Rurouni Kenshin
Rurouni Kenshin
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Rurouni Kenshin

8.3
Yr 2023
Rt 23m
Status Returning Series
Animation Action & Adventure
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Series Brief

Overview

Ten years have passed since the end of Bakumatsu, an era of war that saw the uprising of citizens against the Tokugawa shogunate. The revolutionaries wanted to create a time of peace, and a thriving country free from oppression. The new age of Meiji has come, but peace has not yet been achieved. Swords are banned but people are still murdered in the streets. Orphans of war veterans are left with nowhere to go, while the government seems content to just line their pockets with money.

Critical Reception

What critics are saying

Score 83 /100

The 2023 anime adaptation of Rurouni Kenshin was met with a warm critical reception, with reviewers praising its faithful approach to Nobuhiro Watsuki's original manga. Critics highlighted that the reboot captures the core essence and nostalgic appeal of the classic story while delivering a well-executed premiere season that sets up the iconic story arcs to come.

Production elements were also singled out for praise. Reviewers pointed to solid fight choreography, an impactful soundtrack, and strong overall handling of the early chapters as key strengths that build a strong foundation for the series.

“makes a strong and nostalgic return with its first episode”

“adapted the very beginning about as well as it could be adapted”

“The fight scenes looked good, the sound track is on point, and of course the core story is really good.”

Transmission Paths

Where to Watch

Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
CA • US • UK
Crunchyroll
CA • US • UK
Netflix
UK • US • CA
Show 1 more
Hulu
US
Why fans love it

This 2023 remake of Rurouni Kenshin recontextualizes the aftermath of the Bakumatsu era through a lens of political disillusionment. While the surface narrative leans into traditional shounen dynamics, the story focuses on the friction between revolutionary ideals and the reality of a fragile Meiji government. It tracks a former assassin navigating a society where swords are outlawed but systemic violence remains a lingering ghost of the civil war.

Soma Saito anchors the series as the central samurai seeking atonement in a country that has moved on from the bloodshed but failed to address its root causes. By balancing stylized action with reflections on the cost of political upheaval, the animation creates a tone that is heavier than the average adventure series. It stands apart by forcing common soldiers and displaced citizens to grapple with the instability caused by rapid modernization and bureaucratic indifference.

