Rurouni Kenshin, Vol. 21: A Shinobi’s Love (2000)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi
Character Design by Fumie Muroi

Features:

• Liner Notes
  
• Voice Actors’ Outtakes
  
• Textless Ending
  
• English and Japanese audio
  
• English subtitles
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• Ninjas in poorly chosen battle garb
• Mean, nasty Germans
• Predictable plots

Rating: 13+

Anamorphic: N/A

My Advice: Buy it if you enjoy Rurouni Kenshin

In this volume of the Rurouni Kenshin saga, Kenshin’s group along with the Weasel Girl’s ninjas are chasing the wicked Meldars, while also trying to find the Divine Elixir and dodge the Sanada Ninjas. Schneider, Meldars’ right-hand-man, has his own feelings for Misanagi, leader of the Sanada Ninjas, causing him to question his loyalties to Meldars. The rest of the Black Knights must also choose whether or not their leader’s dishonorable dealings with the Sanada Ninjas are acceptable. Following the end of the Black Knight storyline are two stand-alone episodes.

The plot of the Black Knights saga in general has been a bit weaker than the rest of the series. The Black Knights, who could have been quite interesting in a conspiracy-theory sort of way, were instead rather flat. It’s also getting a bit tiresome to have people “invade” Japan in search of something that will give them “ultimate power” ™, only to be defeated by Kenshin and Co. Yes, we love seeing Kenshin kick some buttocks, but does it always have to be some wicked foreigner that he should be able to punk without a thought, but for some reason temporarily can’t? Luckily, it’s always fun to see Yutaro, Kenshin, and the rest in action; it would just be nice to have had another storyline worthy of their characters.

The audio and video are just as fine as they have been for the entire series. There were no crackles or other problems, and the digital transfer seems clean and bright. The colors are nice and vivid, with only a few problems with muddying in very shadowy scenes.

The extras on this disc are decent enough: there are a few outtakes of mistakes made by the voice actors in filming, a textless closing of the new ending animation, and some liner notes. The outtakes are always fun, but there aren’t as many of them this time. It’s a thoughtful touch to have a clean ending provided since there’s a new ending sequence for the series, and fans of the art will appreciate that. The liner notes are, as always, useful and interesting.

In short, Rurouni Kenshin has remained a good series, and even these less interesting episodes are worth watching. Viewers have grown to care about Kenshin and what happens to them all, and this disc is no exception. Fans of historical fantasy or martial action will still love this world, as will viewers who like good animation, interesting characters, and lively dialogue. If you’ve been following the story, then this disc is still a must-buy, even with my few quibbles about the predictability of the storyline.