Rurouni Kenshin Hokkaido Arc premieres in Jump SQ. next week

>Viz's Shonen Jump to Serialize Rurouni Kenshin: Hokkaido Arc Manga
>1st chapter to run simultaneously with Japan next Monday
animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-08-28/viz-shonen-jump-to-serialize-rurouni-kenshin-hokkaido-arc-manga/.120646

Why is nobody talking about this?

im hype

Im scared he might ruin the perfct ending Kenshin got already

I want Kenshin to take a break from fighting, all his enemies in his past are gone, why give him more? The samurai era is over. I rather see more of Soujiro interact as a guide for the wannabe Shishio

I think that despite previously ending Kenshin on a high note, that it is possible to expand on the story. Also, just because a new Kenshin manga has begun, it doesn't erase the impact of how the original manga ended. This new manga is being marketed as a sequel rather than a continuation of the original manga, so it's really no big deal.

Anyway, what we've seen so far in the Ashitaro spin-off is that there are still remnants of Shishio's army trying to launch another uprising. It goes to show you how great of a villain Shishio was since even in death, he still has a profound impact on future events in the story. I think what will happen is that the Shishio army remnants will try to get revenge on Kenshin. To do that, and for the story to give Kenshin an excuse to take up his sword again, I think that they'll kidnap his son Kenji.

I think that Kenshin will return as the main character initially, but the story will focus on the character development of Kenji, who will eventually take over as the new main character.

but by the time kenji grows sword would stop to beign usefull

Hopefully the focus is around Kenshin and not himself, let Saito and Enishi take the spotlight

No it wouldn't. The Sakabato that Kenshin has ever since the Kyoto arc is the Shinuchi, or Principal Forge version, and was the last and greatest blade that Arai Shakku forged. The blade will probably last for more than a century.

It'll probably be reminiscent to the Old Man Logan story from Wolverine and will eventually transition to Kenji being the main character like I mentioned in .

The issue is that Kenshin can no longer fight. If it's post ending of the original manga, he can no longer fight like he used to, so it's going to be hard to justify him fighting or Watsuki's going to have to retcon that. But I have faith he will make a great work, and like you said, he can make Kenji or Yahiko take a bigger role, or have other characters fight.

Why did Kenshin's sword even have a sharp end?

Wouldn't it make more sense to just use a blunt sword?

The final chapter of the manga and the latest spin-off story made it clear that Kenshin can still fight, but that he's no longer in his prime. Most fighters and athletes usually are at their prime where they're in peak physical condition at some point between there mid 20s and their mid 30s. Kenshin was at his prime as a swordsman in the Kyoto arc when he was 28, and after his battle with Enishi, his body started showing signs of wear and tear. Flash forward to this new story and Kenshin is now 33 years old. He's still a strong fighter, but he's no longer in his prime since age and battle have worn him down. The point is that at some point, Kenshin will pass on torch, and it'll most likely be to his son Kenji.

No because it'd be slow and unwieldy as fuck, and would be just an overall worthless piece of shit as a weapon.

Making the edge a bit thicker and not sharp is barely going to add any weight and blunt swords were historically used in Japan for self defense all the time.

As someone who actually trains with swords, I can say for certain that you're wrong. Sharpening it not only allows you to cut through people, but it shaves off layers of the steel, drastically decreasing the weight. Another way a huge difference is made is when a fuller is shaved into the blade, which makes the sword much lighter but more brittle.

The talk with Megumi and the one on one with Yahiko at the end of the manga strongly implied that he cannot fight like he used to. He can pull maybe a move or two, but sustained fighting like he did is out of his reach. The AKRnH deteriorates the body badly, and without a physique like Hiko, he can't abuse the move. Even so, he used it several times in Kyoto and Jinchu arcs, sometimes even though he was already exhausted from fighting. At this point, it's almost certain that he couldn't fight even at the level of Tokyo arc Aoshi. I'm willing to be proved wrong, but from what I understood of the manga, Kenshin no longer can fight.

Sometimes you need to cut shit, like the lamp post that one time or doors and shit.

Read the final chapter of the original manga and the spin-off. It's written and illustrated by Watsuki so it's canon. Kenshin can still fight, but not as well as before. He's at the point where he can no longer effectively use Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki lest he wants to fuck up his body even further, but he can still use other techniques just fine.

