History Manga / RurouniKenshin

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: A frequent victim of this, even in media that focus on anime and manga. Kenshin ''is not and was never a samurai'', as that was a distinct social class one had to be born into. One of the English dubs even gets it wrong with the ''title itself''. A similar problem exists for attribution of the theme "''Sobakasu''", as "Judy and Mary" was the name of the ''band'', not anybody in it. (The singer is Yuki Isoya, who goes by "YUKI" in all-caps.)

* AnimeThemeSong: Some ''particularly'' famous and career-launching examples, with the greatest irony being that the ''ending'' theme changed far more often than the opening. The third and most famous ending theme, "Heart of Sword" (which puns off of Kenshin's name, of course) is the song that made TM Revolution famous (and the show infamously went ''back'' to it after a while, between raging popular demand and the L-e-C problem). L'arc-en-Ciel's contribution was infamously ''removed'' after a drug scandal. "It's Gonna Rain", which was drafted as a rather quick replacement, became the big break for Bonnie Pink. "1/3 of Pure Emotional Feelings" was similarly Siam Shade's first day in the limelight. Finally, "Kimi ni Fureru Dake de", the last opening, was Curio's [[{{one hit wonder}} one big moment in the sun.]]
** Most infamously, though, was that the show kept "1/2" by Makoto Kawamoto as the opening theme for ''ages''; it lasted for three whole plot arcs and the opening animation was altered ''twice'' while keeping the song the same. In an industry where songs can change every ''cour'', this was very, very unusual.

* AbsurdlySharpBlade: So many, it would be quicker to list the swords that avert this trope, but none more {{egregious}}ly than Kenshin's Reverse Blade Sword.
** Also notable, Shishio's blade [[YouFailPhysicsForever never dulls because it has tiny sawblade-like teeth.]]

** To a degree, [[spoiler: Sanosuke's father]] Kamishimoemon. Subverted somewhat since [[spoiler: Sanosuke]] is actually much, MUCH stronger than him.
** Also Hiko Seijuro.

* ArcWords: This new era (i.e., Meiji). During Aoshi's FaceHeelTurn, he also had a habit of repeating the names of the {{Elite Mook}}s who pulled a HeroicSacrifice to save him.
** Also, "the age decides the man" throughout the Kyoto arc, especially during Kenshin and Shishio's duel.
** Shishio's motto which is frequently repeated by Soujiro: "In this world the weak are food for the strong. If you are strong, you live. If you are weak, you die."
* ArtEvolution: Kenshin's art had three major shifts: the soft, shojo-esque initial design, the sharp, more shonen style used starting in the Kyoto arc, and a style that gradually became more streamlined during the Revenge arc. The new 2012 run is gearing to be just like ''Anime/BusouRenkin'' and ''Manga/{{Embalming}}'' in artstyle.
** Relatedly: Music Evolution for the anime. The first "season" (roughly the first two cours or 26 episodes) featured a fairly light, jazzy soundtrack. Once the Shishio arc kicked off, however, the show shifted to a much heavier, orchestral soundtrack and feel to match the scope and scale of the story.
** There are also the [[http://the-oro.com/kk_lay.php?x=multi/zanz draft character redesigns]] that were released with the kanzenban editions yet. Drawn in Watsuki's more recent style, some of the characters are barely recognizable (also there appear to be changes to some [[BackStory back stories]] but it's not really certain since translations don't seem to exist yet ...?) Would have been amazing to see them all in an AlternateContinuity.
* AsLethalAsItNeedsToBe: Kenshin almost kills Seijuro with the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki, only sparing him because [[DeusExMachina some bolts on his sword gave way]], lessening the blow. Kenshin never comes close to doing that kind of damage with the move again, even against enemies far physically weaker than Seijuro.
* TheAtoner: Kenshin, for his time as Hitokiri Battousai.
** Megumi is also a non-combatant example, and Aoshi definitely has shades of this.

* BadassCreed: Aku Soku Zan. I dare you to deny it. It translates to "Swift Death to Evil". (Or, if you want to be creative about translating, "Slay Evil Immediately".)
** Or, if you're the translator for the Columbia Pictures dub, "Evil. Right Now. Murder."
* BadassGrandpa: As mentioned, Sanosuke's father, who somehow manages to be even MORE awesome than Sano himself.

