Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023)

In the late 19th century, as the cruel times of the Bakumatsu period came to a close, a new Meiji era marked the age of restoration for Japan. With the war over, its infamous hero Hitokiri Battousai disappeared into thin air, leaving only his legend behind.

Years later, a seemingly plain wanderer named Kenshin Himura encounters Kaoru Kamiya, the owner of a struggling local dojo in Tokyo. Kaoru pursues a self-proclaimed Battousai who roams the streets, indiscriminately killing citizens and police officers. Furthermore, the warrior professes to use the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu—a sword style developed by Kaoru's father deeply rooted in the essence of life, not death.

Kenshin decides to help Kaoru take down the impostor and restore her father's dojo. Unbeknownst to all, Kenshin is none other than the real warrior whose name still terrifies the people. Although Kaoru eventually learns the truth, his oath to atone for his murderous history by bloodlessly protecting the weak moves her, and she welcomes Kenshin to stay at her dojo. However, Kenshin's ideals are soon challenged by ghosts of the past and enemies of the present.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Himura, Kenshin Main

Saitou, Souma Japanese

Sagara, Sanosuke Main

Yashiro, Taku Japanese

Kamiya, Kaoru Main

Takahashi, Rie Japanese

Myoujin, Yahiko Main

Koichi, Makoto Japanese

Saitou, Hajime Supporting

Hino, Satoshi Japanese

Shishio, Makoto Supporting

Furukawa, Makoto Japanese

Seta, Soujirou Supporting

Yamashita, Daiki Japanese

Hiko, Seijuurou Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Shinomori, Aoshi Supporting

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Makimachi, Misao Supporting

Yamane, Aya Japanese

Hashimoto, Ryuu Producer

Kumada, Kiyoshi Producer

Takeeda, Yoshinori Producer

Niwa, Masami Producer

Reviews

Mar 18, 2025

Cajamanga

Recommended

Overall, this is a good remake. If you're familiar with the source material like me, you might find it a bit odd. There's no significantly big change yet since this is just the first season, however i can't help but think there's something that just feels off. The fights are not as intense, the art style is good, but it feels too childish in some scenes that are supposed to be serious and the opening and ending don’t fit well with the tone of the series in my opinion (unlike the rest of the OST, which is really good). If you're not familiar with the ... original series however, this might be a good introduction to this wonderful anime, the first season may feel a bit slow and like it lacks more action, but don't worry im sure it will get more intense in upcoming seasons.

Pros:

✅ Great art style
✅ Good OST
✅ Interesting villains
✅ Good (although yet small) character development
✅ Interesting arcs

Cons:

❌ Slow-paced
❌ Weird opening and ending song choice (in my opinion)
❌ Not very fluid animation
❌ Lack of intensity in fights (there's really no sense of urgency for the viewer)

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Mar 14, 2025

Pezguy97

Mixed Feelings

I really enjoyed this. I am not familiar with the source material or any of the other adaptations, but as far as I could tell, this was a solid period piece that takes place in the aftermath of the Meiji restoration. I thought the character designs were excellent. I also liked the characters. The world felt pretty engrossing. The openings and closings were also extremely solid. The animation quality was quite good. The only things I did not like is that some of the villains felt a little one-dimensional. There also is not that much action in the very beginning of the show. The first ... opening had more action in it than a lot of the first few episodes. I liked that a lot of the things in the story are based on things that actually happened or people who actually existed.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Feb 3, 2024

AkiraMiyazaki17

Not Recommended

Completely pointless, insipid series. Credit where credit is due: the new voice cast does an impressive job of following on from the iconic voices of the original series, and honestly it has a pretty decent start, but there’s a complete lack of gravity and flavour here. The art style is SO bland; I can imagine not minding it if you’d never seen anything better, but looking back at how dynamic and rich the aesthetics of the 90s were, it’s enough to make one lament about the state of modern mainstream Shounen. The music—another major highlight of the original—is completely generic and lacks any presence in ... this show, and coupled with the lack of filler to let the characters breath, it makes the whole thing completely emotionally inert. The action is fine, but also feels a little weightless; I knew it would be naive to wish for anything as good as Trust & Betrayal—but seriously… how is an obscure 1999 ova doing better action than a show from 2023? This is just a directionless, dull mess. I’d have been more forgiving if they just went straight to adapting the Jinchuu arc instead of spending so much time treading ground that had already been covered, but alas it will be years before we see any exciting new material.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023) Episode 24 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Dec 14, 2023	108 replies	by bbopp »» Mar 16, 1:22 PM
	Poll: Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023) Episode 23 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Dec 7, 2023	83 replies	by bbopp »» Mar 16, 12:50 PM
	Poll: Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023) Episode 22 Discussion Stark700 - Nov 30, 2023	43 replies	by bbopp »» Mar 16, 11:11 AM
	Poll: Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023) Episode 21 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Nov 23, 2023	51 replies	by bbopp »» Mar 14, 11:49 PM
	Poll: Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023) Episode 20 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Nov 16, 2023	59 replies	by bbopp »» Mar 14, 11:22 PM