Anime: Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Tsuioku Hen 1k6d5g

Storytelling :
Trust and Betrayal follows a linear story telling format of what the life of a lone samurai who works to kill. Of course, if that were the actual case. T&B follows Kenshin during his teenage years when he was a warrior for hire, killing people to protect in order to keep his promise to those whom he couldn't save when he was a child.

Trust ARC : Trust is action packed, shows the world the characters live in Death and despair and overall a hard to swallow arc if you can't take bloodshed.

Betrayal ARC : The Infamous conclusion arc. Now once you've gotten the character motives, this arc shows what the characters are without their masks.

Pacing :
Of course that is not to say that it's perfect. The story is told in 4 episodes meaning that. There is little time to make everyone care for everything that is happening, some characters won't be on screen as much as you hope them to be, and overall provides a very fast-paced way of storytelling.

Directing :
The atmosphere is consistantly moody, there is constantly blood on the screen, people in shock, and without emotion, most die as a result. And overall they seem to be more keenly aware of their situation, but that is what gives the show its charm. It irks with what a Samurai war romantic drama is about.

Script writing :
It's emotionally distant, grim dark with no awkward tonal shifts to lighten the mood so the viewer can understand the characters without having to cling onto some laughs or poorly written jokes so they can keep it on, it's thought provoking, eyecandy that may get you into Samurai history even if it's a work of fiction.
Proving that even if just hack n slash death can provide entertainment unlike some shows.

Characters :
Kenshin, our protagonist as a kid watches as his parents sell him out to some traveling merchants who get robbed and eventually killed. He vow's to kill everyone who dares attack someone who he doesn't want to get hurt. And thanks to his teacher allowing him to learn the ways of Hiten Mitsurugi. With years of practise he is able to learn it and perfect it. Something a person in that day and age heavily focused on. Honour, love, and pretty much survival. If yer family is in danger, you must put your job over your cared ones, so while you're on your way massacring a horde of warriors that invade your country an assassin may come and take away your beloved ones. Constant risk, depression and tense reactions come from Kenshin when he is doing his job, eventually. Finding his love interest for who could've expected something like this to happen. Most characters that are either opposing against Kenshin or with him seem to die in just a stab or two while he can take a whole 4 stabs and a snowy climb on the mountain AND SURVIVE on top of that.

Tomoe, the loveable and gullable Female main character sits there morally boosting Kenshin's will and standalone self, sheathing his rage and inner self from arriving to the outside world, thus Kenshin finds someone to protect and trust throughout the show, her strength comes from looking at Kenshin, striving to be mentally strong as him. She tries to prove it by showing him her determination. As looking at how he brutally murders others, and when he is about to jump into a fight he can't win she stops him with a scared and sweaty expression, showing him visually that she doesn't want him to meet his end just yet, and thus the end of the Trust arc comes the Betrayal arc where she gets developed even more, she understands that she can't love one person to the end, and that she, just like much of the other characters. Betrays her former lover and goes for Kenshin, she learns the plotting of something stinky knowing something bad may happen soon. So she opens up to Kenshin even more after telling her that he'll protect her, but alas she left him with a scar and a snowy farewell.

The rest of the characters here are easily like/able hateable almost no one that feels like a side character that will get easily written out of the story just like that, they do their job to the main cast, put on a heavy boost on their morale, let alone provide their survival, yet show them gratitude through wry smiles and thin emotions.

Iizuka and Katsura are two of the main cast that not only prove to be the best in of character interaction, but experience. They know how to use others. And hide themselves when the time is right. They're constantly mysterious amongst the viewer's eye, but when the time comes, they show their true colors and oh how blissful they are. Like a shining star in the middle of the night. Know when to give up, and try their best to escape their past and go into the present.

Animation : Animation is superb, the use of skipping frames allows not only to add tension to scenes but also cover up for any mistakes they may have made. May not be perfect, but from what else has come this is quite well presented. Action scenes look great, movement is very fluent, mouth sync is great. They feel alive when they move and not like deadly animated bodies when they do it

Cinematography : The dark and colorful backgrounds portay the day and age they live in, showing grassy plains and sunlight when they're happy and nightfall/rain when sadness is amock. There are scenes that are directly camera shot and placed in so they can save some budget from their money loss with the filler run. Knowing Deen this was unexpected to do, as they'd blow the entire money on it for no reason. Great artistic choice, well fit when used and filters to provide the dark and white colors for sad nights, as we know the color of snow means sadness.

