Anime: Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Seisou Hen

Seisouhen is a feast for the senses. Sound and sightwise, nothing much else can compare to it. The art is crisp and beautiful and the sound track is superb.

However, for story and characterization, it is simply terrible. Seisouhen attempts to compress the ten volume Jinchuu Arc into an hour and a half. It horribly butchers the characters and makes them do things they would never have done in the canon story.

It reduces Enishi from a brilliant protagonist to one dimensional psychopath who swoops in and kidnaps Kaoru in order to bate Kenshin to fight. He is basically a second Udo Jinei.

Sanosuke, Megumi, Yahiko, Aoshi, Misao and Saitou play virtually no part in Kenshin's final battle against Enishi. Kenshin simply shows up alone to fight him. At the end of the fight, Kenshin does something so OOC that we know it must not really be he.

After this final battle, we see Kenshin and Kaoru (finally) get married and have a very cute son named Kenji. After a few years, Kenshin's health problems catch up to him, forcing him to pass the sakabatou to Yahiko. This is fine because it's from the manga. However, after giving up his sword, Kenshin makes a very selfish and out of character decision that will have a profound effect on his family.

Everyone in this story is out of character, leaving readers of the manga to wonder if this OVA is even based on the manga at all. To me, it just isn't worth seeing except for the glimpses of Kenji as a teenager.

Edit: Changed a lot of my laid-back style. Cut out a lot of the spoilers that were originally in this review. [br][br]Note: I am a huge fan of the manga and the original storyline. The following review is biased from that perspective. Considering this is an OVA of the manga/anime, it should (in honour of the original storyline) continue that flow... in my opinion that is.[br][br]Contains minor spoiler.[br][br]Story, Character[br]The storyline has actually veered quite far from the ending of the original storyline. The OVA is based on the relationship between Kaoru and Kenshin (the main protagonists of the story). Set in the future, it features how Kenshin begins to suffer psychologically from the sins of his past, and decides to leave his family to atone for what he's done. Kaoru awaits for his return, and Kenji (their son) also suffers from the lack of a father figure in his life. [br][br]In terms of the characters featured in the movie, it is quite sad that there is a lack of realisation of the roles they should play at the time of the OVA. I'm stating this because the characters Kenshin and Kaoru play lack that parenthood that one would expect at that age. Much of this would stem from the kind of responsibility that they had displayed from the original storyline. Most of the other main characters played minimal roles in the OVA, so that was quite a pity from a fan's perspective. There was also a lack of development in any of the characters. So this is a huge pity, since an OVA would most often be aimed at fans of the original anime, and therefore intend to relate the two together.[br][br]The amount of flashbacks played in the OVA was somewhat excessive. Even worse was the fact that scenes jumped from one to the next without expectation, so the storyline became fragmented and somewhat confusing. In the end, the whole OVA lacked fluidity and was poorly told[br][br]Animation, Sound, Dialogue[br]Although the animation in the first episode was impressive, there was an obvious quality difference with the second episode. The overall quality of the OVA is high, but the quality difference made the flow (or enjoyment) of the movie fragmented. [br][br]The character design of the mature Kenshin and Kaoru were good, but I had difficulty differentiating the past and mature Kaoru in some of the flashbacks. [br][br]It also did not help when the voices did not change between the different times, since age would indicate a difference in the way the voice would sound. The dialogue was poorly written, even so, the expression of the characters were over verbalised, and failed to achieve the desired effect.[br][br]Value, Enjoyment[br]Well, obviously this would come from a biased point of view. And I didn't. There were a number of reasons for this: 1) I had watched Tsuiokuhen, which had my expectations peaked for the second OVA; 2) I am a huge sucker for love stories and happy endings; 3) I am a big fan of the original storyline. I thought this OVA was an overly romanticised movie with snippets of fight scenes thrown in for the heck of it.[br]

Rurouni Kenshin: Seisouhen, once again is centered around Himura Kenshin, like the first OVA, but at a later date and in a more serious fashion. Be warned, if you have not completed the anime series, then you won't know what's going on lol.