** Hiko Seijuro may count as well, seeing as how he's 43 years old and still kicking ass.

** Yahiko becomes famous for this, as his school excels at defensive abilities, and in a critical battle realizes that form doesn't matter nearly as much as function. (The original ability catches the blade with the ''back'' of the hands so that you can do it while holding onto your own weapon.)
*** And eventually learns to catch sword attacks BETWEEN INDEX FINGER AND MIDDLE FINGER KNUCKLES.
*** Yahiko as an adult got a nickname from his skill at this--[[{{NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast}} Master of a Thousand Blade Catches.]]

* BerserkButton: Call Yahiko a kid or use the ''chan'' [[{{Honorifics}} honorific]]. [[SchmuckBait I dare you]]. (Being HotBlooded means he flies off the handle quite a bit.)

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Earlier, [[spoiler: Kurogasa/Jin-E stabbed his own heart when Battousai was stopped an inch from killing him by Kaoru; he knows the Meiji authorities will kill him anyway but [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou he thought only Battousai was worthy of killing him.]]]] Later, [[spoiler: one of the Juppongatana commits suicide rather than stand trial, when it turns out that the Meiji Government will deny him his chance at making a public statement.]]

--> (Viz manga) IF YOU'RE GOING TO BEG FOR YOUR LIFE... PRAY TO YOUR BELOVED MONEY!!

* {{BFS}}: Sano's zanbato.
** Subverted because it's actually too big to be used effectively.
*** Double-subverted when it's repaired in the final arc, and Sanosuke uses it to play baseball with a grenade launcher.
** Actually deconstructed for the first part and Kenshin explains why: it's so large that it has a limited number of ways of attacking and is predictable because of this. Additionally, it's unwieldy due to it's size and weight (see InertiaIsAHarshMistress). Plus, Sano spent a good while of the series' run as a BareFistedMonk.
* BladeRun: Kenshin does this to Sano's {{BFS}}; his mentor pulls off an even more awesome version on an even bigger opponent's (even bigger, natch) weapon.
* TheBlank: Shinomori Aoshi's {{ninja}} EliteMook more or less destroyed his own face so that he can be a MasterOfDisguise. His unmasked visage is pure horror (which is presumably why the anime didn't show it).
* BloodbathVillainOrigin: Seta Soujirou
** Arguably, this trope also applies to Enishi Yukishiro. Especially since he covered ''all three bonus circumstances.''
* BloodFromTheMouth: One of the few times the implications of coughing up blood is actually addressed in Shonen anime: Kenshin gets punched in the gut by Gein's giant puppet, and when he coughs up blood, Megumi worriedly notes that this means he's sustained major organ damage.
** Also, any character who has the IncurableCoughOfDeath (see below) eventually exhibits at least one instance of this.

* BoringInvincibleHero: Mostly averted, Kenshin is basically this for the first few episodes, but quickly gets enemies that can go toe to toe with him.
** Still, until the Kyoto Arc, most of Kenshin's fights don't actually have any threat of Kenshin losing. More important is the threat of him being forced to break his oath.

* CantCatchUp: The supporting cast often lag behind Kenshin, even after they TookALevelInBadass (Kenshin, of course, having had a monumental head start to begin with); Kaoru ''starts'' the series unable to catch up, and though WordOfGod states that she's a very strong woman (both physically and emotionally), she's surrounded by [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower absurdly strong fighters]] which makes her look very much like a FauxActionGirl.
** Watsuki points out that that Kaoru is at least a national level ''kendoka'' (in modern terms), and she shows it when she handily drops two thugs that even the Yakuza won't mess with in the blink of an eye.
*** It's not hanging out with Kenshin and company that makes Kaoru look like a faux action girl. It was how she decides to stay home and prepare the bath when sending her newest student, a ten year old boy who had just started learning swordsmanship under her a few weeks ago at best (and who she is apparently still stronger than in the Epilogue where he has grown into a fine badass of his own) against gun wielding gangsters, or the time she stayed behind doing nothing when he was dueling an assassin who had trained for years to specifically hunt down friggin' Battousai. She stayed in the kitchen much less in the anime, however, and even joined in on the raid on Kanryu's place.
*** ''Mega'' subverted in Yahiko's introduction, in which she takes apart an entire Yakuza gang with a shinai - the nineteenth-century equivalent of a '''[[NerfArm foam rubber bat]]'''. And before anyone quotes historical references on how MiyamotoMusashi and similar juggernauts of kendo could do the same, an equivalent saying would be "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_Häyhä Simo Häyhä]] could kill a man at a hundred paces with a Red Ryder BB Gun, so it's obviously a precision sniper rifle." If she existed in RealLife, Kaoru Kamiya would be immortalized alongside the legendary swordsmen of her era. Not her fault her LoveInterest is a demigod.
*** This trope is somewhat subverted, as all of Kenshin's allies all have differing abilities to use against the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad quirky miniboss squads,]] and still get their fair share of fights. Plus, Saito at least is on-par with Kenshin.
**** Well, except Misao, who only gets one big fight (and shares ''that'' with Kaoru).

