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Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story (るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚- Rurōni Kenshin -Meiji Kenkaku Roman Tan-), sometimes also known as Samurai X in the English dub, is a Japanese manga franchise written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki revolving around themes of atonement, peace, and romance. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from April 1994 to September 1999. The complete work consists of 28 tankōbon volumes, while years later it was reprinted into 22 kanzenban volumes and 15 omnibus volumes. The manga, as well as the first light novel and first guidebook, has received a complete North American release by Viz Media. Rurouni Kenshin is subtitled "Wandering Samurai" in some English versions. The Rurouni Kenshin manga has over 72 million copies in circulation as of 2019, making it one of the best-selling manga series. The series has received praise from various publications for manga, anime and other media, with both having received a good response on the characters' designs and historical setting.
Studio Gallop, Studio Deenand SPE Visual Works adapted the manga into an anime television series, which aired in Japan from January 1996 to September 1998 for 95 episodes, followed by an animated film, and two original video animation series. The first adapted stories from the manga that were not featured in the anime, while the second was a sequel to the manga. Several art and guidebooks for Rurouni Kenshin have been published, and writer Kaoru Shizuka has authored three official light novels which were published by Shueisha.
Many video games have also been released for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable consoles. A series of successful live-action theatrical film adaptations were released from 2012, with limited international screenings.
In 2017, Watsuki began a direct sequel titled Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc in Jump Square.
Summary[]
The story begins during the 11th year of the Meiji period in Japan (1878) and follows a former assassin from the Bakumatsu, known as Hitokiri Battosai. After his work against the bakufu, Hitokiri Battosai disappears to become Himura Kenshin: a wandering swordsman who protects the people of Japan with a vow never to take another life.
Volumes[]
Development[]
Watsuki wrote the series upon his desire to make a shōnen manga different from the other ones that were published at the time, with Kenshin being a former assassin and the story taking a more serious tone as it continued.