Rurouni Kenshin

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story (るろうに剣心 明治剣客浪漫譚, Rurōni Kenshin Meiji Kenkaku Romantan) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki with an anime adaptation. The story is set during the early Meiji period in Japan. The English-language versions of the OVAs as well the film is released as Samurai X, although the original title was included in the DVD releases. The series tells the story of an assassin named Himura Kenshin, who was known as the Hitokiri Battōsai. Kenshin later grieves for all the lives he has taken, and vows that he will never kill again.The television series was split into three approximate seasons, with the first 27 episodes generally following the Tokyo Arc, episodes 28-62 closely following the Kyoto Arc, and episodes 63-95 being "filler" non-manga based episodes designed so that Watsuki could have more time to finish the Jinchuu plot so it could be animated. The anime series slid from high popularity (after the Kyoto Arc because of all the "filler" episodes) to eventual cancellation before the Jinchū/Revenge Arc could be animated. The anime series began airing on Japan's Fuji TV on January 10, 1996 and ended on September 8, 1998. It was produced by Aniplex (formerly SPE Visual Works) and Fuji TV, and was animated from episode 1 to 70 by Studio Gallop, whereas the episodes from 70 onwards were animated by Studio Deen. The TV series was later licensed in North America by Media Blasters.

Main Character

• Himura Kenshin (緋村 剣心, Himura Kenshin) - is a fictional character of the Rurouni Kenshin universe created by Nobuhiro Watsuki as the main protagonist of the media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, OVAs, movies, soundtracks, video games, and other collectibles. His name is given as Kenshin Himura in Western-order, which is the chosen order used in the English anime. In the Sony dubbed version of Rurouni Kenshin, his name is pronounced "Kenshi" rather than "Kenshin".

• Kamiya Kaoru (神谷 薫, Kamiya Kaoru) - known in Western-order (Kaoru Kamiya) in the English anime, is a fictional character in the anime and manga Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X. Her Japanese seiyū is Miki Fujitani and her English voice actors are Dorothy Elias-Fahn in the TV series and Katherine Catmull in the OVAs. Her Spanish voice actress is Vilma Vera. In the original, "pilot" issue of Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, first published in 1992, Kaoru is the sister of Megumi and Yahiko. As the unrefined brainchild of artist Nobuhiro Watsuki, many of the story's details changed during the transition to serialized, mainstream manga.

• Sagara Sanosuke (相楽 佐之助, Sagara Sanosuke) - known in Western order (Sanosuke Sagara) in the English anime, is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X. The character model for Sagara Sanosuke is the 10th unit captain of the Shinsengumi, Harada Sanosuke.

• Myōjin Yahiko (明神 弥彦, Myōjin Yahiko) - known in Western order (Yahiko Myojin) in the English anime, is a fictional character in the anime and manga Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X. In the Spanish-language version of the anime, he is known as Yoshi (although in the Latin-American Spanish version, his original name 'Yahiko' is used). In Rurouni, Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, he is known as Kamiya Yahiko (神谷 弥彦, Kamiya Yahiko)

• Takani Megumi (高荷 恵 Takani Megumi) - known in Western order as Megumi Takani in the anime adaptation, is a fictional character created by Nobuhiro Watsuki for the popular manga and anime, Rurouni Kenshin. Megumi is the youngest daughter of Takani Ryūsei, a well-known doctor in Aizu which was an important province supporting the Tokugawa Shogunate. During the Boshin Wars, Megumi's father died and the rest of her family went missing, leaving her as the sole survivor. Megumi means "Blessing" in Japanese. In the Rurouni, Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, her name is Kamiya Megumi (神谷 恵, Kamiya Megumi) and expresses a submissive personality opposite to her Rurouni Kenshin personality.
  

• Makimachi Misao (巻町 操, Makimachi Misao) - is a fictional character in the manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin created by Nobuhiro Watsuki.Misao appears in the story after Himura Kenshin leaves Kamiya Kaoru and his friends and goes to Kyoto alone. In the Media Blasters dub of the television series, she is known by her western order name, Misao Makimachi. Her seiyu is Tomo Sakurai.

• Saitō Hajime (斎藤一, Hajime Saitō) - Saitō has become a better-known figure among young anime fans in the West since several anime and manga series used him as a character. The popular Rurouni Kenshin series portrays him as an anti-hero, Saitō Hajime, once a mortal enemy of protagonist Himura Kenshin, and eventually an uneasy ally. As portrayed in Rurouni Kenshin, Saitō is very tall and plain-looking compared to the other characters and has a cold and quiet disposition, following some of the very few descriptions of his personality in real life. In Rurouni Kenshin, Saito is granted special permission to carry a katana.

• Shinomori Aoshi (四乃森 蒼紫, Shinomori Aoshi) - known in Western order as Aoshi Shinomori in the English version of the anime, is a fictional "Okashira", or leader, of the Oniwabanshū in the anime and manga series Rurouni Kenshin.