Kaoru, Ecstatic, Kenshin's Proposal?! ( 薫 感激 剣心のぷろぽ〜ず!? Kaoru Kangeki Kenshin no Puropōzu!?) is the 66th episode of the Rurouni Kenshin anime.
Synopsis[]
Kaoru starts faintly daydreaming about being married to Kenshin on Tanabata, after Tae explains what an engagement ring symbolizes. When Kenshin happens to discover a ring while fishing, Tae suggests giving to Kaoru which puts her happy beyond joy! Kaoru enjoys her newfound happiness, which doesn't last long when the group learns the ring belonged to somebody else's through a misunderstanding. Can the group get the ring back from Kaoru without breaking her heart?
Plot[]
Kaoru walking on the street with Tae and Tsubame
After seeing a lovely engagement ring with a sapphire stone on it with Tae and Tsubame, Kaoru definitely hopes that Kenshin give it to her if he ever proposes. The ring is supposed to be even more special if it's given on Tanabata, which is just a few days away. When the special holiday arrives, Kaoru expects something to be given to her by Kenshin, but all the rurouni does is go off fishing. However, both Yahiko and Sano are acting a bit nicer than normal. When Kaoru and Yahiko spar, Kaoru's hand is hit hard, as she was not paying attention. Quickly, Yahiko ran off to tend to Kaoru's wound. Sano had brought over sponge cake, and Yahiko let Kaoru eat it all if she want. However, the nice attitudes were just an act. Yahiko had accidentally broken Kaoru's favorite vase, and Sano wanted to borrow some money because his bill at the Akabeko is getting too high. For tricking her, Kaoru nailed both of them.
The ring Kenshin found inside a fish
When Kenshin returns back home, he has a great catch in hand. Unfortunately for Kaoru, it's a catfish, which she doesn't like. Kaoru sits in her room while the boys eat their meal. Tae unexpectedly comes along and begins pestering Kenshin about the day being a special day. While eating his fish, Kenshin finds something hard. To his surprise, it's a ring, the one with the sapphire stone, Kaoru wanted. It was just ironic or luck that bestowed Kenshin. Either way, Tae forced him to give it to Kaoru. Dumbfoundedly, Kenshin entered Kaoru's room and presented her with the ring. Kaoru was overwhelmed, as expected. All of this was going well, according to Tae.
Kaoru making Kenshin sit down while she works
All day the next day, Kaoru couldn't stop thinking about her future with Kenshin. As for Sano, it was his turn to catch dinner, but at the river he found a man trying to commit suicide by jumping in. Sano stopped him and asked that he not do such an act before his eyes. The man was upset because the other night, he had thrown his fiancée’s engagement ring into the river after seeing her with another man, but that other man was just an old friend. Sano described Kaoru's ring and it had matched the man's description. Quickly, Sano returned to the Kamiya Dōjō and explained to Kenshin and Yahiko. They just had to get the ring off of Kaoru's fingers. Kenshin was stunned; he didn't know it was an engagement ring, he just thought that it was a present for Kaoru's birthday.
Kenshin asking Kaoru for forgivess about the ring
Yahiko had tried first by getting off the ring from Kaoru during a forced training he insisted. Yet, that failed. Both Yahiko and Sano tried to see if Kaoru had the ring off when she was soaking in the tub later that day. That failed as well. Finally, Sano gave Kaoru a beer from the Akabeko. As Kaoru began to get drunk, Yahiko and Sano began pulling the ring off of Kaoru's fingers. Kaoru hit the two away. Sano began to get sick of his attempts and complained to Kenshin that it was his fault. When Kaoru heard that, Kenshin immediately apologized to Kaoru and explained the whole story. Kaoru was left in shock. Again, Yahiko and Sano tried to pull the ring off. After many attempts using all sorts of items to pull the ring off, the ring still wouldn't come off of Kaoru's left ring finger. Kenshin explained that Kaoru's fingers were fatter than most women's because she practices kenjutsu. Angered at his comment, Kaoru sent Kenshin flying with a punch on the cheek. That's how the ring finally fell off.
Kaoru excited about the flowers Kenshin gave to her
The ring was given back to its rightful owner and the couple walked off happy. However, Kaoru wasn't as merry as the soon-to-be married couple. Instead, she was eating nonstop at the Akabeko. Tae gave Kenshin a bouquet of flowers as an apology present to give to Kaoru. Kenshin accepted the bouquet and gave them to Kaoru. Yahiko gave the same type of bouquet to Tsubame. As Tae watched on, hoping to make things work on the next time for Karou, Sanosuke walked off, thinking it's about time he go visit Megumi again to check up on his hand.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Sanjō Tsubame
- Kamiya Kaoru
- Sekihara Tae
- Kamiya Kaoru
- Myōjin Yahiko
- Sagara Sanosuke
- Hikojirou
- Oguni Ayame
- Oguni Suzume
- Takani Megumi
- Oguni Gensai
Trivia[]
- This is an anime original (filler) episode.
- This episode takes place around the day of Tanabata. Tanabata is a Japanese festival celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi. In present-day Japan, people celebrate Tanabata by writing wishes (in the form of poetry), on small pieces of paper called tanzaku (短冊), and hanging them on bamboo.
- In the scenes where Hikojirou is remembering the night he threw the ring at the river the animation quality is poor:
- All the scene is shown in black and white.
- Some of the frames look incomplete and rush, with no clear backgrounds and rough drawing.
- There is little animation and movement. Just sketch-quality frames.
- In the scene where Kaoru makes Kenshin sit while she does the household chores, Kaoru is seen wearing a light blue apron with a chicken-like animal on it. That is a reference to Rumiko Takahashi's manga and anime "Maison Ikkoku" where the protagonist Kyōko Otonashi usually wears a yellow apron which has the image of a small yellow chicken with the words "Piyo Piyo" printed underneath it. That apron has made several cameos in many different anime throughout the years.
- For the first time in the series, this episode does not use the ending sequence animation, but has extra scenes played during the ending It's Gonna Rain!.
- This episode was the last of the series to be animated by Studio Gallop as Studio DEEN would animate the rest of the TV series as well as the later OVAs.
Gallery[]
