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| It's too bad that Kenshin can't just live in peace and escape his past. On the other hand, I really dislike Ishizu and his greedy methods of operating business. Thank goodness had a more peaceful resolution that didn't end in bloodshed. Good for Kenshin and can clearly tell he is a better person that he was before. |
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| Can’t believe this old man was ready to use smallpox virus just to kick miss Elder out of his turf smh. As for the doctor, it’s quite easy to assume why she had to hide her identity with a weirdly suspicious mask. Old days being old days, people wouldn't have trusted a female doctor despite their talent. Be it that way, we had the inevitable a few minutes later. That assassin with a broken accent attacked Elder, just to incite Kenshin and well, in the midst of that, have fun while fighting too. ALSO HE’S QUITE CHIVALROUS TOO, SURPRISINGLY LOL. I didn’t quite get his gravity defying attacks but it goes without saying, it didn’t matter much to Kenshin anyways. Assassin gave up, and we had our happy ending, with doctor Elder doing her part of making sure that one bottle with smallpox virus in it didn’t end up the way the evil doctor wanted it to be, in fact with all the redemptions, assassin gonna tag Elder from there on. So, fine conclusion ig, to what seemed mostly "filler-ish". Would be a proper start to the next arc from the next episode. Also there’s only 3 episodes left after this, so I guess it’s quite easy to guess where they’d conclude this first of many(?) seasons. Also, can't believe this all happened just 5 days prior to Kenshin's eventual meeting with Kaoru. |
Softhenic03Nov 23, 2023 8:37 AM
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| It doesn't matter whether it's in the past, present, or future—Kenshin still kicks ass. Kenshin, who seeks to sever ties with his past as a killer and yearns for a peaceful world, empathizes with the aspirations of the physician Elder, who desires a healthy world, even if viewed with curious eyes. Meanwhile, Dr. Ishizu Deian, who sees Elder's uncompensated healing as a hindrance to his business, hires a practitioner of Western swordsmanship named Espiral. Deian tasks him with dealing with Elder, but Espiral has a different agenda beyond the assigned mission. After last week's episode, I researched the source material and discovered that it's an adaptation of a special chapter from a spin-off manga called Restoration. This chapter is quite lengthy, which explains why they decided to split it into two episodes. However, it's intriguing that they chose to insert it just before the Kyoto arc begins. I already had reservations about how much of the Kyoto arc they would cover, given that there are only three episodes remaining. It's a tight timeframe, and they can't delve too deeply into the arc or resort to padding with more side stories or fillers, as the original series did. Moving forward, I'm eager to see how LIDENFILMS handles the Kyoto arc and what creative choices they make. |
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| very recent story, huh. thought it's very past. so it was that foreign female doctor who suggested him to stay when main girl suggested. his taste might have been cured because he stayed and rested at the dojo. lonely wolf's return? is that the person I think it is? |
I ♥ Two Syaorans from Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE and TRC!!! |
| Money grabbers trading in bioweapons huh truly ahead of their times. Back then women faced a lot when they tried to become healers so Elder taking the steps that she did showed well her determination to help people. The insight into what Kenshin was like after learning his prized technique was insightful. Loud as he is Espiral was able to back it up with true strength. Didn't expect Elder to be able to convert Espiral to an ally but man he was the perfect man for the job. In the end im glad that she was able to show her true face to the townspeople as well. Overall while i was sceptical of this sudden arc it did allow us to see what Kenshin was like back then and in the present helps reinforce not just who he is but also the state of mind that he's in as well. Something that would be pretty important in the next arc. |
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| Spreading smallpox virus? The length to go just to eliminate the infamous Hitokiri Battosai, Kenshin can handle it all. Elder has got her life together in secrecy with Dankichi, and it'd be best to leave them both to their own devices as Kenshin takes his leave. But the both of them accosted in the middle of the road by Espiral with his saber, it's only right that both him and Kenshin have their fair duel as the final samurai vs. swordsman. The reason why Kenshin's sakabato of his Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, is that Kenshin knows too much about his sword and sought to stop his rage, and that settles the score on Ishizu's business to get taken down, with both Elder and Espiral's leave, leaving for better lives going forward. If Act Zero was 5 days before Kenshin eventually met Kaoru and the rest, it sure must have been a journey for Kenshin. A rather nice side story of the pre-mortem Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration - Act Zero. Back to the main manga! |
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| Espiral just created a character that would get other people in mood to fight. Some have pocket sand, others have pocket smallpox. |
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| Didn't read the manga, only watched the original. Was this one new content for anime only? I don't remember these last 2 episodes from the OG |