** Also, Megumi: Even though, strictly speaking, she has three years to go.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The first OVA, which manages to be even darker than the accompanying portion of the manga, which is... impresive.
** [[SerialEscalation And it's almost fun and sunshine compared to the ''second'' OVA]].

* DeadpanSnarker: Whenever Kenshin's not ObfuscatingStupidity, he's got a wicked sense of humor.

* {{Deconstruction}}: of the JidaiGeki genre.
** Also, [[spoiler: Anji Yukyuzen]] is a deconstruction of PapaWolf since [[spoiler: his adoptive childrens' death drive him to madness and a FaceHeelTurn, and Sanosuke has to beat the shit out of him both physically ''and'' mentally to make him reason.]]

* TheDeterminator: Kenshin himself sometimes seems to fight on nothing more than sheer willpower.

** Yahiko, this is even more evident on the Jinchuu Arc.

* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Kaoru]]
** The author even apologized for the anticlimax (although in retrospect the setup for this was ''really'' obvious). He's also somewhat torn on how it turned out - on the one hand, it's an ''awful'' anticlimax, but on the other hand, [[spoiler:he believes steadfastly that Kenshin deserves a happy ending and life, and there was ''no way'' that could be accomplished if Kaoru was really dead]]. So he doesn't regret it.
* DissonantSerenity: Soujiro is the embodiment of this [[spoiler:until he snaps in a VillainousBreakdown]]; Enishi also starts like this, but soon he's given to very wild mood swings.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Since swords are worn at the waist, the hilt sticks out like, well... This is especially evident in the promotional art.
** [[YaoiFangirl Fans]] of the anime for a time used "Succession Technique" as an UnusualEuphemism for gay sex, making the dialogue between Aoshi and Kenshin rife with FoeYay.
* DoomedProtagonist: [[spoiler: Kenshin]] and [[spoiler: Kaoru]] in the OVA [[DownerEnding stated below.]]

* DubNameChange: Bizzarely, a few of the main cast get this in the Sony/Columbia dub which saw lots of play in markets other than the U.S., and it's a Japanese ... to ''Japanese'' name change. Kenshin is often pronounced without the "n", Kaoru became Kao''ri'', and most bizzarely Yahiko was changed to ''Yoshi''. Making this even ''weirder'' is that '''''nobody else''''' got this treatment; it's like the dub was originally being handled [[{{Macekre}} much more "loosely"]] before someone else took the reins and decided to dub it far more straight with no changes. To this ''day'' nobody is really certain why these changes were made.
** What makes it even ''weirder'' is that it's almost like someone was [[ShownTheirWork doing their homework]] on the changes, since Kaoru (薫) and Kaori (香) have essentially the same meaning in Japanese (but the latter sounds a bit more "feminine" to Western ears due to ending on a high vowel), and "Yoshi" could be either 義 (righteous), 吉 ("good luck", for irony points) or 良 (good, as in "decently good", referencing his okay-but-not-great swordwork), all of which fit Mr. Myoujin well. These would almost fall under the {{Woolseyism}} banner ... ''if anyone could figure out why in the world the changes were even deemed necessary in the first place''.
*** "Kenshee", however, is agreed to be rather terrible, especially since it completely screws up the meaning of his name.
* DudeLooksLikeALady: Kenshin [[spoiler: and Kamatari.]]

** [[HiddenElfVillage Ostriches]]: The people of Shingetsu, the village that was taken over by Shishio and overseen by Senkaku when the Meiji Government all but abandoned due to the predicament, knew that they were being oppressed, but refused to let Kenshin help them [[spoiler: and taking down the corpses of Eiji's parents, [[DeadGuyOnDisplay who were executed and displayed as a warning to the other villagers]]]] out of fear that Shishio and Senkaku would retaliate. They'd rather leave them on display and pretend that they weren't there, and were even prepared to expel Eiji from the village.
*** The villagers also had [[ApatheticCitizens Mice]] and [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer Reindeer]] mentalities toward Kenshin, Saito, and Misao, so they could be considered [[MixAndMatchCritters Chimeras]].

