Rurouni Kenshin is the story of a wanderer called Himura Kenshin (with Himura meaning, "of the village," and Kenshin meaning "Sword Heart"). During the Bakumatsu (end of Edo dynasty in Japan), he was known as the Hitokiri Battousai, which meant, "Assassin of Sword-Drawing." Kenshin killed with a single stroke, quick and painless. He was a member of the Choshu Ishin group, and was a hitokiri for them. Later, he was transferred by Katsura Kogoro to the front to fight against the Shinsen Gumi. After a period, he left the Choshu, and began wandering throughout Japan. He took a vow never to kill again, and replaced his sword with a Sakabatou(reverse-bladed sword) so that he may still use his fighting skills but not to kill. Eventually he wanders into Tokyo where he is confronted by a Kenjutsu master by the name of Kamiya Kaoru, master of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. He later saves her, and she asks him to stay with her for a while...
Wow, I didn't think a short summary was possible! But there it is...
But then again, I could go on forever about Kyoto and Jinchuu arcs...
The Tokyo Arc
The Tokyo Storyline is essentially an introduction to major characters, such as Kenshin, Kaoru, Yahiko, Sanosuke and Megumi. Others also shown in this arc are Aoshi Shinomori, and the Oniwabanshuu Omnitsu.
The Kyoto Arc
Not to give anything away, but this story revolves around Kenshin's return to Kyoto to face an old evil from the Bakumatsu in the form of the Hitokiri Battousai's successor, Shishio Makoto. This arc is very long(11 volumes in manga, 35 episodes of anime) and introduces a TON of major characters and a very continuously developed plotline. It all ends in a massive climax between Kenshin and Shishio themselves...
The Jinchuu(Revenge) Arc
This is the current storyline of the manga, soon to be animated into the OVA format. It continues where Kyoto left off (unlike the anime, ahem.) and gives great insight onto Kenshin's past as a Hitokiri, and a new villain who has some very interesting ties to Kenshin...and a few mental problems, but we won't get into that ^_^. If you want to know more about it:
Also, check my links section for sites related to the above topics.
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