Yutaro suffered a devastating strike in last week’s episode, which cements Raijuta’s cruel nature in his student’s eyes. He revealed his schemes to Kenshingumi and put his dishonorable fighting tactics on full display. Kenshin will unleash his fury in this week’s episode of Rurouni Kenshin.
Episode 17 — Settling the Score
Rurouni Kenshin: Past and Present — Isurugi Raijuta, The Vicious Samurai
Since Isurugi did the one thing you shouldn’t do in this series — anger Kenshin — let’s take the time to compare his original portrayal to his current one. His color scheme — such as his hair color — is generally a bit darker. His feathers had a red tinge in 1996, whereas they’re all black in this 2023 adaptation. Those insanely bushy eyebrows remain the same, however.
Rurouni Kenshin: Past and Present — Dr. Gensai Saves the Day Again
As discussed last week, the rematch played out differently between 1996 and 2023. In the past, Kenshin sent Kaoru and Sanosuke to take Yutaro to Dr. Gensai for treatment while he stayed behind. It was a badass moment. Here, in 2023, Kenshin left with them to tend to Yutaro and promised Raijuta he would return to settle things. This divergence continues as we get Yutaro’s medical results at the start of the episode. Dr. Gensai believes that the young man will never wield a sword.
Another key difference here is that Kenshin’s arm taking the brunt of the force saved Yutaro from losing his arm entirely, a fact never brought up in 1996. Back then, Raijuta intentionally struck just enough to permanently damage the boy without taking his arm.
Rurouni Kenshin: Past and Present — Kenshin vs. Raijuta, Final Round
Past and present converge here. After hearing of Yutaro’s fate, Kenshin heads out to confront Raijuta, continuing the duel between ignoble samurai and honorable rurouni. Just a quick aside: Kenshin’s strike in the last episode broke one of Raijuta’s silly feather things. This improvement in his edgelord attire didn’t happen back in 1996.
The duel between Kenshin and Raijuta played out differently between then and now. Back in 1996, Raijuta used way more ground-based Izuna strikes. As well, these ground strikes created fissures in the ground leading from Raijuta toward Kenshin, so they were still ranged attacks. When these didn’t hit, Raijuta used the air-based Izuna strikes, which took Yahiko and Kenshin by surprise. Then Kenshin took a hit to the back of his wrist.
The 2023 duel saw Raijuta use a swarm of air-based Izuna attacks, and one eventually hit Kenshin in the wrist. His ground-based Izuna only made a fissure in the dojo when they sparred with wooden swords. Kenshin still mocks and derides Raijuta for boasting about landing a hit. In 2023, he postulates that Raijuta has never actually killed anyone.
Kenshin ends the duel in different ways. In 1996, Kenshin sliced an air-based Izuna in half, an act deemed impossible in 2023. He then used Do Ryu Sen, his ground-based attack that launched Raijuta in the air and slammed him back down with Ryu Tsui Sen. In 2023, he threw his sword out of his sheath with Hiryusen, striking Raijuta in the forehead. He followed that up with another headshot, then used something that looked like Ryu Tsui Sen with his sword still in its sheathe and landed a third hit on Raijuta’s forehead.
Rurouni Kenshin: Past and Present — After the Duel
In the past, Raijuta stayed down after that last hit. This time, he made a big show of grabbing Yahiko and threatened to kill him if Kenshin didn’t surrender. It’s just shameless now. He did better than his original incarnation when he used a combination of air- and ground-based strikes to keep Kenshin on the defensive. While the 2023 adaptation saw Kenshingumi deriding Raijuta for never actually taking a life, back in 1996, Yahiko left to tell the police that Raijuta was defeated. The would-be samurai soldiers failed, and their plans to create a kingdom had come to an end. Raijuta released Yahiko when he realized his failures as a man and a swordsman.
Both adaptations saw Yutaro close himself off in light of his wounded arm and his dreams of becoming a samurai crushed underfoot. 2023 Kaoru and 1996 Yahiko wondered what the life-giving sword Kamiya Kasshin-ryu should do in such a situation. Yuzaemon (Yutaro himself in 1996) decided to travel to Germany for their advanced medical facilities and completely abandon swordsmanship. Yahiko encourages Yutaro to continue swordsmanship by briefly sparring in the station, where Yutaro uses his cane in his left hand to block Yahiko’s strike. Thus, their rivalry lives on.
As for Raijuta, Kenshin and Kaoru privately lament that he couldn’t use his talents for good. He tries to end an old lady and a young girl and completely fails to muster the resolve to do so.
Rurouni Kenshin Ep. 18: Sanosuke and Nishiki Paintings
The next episode should feature Sanosuke and a nishiki-e artist. If it’s who I think it is, these two share some history.
What did you think of this week’s episode? Are you hopeful that Yutaro can recover his right arm? Will Raijuta ever darken their doorway again? Let us know in the comments below.
Let’s revisit an earlier matchup. Who do you think wins between the sakabato-wielding rurouni and the buster sword-swinging mercenary? You can plot out matches with the Cloud Strife BRING ARTS Kai Action Figure from Final Fantasy. Let us know how things go.