| Kenshin, being the ultimate pimp daddy. Just cant turn a girl in trouble away. But he got some good advice from the Dr. Body and mind, its good to settle as there may be people close to you who call out |
 To have you, Id give a billion lives A-Chan best girl |
| Excellent conclusion to the flashback arc. As I thought, Dr. Elder was hiding her gender due to fear of not getting taken seriously. Really felt bad for her when she talked about how people would take the nurses and assistants more seriously than her even though she’s a doctor. A literal east vs west battle between the last samurai of Japan and the last knight of Europe, pretty cool showdown and the contrasting styles were awesome. That spiral attack where bro contorted his entire body was insane. In the end, of course Kenshin came out on top, but the lengths that the old man would go to get dr. Elder out of “his turf”.. using a biological weapon is crazy. Good thing they were able to stop him before he unleashed smallpox. In the end, espiral and Kenshin are both the last of a dying breed and were able to find common ground. Epsiral going to America with Dr.Elder seemed like a pretty convenient plot point lol, but I guess given people’s skepticism towards women in medicine you can never have enough security. Bonus manga chapters were adopted very well and I think they set up the Kyoto arc well. Hype |
Marinate1016Nov 23, 2023 2:04 PM
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Reply to Cream_Soda
Didn't read the manga, only watched the original. Was this one new content for anime only? I don't remember these last 2 episodes from the OG
| @Cream_Soda It's from a bonus chapter in the manga. So it's not part of the main storyline but it's also not filler. |
| That doctor wanting to spread smallpox intentionally is just the lowest of the low. As I suspected last episode, Dr. Elder wears that mask because of the stigma against women in such jobs. Kenshin before his scar!!! A battle between the Japanese katana and a Western sword. Espiral twisting thrusts destroy the rickshaw, but Kenshin's quick to dodge his movements. Blocking Espiral's ultimate technique of sorts, Kenshin directed the force right back at him by unsheathing his Sakabato. With Kenshin parting ways with Dr. Elder, Espiral also changes blades to become her new bodyguard, reflecting his change of heart. Leaving Yokohama, she decides to unmask and reveal the truth of who's been indiscriminately healing everyone. Learning this tale is fairly recent, Takani knows his symptoms with the flowers and tea are different in the present. Pausing for his journey, staying for Kaoru and others as Dr. Elder advised him has been worthwhile. Really excited to see you-know-who, next. |
Fortress_MaximusNov 23, 2023 3:16 PM
 Novels I have read/am reading pending approval: since November 10 2022 |
| Turns out Espiral was a gentleman, he had just lost his way. |
| everyone wants a piece of the hitorkiri battosai and i'm so glad miki shinichiro was the one, bro always sounds great. now that's been done with, we move along. |
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| I might be insane but I swear when this started airing it had romance in the genre list and the fact that these last 2 episodes were called romantic story I was expecting the romance element to finally come in. But I was disappointed that these last 2 episodes weren’t romance related. They weren’t bad I enjoyed them quite a bit. Just the title was kinda misleading. Weird how it don’t have the romance genre on it anymore. Unless I’m actually insane. But I could have sworn it was listed as a romance |
| The guy has a screw rapier, ok..¯\_(^_^メ)_/¯ |
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| This was a nice short arc, the fight against Espiral was good but I just wish it was a little longer tho, it was pretty much Espiral using three attacks and Kenshin dodging the first two and parrying the 3rd one which got him the win. However, I did like the unique fighting style and sword that Espiral used, as well as what the fight meant, being a battle between the greatest swordsmen of the east and west. And I was also happy to see Espiral wasn’t a bad guy and was actually given a new purpose by Dr. Elder, that was a nice ending for him, the money grubbing doctor was definitely a bad guy tho lol. And it turns out Dr. Elder’s reason for pretending to be a man was exactly as I thought, being that women weren’t trusted in the profession (and apparently others) during this time period, but looks like at the end she may have gotten some acceptance by the people who she helped so that was nice. And based on that final scene, it looks like Dr. Elder is a big reason why Kenshin is where he’s at rn, so despite the fact this was off the beaten path, it did end up tying into the main story somewhat which was cool to see. |
| Espiral was spanish? That was sick. |
Sorry if my english is bad (っ˘▽˘)っ~~~ Btw, cry about it.  |
| Shinichiro Miki always amazed me with his amazing performance. Nice conclusion to this two episodes flashbacks arc. I hope that asshole doctor got in jail for a long time. Now we going to the next big Arc? |
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| wow they changed espirall fate |
| uwu uwu |
| Well thats it then. Espillar really an eccentric and weird opponent. Kinda scary when he twisted the body to that extreme. But i glad that this filler is exactly like what i thought to end, even though i am wishing to see doctor Elder to visit again later. Otherwise, looking forward to the next arc. |
 Hide and seek is the best offline games on this fatamorgana-called-world-thing. Please comment nicely. I am newbie here. I'm level  on mal-badges. View my badges  |
