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Rurouni Kenshin Season 3


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Gerinis Infinity



Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 11:03 pm Reply with quote
I've heard that Rurouni Kenshin's Season 3 is nothing but filler episodes, but I've learned not to trust things I hear from my friends. What do you guys thing?
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Luminal



Joined: 26 Mar 2005
Posts: 179
Location: Montreal, QC, Canada
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 11:47 pm Reply with quote
Yes, it is very true, and very unfortunate because that is what got the series cancelled.

After Kenshin defeated Shi-shi-o there is nothing worth watching. They should have ended the series right there. There isn't any of that intense build up to amazing combats with incredible characters.

Just my opinion,

Luminal
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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 11:58 pm Reply with quote
Your friends are correct on this one. The last season (Tales of the Meiji) is filler, and not very good ones I hear.
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DemonEyesLeo



Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 844
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 12:02 am Reply with quote
Yep, 33 filler episodes make up the 3rd and final season of the Rurouni Kenshin anime. It's unfortunate because they did a great job on the Kyoto arc, and I would've loved to see the Jinchuu arc in its entirety (the Reflection OAV is just...ugh). I thought the filler episodes started out OK with some good fights and characters,spoiler[the Son of God arc was pretty good, it at least caught my intrigue], but then they rapidly declined to being just plain silly and boring.
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Stupidman007



Joined: 02 Feb 2006
Posts: 394
PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 1:37 am Reply with quote
I think the main thing about the 3rd season is that it failed to call attention to the viewers. The stories themselves aren't solid enough to be very interesting. A lot of time seem to be wasted in slow and boring scenes, and there definitely was a lack of "hardcore" fighting. The conflicts weren't resolved from fighting, but rather with random causes and effects, and that's just boring. For those who's never seen it, it's still a nice experience because the Kenshin franchise itself is good enough to make bad things worthy. However, it's not worth buying.
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theoriginalbilis





PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:43 am Reply with quote
I'll admit that I bought all 3 seasons, just because I wanted the whole series and I'm a Kenshin junkie.

I do recommend watching the Christian/Son of God arc for the 3rd season and the first few fillers at the beginning of the season (which are comedy-oriented and very charming.) And the excellent episode 95.

I recommend at least renting the 3rd season DVDs to at least check it out. But it's not likely to dig into your wallet too much. I got my Season 3 set from Best Buy for about $60... so...

Anywho, that's how I feel about Kenshin Season 3. It has it's good episodes, but near the end it gets very boring and stale. But hey, there's always the manga.
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AceRyonik



Joined: 28 Jan 2006
Posts: 145
PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 1:07 pm Reply with quote
There are a few problems with Tales of the Meiji. I'm not one of those people that yell, "OMG it MUST be exactly like the manga!" so I don't mind the non-sequiter stuff. It was done well during the Wandering Samurai arc, after all. No the problems I have with it are as follows.

-While it started out fine with the Amakusa storyline, they quickly ran out of ideas. The last set of villains us Feng Shui magic, which goes against the theme of villains for the rest of the series. While the villains always have some kind of supernatural power, they were always explained (although Jinei's was iffy). These guys just use magic, and it's not even sensical magic. I half-expected them to telekinetically arrange the dojo's furniture.

-The protagonists are frequently out of character. Keshin becomes so kind and goofy that he loses his edge as a character.

-The show ignores the character development that happened in the Legend of Kyoto arc. Kenshin became stronger and less hesitant to use his abilities, Yahiko became more mature, Sanosuke became more disciplined, etc. But in the show, after they get back to Tokyo (and go back to Kyoto a day later), they go back to the way they all were in Wandering Samurai.
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prettygirl



Joined: 16 Nov 2005
Posts: 127
Location: too far from home...
PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:03 pm Reply with quote
"AceRyonic" makes some very good points about season 3. However, I nevertheless enjoyed the filler episodes just because I loved the series so much. I liked Rurouni Kenshin so much that I didn't want it to end. As a result, I stopped watching it for a bit because my skewed mentality was that if I didn't watch the end, the series would never come to an end. Ha ha ha... I know. Strange but true.

My point is, since I didn't want the series to end, watching filler episodes was better than nothing at all. Yes it was a bit slow and it lacked fighting scenes but it was still Kenshin. That's all that mattered to me.

Contrary to what "theoriginalbilis" said, I didn't enjoy episode 95 as it did not tie the ends together well enough IMO. It was a mediocre ending as I expected so much more.
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Kruszer



Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 7981
Location: Minnesota, USA
PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 9:13 pm Reply with quote
No part of the series was ever boring to me, I'll put it that way. However, I was disappointed with the last episode, it was rather unimpressive and didn't feel like a finale at all. I don't ever regret buying all three of the Economy boxes.
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Randall Miyashiro



