Kill to survive! - Samurai x @ Rurouni Kenshin

I read this manga long time ago. I got the whole collection for this manga. Actually this is the 1st manga and the only manga i read in 'Bahasa Melayu' with the title 'Pedang Satria' (Sword of Knight). It's a shounen manga published within 1994 to 1999 and had 28 volume altogether.
This manga is quite popular because the main character 'Kenshin Himura' with the cross scar at his face make him look awesome. In 1996 to 1998 this manga has been adapted to anime series and make it huge success all over the world. Several video game has also been released for the Sony PlayStation consoles.
For me this series almost the same with other shounen manga/anime. It's about becoming strong, fight for life and love, revenge, and other basic qualification for shounen manga/anime. The only i like is the character of Kenshin Himura. He is the assassin that got 2nd chance to move forward to be a better person, but 'the past' always follow and haunted him as long as he breath.

This manga/anime can be interesting with the fighting scene and drama that make you think, what will you do if it happen to you? 


let's see what i can help you to explain about this manga.......

Plot

The story of Rurouni Kenshin takes place during the early Meiji era in Japan. It tells the story of a peaceful wanderer named Himura Kenshin, formerly known as the assassin "Hitokiri Battōsai". After participating during the Bakumatsu war, Kenshin wanders the countryside of Japan offering protection and aid to those in need as atonement for the murders he once committed as an assassin. When arriving in Tokyo in the 11th year of Meiji (1878), he meets a young woman named Kamiya Kaoru, who was in the middle of a fight with a murderer who claims to be the Hitokiri Battōsai from her swordmanship school. Kenshin decides to help her and defeats the fake Battōsai. After discovering that Kenshin is the real Battōsai, she offers him a place to stay at her dojo as she notes Kenshin is a gentle person instead. Kenshin accepts and begins to establish lifelong relationships with many people such as Sagara Sanosuke, a former Sekihō Army member; Myōjin Yahiko, an orphan from a samurai family; and a doctor named Takani Megumi. However, he also deals with his fair share of enemies, new and old, including the former leader from the Oniwabanshū, Shinomori Aoshi and his rival from the Bakumatsu Saitō Hajime.

After several months of living in the dojo, Kenshin discovers that his successor as assassin of the shadows, Shishio Makoto, plans to conquer Japan by destroying the Meiji Government, starting with Kyoto. Feeling that his friends may be attacked by Shishio's faction, Kenshin goes to meet Shishio alone in order to defeat him. However, many of his friends, including a young Oniwabanshū named Makimachi Misao, decide to help him in his fight. He decides to accept their help and defeats Shishio in a fight, who dies in the process due to the rise in body temperature caused by his burns. The anime adapts the manga until this part, later featuring new story arcs which were not featured in the manga.

When Kenshin and his friends return to Tokyo, Kenshin finds Yukishiro Enishi, who plans to take revenge by killing his friends. At this point it is revealed that, during the Bakumatsu, Kenshin used to be married to a woman called Yukishiro Tomoe, who initially wanted to avenge the death of her fiancé, whom Kenshin had killed, but instead both fell in love and got married. It is then discovered that Tomoe was part of a group of assassins that wanted to kill Kenshin, and Tomoe is betrayed by them and captured to use as bait. Kenshin rushes in to rescue her, killing both his assailant and accidentally Tomoe, who jumps in at the last minute to save Kenshin from a fatal attack. Wanting to take revenge for the death of his sister, Enishi kidnaps Kaoru and leaves behind a tortured figure bearing a stunning resemblance of Kaoru for Kenshin to find and momentarily grieve over. Once discovering that Kaoru is alive, Kenshin and his friends set to rescue her. A battle between Kenshin and Enishi follows and when Kenshin wins, he and Kaoru return home. Five years later, Kenshin has found true peace; he is married to Kaoru and has a son named Himura Kenji.

Main Character 

Kenshin Himura

Kenshin desires to protect every individual from danger without harming others. Formerly known as "the strongest hitokiri," Kenshin is the main target of many old enemies and people who want to gain his title. Thus, he avoids letting others get too close to him personally for their own protection. However, he eventually begins relying on his friends, allowing them to fight alongside him.After the Bakumatsu, Kenshin develops an ongoing rivalry with the ex-Shinsengumi member Saitō Hajime . Although they become partners in the series, they both know that one day they will finish their duel. During the end of the series, Kenshin challenges Saitō to end the rivalry. However, Saitō refuses to fight because Kenshin is different from the time they were enemies.

Throughout the series, a young woman named Kaoru develops strong romantic feelings for Kenshin, and he also comes to love her. Despite his feelings, Kenshin is constantly haunted by the wrongs committed in his past and believes he does not deserve happiness. However, as he notes how Kaoru would feel if he dies, Kenshin decides not to leave her and regains a desire to survive.
If he is not able to protect his loved ones, he begins to shift into his "Hitokiri Battōsai" personality, and takes extreme measures in order save others, caring little for the well-being of his opponents. However, Kenshin avoids changing his personality, swearing that he will never kill. He tries to avoid the deaths of as many people as possible.

