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confused with rurouni kenshing:REFLECTIONS




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spikespiegel98



Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Posts: 93
PostPosted: Sat Feb 14, 2004 11:52 pm Reply with quote
i've seen all of the kenshin tv series/movie/trust and betrayal.
but i'm still confused with a few things in this movie.
first of all, whats kenshin doing in during the movie? he goes to help the government, but then he ends up half dead?! what the heck happened? at the very beginning, he is shown falling off a boat and into the sea. when did that happen? After going to help the goverment? how did he survive? Whats with kenshin's chest being bloody? how come kaoru also gets it? finnaly, what is jinchu? its mentioned a few times in the movie
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lianncoop
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Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 1705
Location: Indiana
PostPosted: Sun Feb 15, 2004 12:07 am Reply with quote
Hehehee...Nagisa will be all over this one soon...

It's been a while since I've seen this one...Kenshin basically served as sort of an advisor for the government. After his son was born, Kenshin vowed never to use his sword again...also he really couldn't use the technique effectively anymore because he was weakened from using it for so many years.

Kenshin has leprosy or something, I think and is dying which explains why he is so weak and feeble. Oh, I think there is some "deeper" explaination why Karou gets the disease, but spoiler[after they sleep together ] that's when she contracts the disease.

Jinchuu means revenge, I think...and it a feeble attempt at the "Jinchuu arc" that happens in the manga. Basically Tomoe's brother wants revenge on Kenshin for spoiler[ killing his sister. ]

Keep in mind this OAV really has nothing to do with the series...manga or anime. The manga ends quite differently and I think the anime just wanted to have a "conclusion" to the Kenshin series.
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king_micah



Joined: 09 Jun 2003
Posts: 994
Location: OSU
PostPosted: Sun Feb 15, 2004 12:29 am Reply with quote
Conclusion or one might say profit rather.
The creator of Kenshin disowned this OVA, so pay it no heed. This OVA goes against all of Kenshin's principles and has him invade Korea, while the manga establishes him spoiler[as getting progressively weaker due to his style's strain on him. He gives up the sword for good at the end of the manga, because he is unable to use it. The style has, after all, produced no old masters, as the old masters die during the final training for a new master.]
So just ignore this OVA, it betrays the original intentions.
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Nagisa
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Joined: 19 Aug 2003
Posts: 6128
Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh
PostPosted: Sun Feb 15, 2004 12:32 am Reply with quote
Heeheehee... *cracks knuckles*

Firstly, and this is most important, do not take Rurouni Kenshin: Seishouhen (Reflections) as a canonized part of the story. It's little more than melodramatic animated fanfiction with high production values; even the manga's creator (as such, Kenshin's creator) doesn't accept this thing as a genuine part of the saga.

As for Kenshin helping the government, this is just one of many majour plotholes in Seishouhen. At the beginning of the OVA, he's traveling to China at the request of the Japanese government to boost the morale of the troops that are fighting there...after blatantly saying in issue two of the manga (episode two in the anime) that he would not do exactly this. Of course, there are numerous other plotholes, as well, such as Hiko taking on Kenji as a student (unless I'm mistaken, Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu states that there can only be one student and one master...this makes three...two is not three!), and Kenshin becoming a wanderer again (after declaring the Kamiya dojo as his home).

As for the illness, like Liann said, it's leprosy or tuberculosis or something like that...though I don't remember any of those diseases ever turning your skin the colour of grapes (a sickly, dull purple from lack of circulation, yes, but not a brilliant deep violet).

Jinchuu...where to begin? Okay, after the Kyoto Arc (Saitou's appearance through the battle with Shishio), the manga & anime take very different turns. The anime basically spirals into crap by becoming nothing more than fifty someodd episodes of inane filler material. The manga, however, doesn't skip a beat and jumps right into the Jinchuu Arc ("Jinchuu" roughly meaning "Earthly Justice"). This arc basically revolves around Enishi Yukishiro coming to claim revenge on Kenshin for spoiler[killing his sister, Tomoe] (as in the Tsuioku-Hen, or Trust & Betrayal, OVAs). I won't go into detail, because doing so would spoil what is beyond a shadow of a doubt the biggest plot twist in the entire Kenshin franchise. If you were to ask me, I'd say that Jinchuu is the most powerful portion of the Kenshin saga, and is a definite must-read when it comes out locally.

Seishouhen's handling of Jinchuu, however, is disappointing. The entire manga version of the story arc is around ten volumes in length, The OVA version cuts out around eight volumes of said material, as well as all involvement of anyone aside from Kenshin, Kaoru, Tomoe, & Enishi (which is sad, because this arc ends up giving a substantial amount of development to Sanosuke, Yahiko, Megumi, Aoshi, Misao, Saitou, etc., as well).

Of course, Seishouhen's not all bad. It's like that American Sony-Tristar Godzilla film...if you can completely distance it from the franchise it's trying to be a part of, it's actually really good. But take it as a genuine part of the Kenshin saga, and you're in for a sorry disappointment.
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
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Location: Frisco, TX
PostPosted: Sun Feb 15, 2004 12:36 am Reply with quote
That's right. I agree with the other posts stated above. Disregard this OAV and just read the manga. Of course, I still have to read the manga, but Nagisa-sama already informed me on what's supposed to happen.

As Nagisa-sama also said, Rurouni Kenshin: "Reflection" isn't a canon part of the franchise and should be regarded as more of a fanfic or something in that sense. So if I were you, just forget what you saw.

EDIT:
animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4717

This thread should clear some things up.
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king_micah



Joined: 09 Jun 2003
Posts: 994
Location: OSU
PostPosted: Sun Feb 15, 2004 3:08 pm Reply with quote
Edit:
The post this replies to has been deleted.


Last edited by king_micah on Mon Feb 16, 2004 5:21 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
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Location: Frisco, TX
PostPosted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 12:27 pm Reply with quote
king_micah wrote:
Don't ask that. Asking for fanscans of any sort is forbidden. Especially since Kenshin is being translated at a decent pace by Viz, and is already through a few volumes. Give it time and it will be out. Otherwise you are stealing from the creator of Kenshin and discouraging further releases.

Actually, I was referring to thread so spikespiegal98 would know what actually happend in the manga. Just forget about the thread's initial statements, OK? Wink
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