Kenshin Himura, formerly known as "Hitokiri Battousai" the man slayer, is a wanderer with a dark past and sunny disposition. Not a ronin but a rurouni, he was never a samurai, but a well known assassin of utmost skill in the Meiji restoration, who in the turning point of the
war simply walked away, and took an oath to never kill again as an act of retribution for the many
men he murdered during the revolution. He then begins to carry a reversed-blade sword (Sakabatou) and protect the
innocent/oppressed
people of Japan. His travels lead him to Tokyo in the 11th year of the Meiji era, where he befriends a
female Kendo master (Kaoru Kamiya), a former thief from a
family of Samurai (Yahiko Myojin), a brawler/former Sekihotai member (Sanosuke Sagara) and a doctor (Megumi Takani) all with their own secrets. Together they fight off the enemies surfacing from the dark past that Kenshin cannot escape.
Rurouni Kenshin started airing in the U.S. on Cartoon Network's Toonami on
March 17, 2003. There are a total of 95 episodes along with a four part OVA series called Samurai X:
Trust and
Betrayal which serves as a prequel to Rurouni Kenshin.
