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Kenshin - Himura Battōsai is the first chapter of the Rurouni Kenshin manga. It introduces the protagonist and deuteragonist of the series, Himura Kenshin and Kamiya Kaoru, respectively.

Synopsis[]

140 years ago, beginning with the docking of the black ships in Japan, the Edo era came to an end and entered the Bakumatsu, a period marked by chaos and violence. During this upheaval, a man known as Hitokiri Battōsai emerged. As one of the most important hitokiris (man-slayers) of the time, his sword paved the way for the Meiji era. However, at the conclusion of the bloodshed, he disappeared. With the passing of time, he became a legend, known simply as "the strongest".

Now, in the eleventh year of the Meiji era in Tokyo, a young woman, Kamiya Kaoru, is seeking to end the atrocities committed in her Dōjō's name by a man calling himself the Battōsai. To this end, she walks the streets of Tokyo, shinai in hand. That is when she meets a young man with a cross-shaped scar in his left cheek. Though she first suspects him of being the one who has committed murder in her Dōjō's name, he turns out to be a harmless rurouni armed with a reverse-blade sword. Or so it seems...

Summary[]

Traveling the streets of Tokyo is a red-haired, cross-shape scar bearing, wandering samurai, armed with a sword. A young woman with a bokken in hand stops him, calling him Battōsai. The rurouni looks questioned and is taken by shock as the girl charges forward at him. With a leap to evade, he crashes, making the girl wonder if she has the right person. The rurouni makes it clear that he is no Hitokiri Battōsai the girl is looking after. To prove that he's not, the rurouni allows her to take a look at his sword. The blade is on the wrong side. Before any more interaction is made, the police whistle is heard and the young woman runs off.

A large man with a sword brutally kills a few policemen. The girl with the bokken enters the scene just in time to catch "Battōsai". However, as she enters combat with the killer, her arm is slashed. "Battōsai" begins to corner the girl up against a wall. When it looks like she's about to be the next one slain, the rurouni rushes in and lifts the young woman into his arms, just before "Battōsai" brings down his sword. The rurouni, however, shortly falls onto his knees, believing he has dislocated his pelvis. "Battōsai" takes the opportunity to run away. Before he completely vanishes, he mentions that he is the Hitokiri Battōsai of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū. The girl is just about ready to follow him, but the rurouni stops her by pulling on her ponytail. Instead of going after "Battōsai", the rurouni again picks the young woman up and runs off in another direction.

The rurouni winds up at the Kamiya Dōjō, the girl's home. There, Kaoru, the assistant master and daughter of the founder of the school, explains to the rurouni about her situation. "Battōsai" has been running around, ruining the sword style that is supposed to protect life. Since his appearance, many students of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū have quit, fearing that they will be belittled by the community for learning a sword style used by a killer. Kaoru is desperate to stop "Battōsai" at any costs, even if it means her life. The rurouni remains quiet while Kaoru talks. Meanwhile, a late middle-aged man named Kihei bandages Kaoru's arm up. The rurouni understands how Kaoru must feel, but he steps out of the Dōjō, mentioning that Kaoru's father would not want his daughter to throw away her life so recklessly. With the rurouni gone, Kihei adds his own two cents, saying he thinks opposite of the red-haired stranger.

Sometime later, Kaoru and Kihei enter town and find the rurouni being arrested. He had violated the ban on carrying swords, but with a bribe given from Kihei, the police officers leave the wandering samurai alone. Kihei leaves the scene to go home to prepare dinner, while the rurouni and Kaoru discuss who the killer might exactly be. Kaoru does have a clue to who might be the murderer. About two months ago, the same time the murders began, a Dōjō in the other town by the name of the Kihei Dōjō opened up. An ex-swordsman took over the place and turned it into a gambling hall. To the rurouni, those are good enough guesses, but he also finds something suspicious about Kihei, just by looking into his eyes.

Kihei has been living at the Kamiya Dōjō since Kaoru's father had passed away. Kaoru had found Kihei hurt outside of the Dōjō and has taken him in ever since. Kihei has been urging Kaoru to sell the Dōjō to live in peace. Besides such bits about Kihei, Kaoru has no other information about her housekeeper's past.

The rurouni leaves Kaoru's side once again after being thanked by her for the other day. Kaoru did invite him to stay at her Dōjō, but the rurouni had other things to do. That evening, he visited the Kihei Dōjō in the other town. Once he mentioned the name Hitokiri Battōsai, dozens of swordsmen appeared.

At the Kamiya Dōjō, Kaoru is interrupted by Kihei as she is reading. Kihei would like to talk with Kaoru about selling the Dōjō. Kaoru refuses to, as usual, but Kihei just needs her signature, as he already has papers for the sale ready. Just as Kaoru remains in shock, the door busts open. In walks Kihei's little brother, Gohei, with a bunch of lackeys at his side. Kihei reveals his plan. All along, he had been acting as an assistant to Kaoru just to take over the Dōjō, which, according to his calculations, has a very high land value. Kihei had used the Hitokiri Battōsai tale to frighten people and give a bad reputation to the Kamiya Dōjō. Since Kaoru had learned of Gohei's identity as the "Battōsai", they had to resort to extreme means.

