There are titles that pertain to, or somewhat reference, days of old day Japan. To name a few, there's Inuyasha, Ronin Warriors, Basilisk, and Ruroni Kenshin. The latter title is what I'll be covering today, though it is also known as Samurai X.
Ruroni Kenshin's protagonist, lead and titular character is Kenshin Himura, a wanderer traveling with a unique sword: it's a blade that doesn't kill, as his sharp end is on the opposing side, making the sword unable to even cut, let alone slice. There is more to this weirdness than just his blade: his past life was that of the infamous assassin Hitokiri Battosai, participant in the Bakumatsu war. To atone for his sins, he becomes a wanderer with an entirely different demeanor than the days of old, offering protection and aid to those around him. However, his fame brought two kinds of people: those that abuse the name Battosai, and those who want him dead. Even if he seeks to be a pacifist, Kenshin must raise his blade once more if he wants no harm to come to his new friends.
Licensed by Viz Media, the anime ran for 95 episodes, a moderately long TV series, accompanied with the anime film Samurai X, and 2 OVAs of the same title. The anime and the OVAs were wonderful, but there were some criticism, even from the man behind it himself, about the ending to it overall. Again, another conclusion that did not meet my fancy. The first 65 episodes were made under Studio Gallap, while the rest were made under Studio Deen. As Samurai X, it was licensed by Sony Entertainment for the UK, while in the US, the TV anime went by Ruroni Kenshin, licensed by AnimeWorks. Richard Cansino (credited as Richard Hayworth) voices Kenshin in the anime, while his OVA voice is done by J. Shanon Weaver.
This anime is perhaps the one that got me interested in swords, giving me an idea for my current story back then. Ruroni Kenshin is definitely good (save for the overall conclusion), and scores an 8.6 of 10.
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