True End: The Jinchuu Arc (Rurouni Kenshin)
It took me a few years, but I finally got around to finishing Rurouni Kenshin’s final arc.
I went through Kenshin fairly early on in my anime consumption, not too long after the likes of Naruto, Gundam SEED, and FMA. Essentially, I found the Tokyo arc pretty interesting, the Kyoto arc amazing, and the filler to be utter garbage, as was in line with what I’d heard. The prequel OVA was also amazing and having learned about how accurate the third arc opinions were, I decided to skip out on the epilogue OVAs as well.
While it’s not as spectacular as Kyoto, the thing about the Jinchuu arc is that it properly finishes Kenshin’s story. Before reading Jinchuu, I’d always pretended that Kenshin ended at Kyoto, so as to counteract the poisonous effect of the filler. After all, after sending his greatest enemy to hell, what else was there for Kenshin to do? He’d redeemed himself, right?
As it turns out, while defeating Shishio may have saved the country, Jinchuu deals with something that’s far more personal to Kenshin. It’s interesting that the prequel OVAs are pretty much universally regarded as the best animated part of Kenshin, both in production quality and writing. It’s the story of the OVAs that is the basis of the Jinchuu arc.
In a way, it’s sort of like The Scouring of the Shire. It doesn’t quite compare to the epic, world-saving adventure that directly preceded it, but it hits a lot closer to home. While they were off saving the world, this new threat sort of snuck up on them from out of nowhere. And while everyone helped Kenshin on the way in Kyoto, Jinchuu involves everyone much more. As a result, it’s not just Kenshin that gets his story wrapped up.
Basically, everyone who is fond of Kenshin and hasn’t read the Jinchuu arc needs to. It’s a much more satisfying conclusion than being disappointed by filler and pretending everything ended at Kyoto. It’s the right ending that such a great series deserves.
Tags: Anime, manga, rurouni kenshin