First off, let me say that the rating for this anime is very con traversal, simply because a lot of people are so biased when it comes to the first OVA which was close to perfection and the TV series [which wasn't close to perfection imo lol, but had a shit load of fan base].

But, you have to understand before watching that this is not like the TV series, and that the characters and the emotions they feel were made to be a lot more realistic unlike the comedic "Rurouni Kenshin".

This is NOT a bad OVA.

Animation

Another wonderful job by the animators of this series, the animation is near flawless. However I didn't approve of the fact that they didn't make any of the realistic cgi scenes that they used in Reminiscence, it took a way from the feeling of the prequel.

Sound

This section disappointed me, although the soundtrack for this OVA was pretty good, it was nothing in comparison to the first OVA. Also, I must admit the seiyuus upset me, firstly by getting rid of Seijuro's old one [which was superb], and that Kaoru's voice was very, how do I say.... unconvincing.

Story

I LOVE Kenshin's story, including the plot for this one. HOWEVER, it is undeniable that they did a horrible job explaining Kenshin's past during the TV series for those who hadn't seen it, and this OVA was FAR too short.

I also loved how unlike the TV series, Kenshin and Kaoru's relationship seemed much more life like and realistic. But, this disappointed a lot people, as it strayed away from the original character's personalities, thus puncturing it's fan-base. In short the story is great, yet disappointing to people who loved the TV series.

Character

Wonderful, and yet so depressing because they're unlike the originals. The designs are also beautiful, and very original, far better than it's predecessors. I was very happy with the aging process as well, saw a lot of wrinkles and dull colored hair, not to mention grey ones on Hiko :o!

Value

Of course, I'm a big Samurai X fan and so I went as far as to buy this DVD, it's also licensed. Pretty hard to find on the internet to download too, so I gave it a 9. I watch this and OVA1 [Samurai X: Reminiscence] every time someone tells me they haven't seen it ^^ lol.

Enjoyment

If your a fan of the OVA more than the anime series you'll surely enjoy this one. But you have to finish the TV series first -_- imo. BEWARE: You will cry at the ending of this OVA :'(

After watching "Rurouni Kenshin" and the Rurouni Kenshin prequel OVA, I came into Seisouhen expecting another terrific anime. Unfortunatly, I was incredibly dissapointed by this mockery of the Rurouni Kenshin series.

The animation is well done, as to be expected for a series made in 2001. The rare fight scenes are short but fairly well done, and the character models are nicely done as well.

The soundtrack and voice acting talents were nothing to write home about. I wasn't impressed with either. In fact, I am hard pressed to recall a single theme from the movie.

The story was part rehash and partly new plotline, and everything new seemed incredibly out of character for those involved. Things like Kaoru's sickness seem contrived and the final meeting between Kenshin and Kaoru is very cliched and forced. While some may find the ending poetic, I think it was trite.

The characters, as I have stated, seemed fairly out of character compared to their selves from the series. Kenshin seems to no longer care for Kaoru, even as she lays dieing, and doesn't care for his own son. Meanwhile, the son, Kenji, has taken to training with his father's former master instead of aiding his dieing mother.

I wouldn't reccomend this anime to any fans of the series, it completely ruined it for me. The ending was terrible.

ANIMATION
Firs of all I like the animation, it gave alot of movement during that fighting, it was a different way to show, the rest of the series, of course is no as great I would expect to be, but its was close enough, maybe they got a little lazy, but some time we cant blame the animator, cause they do as the Stile show in the manga, but over all, I think had a good animation.

SOUNDS
I think they had pretty good sound effects, for little fo the fightings, and I like the voices of the character.

