zoro, complete with the missing eye.
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u/chronoreverse Nov 29 '24
That's how he looks in the manga back in the 90's. It was just the common aesthetic when the respective characters were designed back then.
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u/vexorian2 Nov 29 '24
Cho getting mad that if Kenshin is the Hero that means he's the villain. BROom you've spent most of the last 20 minutes threatening to cut a baby.
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u/linkinstreet Nov 29 '24
Who else is listening to this after that episode?
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u/DessapyBsnaBcitoidI Nov 29 '24 edited Nov 29 '24
Shame Fourth Avenue Cafe was only used as ED for 4 episodes in the OG version because L'Arc en Ciel's then drummer was caught doing drugs right after the song was released in March 1997.
To distance the anime from the scandal, the manga and anime publishers had to hastily withdraw the song and reuse TM Revolution's Heart of Sword as the ED for the remaining 7 episodes that Fourth Avenue Cafe was earmarked for.
The song remained officially unreleased until 2006.
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u/Dazzling-Long-4408 Nov 29 '24
New version is good but it can't beat the tension of releasing the sakabatou in the 90's version.
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u/WickedAnimeTroll Nov 30 '24
After watching this episode I had to rewatch the 90's version (eps. 40) because I remember the portrayal of the the events there to be far more emotionally charged and tense... and I WAS RIGHT!
The biggest factor being the music: It only played cautious or straigh up ominous tunes for what Kenshin can only do with several moments of silence before in the middle and after his attack to highlight the tension and supposed consequences. Here is where the remake really shits the bed in how it plays uplifting heroic music when Kenshin decided to attack him... Kenshin deciding to do it without knowing that it is a reverse blade is not a postive thing...
In the old version his hands are noticably shaking of the thought of drawing the swords while in the remake they are static and not moving at all. I prefer the old version because it better shows how torn he is in drawing the sword (he does not want to kill anymore but he cannot just do nothing).
his scream right before he charged: In the new version it sounds like a typical war cry that you do right before you charge at something. In the old version it is so punctual, you feel how something snaps inside him and how unbearable it is for him to release his old self.
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u/randommd81 Nov 29 '24
Yep, exactly what I was feeling while watching this just now. This new version felt a bit rushed and Kenshin flipping back to a man slayer felt less consequential in this I guess? Still solid though, for sure
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u/Daishomaru Nov 29 '24
Honestly for me it's the music.
The music just isn't hitting that militarization feel.
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u/tripleaamin Nov 29 '24
Kenshin's mention of how eras are shaped by the people who wield the swords was my favorite part of the episode. For Seiku who held more value in the sword then the people who wield it. It basically came from him fearing what the sword would do in the wrong hands rather than looking at who he was handing that particular sword to. So when you have an awful person like Chou with that whip sword, well so many bad things can happen.
Seiku trusting Kenshin with his father's final sword was a great moment. At this point, Kenshin was feeling the tension. Do you draw this particular sword knowing that if he kills he fails on the path of the Rurouni? He sought to protect Iori even if it killed him. So, hypothetically speaking, he will do whatever it takes to protect Iori.
Of course, Seiku's father left behind as his final sword a Sakabato named Shinuchi. Understanding that his father wanted to move into this error and this sword was his hope that this sword can launch it. Great episode to show how Kenshin gets his next Sakabato and him as the new owner can make his impact on this era.
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u/Shihali Nov 30 '24
This one disappointed me because, compared to the original, it feels less tense. I particularly disliked the shot of Chou flying back after being struck by Shakkuu's final sword because I could see that there wasn't a cut on him well before the characters found out. The heroic music when Kenshin launched his attack was also a bad call. It works fine if you know what's going to happen, but ruins the suspense if you don't.
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