Kamiya Kaoru

Kaoru is the instructor of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū fighting school. She inherited the fighting style and a small dojo from her late father, Kamiya Koshijirō who developed the style before he was drafted into and killed during the Seinan War. At the beginning of the story, she runs the school by herself but has no students; she seems likely to lose the dojo until Kenshin appears and helps her. She is independent, possessive, compassionate, courageous, feisty, strong-willed, and a great fighter-- with occasional mood swings. Kaoru is also known for her bad cooking (disliked by her friends and family) and her ability to see the good in others. Though she is short-tempered and possessive, Kaoru is very selfless.

She falls in love with Himura Kenshin from the beginning of the series, and continues to love him even after learning of his past crimes. One of Kaoru's biggest fears is that Kenshin might someday return to wandering, leaving her to be alone again. She gets jealous whenever another girl is also interested in Kenshin, such as Takani Megumi with whom she often argues but ultimately admires by the end of the manga. In the story, Kaoru is often compared to a tanuki (raccoon dog).

Although she often squabbles with her student Myōjin Yahiko, they care about each other and Kaoru sees him as the successor of the dojo. She is considered naïve to be so trusting, but she has the maturity to handle the consequences. Kaoru's beliefs are held strongly and proudly, almost stubbornly, particularly her father's ideal of katsujin-ken ("swords that give life"): swordsmanship should be used not to kill, but to protect. This belief is a slap in the face to many swordsmen, who advocate that a sword is only for "mastery and death". Himura Kenshin, however, feels that her beliefs should become reality.

Sagara Sanosuke

The destruction of the Sekihō Army and the loss of all his friends has caused Sanosuke to hate the Meiji Government and he wears the Japanese kanji for "evil" (惡 aku) on the back of his jacket. He bears this symbol as a mark of his loyalty towards his past in the Sekihō Army, but it also serves as a reminder that he will defend innocent people who have been wronged so others can avoid the same suffering he experienced. Sanosuke's influence on other characters is demonstrated when they place the same symbol of the Japanese kanji on their backs, as does his younger brother Higashidani Ōta.

Despite hating the Meiji Government, Sanosuke becomes Kenshin's best friend and sees him as a gentle person. Sanosuke compares Kenshin to his former captain, Sagara Sōzō, whom he admires. Although Sanosuke may punch him occasionally for preventing him from fighting, Kenshin notes this makes Sanosuke his most reliable friend, always willing to help. Since Sanosuke stops working as a fighter-for-hire after meeting Kenshin, he usually does not have money, asking his friends to pay for him even though he never returns the money. His lack of money has resulted in large debts to a restaurant in Tokyo; this situation is a recurring comical theme. He also forms friendly relationships with other main characters, notably with doctor Takani Megumi. Because Sanosuke is injured several times throughout the series, Megumi usually takes care of him and warns him about the dangers of fighting, but he never pays attention to her advice, and has to ask her to treat him again.

Myojin Yahiko

A hotheaded child, Yahiko is arrogant, cheeky, bad-mannered and a user of profanity; he has already bestowed upon himself the title "Tokyo Samurai", as his father was a samurai who died during the Battle of Ueno in the Boshin War, slain at the Keneiji Temple. Because Yahiko respected his parents, he becomes a thief before the start of the series, to pay back their debt. After meeting Kenshin, Yahiko quits working as a thief and begins living with Kaoru and Kenshin, whom he admires. Yahiko's dream is to be as strong as Kenshin so he will be able to protect himself and the people he loves. Despite his young age and his short time of training, as the series continues Kenshin allows Yahiko to fight with him, noting that he is too mature for his age.

As the years go by, Yahiko learns the principles of Kamiya Kasshin-ryū ( "Gods' Valley Alive Heart Style"), which matches Kenshin's ideal of saving lives. By the end of the series, Yahiko also admires Sagara Sanosuke and copies his style of adding a tattoo with the Japanese kanji for "evil" to the back of his clothes. Though he often overestimates himself, Yahiko is able to defeat several enemies. In time Yahiko becomes a master swordsman; he grows into a level-headed, contemplative, and caring young man. He has a rival, Tsukayama Yutarō, who is a rich boy tricked into believing his sensei, Isurugi Raijūta, cared about him. And he has a romantic relationship with Sanjō Tsubame, who works at Akabeko (a restaurant where Yahiko also works) as a waitress.

That's all about the Samurai X that maybe you want to know. But if you wish to watch either the anime or read the manga..glad to give you the link as below

Samurai X @ Rurouni Kenshin - Manga
Samurai x @ Rurouni Kenshin - Anime

Please do enjoy...