Rurouni Kenshin: New Kyoto Arc [DVD]

Genre: Action Length: 90 minutes "Although she's only sixteen and looks even younger, Misao Makimachi is already a skilled and competent member of the Oniwabanshu ninja clan. Which is a fortunate thing for Misao, as her onimitsu talents may be all that keeps her alive when a journey in search of the leader of the clan, Aoshi Shinomori, leads her instead into a face-to-face encounter with an even more dangerous man and a plot to overthrow the Meiji government! Quickly enmeshed in the affairs of the legendary assassin Hitokiri Battosai, now known as Kenshin Himura wielder of the reverse-blade sword, Misao finds herself pulled into the middle of a deadly intrigue against Makoto Shishio, who is orchestrating the conquest of all Japan, beginning with Kyoto! Get ready for blades to flash and blood to flow as Nobuhiro Watsuki's acclaimed Rurouni Kenshin returns at long last to the world of animation in an epic masterpiece: Rurouni Kenshin - New Kyoto Arc!" For all intents and purposes, this is an extreme condensation of the entire Kyoto Arc of Rurouni Kenshin which comprised about 35 episodes. Fitting so much into so little is incredibly hard to do with it maintaining any resemblance or cohesion. And it shows. Fights last less than 1-2 minutes. Character interactions are even shorter. You just can't get "hooked" on something when it's constantly changing so quickly. To its credit, this OVA does at least spit out the basics to the story rather than assuming that you know it already. Kenshin used to be a brutal killer but ended up taking an oath to never kill again. Misao...she's there but doesn't really do anything. And Shishio is seeking to overthrow the government of Japan and take it over. The animation is actually pretty solid here. It's hard to believe that the original series is over 18 years old! The original English release is still about 14 years old as well. Sadly, the English voice cast was not reassembled for this release. Honestly, the English dub for this one is terrible. The lack of emotion from the characters was extremely hard to listen to. Read the subtitles if you want a more enjoyable experience. Overall, it's a nice refresher on the series if you want that nostalgic feeling, but I won't recommend this to others. Too much compressed into just so little time that it's hard for me to enjoy.

enjoy this dvd the family has watched it several times and will watch again.