Phantom_373 said: I might be insane but I swear when this started airing it had romance in the genre list and the fact that these last 2 episodes were called romantic story I was expecting the romance element to finally come in. But I was disappointed that these last 2 episodes weren’t romance related. They weren’t bad I enjoyed them quite a bit. Just the title was kinda misleading. Weird how it don’t have the romance genre on it anymore. Unless I’m actually insane. But I could have sworn it was listed as a romance It was indeed tagged with the Romance genre before. I guess it was removed , as there is not much Romance at that point of the story (although it's hinted). As for the subtitle , the word Romantic is not used to implies Romance , but Romanticism. (Which makes perfect sense with Kenshin , his past and his vow.) Actually , the Author didn't wanted to put Romance in his story , at first. Dunno when and why he changed his opinion , but yes , you will see Romance , although it will keep the level of a Shounen Nekketsu Romance story... badabass said: i am wishing to see doctor Elder to visit again later. It's not impossible. Although she never appeared in any media after this Extra Chapter from Tokuhitsuban , she was subtly drawn in one of the very earlier chapter's cover of Hokkaido-hen (the ongoing Sequel Manga). So fans expect (and hope) to see her again. |
 "Genius lives only one storey above madness." – Arthur Schopenhauer. "Stupidity is a talent for misconception." – Edgar Allan Poe. "I'm tired... and hungry." – Alexioos95. |
| Didn't care too much for this story, personally, but at least we got to hear some great veteran seiyuu like Shinichiro Miki, and also a glimpse of Kenichi Suzumura as Katsura in this episode. He's filling the big shoes of Tomokazu Seki, but he's definitely up to the task. |
Reply to Cream_Soda
Didn't read the manga, only watched the original. Was this one new content for anime only? I don't remember these last 2 episodes from the OG
| @Cream_Soda This is adapted from a sidestory which came out after the first adaptation. I believe it's from 2012 , when a book of some sorts was put together, and this served as something of an intro. (It is canon.) |
Reply to Cream_Soda
Didn't read the manga, only watched the original. Was this one new content for anime only? I don't remember these last 2 episodes from the OG
| @Cream_Soda They were not in the manga but were a special release manga I believe. |
Kenshin_Xd said: these two episodes are the adaptation of a filler chapter of the manga Well , it's not a filler Chapter (in both of its meaning) tho. It's Officially Canon , and it's a mandatory chapter made to (retro-actively) introduce and make a characterization of Kenshin , which he severely lacks it in the other chapters due to insanely fast pace and fights. |
"Genius lives only one storey above madness." – Arthur Schopenhauer. "Stupidity is a talent for misconception." – Edgar Allan Poe. "I'm tired... and hungry." – Alexioos95. |
| I can tell the episodes are getting more emotional and we getting more of this “lesson of the day” type of episodes. I like this, Dr.Elder is such a nice person, I wish Kenshin gets to meet her again. Ngl I like her more than Megumi lol |
| I fell asleep during ad break in the first episode of this arc, just caught up with both episodes of this arc. This was about as good as the very worst of the '96 filler Kenshin arcs, I'd put it about as unbearable as the pirate arc. The evil dude's sword and fighting style were cool, and that's about all the positives there are, really really bad call to put this here when people are waiting for Kyoto to begin 😆 Even Shinichiro Miki here sounded like the usual uninspired perverted villain ala Hisoka 2011. |
Perrin4869Nov 28, 2023 5:01 AM
| The greatest fight in the series is upon us. The original version with dark music still give me goosebumps. |
| 'Ask her to wait a moment— I am almost done.' - Carl Friedrich Gauss ( When told, while working, that his wife was dying). |
| This was the story of Kenshin, the wandering samurai. |
| Nice conclusion to the backstory, who would have thought it was just five days before he went to the kamiya dojo though. It's good that he has found a place to rest. |
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| Pro quote: "My past is something I chose for myself". Not time for reflections on own life. So first 19 episodes just showed how the therapy is ongoing? xD Ahh, that very last look Kenshin gave to Kaoru, mrah :3 |
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| cool duel before dawn!!! kekeke |
| "It's not bad to live with smaller hopes, instead of despairing over something as large as an era." While the bulk of this side story was unremarkable, it does still get to the main thrust of RK's central themes. I can certainly appreciate how it serves as a prelude to the current story. I would have preferred little side stories like this over the original's fillers, that I would. |
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| That gratuitous terrible spanish hurt my very soul. Aside that breaking me out of the experience completely, it was fun. |
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| Eh that smallpox virus bottle...good thing it wasn't released in the city :o But Elder sure was great, I thought it was a story from way before but turns out it was only a few days before the start of the anime's story eh |
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| Releasing smallpox? Really? Some real one note villains in this show. |
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| I found what the doctor said about starting a new life in a different place when someone is hurt by their past really interesting. It seems like what she told Kenshin was one of the reasons he decided to settle down for a bit. |
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