Forum - View topicIs it possible to watch only the Kyoto arc of Kenshin??
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Steve Berry
Posts: 522 Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA |
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Hi,
I'm curious if this is really an option. Will only watching the Kyoto Arc makes sense?? I 've heard that this is the best part of the whole series, and from what I can tell, it's as long as some series are all by itself (15-20 eps)... I'm uninterested, I must say, in watching 60 or 70 subpar or so-so episodes just to see the really good 20 or so in the middle. Am I going to be totally clueless if I just watch the Kyoto Arc, or does it really stand alone? Also, I plan on watching Samurai X soon, so I would think I would have that background. Thanks for the input. I know there are lots of Kenshin fans out there, and I'd like try the series out, but it's just too long, and the reviews of everything but the Kyoto arc are very up and down. Steve |
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Sharp kun
 Posts: 22 Location: Scotland |
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Try and watch the eps before it first. You won't get some of it if you haven't.
Samurai X (Urgh) Trust and Betrayal, should really be watched after you've seen a good bit of the series, its possible to watch it before and enjoy it, but you'll miss things. |
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Dan42
Chief Encyclopedist
 Posts: 3794 Location: Montreal |
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I believe that the Kyoto arc can be watched without having watched the rest of the series. However, you won't know the characters as well and so the impact of that story arc will probably be diminished.
Personally I don't think the Kyoto arc is so great. I think the previous arcs have better stories, more character development. Take the famous "fireflies" scene between Kaoru and Kenshin before he leaves for Kyoto. The power of that scene was made possible by the accumulated character development of all the previous episodes. The Kyoto arc is like DBZ: more fights, more powering up. And just like DBZ, it's more popular  . I guess people like that kind of thing.
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Oh yes, Dan, I agree. The storytelling during those episodes where Kenshin fought the pirate girl and her green orc friend was much better than anything in the Kyoto Arc. Or how about all the episodes where Kenshin foils an assassin, or that one on a train that looks like it was shot through a fisheye lens? Or maybe Kaoru gets kidnapped or hurt and Kenshin does something about it?
There really weren't any story arcs before Kyoto. It was mostly episodic stuff to introduce characters, and a lot of it was pretty lame. Methinks you're just being contrary. The Kyoto arc is more than just fighting and powering up.. there's a LOT of story, character development.. everything that makes anime great. Don't diss it just because it's popular. Don't be that guy. -Z |
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Dan42
Chief Encyclopedist
Posts: 3794 Location: Montreal |
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Well, it's been a long time since I watched Kenshin, but the only thing I can remember from the Kyoto arc is just fighting, and more fighting, and getting more powerful, and more fighting, and acquiring that next special technique, and more fighting, etc.
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Godaistudios
Posts: 2075 Location: Albuquerque, NM (the land of entrapment) |
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Maybe you should re-watch it then
 ;
Honestly, I consider the Kyoto arc to start when Saitou first shows up. To me, it then starts that pace and that story. If there was any kind of arc prior to that, I'd have to say it was the dealings with the Oniwaban (sp?) group. If you haven't seen the series and feel the need to skip ahead, I'd start with the first 12 or so eps, then jump into ep 28. While a lot of fighthing does erupt in the Kyoto arc, the basis behind all of it is due to a lot of story and character development. The purpose of why one is fighting can mean a great deal. And I think it's farily covered for everyone. 
And I'll also add that I detest DragonBall Z (but I won't go into that here.) |
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Slim Shinji
Past ANN Contributor
 Posts: 263 |
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That's how I recommend the uninitiated watch Kenshin for the first time. That way you get introduced to the characters, and you get all the background info on Aoshi and the Oniwaban, which has a major impact on events in the Kyoto Arc. That's the first 3 DVD volumes, or as Godai said the first 12 episodes. DVD volumes 4 & 5 can be skipped without detracting from your understanding of the Kyoto Arc one bit. But if you're in a position to see them I'd check out episodes 23 & 24, found on DVD vol. 6. They introduce a character of minor importance in the Kyoto Arc, and it's a pretty good story about Sanosuke temporarily lapsing back into his old ways. Good Stuff. |
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ashram12
Posts: 86 |
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As a person who always takes the easy way out of watching a series, I say go for it. I never saw Tenchi Muyo before I saw Tenchi in Love. You may want to check out several Rurouni Kenshin websites so that you at least know a bit of what's going on.
