Rurouni KENSHIN!

[R. Zion]

I've never seen it, but me thinks the so-called "Christian Arc" would probably the main reason we won't see it on CN anymore, lest they just skip those episodes.



Anyway, a question...I know the reason Kenshin has his scar, but how long after that tragic event did he give up being Hitokiri Battousai and what exactly, compounded with the previous experience with Tomoe, caused him to give it up?

[Ichigo_89]

I LOVE the final battle between Kenshin and Lord Shishio. That was TIGHT! So epic, intense, and gasp-able!(my new word)

[Heart of Sword]

Gasp-able?


Heh...I like Kenshin both when he's Rurouni and when he's Battousai. Personally I think his voice sounds a little better (less girly) in the movie (not the OVA) when he goes Battousai at the end. (That was funny though...he sounded sorta...possessed. "Huh!??!......Yooooooouuu....!") o_O


By the way. Bringing up a thread this old is gravedigging. The mods are eventually going to tell you this anyway, so I'll just say it now: please make a new thread instead of bringing up an ancient one, okay? This is CAA, not Jurassic Park.

[Hikari]

I saw the so-called "Christian" arc. If you ask me, it was anything but.

[Lady Arianrod]

By the way. Bringing up a thread this old is gravedigging. The mods are eventually going to tell you this anyway, so I'll just say it now: please make a new thread instead of bringing up an ancient one, okay? This is CAA, not Jurassic Park.

Was I the one that brought up an old thread? eep

[Lady Arianrod]

I saw the so-called "Christian" arc. If you ask me, it was anything but.

I've never seen the arc, but I've heard enough about it. Supposedly, it's a misinterpretation of the story of Japanese Christians who were persecuted in the Meiji era.

I've heard that in the series, they seem more like a cult that follows a man with a Messiah complex. Is that true?

[Heart of Sword]

No. It's not. The "Christian" arc portrays Christians very good, as I've heard.

There's a man that thinks he's the Messiah, but it's very clear that he isn't. It's more about a Christian who's trying to help the underground Christians who are being persecuted (he is not the one who believes to be the Messiah). Supposedly it portrays Christians very well.

Make a thread in Anime asking for a review of it. I knew someone who saw it and was nervous before they saw it but ended up loving it. They thought it would be bad but it wasn't.

[Kkun]

The "Christian" arc wasn't really that bad.......it was STRANGE, no doubt, but it was neither offensive to Christians nor was it blasphemous of Christ. That's probably its biggest short coming, though, is that it never MENTIONS Jesus. The "Christians" aren't really Christians, so much as they are.......theists? People who believe in God? All in all, it's a good story, though. It's nothing for Christians to get all up in arms about.

[Hikari]

I've heard that in the series, they seem more like a cult that follows a man with a Messiah complex. Is that true?

Yeah, I agree with this. There's also other things. Nothing to get upset about, just another inaccurate portrayal of Christians and our faith.

[Lady Arianrod]

The "Christian" arc wasn't really that bad.......it was STRANGE, no doubt, but it was neither offensive to Christians nor was it blasphemous of Christ. That's probably its biggest short coming, though, is that it never MENTIONS Jesus. The "Christians" aren't really Christians, so much as they are.......theists? People who believe in God? All in all, it's a good story, though. It's nothing for Christians to get all up in arms about.

Theists? Interesting. I've also heard that they're not really portrayed as Christians, but as believers in God... I may be wrong, but I think that these people would be called Kakure Kirishitans, or "hidden Christians".

This form of Christianity was different than orthodox theology and was passed along family lines. Apparently, when Francisco Xavier (a missionary) arrived in the 16th century, there were already some Christians in Japan. Their religion also combined elements of traditional Japanese culture such as reverence for ancestors.

I may be wrong, but that's what I gathered from what you told me (and from a few websites).

If anyone knows anything else about this, please tell me! =)

[Kkun]

You are indeed correct about the Kakure Kirishitans. They translate it as "secret Christians", though, in the show. ANYWAY, I guess it really all just boils down to your perception of it. I didn't think that it was offensive toward Christians, it just showed a fictional group of people who believed in God. All in all, it was more sympathetic toward the Christians in the end. The sites you read that said that they were like a cult following one man were only half right. [spoiler] In Rurouni Kenshin, Shougo Amakusa was set up by another man (his name escapes me at the moment) to be the savior for the persecuted Christians in Japan during that time. Being a boy whose parents were killed by the Japanese government for believing in God, Shougo used the Christians as a method to get his revenge for his mother, in a way. [/spoiler].

Really, the big message behind this Shimabara Arc, as it is called in some circles, isn't for or against Christianity, but rather its point is that everyone should have the freedom to believe in whatever religion they want to, without being senselessly murdered over it. At least, that's what I took away from it...

[Lady Arianrod]

Really, the big message behind this Shimabara Arc, as it is called in some circles, isn't for or against Christianity, but rather its point is that everyone should have the freedom to believe in whatever religion they want to, without being senselessly murdered over it. At least, that's what I took away from it...

That is a good lesson... and it makes sense. The creators could have chosen to portray the Christians as cult-followers that were out to destroy Japan, but it seems that the Kirishitans are given a fair treatment in Rurouni Kenshin.

