Rurouni Kenshin — Season 1

One night, Kaoru meets a man carrying a sword. She immediately questions the man, but he seems to have absolutely no will to fight. "Is this the rumored Hitokiri Battosai?" The man introduces himself as Kenshin Himura, a "Rurouni."

It's been a week since the resolution of the crossroad killing case. Although the name of Kamiya Dojo has been cleared, there's no sign of an increase in the number of Kaoru's students. Then a passing boy, Yahiko Myojin, pickpockets Kenshin's wallet.

Yahiko's heart is moved by Kenshin and he decides to quit pickpocketing. Yahiko refuses to pay Kanto Shueigumi and resists their demands, but he is beaten up. Kenshin comes to his rescue and settles the matter. Regretful that he could not solve the problem by himself, Yahiko wishes to become stronger. Seeing this, Kenshin takes Yahiko to the Kamiya Dojo.

Kenshin, Kaoru, and Yahiko visit Akabeko, a beef hot-pot restaurant, where a group of democratic rights activists gets into a heated argument. One of them throws a bottle of sake, and it hits Kenshin, causing a commotion.

Kenshin confronts Sanosuke, who wields the giant Zanbato. However, Sanosuke shows his incredible durability after withstanding a strike from Kenshin with ease, leading Kenshin to launch a barrage of blows at him.

Kenshin receives a request from the police chief, asking for his help to take down "Kurogasa," a serial killer who has been repeatedly targeting former Revolutionary warriors.

Jine takes Kaoru hostage in order to fuel Kenshin's anger, and the two engage in a fierce battle. Jine inflicts the Nikaido Heiho "Shin no Ippo" on Kaoru, causing her to stop breathing. Kenshin's anger reaches its peak.

A relaxing day of gambling quickly turns tense when Kenshin and Sanosuke rush to defend a stranger from the private soldiers of a local entrepreneur. Her ties to illegal activity quickly drag her rescuers deep into danger once more.

Hyottoko, a member of the Oniwaban Group, raids Kamiya Dojo. He unleashes his special attack "Fire Breath" against Kenshin and Sanosuke. Anticipating the defeat of Kenshin and the others, Megumi tries to flee the scene, but Kaoru stops her.

One day, Megumi suddenly disappears. A letter they found from her stated that she left of her own volition, but Kenshin and the others find this to be suspicious. They decide to head to Kanryu Takeda's residence, the man who was sending spies after her.

Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Yahiko scramble to take back Megumi from the Kanryu residence. They are confronted by Han'nya, who trifles Kenshin with his martial arts skills and his "Shinwan Spell." Han'nya removes his mask and reveals his true face.

As Kenshin faces Aoshi, old feelings from the revolution find new life on the battlefield. Aoshi's ice-cold competitiveness, potent blend of techniques, and mastery of Kaiten Kenbu make him a devastating opponent.

With Aoshi wounded, the Oniwaban Group rushes to face the Gatling gun and save their leader. Kenshin and the others work together to attempt to save Megumi. In the aftermath, the survivors are forced to rethink the trajectory of their lives.

Yahiko, the sole student of the Kamiya Dojo, has started to step away from his training from time to time. He says he's merely going on a walk, but it is clear that he takes his swordsmanship training very seriously, and it doesn't look like he's ditching to slack off. Curious about what he's doing, Kenshin, Kaoru, and Sanosuke decide to follow him. What exactly is Yahiko's reason for ditching?

Kaoru, Kenshin, and Yahiko visit Maekawa Dojo for a training session. The dojo is very lively, and Kaoru's training is well-received by the students of other sword styles. Then a swordsman named Raijuta Isurugi breaks in.

Raijuta, who wants to revive the murderous sword, considers Kenshin as an enemy. Raijuta initiates a fight using his actual sword, but Kenshin lands a blow that breaks Raijuta's sword and stops the situation from escalating further.

Yutaro sustains a heavy injury from Raijuta's sword so severe that he will never be able to swing a sword with that arm ever again. Yahiko was constantly disagreeing with Yutaro until now, he understood very well what swordsmanship meant to him.

Sanosuke is visiting the beef hot-pot restaurant Akabeko, where he always leaves his bill on a tab. One of Akabeko's workers, Tae, asks him to go buy a Nishiki painting from the painting shop on her behalf.

Tsunan & Nishiki Paintings

Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, Act Zero Part One

Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, Act Zero Part Two

Kenshin sees a dream recalling the Shinsengumi, who he faced off against back when he was a Revolutionary warrior. The Shinsengumi was a group of highly skilled swordsmen who he fought on equal footing back when he was the Hitokiri Battosai.

After defeating Arundo Akamatsu, Kenshin returns to the Kamiya Dojo and sees Hajime Saito. Hajime had introduced himself to Kaoru and Yahiko as Goro Fujita, the police officer, and they had invited him into the Dojo without any suspicion.

The person who had sent Hajime to face Kenshi, Toshimichi Okubo, asks Kenshin to go to Kyoto to stop the secret plans of a man who claims to be the legitimate successor of the Hitokiri Battosai.