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ExeterBlue
Posts: 30 |
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the samurai x oav was yeah subpar the seisouhen was better....uh think exe think...oh yeah im lazy and cheap so i read the 28 volume manga opposed to dling or buying the 95 ep series...so essentially what im saying is just read the manga....
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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o_O I'm sorry, did I just read that right? Please tell me I read it wrong. The Samurai X OVA was quite possibly one of the best chunks of anime I've ever seen in my life. The story is terrific, the art is mindblowing, the animation is liquid fluid, the music is amazing-- My dear, what did you not like about the OVAs to make them subpar? Those 4 episodes blow the entire series out of the water! You thought the new OVAs were better? Comparing the new OVAs to the old ones is, to quote Initial D, like comparing sh|t to chocolate. I beg of you, please explain yourself. |
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ExeterBlue
Posts: 30 |
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i just didn't enjoy it and the name "samurai x" didn't help me enjoy it at all....i jsut felt the plot could have been stronger but i wont argue that the art was nice but i think the seisouhen is still much much better and stronger
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king_micah
 Posts: 994 Location: OSU |
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Um, yeah. Go before all of fandom smites you. Its not like Eva where there are alot of arguments about it. People like the original Kenshin OVA's. If you know the series and/or the manga, then it should have an impact. The other OVA is not that well thought of. It is not an offical OVA either. The creator did not want it made.
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Steve Berry
Posts: 522 Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA |
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So, it would probably be a good thing for a newbie to atleast watch the first 12 eps. (discs 1,2,3). People generally seem to agree on that.
Having done some research, it seems that the Kyoto Arc begins with the beginning of the 7th disc (Shadow of the Wolf). Is this true?? One of the earlier posts suggested beginning with ep 28, but it seems like the disc would really begin around eps 25 (if there are 4 eps/ per disc)-- How many episodes are there per disc anyways????... If disc 7 begins with ep 28, that would make 27 eps for 6 discs, which is odd. It was difficult to tell which episode one should begin with. Also, someone else mentioned a few other episodes on disc 6.... Opinions on that?? Also, the Kyoto Arc ends with disc #14 (Fire Requiem). That's a total of 8 discs for the Arc, right?? It's a big one. (What episode, BTW, does it end on?-- I was just curious what the episode count is for the Arc) Is it worthwhile to stop at the end of the Kyoto Arc?? Is it a satisfying ending? I know there are more adventures and episodes, but I still would like to feel that "end of a series" sort of feeling-- some resolution, emotional climax, and tieing up of strings, etc. Does ending here give you that-- where I wouldn't feel the need to view future episodes unless I wanted to, because the story really felt finished?? (or atleast finished for now, where it is at...) In summation-- watch disc 1,2,3 (for intro) and 7,8,9,10,11,12,13, and 14 (the entirity of the Kyoto Arc). Is that right? Also, as a side note, what are people's thoughts on the need to watch the rest of the episodes after the Kyoto Arc?? Steve Last edited by Steve Berry on Tue Jun 17, 2003 11:28 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Slim Shinji
Past ANN Contributor
Posts: 263 |
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Steve,
It sounds like you'll be watching the show on DVD as opposed to the Cartoon Network. The DVDs are subdivided by seasons. The first season DVDS are titled "Rurouni Kenshin: Wandering Samurai" and consist of volumes 1-6. The second season (the Kyoto Arc) is comprised of DVDs 7-14, and are called "Rurouni Kenshin: Legend of Kyoto". The first episode on DVD 7 is #28; from this point on each episode leads straight into the next; there are no more stand-alone episodes until the Kyoto Arc ends at episode #62. Thus, though Kenshin doesn't leave for Kyoto until episode 31, #28 is the true beginning of the Kyoto Arc. After the Kyoto arc ends with the last episode on DVD 14 there is no need to watch anymore of the TV series. The Kyoto Arc only leaves one loose end, and that is explained in Samurai X. |
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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The plot was very strong. Perhaps it would help if you actually saw the series rather than just read vol 28 of the manga.
The name Samurai X should have no impact on it at all. Hell, if you reserve the DVD cover, it has the original Kenshin logo plus better artwork. If that's all that it takes for you to like a show better, than I suggest it. Seisouhen didn't really have a plot in the first episode, considering it was just a recap of what happened in one of the 1st season episodes. I will admit that I enjoyed the last episode of Seisouhen, as well as the art, but I still think that the original OVAs were one of the strongest stories ever animated. But everyone's entitled to their own opinion. |
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