* EvilCounterpart: Shishio is this for Kenshin, as Shishio was Kenshin's replacement as hitokiri and both symbolize the cultural conflict in Japan at the time between the ruthless inhumanity of modern politics and technology and the idealistic hope for future social equality and peace. Also Soujiro and Shishio are specifically drawn as [[EvilCounterpart evil counterparts]] to Kenshin and Hiko Seijurou to show how the differing philosophies of their respective mentors had vastly different effects on their lives.
** There's also Enishi Yukishiro as an EvilCounterpart to Kenshin, given that both of them received lasting marks from [[spoiler:Tomoe's death]] (Kenshin got the second half of his cross-scar while Enishi's hair [[LockedIntoStrangeness turned white from the trauma]]), but while that event motivated Kenshin to become TheAtoner, Enishi went AxCrazy.

*** Unlike the above examples, which are mainly just visual expies, Arundo Akamatsu IS Omega Red. He has the same facial markings and method of attack.
*** Not to mention the name Houji is a Japanization of Forge from the X-Men, as Watsuki wanted a similar support character for the Juppongatana.
*** If memory serves correctly, Hyottoko is The Blob.
*** Han'nya has Wolverine's claws. [[spoiler:They get broken, though, after only one fight.]]
*** Until the Jinchuu Arc, Aoshi has Gambit's [[BadassLongCoat trenchcoat]].
*** Jumping over to Image Comics, Hiko got Spawn's cape.

*** Watsuki is a big ''SamuraiShodown'' fan, frequently writing about it in his manga notes. Kenshin himself even resembles Shizumaru from the same series as well. SNK returned the favor by creating many Expies of *his* characters in LastBlade. Moriya is a mix of Kenshin and Hiko, Washizuka is basically Shinsengumi-era Saito complete with all three variations of his Gatotsu attack, Mukuro resembles Shishio, Kagami USES several of Shishio's attacks, and Amano resembles a one-shot Yakuza villain from early in the series. (The guy with the pompadour Kenshin smashed through the roof with the hilt of his sword.) On top of this, Watsuki actually [[PromotedFanboy helped]] SNK design character Tokugawa Yoshitora for SamuraiShodown V, who wields both an outlandish number of swords and an equally outlandish hairstyle, just like Chou only far more heroic.

* FastballSpecial: Sanosuke's tossed Yahiko on a few occasions so that the latter could lend a hand before Kenshin finished off all of the {{Mook}}s. (Yahiko, for his part, is ''not'' happy about being used as a projectile.)

** Watsuki is an {{X-Men}} fan, so these are probably intentional evocations.

* GenreShift: From Shonen to Seinen... particularly in the [=OVAs=], which were free of both the slapstick comic relief and the more unrealistic RuleOfCool elements of the original.

** It's more of a "how dare you leave me behind" punch, but Kenshin gets one from Sano in the Kyoto arc after they meet up again.
** Basically, Sano's motivation to fight [[spoiler: Anji]] is this.
** Sano tries again after Kenshin's HeroicBSOD, but this time, it doesn't work. [[spoiler: Tsubame is more successful, by reminding Kenshin that people still needed saving, like Yahiko. Oibore is the one who makes one last push.]]
** Doesn't the time Kenshin punched himself ''in the face'' to get out of Battousai mode after a duel [[spoiler: with Saitou]] count?

* HaveWeMet: At the end of the Jinchuu arc, Enishi and Oibore ([[spoiler: his father]]) run into each other in a hobo camp near Kyoto and both have a bout of DejaVu, but neither thinks anything of it.
** It's implied that they both realize who the other is, but neither seem to want to discuss it, so it's purposefully left ambiguous.

* HeroicBSOD: Kaoru falls apart after [[spoiler: Kenshin leaves Tokyo to fight Shishio]]; later, [[spoiler: Kenshin]] has an absolutely ''epic'' one [[spoiler: when he thinks Kaoru died at the hands of Enishi]]
* HeroicRROD: Sano breaks all of the bones in his hand executing his ultimate technique.