Also, another lesson to be learned from this arc could be the sad fact that people twist and misuse religion for their own selfish desires and schemes. If I'm not mistaken, not all of the Kirishitans in the Shimabara Arc were portrayed as lost, miserable souls, right?

Maybe the story itself is just a study of human nature and all of its shortcomings. RK is based on history, after all, so maybe the creator's just trying to recreate what happened during the Meiji Era.

So, maybe I was wrong to immediately believe the people that blasted the Shimabara Arc for being anti-Christian. If the creators of RK portrayed government officials or Japanese citizens as being corrupt, lost, or mislead, would we accuse them of being anti-Japanese or anti-government?

[Kkun]

Absolutely. Your point you make in the second paragraph is another idea that really shines through in that arc. Also, you're right about the creators of RK portraying government officials as being corrupt and so on and so forth. That is also shown in the Shimabara Arc in how it does NO favors to the Japanese government of that time. It makes them look closed-minded and discriminatory. I was sort of concerned about the Shimabara arc way back when I first heard about it, but it really didn't turn out to be anything bad. Besides, Rurouni Kenshin really isn't a deep or thought-provoking show. It's REALLY REALLY COOL, no doubt, but yeah. ^^; Most of it is just for the sake of making a good story, anyway.

[Lady Arianrod]

[quote="aku_soku_zan"]Absolutely. Your point you make in the second paragraph is another idea that really shines through in that arc. Also, you're right about the creators of RK portraying government officials as being corrupt and so on and so forth. That is also shown in the Shimabara Arc in how it does NO favors to the Japanese government of that time. It makes them look closed-minded and discriminatory. I was sort of concerned about the Shimabara arc way back when I first heard about it, but it really didn't turn out to be anything bad. Besides, Rurouni Kenshin really isn't a deep or thought-provoking show. It's REALLY REALLY COOL, no doubt, but yeah. ^^]

Now I *have* to see this arc. Thanks for the response, by the way.

Anyway, I think that Rurouni Kenshin may not try to be philosophical, but I still find it adequately realistic and moderately interesting in terms of character development and relationships. Seta Soujiro's story is a great example of lost childhood and corruption.

Or maybe I'm biased because I love Soujiro ^__^. The show's entertaining and intelligent, and that's enough for me.

[Hikari]

I just hesitate to call it a "Christian" arc, because I see no representations of true... Oh, nevermind. I think we're all on different parts of the same page.

Seta Soujiro's story is a great example of lost childhood and corruption.

Yes! He's fascinating! I love those wounded, complicated characters!

[Lady Arianrod]

Yes! He's fascinating! I love those wounded, complicated characters!

I know! He's not really evil or emotionless... He was just abused... And that makes his thought process different than ours....


So he's enthralling, naturally. ^_^

[Kkun]

Soujirou is such a good character. The episode that went into his past during his fight with Kenshin was so powerful. It really made you feel sad for the poor guy. When he went off on his own at the end of the arc, I was genuinely interested in where he was headed next. Of course, Soujirou is awesome, but Saitou is way more...awesome. Aku. Soku. Zan, kids. Aku. Soku. Zan.

[Lady Arianrod]

Soujirou is such a good character. The episode that went into his past during his fight with Kenshin was so powerful. It really made you feel sad for the poor guy. When he went off on his own at the end of the arc, I was genuinely interested in where he was headed next. Of course, Soujirou is awesome, but Saitou is way more...awesome. Aku. Soku. Zan, kids. Aku. Soku. Zan.

Saito's cool too, but I haven't seen all of the episodes featuring him. I actually missed the Kenshin and Saito fight....

I have to buy the DVD

[Hikari]

And that makes his thought process different than ours....

I can kind of relate to this. That makes him even more fascinating to me. Oh, I am going to have to watch this show again!

Saito is awesome, sure. He's just so conceited. Like a lot of the characters.

[Godly Paladin]

I liked what I saw, but, as it seems with so many english version anime, the dubbing was sub-par to say the least. Like the western twang restuarant owner gal? I kept on expecting her to say 'y'all'. *Shudder*.

[Ssjjvash]

yeah, really! There's another character with a southern accent, a bit worse than hers, that Kenshin fights during the Shishio saga. Annoying!

[Godly Paladin]

I'm back on for a minute...

WORSE??? It can GET worse than her? Ouch.

[Ssjjvash]

yup, unfortunately so!

[Lady Arianrod]

I thought that Kamatari (the shemale from the Juppon-Gatana) had an extremely annoying voice.

[Ssjjvash]

ick. yup, that was annoying!

Did you see the episode with the pirates and their leader Shura? Ya' know the old guy that hung around with her? His talking is pretty annoying too!

[Kkun]

The old guy that hung around with Shura's VA was Sparky Thornton, aka my hero Saitou. XD Which is funny, considering how awesome Saitou's english voice is.

[Lady Arianrod]

I don't remember the pirate episode....

But I do recall thinking that Saitou's english voice suited him well.

[Kkun]

The Pirate episodes was actually a little mini-arc of about three episodes. It was pretty bad. Pret-ty bad. It's captured on DVD 6, Flames of the Revolution.

[Lady Arianrod]

The Pirate episodes was actually a little mini-arc of about three episodes. It was pretty bad. Pret-ty bad. It's captured on DVD 6, Flames of the Revolution.

I'll skip it then.

[Hikari]

I love the pirate episodes!