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Enishi's brief stint as
an anime character does need some mention. I
prefer and recommend the original Japanese versions of both OAVs to their
English dubs. Both are already quite melodramatic as it is; the dubbing only
emphasized this fault. Furthermore, in the original versions, one can sense the
admiration for RK that are present in the seiyuu, and an overall better
appreciation for Enishi. Tsuioku Hen:
The Rurouni Kenshin OAVs
contain the story of Kenshin's life before and after the Tokyo and Kyoto arcs.
The Tsuioku Hen (Samurai X Trust and Betrayal) contain the Jinchuu's arc
Remembrance story, Kenshin as Hitokiri Battousai and his relationship to Tomoe.
The Seisou Hen (Samurai X Reflections) contain a fast retelling of the animated
arcs, Enishi's part of the Jinchuu arc, and an extension of the RK story to its
supposed end.
Differences from manga:
No hand-biting. ^^ Otherwise, young Enishi is exactly what he should be.
Japanese: (Nozumu Sasaki) The voice
acting is adequate for the role, and, like every other seiyuu, well-chosen. He
sounded like an ordinary boy, glad to see his beloved nee-san after such a long
time, and desperate to get her back. The change from desperate to vengeful was
marked, and done well.
English dubbing: (Brian
Gaston) "Squeaky little brat" is the impression given.
A very spoiled boy. That is the desired effect, true, but the voice acting took
it a bit too far. He sounded too angry at the world.
Seisou Hen:
Enishi
has grown up, and is out to avenge his sister. Mostly scenes in the island
outpost are shown, and elaborated on. Pretty well, I think, because it gives
better insight into Enishi in a short time. It will
suffice here to say that, in my humble opinion, Seisou Hen is dreadfully
insufficient to show who and what Enishi is. It did show that he is a complex
man, but it did not show completely how dangerous and how confused he really is.
Major differences from manga: (1) The blue/orange ensemble is
replaced by the nicer-looking white/purple ensemble. (2) No mention of the Six
Comrades, or his past in Shanghai. (3) Jinchuu is reduced to a kidnapping. (4)
No arrest; he just disappears from collective memory.
Japanese: In the event that the RK Jinchuu arc gets fully
animated (oh, may that time come!!), I would want Nozomu Sasaki to come back and
voice for Enishi. He has played as Tetsuo (Akira), Yusuke (YuYu Hakusho), and
Nagi (Weiss Kreuz) among others. Animation can only go so far; voice acting completes the
package. He got it perfectly right. Yes, he did get dreadfully whiney in some
parts, and made Enishi look like a poor lost grown-up little boy -- but isn't
that the point? That is what Enishi was, at that point. The voicework
showed him as gentlemanly, but very confused. He sounded dangerous, but not
evil.
English dubbing:
(Bill Wise) First reaction -- What in the WORLD ---
?!?! I shall commit Jinchuu on ADV! Why did they do that to Enishi?! It's a
common American mistake to make bad guys sound really bad, and here they did it
again. With that kind of voice, the poor man will not get any sympathy from the
audience, and the audience should be sympathizing with him to some degree,
especially the way he is portrayed in Reflections. It just established, even more,
the notorious stereotypical thought pattern -- Enishi is unstable and inherently
evil. A horrible result of this dubbing mistake is the current abundance of
RK fanfiction that present Enishi as pure evil and pure psycho. Many RK fans are
not hardcore; they would not shell out money for the Jinchuu arc (at least until
the English versions of the manga come out). All they have to base Enishi's
character on is the Seisou Hen. The awful combination of rushed material and
misguided dubbing do not do justice to Enishi.
In conclusion: For
now, only anime knowledge of Enishi will not be enough to live on, especially if
you want to write good fanfiction for him. Until (by some miracle) the whole of
Jinchuu arc is animated, and it is animated like the Kyoto arc, you have to know
him the long and hard way. We promise you, you will not regret the effort.