Voice Acting : Voice acting is a prime here, the quite tone of the characters show how they feel when living in this day and age, dead in the inside, empty on words. And scared to show signs of happiness because who knows what might happen next. Their own emotional reactions are unexpected aswell, you can't tell if they're serious, sarcastic or sad.

Artistic Design : Unlike the original Rurouni Kenshin, Trust and Betrayal uses a more aBe style of art design. Characters look like rough sketches that are empty both on the outside and inside, pale in comparison to the goofy and chill first series, this change is great because it much more suites the tone of what it's about. Even the roughly made eyes and filtered hair with more bonus aesthetics. You don't need sunshafted colors or bright faces to make something great, you need this kind of rough sketch to make it look more serious and present what it's about! The detailed background that is a mix between real video recordings mixed with bare hand drawn areas not only mix well, but also remove the use of pointless CGI and may will look a thousand times better.

Overall : Trust and Betrayal shows how much RK fans need a remake of the series with a more serious tone and less comedy relief. A great written Samurai drama along with nice visuals and a dark tone that will leave most breathless and wanting more of it.

To me, this is the finest piece of Rurouni Kenshin animation you can get. It's not silly and childish like the anime (though I still love the anime) and it isn't pointless pseudo-tragedy like Seisouhen.

This is set during the Bakumatsu when Kenshin is a young assassin on the razor's edge of insanity. Every night, he spills blood in the hopes of bringing in the new era of peace for the people of Japan. Every night, his soul dies a bit more.

One night, he crosses swords with a young Shogunate swordsman who is able to wound him on the cheek before Kenshin does him in. As the young swordsman dies, he cries out a mysterious name.

One month later, Kenshin meets a mysterious woman in the rain. She es out in his arms and he brings her to the Kohagiya to live. Little by little, Kenshin and Tomoe fall in love with each other.

Ultimately, circumstances force them to flee to Otsu where they pose as apothecaries. Kenshin finds a measure of peace for his embattled soul in the countryside. All too soon, the realities of war are thrust back upon them.

Will Kenshin and Tomoe find happiness, or will a deadly secret tear them apart forever?

The 4 episodes of Kenshin OVA-s were one of the first anime-s i have ever watched and if you like something a bit more serious with one of the most amazing story lines, you will for sure like it.
Unfortunately OVA animation is old (as expected compared to release date) but do not let that stop from watching it.
In my opinion the whole Kenshin series are made childish and TV suitable (less gore) while this OVA give you a glimpse in what you would call the "real" world of Kenshin which is much more brutal, serious and bloody than the actual series.
So far i have watched over 1200 anime and this 4 OVA-s are almost at the very top!

Best regards

Please note I'll base things like Animation compared to Anime of the current day.

Animation is decent, but outdated. Not much different from original Kenshin, aside from higher resolution. A few faster sword scenes, perhaps, but those are so few it barely makes a difference. They also use some interesting dream/illusion/pseudo scenes here and there, where they blend in certain things like flowers to symbolize thoughts/emotions connected with them, that's kind of neat at times. Aside from that it didn't impress me much, though.
7

Sound was overall solid, and once again a lot like original Kenshin. Decent voices for the most part, decent slashing sounds, as few as they might be. There are a few times where feelings or just ordinary dialogues don't come out right, though. Whether this is the scripts or the actors fault, I wont judge. I will reflect this in the rating, though.
6

Story is a bit short, simple, without many twists. It's mostly just about Kenshins emotional state, really. Personally I would've liked a lot more interactions with the Shinsengumi, Shogunate, etc. As things were, the last two movie parts bored me for the most time.
5

Characters surely had a lot on their mind, with a lot of emotions hidden behind their glassy eyes. Thing is, most of the time they didn't tell them, and even when they did, either they were concise about them, or it felt too corny/over-dramatic/unbelievable, to me at least. There are times where I felt a certain type of tensity and emotion, but the way they were resolved always left an unsatisfying aftertaste for me. Also, in general, there are too few characters that are really revealed with enough depth. Most of the time, the "story" just dances along with those selected few people & their glassy eyes and gloomy, short phrases. Not for me.
6

Value is so-so. Seeing Kenshins child days sounds both unnecessary and a little bit exciting at the same time, but problem is they focused too much on their time on spinning that worthless over dramatic little side story with that "wife" of Kenshin. Sure, maybe she was largely responsible for his turning away from the killing path. Even so, it resulted in a lot less interesting times when he was still a kid learning the ropes.
Personally I feel the original series was totally complete without this.
6

