Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story るろうに剣心 , also known as Rurouni Kenshin and Samurai X, is a Japanese manga
series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The fictional
setting takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. The story is
about a fictional assassin named Himura Kenshin, from the Bakumatsu who
becomes a wanderer to protect the people of Japan. Watsuki wrote this
series upon his desire of making a shōnen manga different from the other
ones that were published in that time, with Kenshin being a former
assassin and the story taking a more serious tone as it continued.
Although the tragic tone was highly expanded as the manga advanced,
Watsuki became determined to give it a happy ending as it was aimed at
teenagers.
The manga initially appeared in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from
September 2, 1994, to November 4, 1999. The complete work consists of 28
tankōbon volumes, while years later it was reprinted into twenty-two
kanzenban volumes. Studio Gallop, Studio Deen and SPE Visual Works
adapted the manga into an anime series which aired in Japan from January
10, 1996 to September 8, 1998. Besides an animated film, two series of
original video animations (OVAs) were also produced. The first adapted
stories from the manga that were not featured in the anime, while the
second was also a sequel of the manga. Writer Kaoru Shizuka has authored
three official Rurouni Kenshin light novels which were published by
Shueisha. Several video games have also been released for the
PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable consoles.
The United States release of the manga has been completed by Viz
Media. Rurouni Kenshin is subtitled "Wandering Samurai" in some English
releases, as a rough translation of "Rurō ni" (流浪に lit. "Wandering"?).
The TV series later licensed in North America and released on DVD by
Media Blasters. The first two seasons aired on the United States Cartoon
Network as a part of the Toonami Block, while the third season was only
featured in DVD. The English-language versions of the OVAs as well the
film were originally released as Samurai X, although the original title
was included in the DVD releases. The OVAs and film are now released as
Rurouni Kenshin titles in the English Blu-ray Disc releases. The first
light novel has been translated by Viz and distributed in the United
States and Canada. None of the video games of the series have been
released in North America.
The series has been highly popular in Japan, the United States,
Brazil and Europe, being recognized as one of the best of all time. The
manga has sold over 47 million copies in Japan as of 2007 while the
anime has ranked among the 100 most watched series in Japan multiple
times. The anime and manga have received praise and criticism from
various publications for anime, manga and other media, with both having
received good response on the characters' designs and the historical
setting. The OVAs have also received praise due to their animation and
music.