STORY
Well Its was very sad, how everyone life end up, but it had good drama, seriously it made me cry, I like it cause it tells you what happen to every single one of them in the end,it doesnt leave you thinking what happend next, how they life went at the end, it tells you the end of their story till the end, so that why I like the story alot, I dont If miss some part to leave you thinking and if I was tell me.

VALUE

The anime shows it time period very well, and It make u feel Like go there, the emotion shown, show transmit something that tells you a idea how it was back then, fearing other people that will pop out of no where and cause problems, and how some people really look for atoment for their past crime, various people did back then.

EnJoyment

I like thise Anime Alot I say is one of the Best series ever made, it was one the few anime that really made cry, cause It was kind of sad seeing, kenshin a fast, strong samurai, to become a week, slow one, it was kind sad really, and How Kamiya Kaoru waits patiently for his return, but over all the hall series was the best.

Noticeably lacking the beauty and intensity of Reminiscence, Seisouhen appears to be an excuse to milk the RK project for all it's worth. Although, ultimately, this two episode OVA is a decent end to Kenshin's life, it fails to deliver in several areas: the character, the story, and the ending.

In the first OVA, Kenshin was raw, a man capable of shedding blood without a blink of an eye. Here, he’s weak, frail, and in the end, barely able to utter a word. The stark contrast isn’t very credible for it is too contradictory to the way the darkest parts of his life. Near the end of the first OVA, Kenshin is a tortured man- steeped in tragedy, remorse, and guilt. In this follow-up, there is very little of that. The TV series, as the middle man, may bring some light to this, but lets get real... not everyone has seen the entire series, and the snippets from the series give nothing. They were unnecessary and only slowed the story. Instead of using flashbacks, it would have been best to unfold the story using present time, show us how Kenshin came to be the soft man that he is.

Although Kenshin himself is unimpressive, Kaoru is not. Perhaps the best part of the story is her devotion to the man she loves, her doubts of having her love returned, and finally, her fear of becoming only a replacement for a woman long dead. However, it was a mistake to tell the majority of the story from her point of view. They say that true suffering is a silent heart, and Tomoe exemplifies that to a T. Though she's in great pain, she still smiles, and at one point, she's asked how, even with a body inflicted with disease, she can remain happy. Getting to know the inside of Kaoru's heart is fine and all, but why forget Kenshin? Even in times when Kenshin should have shined brightest, such as the scenes with Sanosuke, he's shoved aside. Instead of a dual story, Seisouhen is a one-sided account of a single character.

The real glue to the story is their separation, but ironically, keeping the two apart is yet another flaw. The story would have been more poignant had the two been together because then, certain rude interruptions- like the scenes with Enishi and Kenshin's son- would have been omitted. Though Enishi's story was my favorite part of the anime (and it's the only part when a little focus is on Kenshin), it was unnecessary to end his story here. In a story that spans less than two hours, every minute is precious, and having something like that could only be rushed, a real waste of time. Had this not been a one-sided story, their separation would have been acceptable. As it is though, it only seemed like an excuse for drama and to deal with the problems of OTHER characters. Therefore, the melodramatic last scene came off as a little maniupulative.

With its mediocre story, shoddy characterization, and disappointing ending, I didn't enjoy this OVA as much as the first. Despite all this though, the anime is still very much worth the watch. Just expect to be a little disappointed.

- Animation
Not quite as good as the first OVA, but still miles ahead of the TV series. Kenshin looks closer to the way he looks in the TV series, but I liked the way he looks considerably worn. Check out those wrinkles. Everyone else, especially Sanosuke, has a much better design than in the series.

- Sound
No problems here. The music is just as good as in the first OVA.

Value
You don’t need to watch the TV series before watching this. Just watch Reminiscence first and you’ll be fine. The funny thing is that, although you have to watch Reminscence first, that will ultimately lessen any weight this one has. It will always seem pale in comparison. I recommend it, but you may be a little disappointed depending on whether or not you’ve watched the series or read the manga.