Enjoyment was still fine at start, but like I already said I really hoped for more of the younger Kenshin, and more involvement of the Shinsengumi and Shogunate. I really didn't like that act with his "wife", it all felt corny, over-dramatic and unbelievable to me, and as such, all the moments of "peace" and silent thinking they spend feel like wasted times to me. I'm not saying all of those ideas are bad by themselves, but I really feel they went for the hardcore drama route to please first-time movie goers. (guy hardly wounded goes after his tragic loved one, the usual, just a lot intensified and slow motioned.. buargh)
6

Rurouni Kenshin TV was a very typical and weak series in overall. It had more comical relief than necessary, Kenshin himself was extremely weak and dumb, the cast all followed the stereotypes far too closely and the overall pace and story was more like Dragon Ball Z then a historical show. Besides all that, the fights were more about super-powers than sword fighting, and any who wished for a true samurai show was presented with a shounen super-power stuff instead.

Then comes the Rurouni Kenshin OVA with a different art style in the cover... and in everything else. Rurouni Kenshin OVA is one of the greatest piece of animation ever made, a show with only a few episodes but with great depth, drama, and superb action scenes and sword fighting. It make you wonder how the TV series could be awesome if it followed a similar structure and makes you see how shallow almost all the other samurai shows are.

Art & Animation
All OVAs have some advantage in art and animation against TV series and Rurouni Kenshin is no exception. The art and animation are top notch for its age, even though there are many scenes that are static. The battles are nice, the shadowy atmosphere is great and the consistency is excellent. The change in character design is very welcome, making the whole show feel more mature than the TV series and portraiting a more human and serious Kenshin instead of the dumb samurai that destroyed the TV show.

Sound
Rurouni Kenshin OVA is ed by som epic themes that are very powerful to the show. The contribution the background music has to the atmosphere and the sense of tension of the combats is superb. Voice-acting is fine because you'll be hearing voices only in a few scenes. The whole show is very scarce in dialogue, transmiting most of its experience through background music and the nice animation.

Story
The background of Kenshin is always said to be very sad and dark during the TV series, but it was hard to believe because of the ridiculous carefree attitude of the small samurai and his followers. Watching the OVAs, however, makes you notice that his past is not only sad, it's filled with shadows and is likely impossible for him to be the way he is in the TV show. Removing the relationship with the TV show, however, gives you an outstanding work of narrative and drama within the bakumatsu-meiji period. The events unfold in a good pace and considering the small amount of episodes, it shows a fairly good amount of content, without falling to any kind of filler or useless storytelling and focusing completely in what the show was meant to be. You'll be seeing good turns of events and the short story is very satisfying.

Character
Kenshin himself is a far better character here, hundreds of time more human and belieavable than the one from the TV. It's only sad that the small amount of episodes let you know little about the rest of the cast. They are good in their short span onscreen, with fears and skills based on realism and fitting to the era when the shows occurs. The cast is very limited and the focus is well defined, making all the cast more interesting and charismatic.

Value
Samurai shows are plenty, swordfighting is also common to anime, but only a few dare to approach this age in the same way as these OVAs. The serious atmosphere, realistic sword skill and characters, many are the elements put together here that usually goes bad in other shows but succeed greatly here. This is a completely different experience from the TV show and is hundreds of times better, a true mature show that differs from the mainstream of animes and is unbeaten within its genre even today. Of course the hype from the TV series helped this get the attention, but it deserves every praise it got.

Enjoyment
Rurouni Kenshin OVA is all about telling the first terrible experience of the scarred battousai. The fights are here in small portions but extremely satisfying, the events occur in a good pace, the setting is greatly portraited in a dark and dramatic experience. Watching the OVA can be a bit boring at some scenes, but the reward from watching its good moments is simply magnific. Those looking for a sad and dark show will find one of the best pieces of animation, but if you're hoping to see more of the Rurouni Kenshin TV or some typical shounen stuff you better get away because you'll be bored.

Comments
I've watched this by the time it was released back in 1999 and after watching a few episodes of the TV series. I expected only bits more of "oro?" and other stupid remarks by Kenshin and the other typical cast, but what I was presented with was simply one of saddest and greatest masterpieces of japanese animation. It's no wonder it tops dozens of otaku sites in its scores, the show is simply superb in every department mayb except for a addicting value.

The Kenshin is a completely different character and the fact that it's a bakumatsu-era show is only a small detail, which helps those who dislike the typical old-japan shows like myself. This show won me for the first time I've watched it and in all the other 3 or 4 times I've rewatched it as well. Knowing the events makes the show less enjoyable, but the power of its main moments is never lacking.

