Rurouni Kenshin Vol. 3

Writer	Nobuhiro Watsuki
Illustrator	Nobuhiro Watsuki
Published in English	2004
Publisher	Viz Media
Demographic	Shōnen
Age rating	Teen plus

Hunted by Shady Forces

Rurouni Kenshin Vol. 3: A Reason to Act was published in 1995 and translated into English in 2004. It includes acts 16–22 and an End-of-Volume Special. The comic book is written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The manga falls into martial arts and historical fiction genres.

Takani Megumi, a woman who possesses opium, seeks protection from Kenshin and Sanosuke as she is hunted by a shady industrialist Kanryū. The latter has employed Shinomori Aoshi, a head of elite spies (/warriors) of the Edo period. Kenshin is willing to help Megumi-Dono. However, this puts everyone at the Kamiya dojo in danger while the woman on the run does not even tell them why Kanryū wants her.

The story explores guilt and greed as well as familiar themes such as courage. Kenshin is an epitome of a hero, facing the enemies confidently and always following his ideals. He eagerly wants to help Takani Megumi, but the woman is secretive and suspicious, dividing Rurouni’s friends over their attitude towards her. However, although she seems selfish and rude at first, there is actually much more depth to enigmatic Megumi-Dono. Attention is paid to other characters as well. Death of his friend due to opium disturbs Sanosuke as he tries to suppress his anger. Yahiko wants to participate in the fights and acts bravely.

Thiss volume continuously presents threat and action with Megumi-Dono being a fugitive from the very beginning and her reluctance to talk about herself only adds intrigue. The plot is centred around opium which gives rise to conflicts while the main characters do not know any details about the production and distribution of the narcotics. Kenshin and his companions confront challenging villains. Kanryū is a merciless man who has military power but also knows how to influence people. Shinomori Aoshi, the Okashira, on the other hand, is a skilled fighter who does not look for perssonal gain. He also values his men – in this volume a few of them serve as strong and tricky opponents for the heroes.

The humour is frequent and in large part physical, though some of it is also character-based. For instance, Megumi likes to tease simple and quick-tempered Kaoru. On the visual side, everyone in the comics has a totally distinct appearance. The artist aims to express mood and emotions rather than make the illustrations look realistic. The artwork conveys dark scenes in an impactful way while it hilariously distorts people in funny moments.

Rurouni Kenshin Vol. 3 sets the heroes against powerful villains. The characters show emotional complexity and they face intriguing secrets. The third volume is a captivating installment in the Rurouni Kenshin series.

Characters

Themes

Plot

Art

Content advisory

Erotic content: NONE

Yahiko suggests that Kenshin and Sanosuke will lose in gambling and come back in underwear, a minimalistic drawing illustrates it.

Violence: Moderate

Humorous scenes of Kaoru hitting Kenshin.

Dead bodies are found at the riverbank.

A character is hit by a poison bullet.

Sanosuke gets burned when fighting with a fire-breathing opponent.

Numerous fight scenes mostly show men hitting each other, a few times someone is knocked off.

A man beats a woman.A character is given a sword so they could kill themselves to avoid torturing, this volume does not reveal how the situation ends.

Profanity: NONE

Scary content: MODERATE

Some villains may look scary, especially Han’nya. Constant threat, dangerous villains. A character feels very hopeless and goes on a suicidial quest. A villain is planning to torture a character.

Alcohols, drugs, and smoking: MODERATE

A man smoking.

The whole volume focuses on the production and selling of opium. Usage of the drug is not shown explicitly but Sanosuke’s friend has died due to an overdose. A character recounts how they were creating opium.