As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
Anime/Manga Version
- The ending of the series is pretty heartwarming. Sure, all the characters go their separate ways, but they promise to see each other again (which they do in the bonus chapter) and in the end, everybody is happy. The best part is seeing that Kenshin and Kaoru at least are now Happily Married and have a son.
- It's a darker moment, but Hoji reuniting with Shishio and Yumi in hell. He's just so happy.
- A small one for Saitou. He has an undercover persona as a medicine peddler from Tama who specialises in a medicine called Ishida Sanyaku. For those who don't know, Hijikata Toshizou was from Tama, and he went around selling Ishida Sanyaku prior to becoming the Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi. It's a subtle way of Saitou remembering his deceased friend.
- Misao and the rest of the Oniwabanshu meet Sano and believe him to be some street thug. Kenshin smiles and says that there is no one in the world that he trusts more than Sano.
- The scene where Hiko meets Young Kenshin for the first time is this way.
- "I have a found a pupil, consider yourself fortunate..."
- Haanya looking after Misao even from the afterlife.
- Seeing most of the boys from the original run return in the Hokkaido arc, having grown in outstanding young men. Yahiko has matured into a disciplined and skilled assistant master, Yutaro has taken over his father trading enterprise and tries to support the Himura family as much as he can, Outa followed Sano's advice and joined the Kamiya dojo, and Eiji has clearly been well taken care of by Saito and his wife and is willing to shoot Byakuya, Saito's opponent, when he realizes his foster father is in danger.
- Kenshin snapping out of his depression and finding the answer for his crimes and the will to fight again after Kaoru's apparent death in the Manga only Jinchuu arc is heartwarming and inspirational. It wasn't the call for vengeance from his friends that woke him, and it wasn't even the knowledge that Kaoru was in fact still alive that snapped him out of it. It was the soft plea for help from Tsubame and the wisdom from Geezer that was finally able to help Kenshin realize his Raison d'être and allow him to return to the battlefield to be the hero he was meant to be. One can practically hear his leitmotif from the TV series playing when they read it and see the joy on all his friends faces when he returns to assist Yahiko in defeating Kujiranami.
- In the 2023 anime's adaptation of Act Zero, Dr. Elder points out that Kenshin's inability to properly sense his black tea is likely due to mental exhaustion and later suggests that he settle down if given the chance. At the end of episode, it is noted that Kenshin is able to taste the black tea that Kaoru brought home, showing that Kenshin is starting to find some inner peace after settling down at the Kamiya dojo.
Live-action movies
Rurouni Kenshin- Kaoru shattering Jin-e's lethally strong Shin no Ippo technique which froze her lungs through her sheer love for Kenshin to stop him from becoming a murderer again to save her life:Kaoru: "KENSHIN DON'T!! Don't become a manslayer again... Please don't kill him... Kenshin... For those who died by your blade... And for everyone whose life... you have saved.... Please don't kill him... A sword that doesn't kill.... A sword that can protect.... For this new age.... of peace... Isn't that what you fought for?"
- Equally so back in the original manga/anime.
- The ending surely deserves a spot here. After Kaoru is rescued by Kenshin, she wakes in the dojo with a start. She then looks around, finding Sano asleep in the adjacent room, while Megumi and Yahiko are in the kitchen, but Kenshin is nowhere to be seen. Panicking, she assumes he's left the dojo to wander once more and rushes towards the gate (not bothering to put on her sandals to boot). But she stops when Kenshin appears at the gate with the day's groceries. And when Megumi (who gently admonishes Kaoru for jumping to conclusions), Yahiko and Sano join them, the following exchange occurs:Kaoru: (Tearful Smile) Welcome home, Kenshin.
Kenshin: ...I'm home, that I am.
Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno
- At the start Kenshin, Kaoru, Megumi, Sano, and Yahiko are acting like any family or group of friends; going to the theater, taking meals together, and living at the dojo. When the main plot starts up, it's clearly a sacrifice for Kenshin to leave them behind. Especially Kaoru.
- Kenshin finds a boy whose parents were executed by Shishio's men and beats the stuffing out of them before cutting down the boy's parents and helping him grieve.
- Later, Kaoru and Sano come find Kenshin to help him out.
Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends
- We find out that the man who took Kenshin in is his old master, Hiko Seijuro, who made him the swordsman he is today. While he's there, he gives Kenshin some training and most importantly, impresses upon him that he must live and not throw his life away. When Kenshin finally leaves, the last thing we see Seijuro say is a private "don't die."
- This movie shows much more than the manga Hiko's role as a Parental Substitute to Kenshin, from the fact that he doesn't abuse (too much) the "baka deshi" nickname, to the fact that during the "will to live" test, he had several chances to deal a death blow to Kenshin but always left him enough time to recover (even if it's more than likely that manga Hiko was reluctant to deal a deadly Kuzu Ryu Sen to Kenshin), to his behaving outright fatherly after teaching him Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki.
- Even Hiko's trademark arrogance towards the Rurouni has almost completely disappeared, only appearing at the beginning, and it mostly looks like retribution for Kenshin leaving him 14 years ago.
- We find out that Kaoru survived the last film's cliffhanger and is all right! And it's a relief to see Misao giving Kenshin the good news, because he spent the first portion of the movie believing that she was dead.
- After defeating the villains, Kenshin returns to safety and finally sees Kaoru again.
- In the final scene of the film, Kenshin sits with Kaoru in the courtyard and asks her if she would like to watch the new era with him in the Kamiya dojo. It implicitly sounds like he's asking her to marry him. What a thing to end on!
