Rurouni Kenshin (Manga)

3 years after the end of the revolutionary war in Japan, many of those who fought are trying to adjust into regular society. The most feared warrior and the greatest swordsman in all Japan Kenshin, who fought as Hitokiri Battousai, is one such warrior who struggles with his bloody past yet is unable to escape it because of the cross shaped scar on his cheek marking him. One day he meets the owner of an Edo swordsmanship dojo, Kamiya Kaoru, who is struggling to maintain her dojo as a female sword master. After an incident in which Kenshin saves her life, Kaoru forces Kenshin to live at the dojo. From that day they will face all kinds of threats and meet many companions and friends, while Kenshin tries to live with his memories from the battlefield.

(Manga: 27 volumes, finished. Anime; 95 episode, Finished)

This is a great manga, one of the most enjoyable for all kinds of reasons. For starters, the story is based on fact (the characters are fictional but Kenshin's character was based on an actual samurai from the civil war). This adds a great sense of depth are reality to the story, even if only slightly. It also highlights some of the problems Japanese society faced after the civil war - about opening up to western culture, the decline of the samurai warriors and swordsmanship and many other concepts. The artistry is fantastic, adding life to the fights and beauty to the story and setting. The characters are all loveable and there are plenty to choose from, especially Kenshin: his back story really makes you feel his pain and enjoy every moment of his struggles. And of course the fight scenes: unforgettable. They are given a touch of realism (i.e. they stretch the boundaries of reality without necessarily crossing them). The whole series is a great manga that makes you want to read it again and again. There was an anime spin off, but it doesn't measure up to the same standards: it started alright but then half way through went off on a tangent ignoring the rest of the manga's story (that and mostly these days it can only be found in english dub and really who wants to see that). I'd say read the manga but don't bother too much with anime and the manga itself is fantastic in every way except that it had to end.

Rating - 

10/10