Ask John: How Much Rurouni Kenshin Is There?

Question:
I’m a big fan of Ruroni Kenshin, and am wondering how many episodes in all there are in the anime series. Also I heard that the series was never fully finished, is that true? Also are there any more Kenshin OVAs or movies, and if so, are they coming out anytime soon?

Answer:
Rurouni Kenshin broadcast 94 episodes on television, which did not include the original final episode. The TV series was originally intended to conclude earlier than it did, so the fully finished “final” episode was never broadcast on Japanese television. This “lost” episode 95 was later released on Japanese home video. The TV series follows the manga story fairly faithfully until the end of the “Shishio saga,” roughly around episode 70 of the TV series. Because the manga was not yet complete at that time, the animation went in a new direction, differing from the concluding “revenge arc” that rounded out the manga story. The dramatic “revenge arc” is overwhelmingly fans’ favorite segment of the manga, and especially American fans have long bemoaned the fact that none of the Rurouni Kenshin animation ever covered this story. To say that the TV animation didn’t “finish” isn’t quite accurate as it is its own, self contained story, and it finished with the final TV episode.

To clarify, the manga concludes with the adult Enishi, brother of Kenshin’s “wife” Tomoe, seeking revenge on Kenshin. The roots of this vendetta can be seen in the finale of the first Rurouni Kenshin OAV series. The TV animation concludes with the original “Christian saga.”

Largely in response to the success of Rurouni Kenshin in America, Sony Entertainment has produced a new 2 episode OAV series to compliment the existing 95 TV episodes, 4 episode OAV series and theatrical movie. The final moments of the first episode from this new OAV series are the closest any Rurouni Kenshin animation has ever come to adapting the “revenge arc,” and suggest that the second new OAV, scheduled for release in Japan on March 20th, might summarize the finale of the Kenshin manga series in 30 minutes of animation.

Contrary to popular internet rumor, there is no reason to believe that Media Blasters will not release all 95 television episodes in America. The new, second OAV series was produced in part due to financing provided by AD Vision in return for the domestic translation and distribution rights to the series, so AD Vision will be releasing the second Rurouni Kenshin OAV series in North America eventually.