** Don't forget the main hero. Since Hiten Mitsurugi wasn't meant to be practiced by wielders of Kenshin's body type, it was already strenuous enough on his body. Then when he mastered the final technique, the clock just began ticking right then and there until it was revealed in the last volume [[spoiler: that Kenshin would no longer be able to use Hiten Mitsurugi.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: Aoshi's men sacrifice themselves against Kanryuu's machine gun to keep Kanryuu from firing on Aoshi, after which Kanryuu runs out of ammunition. (In the anime, the gun jams due to a projectile from the hidden weapons specialist.)
* HesBack: Kenshin revival from his HeroicBSOD after he found a reason to live again after Enishi's Jinchuu. [[http://www.mangakong.com/manga/Rurouni_Kenshin/225/17 And it's]] [[http://www.mangakong.com/manga/Rurouni_Kenshin/226/2 GLORIOUS.]]

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Saitō Hajime (1844-1915) was the captain of the Shinsengumi's third unit and later a police officer in Tokyo where he adopted the alias Fujita Gorō (a name he uses frequently in the series) and married one Takagi Tokio.

* HistoricalInJoke: Lots, though one of the most famous is the appearance of Okubo Toshimichi, a man considered one of the founders of modern Japan. In real life, he was murdered by a group of extremists called the Ichiro clan. In Kenshin, he travels to Tokyo to warn the heroes about the rise of [[BigBad Shishio]], and is killed by one of Shishio's men on the way home. The killer dumps the body on the side of the road, where the Ichiro Clan finds it. Sensing an easy way to become feared and respected, they tell everyone ''they'' killed him.

* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Anyone with a gun graduated. A particularly {{egregious}} incident involves at least a dozen soldiers firing rifles at one villain and the shots being in a pattern that perfectly outlined him.

* InspectorJavert: Saitou. He doesn't doubt that Kenshin has changed... he is simply appalled by how "weak" the famous Battousai has become and wants him to revert to his old self.
** But by the end of the series, [[spoiler: he acknowledges that Kenshin's gone down a different path, and calls off the blood feud between them.]]
* IronicEcho: "A sword is a weapon. Kenjutsu the art of murder." Kenshin says this at the beginning of the series, but then immediately rejects it in favor of Kaoru's more [[TechnicalPacifist idealistic vision]]; it's revealed that this is his mentor's philosophy, and he quotes it back to Kenshin to remind him that real life is a CrapsackWorld.
** Later, Saitou remarks to himself: "A Shinsegumi is a Shinsengumi. A wolf is a wolf. A hitokiri is a hitokiri. Isn't that right... Battousai?" but revises this statement at the end of the series when he realizes that Kenshin is serious about that whole ThouShaltNotKill thing (to the point of stopping ''Saitou'', and then Enishi, from killing a downed opponent).

* JidaiGeki: A {{Deconstruction}} that asks: "So what happens to all those BadAss swordsmen after they've been outmoded by technology and a shift in societal mores?"[[hottip:* :The surprisingly accurate answer, of course, is that "a lot of them were ''bored as hell'' and this was not a particularly safe period to live in." It never got ''quite'' this epic in real life, but it was still pretty brutal at times.]]

* LimitedWardrobe: Kenshin always wears a faded red (almost pink) kimono and a white hakama, Kaoru only dresses in kendo uniform or one of two or three kimonos (the yellow one, the blue one, and a red one), Megumi is always dressed up in her doctor attire, Misao has only two outfits, and so on.
** Lampshaded when Misao tried to rob Kenshin. She's stopped short as she gets a good look at Kenshin's kimono, which is absolutely covered in seam lines where all the cuts it's taken throughout the series have sewn up. Misao then asks if Kenshin's wife left him.
*** Which becomes a FunnyAneurysmMoment when you find out [[spoiler: she's dead.]]

* MadeOfIron: While the series appears to have high standards for what counts as a "crippling blow", this is one of Sanosuke's distinguishing traits. As early as his introduction mini-arc, a man hits him in the face with an iron ring: not only Sanosuke doesn't even flinch, the man ''breaks his finger in the attempt''.
** Shishio manages to survive an assassination attempt, getting his "corpse" lit on fire (though not without massive scarring), a ridiculous amount of punishment from Kenshin (being smacked around with a supposedly nonlethal weapon still hurts), AND a punch to the face by the aforementioned Sanosuke, ''shattering all the bones in his hand'' (Sano had already injured it in a previous battle, but still).