I have. The final chapter where he has a one on one duel with Yahiko was just a one hit match. Kenshin won with superior technique, but it was just one strike. It wasn't sustained fighting. I think in the spinoff he used like two moves, but it was against mooks, not against any remotely decent fighter. I didn't say that he can't pull out any moves at all, but that anything more than a minute or so of sustained fighting is beyond him. I can't picture him fighting anything on the level of the Kyoto arc, even.

Nigga I actually train with swords too and half the shit you said is wrong.

> but it shaves off layers of the steel, drastically decreasing the weight
There's a difference between a block of ungrinded steel and a sword that just hasn't been sharpened. Sharpening the latter is only going to shave off a barely discernible amount of weight.

Not to mention training swords like feders which are constructed to handle just like sharp swords minus the cutting part.

>Another way a huge difference is made is when a fuller is shaved into the blade, which makes the sword much lighter but more brittle

Fullers do make the sword lighter but it doesn't make it more brittle except in the absolute sense. The point of fullers were to remove excess weight without affecting the integrity of the blade.

Exactly. That's the point I'm trying to make. Kenshin can still fight, but he's not what he once was and can't go toe to toe against strong opponents like Shishio or Enishi anymore. He'll probably have to adjust his fighting style to rely more on his wits, but at a certain point Kenshin will pass on the torch to Kenji.

Kenji becoming the new main character makes the most sense since he's Kenshin's son and his story has yet to be told, while Yahiko in a lot of ways is already a complete character. Yahiko will take a supporting role since he's not really main character material.

As for Ashitaro, I think he will be Kenji's rival and a possible antagonist.

so I'm happy for a new kenshin, but where are the anons who are going to come and shit all over this saying the author is a hack who can't find success after kenshin?

Buso Renkin did ok-ish, but what did he make after that?

I don't think he will have any of the important fights, unless Watsuki decides that Kenshin's body can still move like before

About Kenji- isn't he still too young? Even Yahiko was like 10 when he started fighting. Kenji is still a small child, they would have to time skip. I think some of the fighting will go to Yahiko, and/or he will go find Sano. I can see Aoshi and co. joining the effort too.

Let me clarify. I'm not saying an unsharpened blade is ridiculously heavy, but sharpening it and adding a fuller makes a world of difference when wielding a blade. And by more brittle, I don't mean that the katana would easily break if it had a fuller, but it would it'd be less strong than without a fuller. Adding a fuller is a trade-off, more speed for less strength.

And to the previous user, the closest you can get to a "blunt katana" is an iaitou, which is not as sharp as a shinken but can still kill a man. A sakabato is the most sensible option if Kenshin wants to avoid killing someone as much as possible.

Kenji will take over gradually. Remember in Dragon Ball Z how Gohan fought Raditz at an early age? Kenji's pretty much the same age so he'll pick up a sword soon. I like to think of this being inspired by Akira Toriyama's initial idea of Gohan taking over the main character role from Goku except in DBZ, except Watsuki will follow through with Kenji.

DB is full of overpowered aliens and humans though. As fanciful as the fighting gets in Kenshin, it's still more grounded in reality than anything in DB. Yahiko was pushing it but Watsuki made it work, but I don't think he will try to do the same with Kenji until he gets to be Yahiko's age during the original series.

How old will he be anyway? I thought he was like 3-5 years old

The final chapter of the original manga wasv5 years after Kenshin beat Enishi, where Kenji was introduced when he was 5 years old. The Ashitaro spin-off was one year later. Kenji was about 6-7 years old then. What I think will happen is that the new manga will begin another 2-3 years later, which would make Kenji between 8-10. Remember that Watsuki confirmed that this new manga will consist of 5 arcs. That's plenty of time to develop Kenji into the new main protagonist.

Kenji didn't look like a 5 year old to me. I assumed that he was born sometime during the 5 year timeskip. Even if you're right though, a 6-7 year old fighting is a big stretch. I don't think there will be timeskip that soon

The 5 arcs part has me apprehensive. How long would those arcs be? I want it to be popular, but in case people don't like the story, what then?

>but sharpening it and adding a fuller
You can put a fuller on a non-sharp blade you know

>but it would it'd be less strong than without a fuller. Adding a fuller is a trade-off, more speed for less strength.
Not necessarily. Extreme fullers do sacrifice strength for speed, but you can get a lightening of the blade with a fuller while sacrificing little to no functional strength.