Gohei charges forward with his sword. Quickly, he breaks Kaoru's bokken and overpowers her by picking her up by her shirt collar. Kihei takes advantage of the situation and cuts Kaoru's thumb slightly with a knife, then presses it up against the sale papers. With Kaoru's print on the papers, Kihei rejoices, but at the door is a man back from the Dōjō. Immediately, he falls down and behind him is the rurouni.

The rurouni expresses that the sword is meant to kill, but he prefers Kaoru's idea of protecting people with it more. Gohei wastes no time on ending his men on the rurouni. The cronies of Gohei jump out at the wandering samurai. Yet, with incredible speed, the rurouni takes them all out, leaving only Gohei and Kihei. Before Gohei tangles with him, the rurouni makes a correction. He states that the Hitokiri Battōsai does not use Kamiya Kasshin-ryū, but the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū. Everyone comes to the conclusion that the rurouni is in fact the real Hitokiri Battōsai. Gohei finds the facts interesting, but he raises his sword, declaring that there cannot be two Battōsai in the world. However, the second Gohei takes his eyes off of the rurouni, the rurouni is up in the air. With his sword brought down with incredible power and speed, the rurouni is able to send Gohei crashing through the floor. Kihei is the next target. The rurouni threatens to turn his reversed blade over to the other side for Kihei's punishment, but before he gets to even touch the old man, Kihei has passed out from fear.

The sale papers are torn up by the rurouni. He turns and apologizes to Kaoru for hiding his true identity then begins to walk out of the Dōjō. Before he steps out of the door, Kaoru stops him and asks him to stay. The rurouni thinks it would be controversial if the real Battōsai stays, so he is planning on leaving. With that said, Kaoru shouts that she didn't want the Battōsai to stay, but the rurouni. Yet, Kaoru insists the rurouni tell her his name if he is planning on leaving. The rurouni turns away from the door and introduces himself as Himura Kenshin. Kenshin admits that he is tired of traveling, but warns Kaoru that a rurouni never knows how long he'll stay in one place or when he's leaving. Now that Kenshin is going to stay with Kaoru, she questions him on his age. That, Kenshin has to figure out with some old fashion counting.

Characters in Order of Appearance[]

Chapter Notes[]

This chapter has several differences with other portrayals of the initial events of the story in different itterations of the franchise:

Differences with the 1996 anime[]

  • In the manga when Kaoru meets Kenshin on the street, it is already dawn and the sun is already getting out. This is different from the 1996 anime episode when it is plain night.
  • In the manga, Kenshin carries Kaoru while she is still conscious. This is different from the 1996 anime where Kaoru faints, and Kenshin goes to the Kamiya Dōjō carrying her unconscious.
  • In the manga the character Kihei Hiruma is also present at Kamiya Dōjō, and turns out to be Gohei Hiruma's older brother. Kihei is omitted in the 1996 anime.
  • In the manga the Hiruma Brothers are the owners of Kiheikan Dōjō. In the 1996 anime it is not established if Gohei owns any Dōjō, although it is seen that he has followers and a place to train.
  • In the manga there are scenes of Kenshin having problems with the local police, and also Kenshin searching the Kiheikan Dōjō. This was omitted in the 1996 anime.
  • In the manga, when Gohei Hiruma attacks the Kamiya Dōjō, Kihei Hiruma tries to force Kaoru to sign papers granting him the possession of the Kamiya Dōjō state. This is omitted in the 1996 anime.
  • In the manga, Act 1 ends with Kaoru asking Kenshin for his age, while in the 1996 anime, she hits him in the face by accident.
  • The characters of Oguni Suzume and Oguni Ayame do not appear in the manga. They are anime original characters.

Differences with Rurouni Kenshin: Origins[]

  • The manga starts with an explanation of the Bakumatsu and the legend of Hitokiri Battōsai. This is different from the live action movie that starts with the Battle of Toba–Fushimi, and with Udō Jin-e claiming Kenshin's sword.
  • In the manga, Kenshin meets Kaoru on the sreets at dawn. This is different from the live action movie, where Kaoru meets Kenshn on broad daylight.
  • In the manga, Kenshin wears his signature soft red-like kimono and white umanori hakama. This is different from the live action movie, where initially he wears a light brown kimono.
  • The live action movie does not include the characters of Hiruma Gohei and Hiruma Kihei.
  • In the manga, the false Battōsai is Hiruma Gohei. This is different from the live action movie, where the false Battōsai turns out to be Udō Jin-e.
  • In the manga, there is an initial confrontation of Kaoru (and then Kenshin) agaisnt the false Battōsai. This is omitted from the live action movie.

Differences with Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration[]

To be added

Differences with the 2023 anime[]

  • The manga starts with an explanation of the Bakumatsu and the legend of Hitokiri Battōsai. This is different from the anime, that starts with a flashback scene of Kenshin fighting against Saitō Hajime (after he takes the place of Okita Sōji, who has a declining health) in the streets of Kyōto.
  • In the manga when Kenshin comes to Kaoru's rescue in the Kamiya Dōjō, he just explains the true value of the sword that highlights life. This is different from the anime, where in that explanation there are scenes showing Kenshin killing Kiyosato Akira and Yukishiro Tomoe.

Trivia[]

  • The first twenty-two pages of this chaper were originally released in color in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump.

Gallery[]

To be added

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