* MayDecemberRomance: Kenshin and Kaoru (he's 28 and she's 17) and Aoshi and Misao (he's 26 and she's 16).
** In the latter case, in the ''manga'', to Aoshi's credit, he finds the [[{{Ephebophile}} implications]] a little unsettling and makes it clear to Misao that he won't consider it until some time passes. In the ''anime'' though, Kenshin convinces him to start looking at Misao as a woman by the end of the Kyto arc.
*** In the former case, some time ''does'' pass before things get really serious between the two, although the mondo age gap does remain.

* MundaneUtility - in an anime filler episode, the protagonist at one point finds himself attending a fancy dinner party, so he picks up a knife and performs the Hiten Mitsurugui Rui (Steak style) to cut up a steak.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Kenshin and [[spoiler: Oibore]].
** Also Saitou in his introduction arc.
* OddCouple: Sanosuke teaming up with either Megumi and/or Saitou; Kenshin also remarks how unlikely it was that he, a former Imperialist, and Sano, an warrior for the Shogunate, can be trusted teammates.
** Sanosuke and Megumi do this often enough to have a TakahashiCouple-esque relationship - their image song, "2 Of A Kind!", could just as easily been sung by Ranma and Akane.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Kenshin is 28 years old, while his master Hiko is a whopping (by manga standards) 43 - but you'd never guess it. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Yahiko and Misao, who wonder if the Hiten Mitsurugi style is the fountain of youth.
** Also pointed out in the End-of-Volume specials in volumes 1 and 4 of the manga, where characters thinking on Kenshin after he left come to the conclusion that if he really was a hero of the Meiji Restoration, he'd have to be at least 30...

** Reflections, meanwhile, is an original story [[{{Canon Discontinuity}} and one that even Watsuki has said should be ignored]].

* PromotionToParent: Tomoe.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Every time Kenshin fights an opponent, the opponent gives him this, mainly for being on the Imperialists' side. [[spoiler: But Kenshin always manages to prove them wrong, or at least prove that he may not agree with them but doesn't suck like they say he does.]]

** If '''Megumi = fox''' and '''Kaoru = racoon dog''', then '''Misao = weasel'''

* RedemptionEarnsLife: One of the most prominent themes of the series. Thus....
** RedemptionEqualsDeath: Subverted again and again and ''again''.

** RevengeByProxy: Yukishiro, again. Subverted when [[spoiler: he can't bring himself to kill Kaoru, because she reminds him of his [[DeadLittleSister Dead Big Sis]].]]

** In one of the filler episodes, Kaoru gives Sano and Yahiko a MegatonPunch. As they're flailing through the air, the input for a fighting game move appears in the corner. Specifically, it looks like the input of a KingOfFighters [[LimitBreak Desperation Move]].
*** Her arm also becomes rather more muscular and gains an anchor-shaped tattoo like a certain [[{{Popeye}} spinach-eating sailor.]]

* ShrineToTheFallen: Sano finds out about what happened to his mother at one of these. He prays to it under the guise of wanting to eat dinner faster.

* ShrinkingViolet: Tsubame (even with a purple kimono!). She grows out of it a little by the end of the series.

* {{Split-Second Blade Spam}}: The ''Kuzuryusen'' technique, which utilizes ''Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu'''s signature [[SuperSpeed God-Speed]] to launch 8 slashes and one stab with such speed that they all ''appear'' to be simultaneous for the human eye, making the attack unblockable ''and'' undodgeable unless you counter it with the same technique, ''and'' you possess equal or greater muscular strength and body weight than your opponent (the strength of each strike depends on both factors). [[spoiler:The sole exception is being a [[FlashStep Shukuchi]]-user, like Seta Soujirou (see below under the ''Juppongatana'').]]

* TalkingIsAFreeAction: [[HannibalLecture Squeezing]] [[LastSecondChance out]] [[KirkSummation speeches]] [[ShutUpHannibal mid-fight]] means that you don't necessarily need the Hiten Mitsurugi style to achieve god-like speed.

* TookALevelInBadass: Yahiko in the DistantFinale and Sano in ''Reflections'', if his longer hair and nice proto-beard are any indication.

* TrainingFromHell: Kenshin underwent one of these to learn his ultimate technique.

** Sano, on the other hand, used up all the rocks in the area he was training to learn the Futae no Kawami, ''and'' [[strike: Anji threatened to kill him if he hasn't figured it out by the end of the week.]] Sano suggested that to Anji, because he wanted to show him that he was serious about the learning the technique.

