Let's try this again: Just finished Rurouni Kenshin, and it was a great experience. This is a manga that imo has basically laid the foundation for what a modern shonen is, with top-tier character writing, very dynamic battles and a well-structured plot. Spoilerless thoughts below

I cannot stress just how strong the character writing is in this show, and this is best represented by two of Kenshin's most important rivals, both in strength and philosophy: Saito and Aoshi. The way they are weaved into the plot is just masterful.

Of course, the characters supporting the protagonist are also very well-written, one of the better supporting casts for sure. Yahiko, Sanosuke, Kaoru, Megumi, etc. all have their roles to play in the story and all get their moment to shine, always in the frame of their own arcs.

I cannot talk about character writing without mentioning Makoto Shishio, one of the greatest manga antagonists ever. He is the allure of evil itself, when misfortune and social Darwinism come together. His fight against Kenshin blew my mind, 10% clash of strength, 90% of ideals.

To talk about the MC, we need to talk about one of the main themes of the story: every character has their own moral code, and it is the author's mission to make these code of conducts clash with the status quo of the world, always creating an interesting philosophical dilemma.

When it comes to this clash, when the characters face their own "truth," they either adapt their own ideology and grow from it (like Hyogo) or the are swallowed by it. But personally I think Kenshin might be an exception to this motif.

In my view Kenshin is in many ways a self-realized character who already "knows" the truth of the world, and instead his character arc is about finding balance between his quasi-fatalist code of conduct and his newly-founded desire to live stemming from Kaoru & co. Incredible MC.

Other than the character writing, this is a manga with some of the most dynamic battles I've ever seen, with incredible choreography and they are always very thematic. Very rarely a fight happens out-of-nowhere with no emotional build-up. War of ideas is a constant theme.

It is also a very fluid read, with great art and paneling. Also strong comical moment and one of the best arcs ever in a shonen (the Kyoto arc), and also one of the greatest flashbacks ever, which is the Remembrance chapters.

The only negative I have is the pacing in the final arc drags a bit at certain points and it doesn't flow as well as Kyoto. The final antagonist is certainly not as strong as Makoto Shishio, but I'll give him a pass since it's the definition of a tough act to follow.

So yeah, overall a pretty great read. I really liked it. Kinda rushed this thread because I lost the first one, but I think I got the point across. lmao