I want to like Ruroni Kenshin but Kenshin is such a faggot twink, holy shit. I hate the "killing is evil" goody two-shoes garbage. Whenever an enemy can't be defeated through the power of love, they just drop dead because of a deus ex machina and everyone pretends Kenshin beat them

Keep in mind that this is all theory and speculation, but adding an additional 2-3 year timeskip after the Ashitaro spin-off would put Kenji at the right age to begin his journey, at 8-10 years old. It'd also develop Ashitaro, who would be more disciplined after being a student at the Kasshin dojo for a few years.

>I want to like Ruroni Kenshin but Kenshin is such a faggot twink, holy shit.
Being a pretty boy doesn't make Kenshin a bad character.
>I hate the "killing is evil" goody two-shoes garbage. Whenever an enemy can't be defeated through the power of love, they just drop dead because of a deus ex machina and everyone pretends Kenshin beat them
So you've pretty much confirmed that you never read the manga. Kenshin is a former assassin and made a vow to never kill again after a certain tragic event in his past which you would know if you actually read the manga. Kenshin isn't always goody two shoes. Early on in the manga he still has PTSD and his more murderous side can be unleashed. How about you actually read the manga instead of shitposting?

>I think that despite previously ending Kenshin on a high note, that it is possible to expand on the story.
I agree. This one's particularly interesting because this arc was legitimately part of the original plan for the series. It's tough to find them now, but there are old interviews about how Watsuki had planned for a Hokkaido arc after Jinchuu, but he was tired of making Kenshin. So this time, it's not something he's writing just for the sake of bringing back a popular series.
I mean, sure, both the original ending and this new arc were probably changed somewhat from said original plan, but he still had an idea of where this story would go from the start.

IIRC, Watsuki was considering doing the Hokkaido Arc after Kyoto, but then he got the idea for Jinchuu. He still has those ideas but has rewritten them to take place after Jinchuu instead m

Because Kenshin's hitokiri autism is only used to tease something interesting happening for once, about the most effect his backstory is used for is to point out what a toothless bitch he really is. I should really just stick to mature and tasteful Ronin manga like Vagabond for mature and tasteful men like myself so I don't have to deal with petulant children such as yourself

I fucking love Vagabond and I still love Rurouni Kenshin and consider it my all time favorite shonen manga. Don't associate Vagabond fans with shitposters like you who didn't even read Rurouni Kenshin. You probably didn't even read Vagabond either, otherwise you wouldn't compare them since Kenshin and Vagabond are completely different in story and themes despite both being chanbara.

Can't wait to see reformed Enishi being tsun around Kenshin.

OP here. Fuck it. Dumping the spin-off.

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Because the manga ended with him passing his sword onto Yahiko and it'd be retarded to double back on that. The story is done.

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The new 3-in-1s are pretty mediocre compared to the Viz Big volumes.

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It's a strange feeling Scared because the original ended so fucking perfectly but legit excited at the same time. I don't want to be negative like so many people on this board. Watsuki you better don't screw up this.

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Which of the old players in the Kenshin-Gumi will make a return?
Saito would be pushing what? 35 or 45?
Sano would still be game but I don't think he's got any character progression left unless a Anji 2.0 is in there.
Aoshi would still be a gloomy fuckboy 10 years later even though Misao fucked him a hundred times and gave him children.
Yahiko would be prime, but there aren't that many people who'd want to see Yahiko.

I'd like to see some of the previous characters, like Anji and maybe Fuji for shits and giggles but how would they insert into the story.
Don't even think of Sojiro.

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This is a shounen manga and it's being marketed as the big return of Roruouni Kenshin. There's no fucking way in hell Kenshin, the main character, isn't going to have important fights or, I dare to say, use his most important techniques.

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The words Megumi and Kaoru used were "Hiten Mitsurugi is MOSTLY ineffective/unusable"

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Watsuki mentioned that he had an idea of a series based around Kenji and Shinya, Yahiko's son. Both names form the "Ken - Shin"

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End.

I like this idea, so long as it's not "Rorouni" Ken-Shin, but something else.

>Anyone who reads the end of the Kyoto Arc understands that Sojiro leaves for Hokkaido. At that time, I wanted to draw a new arc, situated in that region, where Sojiro would be at Kenshin's side.

