ABOUT THE SITE
This site is sort of a general information site about Rurouni Kenshin, with a focus on the main storyline of Kenshin's life. I guess you could say that it's a shrine, but it's not a regular shrine. Instead, it houses a collection of essays and thoughts and interpretations. I don't repeat much of the facts of the story, so I guess this isn't very friendly to those who haven't read the manga. This shrine is still unfinished, as I still have a lot to say about this series, and I am not very satisfied with my current essays. It's hard to put into words (or at least English) the deep sympathy I feel for this character.
I love Kenshin very much, and Ruroken (as it is known for short) is one of the very first manga I ever read. I have read it countless times since then. No other series or characters have ever made me laugh or cry so much. They're almost like real people to me.
HISTORY
This site has been alive since the dark ages. It was actually my first ever shrine. It was hosted back in tripod, back when they were actually a halfway decent free webhost, and bore the name of Baka Desshi (trans. "stupid pupil," Hiko's nickname for Kenshin). It eventually became, unimaginatively, The Wanderer for a while before its current incarnation.
WHY THE MANGA?
The manga is the original story, and while the anime is faithful to it up to the Kyoto arc, its subsequent episodes are not considered canon. For one thing, the anime left out the very important Remembrances and Jinchuu arcs, which explored Kenshin's past as Hitokiri Battousai, the origin of the cross-scars, and the reason for his abrupt change of heart. Although the OVA Tsuikuhen (Trust and Betrayal) covers the years leading up to this change of heart, neither this nor the other OVA (Seisouhen) give the true ending to Rurouni Kenshin. Instead of giving Kenshin the chance to fully reconcile with his past and to live a happy life, Seisouhen gave him even more suffering. Even the manga-ka, Nobuhiro Watsuki, disagreed with the ending given by Seisouhen. Kenshin had already suffered so much, and it was out of character for him to abandon Kaoru at that point, after he had finally understood and found the happiness which he could fight for. Even worse, Kenshin was convinced by Kaoru to share his disease (and his death). It made no sense for Kenshin to "kill" his wife again, when he knew they had a son (estranged though he may be in the OVA's timeline). I prefer to think of Kenshin's story ending on a hopeful note, with Yahiko around to carry the torch the rest of the way, as in the manga. The manga stays truer to Kenshin's character, and also goes deeper into the shattered psyche of a man desperate to heal himself.
OTHER INFORMATION
This site was created by a girl who is known as daimira (or meissa, it depends on where you met me) and is a part of The dreamTeller Network. The original work, characters, and images were created by Nobuhiro Watsuki and is © Shueisha. All written content on this site is by me. You can contact me by e-mail.