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Rurouni Kenshin (TV 1996 + movie + OAVs).

Pfft. Those forums suck, then. A story as timeless as this shouldn't be weighed down by something as trivial as its "production year." It's because the story is so great that it surpasses contemporary memory and becomes a classic for the ages.

Personally, I feel that she truly loved him. Throughout the entire story arc and despite her knowing that this was the man that killed her fiancé, in the end, she opened his, once, naive heart to the joys of simple living, of not killing, and of genuine companionship, and I think she really admired the man he'd become.

Before that, he was just another murderer taking orders for a cause that may have had good intentions at first. But after killing so many people, he lost sight of what those original intentions were. He was an absolute prodigy in Hiten Mitsurugi, but his age, naivety, and childish soul led him into killing for all the wrong reasons.

And as we see his character evolve, so too, does Tomoe's. She brought out his better side, and he soothed her anguished side. But she probably saw more good in what he could do (and also wanted to protect him for once) that she sacrificed herself at the last moment.

The scar was more or less a final reminder to remember the magnitude of the decisions that ended up changing him forever: killing Kiyosato (the fiancé), and the eventuality of falling for (protecting) Tomoe because of that. It changed his complete mindset from one that welcomed death to one that flourished life. And if he saw the scars, he'd always remember who they came from.

The entire description of Kenshin's life's journey is unrivaled in the anime space IMO. He's the only fictional character that made me feel like he existed, despite the stylistic shounen battle format of the universe.

And I think this kinda makes sense, because if you notice, after she crosses out the wound, Kenshin's wound never bleeds again, just as if Tomoe were still with him there. In this case, it's their loving moments suppresing that old hatred, though. With the hatred neutralized, the scars then became normal scars - and started to heal.

What do you think?

1) What's that scene where we see Tomoe at night bleeding and stuff, holding her stomach? Is she menstruating or something?

2) Does Tomoe mumble something when the camera zooms in on her mouth when her and Kenshin are having sex? It looks like she does, but I have no idea if it really is.

3) What does Kenshin scream right before he is about to charge Tatsumi? Probably "Tomoe", I would think.

Actually, you might be interested to know that Kenshin does have a real-life model. He's based on an assassin named Kawakami Gensai, known for being particularly efficient because of his effeminate appearance, who was executed on trumped-up charges when he became a liability to the powers that be. Ironically, much of Kenshin's story takes place after the time period when Kawakami would have died.

Many other characters in the series, especially the Shinsengumi members like Saito and Okita, also really existed.

Excellent interpretation! You summed up the whole psychological trauma very well between the transitioning of his mindset from one of violence to one of peace. Yes, I agree that for Kenshin as person, the love he felt from living with Tomoe was exactly the wake up call he needed to realize the error of his ways. And the guilt he felt before was essentially erased after being so overcome with genuine happiness that he subconsciously stopped thinking about the violence, and hence the first scar stopped bleeding.

Whereas the second scar from Tomoe "covered" the first one while serving as a reminder to say "remember the happiness that peace can bring" or something of that nature, which in turn would be a catalyst for the whole "be happy-go-lucky and defend the weak with a sakabattou" philosophy that he uses in the TV series, adding a whole new level of depth when you think about why he never wanted to kill again or go into Batttousai mode.

Yep, menstruation. As for the purpose? I have no idea. Maybe to add some realism? I mean, how often does anime show something as true-to-life and grounded as a woman during her period?

It's hard to tell with anime. Even in native Japanese audio, most mouth flaps don't always sync perfectly, especially with traditional animation like this (CG is a little better, unless they also motion-capturing, which would make it pretty much perfect, but that's only on rare occasions). She could just be moaning and we're to interpret that they're making love, but to save the voice actress the possible embarrassment of mimicking sexual moans in the recording booth, they just left it to our imagination. Plus, I think it would sound weird to hear such beautiful music and then awkward sounds of sex in-between chord and note progressions.

That's a possibility. At this point, he's probably so love and grief stricken after being with her for so long that he considered this a "last stand" and decided to charge head-on kamikaze style. We could interpret him as having nothing left to live for after being conditioned up by her love and psychologically broken by her betrayal (hence the English title "Trust and Betrayal", even though Tsuioku-hen literally translates to "Remembrance Story," so much for theatrics, I guess..). But in his grief, he probably wasn't thinking too clearly to begin with, as evident by the once-again bleeding scar and the fact that the other minions actually managed to beat him up a little.

And yet, the best use of it has got to be in the ending. It never missed a tune!
First with how well it synced with Kenshin leaving his burning house. Then When Kenshin faces off against Okita and Saito.

When Tomoe embraces him from behind. When he is looking upon the battlefield with a weary and tired expression.
But my favorite is the soft, melancholic one that plays at Hiko's pained expression at seeing Tomoe's grave. Because he knows that, somewhere, his pupil is in pain, suffering.