Liking Kenshin TV or not, watching it or not, this is a must-see anime for everyone, from the ecchi lover to the US-series fan. I would only advise to not expect cheesy stuff, comedy, or super-powers like what usually accompanies most samurai shows.

Hey AniDB, an additional two cents worth for an already loved and celebrated masterpiece. You know, there's nothing here I can say that's not been said already, so let me try a different approach...

Let's just say you know nothing about Rurouni Kenshin and have only seen peoples avatars and maybe a brief bit of a clip back on Toonami years ago...

Animation
Well while your first thought might be of the colorful bright kid friendly looking series, Trust and Betrayal is movie quality animation far more muted and taken seriously by the creators. That means more adult in style, more human proportions and muted color for your characters and backgrounds. More dark, more depth, more grit, more talent has been put into everything you see in this movie... the weight of the characters, the expressions that they bear, there's a big difference between this and the series. Kenshin looks less cartoon-like, and like he's got some weight on his shoulders. A burden on his heart you can almost see. Here, in this movie you're going to get blood and realistic action and feelings, and it's choreographed quite well to boot. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
• Looks/Visuals : 9/10

Sound
Now I know nothing about the series, let's assume you don't either... good. So what are we going to hear? A pretty good feudal Japanese score, and pretty much, nothing else. There are no themes, there's nothing to sing. It's a solid background score, helps draw you towards the edge of your seat for the action, and pulls on the string of your heart when there's tears... yeh, it can get a "tad" flat in spots, but it's usually calming down just to build the next scene up in some way. The voice acting is above average if you watch the Japanese sub... heck, I usually recommend trying the English first just 'cause sometimes it's good and you can focus more on the rest of the anime when you don't have to try and read, but for this one, I don't recommend it... enjoy it in it's original language, the actors did a superb job with the emotions.
• Score/Voice Acting : 8/10

Story
This is the strong point of Trust and Betrayal... a deep story of romance and of course... betrayal. It's original, I can't think of any Hollywood flick that does this in this way... so let's just say, if you only know about Samurai X that he has a cross shaped scar, well you're going to not only learn about how he got that scar on his cheek, but how he got that scar on his heart. This is a solid tale of romance. And yeh, that's not manly sure... but the action is superb and appropriately paced and bloody and certainly no joke, so the balance between the two... it's wonderful, and there is certainly a reason this anime is so highly ranked... it is not overrated that's for sure.
• Story : 10/10

Character
Yeh, we know we'll get Kenshin, he's apparently cute and likable... I was under that impression from all the silly avatars and commercials and fan art... he's like Goku, a celebrity to the anime world. People love him...
Well, he's not dopey and happy and silly and lovable... no no, not here. If you feel anything for him here, it's probably pity. That's right... sadness. You're going to meet a character who transforms from heartless, to in love, to destroyed... Kenshin is one of the few characters that I've rooted for... maybe along with Spike Spiegel and the Elrich's... you want to see him win... but... well there are other characters too... I suggest you watch this anime to meet them as well right!?
• Character : 10/10

Value
This is without doubt a movie that every self respecting anime fan into any genre should take the time out to see... I don't care if you are a fan of the series or someone like me who kept it away with a ten foot pole 'cause of the "kiddy" air you get from it... maybe I'm wrong, maybe the series is great, I don't care at this point 'cause I've other series to get to first, all I know is that Trust and Betrayal should be on everyones "to watch" list once you're ready to see REAL depth of emotions in anime. You don't need to see anything Kenshin related to enjoy this movie, though perhaps it may help, but I don't really know how. My only knock on the value is a bizarre one... I enjoyed this movie so much that I was kind of and remain a bit apprehensive to the character and direction of the series. I would sort of rather this story almost stand alone... I guess it's what I call in my own mind... "Matrix Syndrome"... I would've liked Neo and Agent Smith a thousand times more if not for the sequels... not that they're bad... but they move the characters and story into directions I would not have imagined for them... that's all I guess... a silly knock, but that's my honest narrow minded feeling, what can I say... The more anime I see however, the more I learn I appreciate this one.... hmmm.
• Value : 8/10

Enjoyment
It's an epic tale, you experience it, you fall in love with the character, you can see him go on if you'd like by going to the series, which you can tell by now I avoided, or the movie that takes place after the series, which I did with little to no problem... and enjoyed just a little less then this one... Trust and Betrayal is a solid offering, there are very few characters you'll feel for like you feel for this one. And the action along the way makes it all the better for the people like me...
• Enjoyment : 9/10

Overall : 9
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