* WalkingTheEarth: Kenshin before the beginning of the series. [[spoiler: Also Soujirou at the end of the Kyoto arc, and later Sano leaves Japan after attacking an Ishin Shishi who was hurting his family).]]
** Decontructed in the season 3 premiere, where the focus is on the people Kenshin left behind.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Rurouni Kenshin had two spiritual predecessors in which Watsuki tested the waters: a short story called "Sengoku no Mikazuki" (the New Moon over the Warring States) about a swordmaster named Hiko Seijurou (presumably the first) who meets a young deserter named Isshinta and regains the will to fight; and a true pilot chapter in which Megumi (a rather weak-willed YamatoNadeshiko barely holding the family together), Kaoru (a tomboy {{Tsundere}} serving as the acting dojo-master), and Yahiko (a brat of a kid who feels like he has to be the man of the family since his father died) are siblings. There's also a third proto-story of Kenshin meeting DamselInDistress Chizuru, who gifts him a ribbon to tie his hair back up when he loses his original ponytail tie in a fight.
** Chizuru lives on in cameo form at the end of the controversial second OVA, [[spoiler: as the girlfriend of Kenshin and Kaoru's son Kenji]].
** Watsuki mentioned in his notes his concept for a fourth arc of the story - [[spoiler:which would revolve around Kenji competing against Yahiko and Tsubame's son to inherit the reverse blade. Interestingly, Kenji Himura would most likely been the antagonist of the arc, from what Watsuki had stated about his concept. That, plus the fact that the story would have been set in the beginning of Japan's move towards nationalism and militarization makes one wonder what the story would have looked like...]]
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: Kenshin's scar is a very blatant, and very literal, reference to the English idiom of "his cross to bear", complete with religious symbolism. Also, [[spoiler: Shishio insists he is "chosen by the age" to lead, and is only defeated by time itself, when he insists on fighting Kenshin too long, and his damaged body, unable to sweat, ''literally catches on fire''.]]
* WhatIf: The series serves as ''sort of'' a historical one: what if, instead of going to prison and getting executed, Himura Kenshin[[hottip:*:AKA Kawakami Gensai]] began to wander Japan after the Bakumatsu to try and atone for all the death he caused? And what if he eventually had to face down his past, personified in [[AxCrazy Udo Jin-e]][[hottip:*:Okada Izo]], [[NotSoDifferent Saito Hajime]], [[MagnificentBastard Shishio Makoto]][[hottip:*:AKA Kirino Toshiaki]] and [[CompleteMonster the brother of his wife]]?

* TheWorfEffect: Sanosuke

* {{Written by the Winners}}: A major theme deals with what it's like to be on the wrong side of history. Saitou fought on the losing side of the revolution and has been forced to watch his country be taken over by the people who killed his comrades. Kenshin fought on the winning side but now questions if he did the right thing.

* YamatoNadeshiko: Tsubame will likely be one when she grows up; she's still a flowder bud in the main narrative. Tomoe is described as 'elegant and educated' and at the time was arranging flowers. [[spoiler: adult Kaoru in both the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue and the second OAV]] could also count.
** Tomoe is arguably a deconstruction, since her reserved and soft-spoken behavior caused her a huge problem: [[spoiler: not being able to show her love for her boyfriend Kiyosato, who then went off to Tokyo to make a name for himself and make her happier once he was famous. And as we know, he ended up dead under Kenshin's blade.]]
* YouFailPhysicsForever: Given the amount of realism that went into the historical setting, the series's highly {{egregious}} case of AnimePhysics can be quite jarring. Then again, being a ShonenJump series, it ''does'' operate on RuleOfCool.

It is 1878, a peaceful time after the troubles of the Meiji Restoration and the Satsuma Rebellion. Kamiya Kaoru, the [[{{Tsundere}} spirited]] and young [[HeirToTheDojo head of the Kamiya Kasshin kendo school]], is having trouble fending off a couple of no-gooders that want to take over the dojo. Through sheer luck, she gets a vagrant [[{{Samurai}} swordsman]] she mistook for a killer to help her against the baddies.

** Kaoru has rained (harmless, of course) blows on Kenshin to the sound effects of [[FistOfTheNorthStar ATATATATATA]] and [[JoJosBizarreAdventure ORAORAORAORA]].

