=================================================================== Episode Summaries by Lynne (tougei@hotmail.com) Note from Key 2 Anime: I got these summaries from the RK Archive (http://rka.crosspaths.net/index.html). All these summaries are done by Lynne. If you have any questions of would just like to thank her for her wonderful efforts please email her at tougei@hotmail.com Episodes #1-3 =================================================================== Episode #1 The Legendary Swordsman... The Man who Fights for Love. It is the 11th year of the Meiji (1878) as the rurouni (vagabond, unattached swordsman) Himura Kenshin wanders into Tokyo early one beautiful morning. He is accosted on the street by Kamiya Kaoru, who thinks he is the serial killer Hitokiri Battousai. Unbeknownst to her, he really is the Hitokiri Battousai but not the serial killer who is pretending to be the Hitokiri Battousai. (Clear enough,right?) The real bad guy is Hiruma Gohei. Gohei is an ex-student of Kaoru's father's Kamiya Kasshin Ryu kendo dojo, which is now Kaoru's dojo, since her father is dead. Gohei is seeking revenge! (We won't go into the reason why.) He is running around killing people indiscriminately while calling himself the Hitokiri Battousai of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. His actions, of course, are ruining Kaoru's business, and she is determined to stop him. Gohei is a mite bigger than Kaoru, and Kenshin saves her from being cut in half, takes her home, bandages her wound, puts her to bed, entertains her two younger 'sisters', and cooks her breakfast. Kaoru is not stupid. She notes that Kenshin looks poor and invites him to stay at her dojo. She later gets mad at him when he walks in on her while she is in the bath and retaliates by locking him in the storage barn. Kenshin sneaks out after cleaning the building. Kaoru thinks he is gone for good (get real), and later the same morning, when Gohei comes calling with his cohorts, the future does not look bright for Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. Gohei has Kaoru by the scruff of her neck, getting ready to throw her to his 'students' to play with, when Kenshin rescues her. During the fight with Gohei, Kenshin reveals that he is the real Hitokiri Battousai. After it's all over, Kenshin starts to leave, but Kaoru tells him the whole situation was his fault, and shames him into staying to help rebuild her dojo. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Episode #2 The Bratty Samurai... Why Don't You Become My student? Kaoru tells Kenshin he is buying lunch for her, Ayame-chan, Suzume-chan, and Dr. Genzai. On the way into town Kenshin sees a boy steal a purse from an old man, then put the purse back into the hand of the old man's grandson. Kenshin lets the boy know he not only saw him, but respects him for his change of heart. The boy, "Tokyo Samurai" Myojin Yahiko, gets angry, retaliates and shouts insults at Kenshin and Kaoru. Kenshin just smiles and tells Yahiko to keep his 'pride' always. Yahiko is totally nonplussed and stomps off. Later at the Akabeko restaurant, Kenshin and Kaoru learn that Yahiko is 'owned' by the local Shueitai (organized crime). Kaoru gets angry and goes to rescue him. She makes a good attempt, beats a whole crowd of thugs, but fails. Both she and Yahiko are rescued by Kenshin. Kenshin then turns Yahiko over to Kaoru as her student (much against both Yahiko's and Kaoru'swill). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Episode #3 The Swordsman in Sorrow. The Man That Cuts the Past. Kaoru and Yahiko are learning to get along. Kenshin is cooking, cleaning and babysitting. While Kenshin heads into town to buy tofu, the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu dojo is visited by police trying to locate the Hitokiri Battousai. Kaoru sends Yahiko to warn Kenshin not to come home, because he will be arrested. Kenshin passes a government sword squad on his way back from the market with Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan. The sword squad is on its way into town to terrorize the locals. Yahiko, in his search for Kenshin to warn him of the police at the dojo, gets involved with the local conflict with the sword squad and is about to be executed when Kenshin shows up. There is some tense verbal interplay between the sword squad and Kenshin before the fight begins. When Kaoru and the police learn that Kenshin is in town fighting with the sword squad, Kaoru escapes from them to go warn/help Kenshin. Kenshin defeats the sword squad right before the police from the dojo show up. A Meiji Ishin cabinet member, Yamagata Aritomo, is with the police. He and Kenshin knew each other from the end of the Edo period, and Yamagata-san asks Kenshin to join the Meiji Ishin administration. (This impresses the heck out of Kaoru.) Kenshin declines, saying that he has given up being the Hitokiri. As Kenshin, Kaoru, and Yahiko walk off, Yamagata-san says that Kenshin has not heard the last of him. ======================================================================= Lynne K's Translation Notes: A few notes: These writings are probably more involved than most people would think a 'summary' should be. They were such fun to do I guess I got carried away. (I hope I don't bore you with the details -- gomen ^_^ !!!). I use the terms 'Kenshin-gumi' and 'Kenshin and company' throughout these writings because I did not want to list all names of those individuals concerned. Forgive me please, I know 'Kenshin-gumi' is not official. (But it should be!) This was written for RK fans by an avid RK fan. I do not mean to offend anyone with my comments or my rating system, but since I wrote these, I felt I had the right to express my opinion. Ratings are based both on how good I felt the episode was and how necessary I felt the episode was to further story development. And lastly, I have argued with many people who thought I should put * spoiler warnings * throughout these summaries. I refuse! If you do not want to know what is going to happen, you really should not be here. Thanks for visiting! I hope you enjoy!!!!.........Lynne K. =======================================================================