Rurouni Kenshin, Vol. 19: Dreams of Youth (2000)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi
Original story by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Translation by Rika Takahashi

Features:

• Liner Notes
  
• Dub Outtakes
  
• Textless Opening
  
• English and Japanese audio
  
• English subtitles
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• apprentice abuse
• wild samurai action
• scary girls with swords and an attitude

Rating: 13+

Anamorphic: N/A

My Advice: Buy it.

Dreams of Youth continues the adventures of Kenshin and crew, still coping with the results of the Revolution we’ve seen in previous volumes. Kenshin and the other characters meet, on the road, a young scholar named Daigoro, a fan of Jules Verne, who is repudiated by his master right in front of Kenshin’s party. The master, Kaishu, wants young Daigoro to learn swordplay for reasons of his own. Yahiko agrees to teach Daigoro how to fence, and the young man moves into Kaoru’s dojo. Itsuko, Kaishu’s daughter, also moves in, ostensibly to watch over Daigoro’s safety. Over the next few episodes, we learn more about Kaishu’s past and why he really wanted his scholarly apprentice and daughter to be out of the way for a while.

The quality of characterization of this series just keeps getting better and better. We see more about Yahiko as she tries to teach Daigoro how to defend himself, and these secondary characters, Daigoro, Kaishu, and Itsuko, new to the series and viewers, still develop a personality of their own with speed. This disc could be a case study for would-be anime producers on how to make characters real and interesting in few steps. Kenshin, in dealing with Kaishu, also reveals more about his personality and why he’s the hero he is.

The voice acting is up to the previous high standards of the saga. Kenshin emotes particularly well, and it’s admirable how all the characters seem equally as adept in the comic scenes as they are in the more dramatic moments. No one is screechy, in either language, and instead, their personalities really come through, hand in hand with the art.

The audio and video are both very well done on this disc, in either English or Japanese. I heard no crackling or skipping, and the visuals were clear and very beautiful. The artwork for this disc, like the rest of the series, is beyond reproach. The only caveat is that more could be done to make use of stereo capabilities, but that’s rather unimportant overall.

The extras are nice, as well. I love the inclusion of outtakes on anime discs, and these are very fun and interesting to watch. We also get, for fans of the art, a textless opening--notice that it has changed from the previous episodes. The liner notes continue to be an interesting and at times necessary addition for Western audiences, and just plain fascinating at times. It would have been nice to have had more about the Shogun, but that’s quibbling.

Overall, fans of the series will be very pleased with this disc, and anyone new to the series could safely start here as a relatively self-contained disc. Fans of historical fantasies will love Dreams of Youth, as will anyone who appreciates good fight choreography, interesting characters, and tightly woven storylines. Basically, there’s something here for everyone.