Rurouni Kenshin, Vol. 5: The State of Meiji Swordsmanship

by Nobuhiro Watsuki

Isurugi Raijûta, a truly old-school swordsman, comes to Kenshin and requests his aid in reforming the state of swordsmanship schools, or kenjutsu dojo, in Japan. Although Kenshin is intrigued by Raijûta's ideals (chiefly, that there is a need for a nation-wide, unifying school), Raijûta's plan to "weed out" the schools he deems unfit is not in accordance with Kenshin's deepest-held beliefs. Given the choice of either joining Raijûta's "Shinko-ryû" movement or dying, Kenshin walks away, choosing neither. But Raijûta isn't willing to let Kenshin off the hook so easily...

Genres: Manga, Fiction

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 2, 1995

About the author

Watsuki Nobuhiro (和月伸宏) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for his samurai-themed series Rurouni Kenshin. He once worked as an assistant for his favorite author Takeshi Obata.

Reviews

[Mr. Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such incredibly clean art. Cuts me deep

[Omar Villafane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sight beyond sight ♾️👀

[Mason Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started off very slow but the art is still so awesome and then the last three chapters you get the fights and honorable samurai that you've been waiting for.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rereading for the first time since this was published in English in 2003.

The art is much improved in this volume and the characters are really hitting their stride (especially Kaoru, who gets a lot more to do here). The almost cracky overtone of the Yahiko story, along with the family aspects of the character relationships, really propel the story forward.