Other Titles • Samurai X: Betrayal & Samurai X: Trust • Samurai X: Betrayal (1999) • Samurai X: Trust (1999) • Rurôni Kenshina19: Meiji kenkaku roman tan: Tsuioku hen (1999) • Rurôni Kenshin: Reminicense • Rurôni Kenshin: Romantic Tales from the Meiji Era • Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal • Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal
Synopses for Samurai X: Betrayal & Samurai X: Trust (1999)
1.
Trust The four-episode Samurai X: Trust original animation video captures the mixture of swordplay and poetry that makes Japanese warrior culture so intriguing to viewers on both sides of the Pacific. The OAV series serves as a prequel to both Samurai X: The Movie and the more lighthearted TV series. The action unfolds in 1864, when a few clans began the revolt that would overthrow the military dictatorship of the Tokugawa Shogunate and return power to the Emperor in the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Shinta, a lonely orphan, is transformed by master swordsman Hiko into Kenshin Himura, an assassin in the service of Katsura, one of the revolutionary leaders. Kenshin kills whomever Katsura orders with consummate skill and unshatterable calm. He believes he is using his sword to bring about a better world, even as the intrigues and counter-intrigues escalate. But he becomes aware of unspoken doubts when he meets Tomoe, a mysterious girl whose beauty, like the iris, is seen to best advantage in cloudy weather. Director Kazuhiro Furuhashi choreographs the sword fights with a grace that infuses even scenes of extreme violence with an elegant sensuality: in one striking image, he focuses on the rain washing a spatter of blood from Tomoe's cheek. The dialogue in the English translation often sounds stilted, but the words are usually superfluous.
Betrayal The peace that reigns over the remote mountain village of Otsu contrasts sharply with the rapid-fire violence of the previous episodes set in Kyoto. Working as a farmer, growing crops and savoring the passage of the seasons, Kenshin comes to terms with the discontent festering in his soul. He regrets the death and suffering he has caused, and hopes to find a better life--with the mysterious Tomoe. A conventional story would end on this note of self-discovery and moral growth. But Samurai X unfolds like a Kabuki tragedy: the desire for revenge remains strong, especially among the agents of the last Tokugawa Shogun, who are anxious to crush the nascent rebellion led by the Choshu clan. Kenshin was an important agent for the Choshu; Tomoe is just a pawn, but the outcome of a game may hinge on a strategically positioned pawn. Kenshin finally grasps the lessons his master, Hiko, attempted to teach him: the need for inner peace and the possibility of defending the weak without resorting to violence. The exquisitely detailed artwork evokes 19th century Japan, and director Kazuhiro Furuhashi depicts these understated inner conflicts as skillfully as the epic sword fights in the first episodes. Samurai X demonstrates the power of animation to present stories of great emotional depth, earning it a rightful place among the top anime series.
Reflection The final OAV brings the long-running saga of master swordsman and assassin Kenshin Himura to its conclusion. The story is set in 1893, long after the bloody conflicts of the Meiji Restoration--and the events in the previous OAVs that culminated in the death of Kenshin's wife, Tomoe. With his devoted second wife, Kaoru, Kenshin seeks peace in trying to aid the helpless. But he cannot escape the karmic burden of the many deaths he caused: there is no peace for Kenshin in this world. The Japanese concept of the transitory nature of beauty permeates the two-part adventure. Director Kazuhiro Furuhashi ushers the narrative along at a deliberate pace, deftly inserting the many flashback sequences. The result is a properly elegiac farewell to one of most popular anime characters on both sides of the Pacific. (Rated 17 and older: violence, alcohol use, mature themes) --Charles Solomon
(30 votes)
2.
N/A
(28 votes)
3.
Director Kazuhiro Furuhashi has recut the four-episode Samurai X OVA into a seamless feature that serves as a prequel to both Samurai X: The Movie and the light-hearted TV series. The action unfolds in 1864, at the beginning of the revolution against the Tokugawa Shogunate that culiminated in the Meiji Restoration. The orphan Shinta is transformed by master swordsman Hiko into Kenshin, an assassin who believes he is using his sword to bring about a better world. When he and the mysterious Tomoe hide from the intrigues of Kyoto in a remote mountain village, Kenshin finds peace, raising crops and savoring the passage of the seasons, but this tranquility cannot endure. Furuhashi choreographs the characters' inner conflicts as skillfully as the epic sword fights, infusing them with an elegant sensuality. In either format, Samurai X OVAs capture the violence and poetry of samurai culture in a story of exceptional emotional depth. (Rated 17 and older: violence, alcohol use, mature themes) --Charles Solomon
(26 votes)
4.
Trust
Nineteenth century Japan: a land torn by warfare and rebellion where small bands of soldiers seek to overthrow the tyrannical Tokugawa Shogunate.
Enter Kenshin, a young orphan whose fighting skills were honed by the great swordsman Hiko. But Kenshin’s soul is embattled much like the killing fields of Japan, his hopes for a new world peace at odds with his life of blood and killing.
His world is thrown into further confusion by the arrival of a mysterious woman named Tomoe. Her kindness and attention show him a kind of life he didn’t know existed. Can she help the assassin become a real man? Or does she hide a secret that could destroy everything he has come to depend on?
Betrayal
After a series of disastrous events in Kyoto, Kenshin and Tomoe escape to a small farm in rural Japan. Living their lives as simple farmers, the two begin to learn more about who they really are inside. Meanwhile, the political conflicts of the outside world inch closer day by day. A traitor is at work to bring down the rebellion, and destroy Kenshin in the process. Tomoe is torn by her familial allegiances and the ghosts of her tragic past. The fugitive couple soon find their lives being inevitably drawn to a terrible conclusion. The forces that surround them manipulate their lives with invisible hands, weaving the loose threads of fate into a terrifying tapestry for the stunning climax of Samurai X!
(27 votes)
5.
Samurai X Vol.1: Trust
This is the first of four SAMURAI X OVAs (one of which is a feature) produced, not to be confused with the television series put out by Media Blasters. Distinguished by their markedly higher production values, the OVA's offer excellent animation, and serve as something of a prequel to the TV series. Enormously popular, SAMURAI X takes place in the 19th century and is the story of a wandering swordsman, or samurai, named Kenshin. The episode begins with our hero as an eight year old boy traveling through the countryside with a group that includes his family. Most of the group is killed by a gang of bandits in a fight, but young Kenshin is spared. He is soon taken in by a master who sees something in the young boy, and decides to teach him the Mitsurugi sword technique. This begins Kenshin's life as an assassin, and he becomes the best there is. His trade leads him to cross paths with a beautiful young woman name Tomoe, a meeting that will change the course of his life.
Samurai X Vol.2: Betrayal
This, the second in a series of four RUROUNI KENSHIN (or SAMURAI X, the title of the English dubbed version) OVAs finds Kenshin and Tomoe running from Edo to a secluded farm. There, they find peace that they haven't been able to experience since meeting. However, the two are kept informed as to the goings on of the rebellion by Iizuka. One of the best OVA series ever created, RUROUNI KENSHIN is an absolute visual marvel, filled with considerable violence, an engaging plot, and imaginative fight sequences that make for an unforgettable experience.
(26 votes)
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