Before anything else, I'd like to give credit to Anime News Network for the release and production information. You can visit them for the complete details. Also, I'd like to thank Rurouni Kenshin ~ Sword of Justice and Shonen Jump for the information on Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan
The Wanderer Kenshin: The Romance of the Meiji Swordsman

In the midst of chaos and anarchy in the crumbling Tokugawa Era, a legendary swordsman wielded his sword to usher a new era of governance in Japan. Envisioning peace for the succeeding generations, he chose the path of a Hitokiri to ensure the happiness of Japan’s citizens despite the carnage and bloodshed it entailed.

Armed with a powerful technique and an unyielding resolve, Kenshin Himura, with the naiveté of his youth, charged into the battlefield, fighting for what he believed to be the only way to free his people from strife. Still in his adolescence, he became acquainted with the atrocities of war, his calloused hands stained with the stench of blood and death. Gifted with a tremendous talent and exceptional skill with the sword, he became the legend known as ‘Hitokiri Battousai’ – a man whose name stirred both fear and awe in the hearts of grown men twice his age. He operated as the loyalists’ assassin for a few years until he chose to leave, having completed the responsibility he took upon himself to fulfill.

Relinquishing his duty as the Ishinshishi’s Hitokiri, he became a wanderer, with a distinct x-scar on his left cheek as a reminder of his dark past. He now lives his life as a rurouni, traveling through Japan with a reverse-edged sword accompanying him in his journey, bound by an oath never to kill again. For ten years, he has drifted from place to place until fate finally brought him to the streets of Tokyo one foggy evening. There, his path crossed with a courageous young woman in pursuit of the infamous Hitokiri Battousai responsible for wreaking havoc in the city. Armed with a wooden sword, she charges through the haze to put an end to the slaughter, and runs into a man with a scar on his cheek. Certain that she had found the killer, she bravely confronts him and poses for battle. And with this fateful encounter unfolds the remarkable tale of Kenshin Himura, the wandering swordsman.

Rurouni Kenshin was created by Nobuhiro Watsuki and was first released on January 1996, airing on Fuji Television in Japan. The series is composed of 95 episodes with the last episode being unaired and released only in video. It was directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, with animation director Kazuyuki Kobayashi. Screenplay is by Michiru Shimada, while the music from the anime was done by Noriyuki Asakura, with musical direction by Takashi Kodama.

The anime is also known by the title Samurai X, which I believe was adapted for international distribution. It was broadcasted by Animax South Asia, AXN-Asia, Cartoon Network, and Studio 23 (ABS-CBN). The series is distributed by ADV Films (UK), Madman Entertainment Pty Ltd (Australia) and Sony Pictures International, and is also licensed by Media Blasters.

Nobuhiro Watsuki, the renowned creator of the hit manga and series Rurouni Kenshin, was born in Tokyo, Japan on May 26, 1970. He first debuted as a mangaka in 1992, with the original 31-page Rurouni Kenshin published in the Weekly Shonen Jump Special. The story was later rewritten and has thus developed into one of the greatest stories many of us will ever know. It was regularly published in Shonen Jump in 1994, and after its 5-year run, the serialization of Rurouni Kenshin came to an end in 1999.

Watsuki-san's hometown is in Niigata, Japan. It was during his high school days when he won an award for his first manga creation entitled "Podmark". His decision to be a manga artist was in part the result of the combined influence of his brother as well as famous manga artists Osamu Tezuka (Astroboy) and Fujiko Fujio (Doraemon).

His hobbies include playing video games such as Vampire Hunter and Samurai Showdown. He likes to watch anime such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Kodomo no Omocha, as well as American action movies. He also reads a lot of manga, including those from Marvel Comics, such as Spiderman and X-Men.

After the conclusion of Rurouni Kenshin, Nobuhiro Watsuki also worked on Gun Blaze West, and he plans to delve into the world of the Shinsengumi for his future creations. His latest work entitled, Buso Renkin or "Armored Alchemist" started publication in Shonen Jump in June 2003.

With the success of Rurouni Kenshin, we can only hope to see more great things come from a man of such brilliance and creativity. Truly, it is something worth looking forward to. ^^