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
Posts: 2451
Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park
PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 4:09 am Reply with quote
My favorite episodes are from the third season. I should state from the start that I'm not into most shonen manga, and really don't like Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, Inuyasha, Hokuto no Ken, etc. The much beloved season two of Kenshin really is the most shonen of the three. The idea that the Kyoto arc is based around a boss and his mini bosses who the main characters has to fight really is a bit too much like so many other shonen titles. spoiler[Having Kenshin fight to the brink of death only to start another fight is so shonen] The episodes dedicated to the "ultimate fighting technique" also bothers me, especially since Sanosuke has one of these too.
Bearing this in mind I greeted the Meiji episodes with open arms. To me Kenshin is about the ending of old Japan, and the start of the modern era. This theme is illustrated in the third season with the idea of Christianity being introduced into Japan. I also love Sanosuke's story in the Christian arc, especially since he took such a back seat in Kyoto. spoiler[Having Kenshin lose his sight helped bring the others to the foreground, and illustrated how Kenshin isn't as invulnerable as in the Kyoto arc.] The Shougo and Sayo backstory episode is very touching. The Black Knights arc also contrasts Japan with the Western world. It illustrates how Japan thought they were so advanced, while science was advancing in other countries. This arc placed Yahiko into the foreground, and placed him in his most mature light. spoiler[It's funny when Yahiko and Sanosuke can't even pronounce the word "science" when Yutaro explains it to them.] In both arcs there is a nice commentary of a country that is unwiiling to embrace a new global community. spoiler[I love how in the end of the Christian arc it is commented how he West would frown upon the slaughter of Christians, yet they are still deported.]
My favorite stand alone episodes are from the Meiji season. The ring episode (title is a spoiler) is one of my favorites. Once again we start to see how Western traditions are creeping into Japan. We also see lots of Tae, an underused character who I always enjoyed, up to no good. My all time favorite episode would have to be the Misao/Aoshi episode. spoiler[The scene where Aoshi is reminded of a young Misao is particularly moving.] The young artist episode is another that I really enjoy. spoiler[Once again we see the theme of a changing Japan revisited as the artists final painting is Picasso-esque.]
I will agree that the third season lacks "intense build up to amazing combats with incredible characters." and has the least amount "good fights" but that is why I find it my favorite.
Quote:
A lot of time seem to be wasted in slow and boring scenes, and there definitely was a lack of "hardcore" fighting. The conflicts weren't resolved from fighting, but rather with random causes and effects, and that's just boring.

This is so true. The third season is more political, and the conflicts are not resolved with who can draw thier sword quickest. spoiler[The Christian arc ends with Kenshin using his negotiation powers with Shougo's lot, and the (Portugeuse?) embasy resolving the conflict.] spoiler[The Black Knights arc ends with the much treasured plant being destroyed and nobody benifiting, when both parties could have got a miracle cure if they worked together.] I love these endings since they don't remind me of so many fight of the week series.
I will however admit that the Feng Shui episodes are really dull.
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Gerinis Infinity



Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 3:40 pm Reply with quote
AceRyonik wrote:
There are a few problems with Tales of the Meiji. I'm not one of those people that yell, "OMG it MUST be exactly like the manga!" so I don't mind the non-sequiter stuff. It was done well during the Wandering Samurai arc, after all. No the problems I have with it are as follows.


The manga is different from the anime, I take it?
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vickeyv



Joined: 31 Jan 2006
Posts: 183
PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 5:31 pm Reply with quote
Listen people the third season is without a doubt a brilliant piece of animation. The reason why its unfamous is because people are disapointed about the fact that the Final and Greatest arc of Rurouni Kenshin Saga was not animated.
On its own the third season beats many animes in
1. story line
2. animations
3. soundtracks
4. Character development
etc

Also the christian Arc is one of my favourtie arc because Sano gets amazing amounts of character development and we see a great side of him never shown before. Also there are great fillers exploreing the realtionship of Kenshina nd Karou and then theres Aoshi and Misao
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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 7:21 pm Reply with quote
Gerinis Infinity wrote:
AceRyonik wrote:
There are a few problems with Tales of the Meiji. I'm not one of those people that yell, "OMG it MUST be exactly like the manga!" so I don't mind the non-sequiter stuff. It was done well during the Wandering Samurai arc, after all. No the problems I have with it are as follows.


The manga is different from the anime, I take it?


The last season was not in the manga at all and the final story arc of the manga was not in the TV series. The OVAs give a summary of it (sort of).

There was also a lot of extra stuff in the first season that wasn't in the manga. The sumo wrestler and train episodes (both of which I hated), the pirate arc, the miracle worker episode... all of those were anime only.

The first episode of the series was a bit different than the manga, the Raijuta arc was a bit different, and the Oniwaban arc had some very minor changes (like Sano fought the strong guy outside the mansion in the anime, but inside the mansion in the manga). Oh and the two little girls (the doctor's granddaughters) aren't in the manga either. The changes were all pretty minor.
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AceRyonik



Joined: 28 Jan 2006
Posts: 145
PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 3:47 pm Reply with quote
vickeyv wrote:
Also the christian Arc is one of my favourtie arc because Sano gets amazing amounts of character development and we see a great side of him never shown before.


We didn't see that side of him before because it doesn't exist. That's what I mean when I say a good many of the characters were out of character most of the time.
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vickeyv



Joined: 31 Jan 2006
Posts: 183
PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 4:15 pm Reply with quote
AceRyonik wrote:

We didn't see that side of him before because it doesn't exist. That's what I meanwhen I say a good many of the characters were out of characters most of the time.


No we saw that side, as in when he is caring and loving Sayu because it does, you didn't see it because you wanted to see "a good many characters". Face facts it wasn't in the hands of the anime producers this scenario and they were gonna bring in Aoshi, Saitou and the rest of these "good many characters" in the Revenge arc. The fillers are some thing which comes with Manga adapted series. The best you can do is watch it with your heart rather then what ever you think to view these "good many characters"
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