Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023) – 05

「そして仲間がまた一人」 (Soshite Nakama ga Mata Ichi-nin)
“And Then, Anothe”

As historical manga go, Rurouni Kenshin is one of the more obsessively grounded in reality. It gets pretty fantastical to be sure, but part of Watsuki’s genius is in his understanding of the politics of the time, and the way he uses fiction to illuminate fact. The disillusionment which so many felt with the revolution/restoration is in many ways the key driver of the entire series, and it’s central to Kenshin’s character itself. But not only Kenshin, and Sagara Sanosuke is another one who’s deeply entangled in the web of that disillusionment.

In the first place, there’s no doubt about the outcome of the battle itself here. The series doesn’t try and mine false drama from that – it’s not what this sequence is about. Sanosuke is no match for Kenshin’s Hiten Mitsurugi-ryuu, but the point is that his physical and mental strength is so great that he keeps coming back for more when most would have been speed bumps after the first attack. What made him that way is his childhood in the company of the Sekiho Army, an Imperialist force that was yet another casualty of the self-serving and dishonorable nature of both sides of the conflict.

Events regarding Sagara Souzou (Ono Daisuke), captain of the Sekiho Army’s first division, are recorded more or less as they’re depicted by Watsuki. The Sekiho was sent to spread the news of the Imperialist plan to halve the land tax, a key element in gaining the support of the common people. When it became clear to the politicians at the head of the movement that it was being financially crippled by the policy, the decision was made to scrap it and throw the Sekiho under the bus, claiming they were spreading false information. Sagara – after being forced to watch his officers beheaded one by one – was himself executed and his head put on display as a traitor and a liar.

Given all that – and that Sano (Fujiwara Natsumi) was a mere nine year-old as he saw it happen – his resentment is not hard to understand. Nor is his hostility towards Kenshin, the symbol of the imperialists that betrayed the man he loved so much his took his surname. Hatred is a powerful motivator, like it or not, and whole Sanosuke’s is misplaced it’s so deep-seated that it brings him back from the brink of oblivion to go another round against Kenshin. He even lands a blow of sorts, though Kenshin parries it. Kihei too takes the opportunity to try and exact his revenge, though he’s so beneath the level of the others that humbling him is an afterthought for Kenshin. Although his deliberately holding back enough to keep Kihei conscious is about the coldest thing we’ve seen from him.

As much as anything, this fight was a demonstration of just how fantastically strong Kenshin is. Sanosuke may be “far above” any of the others we’ve seen him fight – to the point where he’s melancholy about having had to go hard enough to seriously injure him. But he’s still not remotely a match for Kenshin – it’s only a matter of how much if his limiters Kenshin has to remove in order to end things. Sano’s own resilience is pretty remarkable too – he’s back thrashing drunkards and dine-and-dashing the next day – but he could never land a blow no matter how many chances he got (and he knows it).

Kenshin is a man who can move others through his actions – he walks the walk, and this is critical in a series where words are so often merely a means for deception. Even Sanosuke has to admit that his rival is sincere in his desire for atonement – and that desire is a reflection of his own disillusionment with the revolution he helped succeed. “The revolution is still ongoing” indeed – it still is, if we’re honest. All the lies and betrayals on both sides that led to the moment when this series takes place are the engine that drives Rurouni Kenshin, and all of the characters are dealing with them in their own way.