Featured Players

Cast

Credited 75
Regulars 7
Longest run 47 eps
Soma Saito
Soma Saito
as Kenshin Himura (voice)
47 episodes
Rie Takahashi
Rie Takahashi
as Kaoru Kamiya (voice)
47 episodes
Taku Yashiro
Taku Yashiro
as Sanosuke Sagara (voice)
47 episodes
Makoto Koichi
Makoto Koichi
as Yahiko Myojin (voice)
47 episodes
Saori Onishi
Saori Onishi
as Megumi Takani (voice)
47 episodes
Daiki Yamashita
Daiki Yamashita
as Sojiro Seta (voice)
13 episodes
Cho
Cho
as Kihei Hiruma (voice)
3 episodes
Wataru Takagi
Wataru Takagi
as Gohei Hiruma (voice)
3 episodes
Show 67 more
Toshihiko Seki as Narration (voice) 21 episodes Shinobu Matsumoto as Police Chief Uramura (voice) 3 episodes Daisuke Ono as Sozo Sagara (voice) 4 episodes Natsumi Fujiwara as Sanosuke Sagara (young) (voice) 3 episodes Mariya Ise as Katsuhiro (voice) 3 episodes Tomokazu Sugita as Jin'e Udo (voice) 4 episodes Ryotaro Okiayu as Han'nya (voice) 8 episodes Hiroyuki Yoshino as Beshimi (voice) 5 episodes Seiyu Fujiwara as Democratic Rights Movement Activist (voice) 4 episodes Fukushi Ochiai as Hyottoko (voice) 5 episodes Mitsuaki Madono as Kanryu Takeda (voice) 6 episodes Yohei Tadano as Gensai Oguni (voice) 5 episodes Tetsu Inada as Shikijo (voice) 4 episodes Yuko Ono as Tsubame Sanjo (voice) 6 episodes Teppei Uenishi as Marine (voice) 4 episodes Kenta Miyake as Raijuta Isurugi (voice) 3 episodes Yuko Sanpei as Yutaro Tsukayama (voice) 3 episodes Kazuki Yoshida as Police Officer (voice) 4 episodes Yuuichirou Umehara as Tsunan Tsukioka (voice) 3 episodes Tomohiro Ono as Shu (voice) 6 episodes Takashi Matsuyama as Toshimichi Okubo (voice) 4 episodes Shou Okumura as Shirojo "Shiro" (voice) 27 episodes Kouichi Souma as Bandit (voice) 16 episodes Shinya Fukumatsu as Toshiyoshi Kawaji (voice) 3 episodes Yuji Murai as Democratic Rights Movement Activist (voice) 7 episodes Kouhei Yanagi as Police Officer (voice) 17 episodes Shinya Takahashi as Yuzaemon Tsukayama (voice) 24 episodes Taiki Yamashita as Police Deputy Chief (voice) 12 episodes Ryota Takeuchi as Arundo Akamatsu (voice) 3 episodes Satoshi Hino as Hajime Saito (voice) 18 episodes Yuma Uchida as Aoshi Shinomori (voice) 18 episodes Masafumi Kobatake as Townsperson (voice) 13 episodes Makoto Furukawa as Makoto Shishio (voice) 16 episodes Mamiko Noto as Tae Sekihara (voice) 9 episodes Haruka Tomatsu as Yumi Komagata (voice) 15 episodes Hayato Kimura as Police Officer (voice) 9 episodes Aya Yamane as Misao Makimachi (voice) 21 episodes Takako Tanaka as Iori Arai (voice) 6 episodes Wataru Hatano as Anji Yukyuzan (voice) 7 episodes Kosuke Kobayashi as Tsukayama Family Butler (voice) 5 episodes Shigeru Chiba as Nenji Kashiwazaki (voice) 11 episodes Kentaro Ito as Hoji Sadojima (voice) 13 episodes Yuuka Amemiya as Masukami "Omasu" (voice) 11 episodes Natsuki Aikawa as Omime "Ochika" (voice) 10 episodes Yuya Hirose as Seiku Arai (voice) 4 episodes Maki Kawase as Chow-chow Girl (voice) 7 episodes Madoka Asahina as Chow-chow Girl (voice) 6 episodes Tomoyo Takayanagi as Chow-chow Girl (voice) 6 episodes Ryo Sugisaki as Kurojo "Kuro" (voice) 10 episodes Mayuko Kazama as Azusa Arai (voice) 4 episodes Nobuhiko Okamoto as Cho Sawagejo (voice) 6 episodes Kazuki Kyan as Senkaku's Subordinate (voice) 9 episodes Yuichi Nakamura as Seijuro Hiko (voice) 6 episodes Ryota Osaka as Henya Kariwa (voice) 7 episodes Takumi Yamazaki as Iwanbo (voice) 8 episodes Junichi Suwabe as Usui Uonuma (voice) 8 episodes Hiroki Yasumoto as Arato Ryusaku (voice) 7 episodes Ayumu Murase as Kamatari Honjo (voice) 7 episodes Bin Shimada as Saizuchi (voice) 4 episodes Shunichi Toki as Goichi (voice) 7 episodes Masaya Fukunishi as Tokuji (voice) 6 episodes Hinata Tadokoro as Toshiro (voice) 5 episodes Hiroshi Iwasaki as Hikozaemon Omi (voice) 4 episodes Kousuke Tanabe as Juro Kitazawa (voice) 5 episodes Taketoshi Kawano as Shuzo (voice) 6 episodes Yuya Murakami as Samurai (voice) 5 episodes Takahiro Yoshino as Townsperson (voice) 5 episodes
Signal Match

Similarity

Where Rurouni Kenshin overlaps with other shows, and exactly what they have in common.

Keyword Cloud

Keywords

japan assassin samurai exile politics remake based on comic vagabond based on manga historical ronin shinsengumi shounen anime meiji period wandering bushi bakumatsu ishin shishi kasei culture
Technical Sheet

Details

First Aired
July 07, 2023
Status
Returning Series
Episode Runtime
23 minutes
Origin
JP
TMDB Votes
145