OP2: “BURN” by yama, WurtS
After a two-week break for the new year, Rurouni Kenshin is back. And with it the growing pool of evidence that this adaptation is up to the massive task that was laid before it. To some extent I think it’s grown into the job. The direction has gotten more stylish, the music (including OPs and EDs) have trended up. Truth is, though, that may reflect the source material as much as anything. Rurouni Kenshin just gets a lot better as it goes, especially in the transition from the Tokyo Arc to the Kyoto Arc. And not to be minimized, it’s also now certain that the series is going to give this arc the episode count it needs to shine rather than rush through it in two cours (as many predicted would be the case).
As with “Chimera Ant” – which may be the only battle shounen arc which rivals it – “Kyoto” is massive. Their nature is that characters can be largely absent for long stretches, up to and including the protagonist himself, and not be missed. Kenshin and Shishio sit at opposite poles, indisputably the driving forces of this story. But there’s so much going on between those poles that they themselves are often at the fringe of the picture (or totally out of frame). We got only a taste of Kenshin at the beginning of this episode and a cameo for Shishio in the middle – though both were certainly memorable.
Indeed, Kenshin is still striving to learn the ultimate technique of the Hiten Mitsurugi style. And impatiently too, knowing the stakes. But Seijuurou is in no hurry, believing his former disciple to be rusty and out of form. He’s determined that Ken will have to land a hit on him before he’ll consider beginning the training. And that doesn’t seem to be in danger of happening anytime soon. Seijuurou is strong as hell, of that there can be zero doubt. But Kenshin’s impatience – so out of character for him – is surely working against him here.
The main focus this time is on the former and current leaders of the Oniwabanshuu. Houji, believing that the Aoiya can be brushed aside with little effort, sends a unit of night-fighting specialists called the Owls, deeming the task beneath any of the Juppongatana. But Okina and his crew make short work of them, turning the tables on their prospective torturers. Okina has foreseen where things were going, but this is the proof. There’s no other path forward but for him to face Aoshi himself and follow through on his promise to put him down if he abandoned the pride of the Oniwabanshuu. Which he certainly has.
Houji is, understandably, aghast at having failed. Shishio is not remotely surprised, but uses the moment to “baptise” his henchman in unforgettable fashion. This scene kind of speaks for itself – in terms of how Shishio became the man he is, why men like Houji follow him, and the dark future he envisions for Japan. Houji’s lack of belief in a literal Hell is of no moment to Shishio, because he’s literally lived Hell on Earth and carries its eternal fire inside him. In a time and place where selfishness and cruelty almost always ruled the day it’s easy to see the powerful appeal of a man like him, and of his message. In effect he’s saying “I may not make anything better for you, but I’ll make things a lot worse for the people you hate”. And that dangerous message resonates powerfully in reactionary politics to this very day.
None of this matters to Aoshi. This is all personal for him – and personal in an utterly stupid and pointless way. He cares nothing for Shishio’s aims or Shishio for his – they’re merely seeking to use the other to further their own, with little to lose by the effort. It’s personal for Okina in an entirely different way. All the things he believes in – loyalty, honor, courage – have been made a mockery of by Aoshi. The man he knew is effectively dead, it’s only a matter of making it official. Whether Okina at his age believes he has a chance to do that is debatable, but it wouldn’t matter to him either way. Aoshi’s fall is something he blames himself for, and considers his responsibility to deal with.
This is a terrible fight in so many ways, one of the most brutal in the series to watch (even as beautifully choreographed and animated as it is). Okina and his twin tonfa may have been a match for the former leader, but Okina was a younger man then. And Aoshi is unchecked by any sense of decency of honor. As Misao races towards “Location A” determined to try and prevent the two people she cares most about from killing each other, they go about trying to do just that. And Aoshi’s twin kodachi are too much for Okina, even with bravery and honor on his side. Even as Kenshin struggled to learn the ultimate technique of Hiten Mitsurugi, Aoshi reveals one of his own – “Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren”.
Okina will be missed – not least because Chiba Shigeru’s performance is among the very best of this reboot. The events here will certainly have repercussions, most immediately for Misao, who can hardly not be changed by what she’s witnessed. But Aoshi remains a threat to Kenshin, and is clearly stronger than he was when they clashed in Kyoto. Kenshin’s aim to set Aoshi back on the path of righteousness appears to have failed utterly, and now he must deal with the consequences of his determination to be a hitokiri no longer.
ED2: “Tada Hitotsu (ただひとつ)” by ZARAME
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