>Is that the Hokkaido Arc that everyone awaited?

>Yes. I also wanted to introduce a new character, Shinpaci Nakgakura, the captain of the second division of the Shinsengumi (he was one of the strongest Miburo, alongside Soshi Okita and Hajime Saito). But I thought a lot about it, and I preferred to end the series at the end of the Jinchuu Arc, so the Hokkaido Arc just vanished into smoke.

>Would the Hokkaido Arc be depressing and dark, or happy?

>More to the happy side. I wanted to make it more like a western. The Meiji governmental army would be the cavalry, the new inhabitants of Hokkaido, the samurai-farmers and others would conquer the west as colonists, the people without a real goal would be the outlaws, and finally, the native people of Hokkaido would be the Indians. And Kenshin and his friends would arrive in the middle of this.

>It looks different from the rest of the manga.

>Bwah, you can't do the same thing all the time. What's more, at the end of the Jinchuu Arc, we finally arrive at the end of the main theme of Kenshin, that which characterizes Kenshin the most, his guilt and the search for an answer to help him atone for his sins. The next Arc would have to be completely different, or else it wouldn't make sense. That's why I wanted to make it like an American action movie. It would be very funny to surprise the readers by letting an American colonists chariot enter the scene.

>Besides Sojiro, which other characters would have reappeared?

>I wanted to re-use Fuji, because it would be interesting if he came to help Kenshin when he was in danger. I also thought that Fuji looked really cool when you see him as a lumberjack in Hokkaido.Anji's also imprisoned in Hokkaido, and I wanted to make him return? Because he's the only character who wasn't spiritually saved, I was a bit annoyed, and I wanted to offer him a chance at his return.

>It seems that you have already thought a lot about the story; wouldn't the readers be happy if they could actually read it?

>Yes, but no, I prefer re-using the ideas I had for that phase in my next manga.

Watsuki is teaming up with his original editor Hisashi Sasaki again to write this new series. Sasaki edited for Watsuki throughout the entirety of Kenshin, so he'll ensure that Watsuki doesn't fuck it up.

See Sano, Sojiro, Aoshi, Misao, Hiko, Anji, Saito, Megumi, Tsubame, even Enishi confirmed to return.

>Sojiro would be at Kenshin's side.
Unless he became a fat slob I don't think anything short of a Blackbird can match Sojiro's speed.

At Kenshin's side meaning comrades you dingus.

Also, here's a new interview where he talks about the end of the manga and his recent decision to finally make the Hokkaido arc:

>Q: So that means, by the time this interview is published, the talk about Hokkaido arc has already spread out. Then again, after all this time, why RurouKen?

>WN: The truth is I had chances to look over RurouKen again and again. Specifically, the movie was a big opportunity. Honestly, I never thought it would go until three parts, because when the talk about making movie came out, I was thinking “ah, it would be nice if this won’t be a losing movie”. But old fans and new people ended up liking the movies, I was surprised.

>Q: I actually have an acquaintance whose grade school daughter was a big fan of RurouKen. It’s a work that is still actively popular.

>WN: I have a manga-ka friend also whose child likes RurouKen (laugh). Thanks to the movie, generations of grandpas and grandmas watched it, fathers would take their children (to watch). It has spread out in a way that was not possible before.

>Q: From our RurouKen interview with you today, it seems for Watsuki-sensei, this work is that one big work that influences in a manga-ka’s career. Afterall, you haven’t written any historical manga after RurouKen.

>WN: Well, I thought if I would write another historical manga, people would tell me “why not write more RurouKen instead?” (laughs)

>Q: Which leads me to the question, why RurouKen again, after all this time? I was under the impression that you do not want write sequels to it…

>WN: It’s not that I don’t want to write sequels. It’s just, for me, RurouKen has always been a wall.

I would love to see the kid that Yahiko had with Tsubame. Their interactions were just too fucking adorable.

>Q: A wall?

>WN: Because of RurouKen, I was able to continue being a manga-ka, and I was able to build a wall of stability from there. Whatever happens, this security wall would help me keep my career as manga-ka. However, looking at it the other way, it has been difficult to get out of that security zone. As a manga-ka there has always been the expectation of “can I write something other than RurouKen”. Of course, it’s nice that people are kind of looking forward to my next work, but it was still difficult.