** [[HiddenElfVillage Ostriches]]: The people of Shingetsu, the village that was taken over by Shishio and overseen by Senkaku when the Meiji Government all but abandoned due to the predicament, knew that they were being oppressed, but refused to let Kenshin help them [[spoiler: and taking down the corpses of Eiji's parents, who were executed and displayed as a warning to the other villagers]] out of fear that Shishio and Senkaku would retaliate. They'd rather leave them on display and pretend that they weren't there, and were even prepared to expel Eiji from the village.

** In the latter case, in the ''manga'', to Aoshi's credit, he finds the [[{{Lolicon}} implications]] a little unsettling and makes it clear to Misao that he won't consider it until some time passes. In the ''anime'' though, Kenshin convinces him to start looking at Misao as a woman by the end of the Kyto arc.

* MrFanservice: Between [[{{Bishonen}} Kenshin]], [[{{Shotacon}} Yahiko]], [[HotBlooded Sano]], [[AloofBigBrother Aoshi]], [[SexyMentor Hiko]], and [[WhiteHairedPrettyBoy Enishi]], there's something there for every female.

->''We once fought together for an ideal with our swords. It wasn't for power or for glory, but to create a peaceful world where people could live without fear. And, if you should forget about that, then what did we fight the revolution for?''

* FauxActionGirl: Kaoru is supposedly an excellent swordswoman but is usually just a DistressedDamsel or a sideline observer. Sometimes she defeats a few {{mook}}s and once beat EliteMook Kamatari.
** Somewhat averted. Kaoru is implied to be a very skilled swordswoman; the problem is that she's simply limited to the normal capabilities which are allowed mere mortals. She gets overshadowed by the freakishly overpowered people like Kenshin, Sano, Saitou, etc. who keep turning up in her life ever since Kenshin arrived.

* Anti Hero: Saito Hajime is a Type V.

* BreakfastClub: Just about any of the various {{Nakama}}, but especially the Kenshin-gumi.

* CoitusUninterruptus: Usui attempts to attack Shishio while ''he's boning Yumi''. Yet, as expected of [[{{Badass}} Shishio]], he can still defend himself while in bed and proceeds to give Usui orders as if this was all a normal day for him.

A manga by NobuhiroWatsuki, its name translates as "Kenshin the Wanderer", but it is also known as ''Samurai X'' after ColumbiaPictures renamed it for their anime releases (which wwas later co-opted by ADVFilms for ''their'' release of the movie and [=OVAs=]). Watsuki, being a major fan of the ''XMen'' comics (the characters from which he based a lot of the cast's designs on), heartily endorsed this title translation.

* TheBlank: Shinomori Aoshi's {{ninja}} EliteMook more or less destroyed his own face so that he can be a MasterOfDisguise. His unmasked visage is pure NightmareFuelUnleaded (which is presumably why the anime didn't show it).

* TheyreCalledPersonalIssuesForAReason: Kaoru is okay with Kenshin not talking about himself, and it takes the Revenge Arc for him to open up.

Watsuki announced that he will be working on the series again, another manga series will start in May 2nd, 2012. '''Rurouni Kenshin Cinema-ban''' will be an adaption of the Live-Action movie; it will be a monthly run at ''Jump Square'' magazine, a short one since he plans to end in within the same year.

Watsuki announced that he will be working on the series again, another manga series will start in May 2nd, 2012. '''Rurouni Kenshin Cinema-ban''' will be an adpation of the Live-Action movie; it will be a monthly run at ''Jump Square'' magazine, a short one since he plans to end in within the same year.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Lampshaded. While a couple main characters' main hair is mildly spiky it never becomes noticeably unrealistic, and Kenshin's unusual hair color is implied to be because he is possibly of Ainu (or perhaps Dutch) descent.

* ToyShip: InUniverse, Yahiko and Tsubame - until the series epilogue, when they [[spoiler: are all grown up and officially dating]].

Watsuki announced that he will be working on the series again, another manga series will start in May 2nd, 2012. '''Rurouni Kenshin Cinema-ban''' will be an adpation of the Live-Action movie; it will be a monthly run at ''Jump Square'' magazine, a short one since he plans to end in withing the same year.

Watsuki announced that he will be working on the series again, another manga series will start in May 2nd, 2012. It is confirmed to be a ContinuityReboot of the original manga, the same story will be told, but with changes and new paths to be taken; it will be a monthly run at ''Jump Square'' magazine. It won't be a long running epic, though; Watsuki already said in advance that it will be a short series.

* ContinuityReboot: The new 2012 manga, Watsuki went out and said that will be same story again, but new paths will be taken.