apollo_panther I thought it was completely out of character first of all! The whole thing practically oozed depression. Also, it totally disregarded the essence of Rurouni Kenshin. You'd think that Kenshin and Kaoru would be a bit more happier after getting married and having a child together. Its hard to judge if they really were but the impression it gave off was horrible! It was utterly sad.No doubt the ending was beautiful despite the fact that he died. But regardless, he died in her arms and without the cross shaped scar. So, I suppose we could say he was somewhat at peace? .. Like Nabuhiro Watsuki said, Kenshin did go through a lot of crap and the least he deserved was a happy ending. It was disappointing.Plus the fact that Kenji totally despised him. As if, Kenshin really needed that burden among all his other sadness. Did Kenshin even know that Kenji hated him? ...It did have its sweet moments though, such as Kaoru wanting to share the pain of Kenshin. Thats something Kaoru even in the Anime would've done, even though it was through sexual intercourse.Kenshin is a little hard to figure out in both so its difficult to say whether or not he would've left Kaoru and Kenji to wander and fight in the war if he had been the same as in the Anime. But both times he had people to return to so who knows.It definitely could've been much much happier. I could feel every aspect of it except happiness even if it seemed like they were!

AmonAmarth856 I have one major complaint about Seisô Hen. Seisô Hen was not written by Watsuki (creator of Rurouni Kenshin, so the ending in the manga is different than the OVA. The ending to this OVA is far more depressing, and according to an interview with Watsuki, he prefers the manga ending because "Kenshin went through so much crap he deserved a happy ending". The beauty of Rurouni Kenshin being fiction, you can choose which ending to believe in. Quite frankly the ending entirely ruined it for me.That aside, what you do have is a masterful OVA. The animation, artwork, and sound are of spectacular quality. When it comes to technical merit, this gets a 10/10. However technical qualities won't make up for the ending.If you've read the manga, go ahead and give it a watch. Just keep in mind that the ending is not what Watsuki wanted. I've seen it once and plan on never watching it again

ampgalore Before you watch this OVA/movie, you should really watch some parts of the TV series, and the first two OVA's in the Kenshin universe. This will really help you flesh out the background, and make watching this OVA/movie more enjoyable.This OVA/movie is really a recap of some of the major events in the TV series and the first two OVA's. The animation is completely brand new, so they didn't just reuse the old footage, they redrew everything from scratch. The animation style is distinctly different from what you are used to seeing. Some people like it, some people don't. I still feel ambivalent about it, particularly about the eyes, they are much more exaggerated.As to the story, well, even after all these years, Kenshin is still laden with the guilt over all those people he killed during the Meiji Restoration era. He married Kaoru, and they had a son. But Kenshin feels compelled to continue to lead the life of the wandering samurai, only returning home to Kaoru intermittently over the years, because he cannot set aside his guilt laden conscience, and feels that by leading the life of a wandering samurai, and helping people along the way, he is in some measure making atonement for his bloody past.At some point Kenshin contracted leprosy (the OVA/movie never explicitly states this, but sure looks like it) and suffers horribly from it. Kaoru willingly contracts it from Kenshin, because she feels that in contracting the same illness as Kenshin's, she can share Kenshin's pain and suffering, and in some measure be emotionally more connected to Kenshin.Kenshin then went to China at the behest of the Japanese government. From the time line, it should have been around the time of the first or the second Sino-Japanese war. Then after some time while in China, Kenshin falls gravely ill. Sanosuke then came, and helped Kenshin get on a cargo ship headed back to Japan.Kenshin and Kaoru finally meet again after so many years of separation. Kenshin then dies while resting in Kaoru's lap. After the credits, we see Kenshin and Kaoru's son, Kenji, all grown up, very much like the young Kenshin we are all familiar with from the TV series, and a his young girl friend, very much like the young Kaoru. They promise each other that they would lead a happy life together, a life which, because of Kenshin's past, so eluded Kenshin and Kaoru.Overall, it's a OVA/anime. But I do feel that the story is not on par with the first two Kenshin OVA's. I especially have problems with the part about Kaoru willingly contracting leprosy from Kenshin, and that in contracting the disease, Kaoru feels that she is emotionally closer to Kenshin. This whole premise just feels contrite and forced.Kenshin probably suffers from some serious post traumatic stress disorder. This is probably why he sets out wandering all over Japan and then to China even after his marriage with Kaoru and even after Kaoru gave birth to their son. Once scarred, you are scarred for life. Even in this day and age, there are seldom effective treatments for PTSD's.It's a sad ending.

kitkatkookoo This was an excellent film, or OVA as I've seen other people call it. But I have never seen any of this series or anything, so I watched it as a movie and had no knowledge of any of the characters or their backgrounds. At first everything was really confusing, but when I listened carefully to everything that was said and payed really close attention to what was going on, I was able to catch on and understand the plot and most of the characters' motivation. I loved the story, and I was in tears at the end because this was put together so well and I felt like I could feel what the characters were feeling, and everything was so sad and so sweet at the same time. If you haven't seen this yet, I strongly recommend it.