>But after seeing how the people has enjoyed the movie and the Takarazuka production, I thought, “why not give it another shot?”

>Q: Then again, at the end of RurouKen, the doctor has advised that Kenshin cannot use Hitenmitsurugi-ryu anymore, and Kaoru gave him a shoulder tap and said “rest”. I thought it meant that Kenshin has done everything that he could already…
(*Kaoru said “otsukaresama”, translated as “rest” in English scanlations of the manga)

>WN: No, not really. At that time, I already have the draft of the Hokkaido arc, that I’ll be doing now, in my head. But that time I cannot see the conclusion of RurouKen as a shounen manga.

>RurouKen is a story of atonement. If I continued the story at that time, Kenshin is bound to die because of the sin of killing so many people. Even if he does not die, he will not lead a happy life. With those thoughts somewhere in my mind, I thought I had to end RurouKen as a shounen manga at just the right timing.

>Q: So that was how it was… It brings a passionate image…

>WN: That was the general feel, but I avoided putting it into actual drawing. Actually, if I continued writing it as a battle manga at that time, Kenshin would become like “Ashita no Joe”. I mean, he can’t use Hitenmitsurugi-ryu anymore but he would still have to protect his vow of not killing. Because of that, he would end up being killed in battle. That was why I had Kaoru say, “for the time being, rest”

>Q: So Kaoru’s “for the time being” has that kind of meaning too…

>WN: Also, because it was Kaoru who said those words, she perfectly understood that that is what would happen to Kenshin. It was precisely because she understood that she said “for the time being”.

>At that time, the end of Kenshin that I was thinking was, in a way, as a man, idealistic, and cool, kind of. I mean, I like “Ashita no Joe” too. But at the very least, for Kenshin, it was not the case, I thought.

>Q: What could have brought about the change in thought?

>WN: When you’re in your 20s, you usually think very serious, straight forward, and intense. But as you grow older, you’d think you could chill out a bit. From there, the field of vision widens (laugh).

>Now that I’m over 40, when I looked over again at Kenshin with a third person point of view, I thought “is this really the last of it?” I kept thinking, would that “for the time being” on “rest”, really be a “rest” or not…

>But for me to be able to write the future, I need the image of something that goes beyond the finale of Kenshin. In a way, a finale where Kenshin becomes happy is necessary. That was something I could not see for a while.

>But after being involved in the movie and the Takarazuka productions, for about a year and a half, I had been thinking about it in the corner of my head, and now I see a path opening.

>Q: I see…

>WN: Now I’m in my 40s. I can see myself doing manga for roughly around 10 more years. After that I don’t know what will happen. I might be at my strength limits. I still have a lot of ideas. But I know I might not get to write all of them. So when I think in all the ideas among my manga works, while I can still write as a manga-ka which is that that I want to write about – that is Kenshin’s Hokkaido Arc.

>Q: What kind of story would it be…

>WN: As a hint, it was something that happened in the Takarazuka production, that much, I can tell you.


So basically Watsuki was an edgelord during his 20s and he thought that if he kept drawing the series it would have to end with Kenshin's death, but now he sees another path opening beyond that.

Thank God. Watsuki ended Kenshin and brought it back at the right time it seems.

He didn't want to kill Kenshin during the original serialization either. That's why he ended it where he did. He has his own ideas but at the same times he is not a slave to them. He understand that shounen readers want to see happy endings. This is also what he said in an interview.

He's also completely aware of how people hated Reflection's ending so he's not going to do the same shit.

He should have kept that edgy spirit and let Kaoru die, then Kenshin could have followed in death.

Seriously, happy endings are forgettable. Everyone remembers the sad part of the ending for Clannad, but nobody likes to remember the magic BS that pops out of nowhere to give a happy ending.

I'm a bit relieved but at the same time I think Watsuki wouldn't have written himself into a corner making Hiten unusable and giving Yahiko the Sakabatou if he knew he was doing a sequel someday.

>Sano left Japan to go be Jack the Ripper or something
>Sojiro was going to wander for 10 years (should still have 5 to go)
>Aoshi was going to disband the Oniwanshu
I look forward to the retcon-conga.

Careful not to cut yourself on that edge.

>Saito dissapeared from Kenshin's sight forever, in Kenshin's exact words

He's going to meet him again anyway