This episode is sponsored by Skillshare 1860s Japan was at war The forces sided with the Meiji Emporer set their eyes On toppling the shogun-ruled feudal system Japan shall modernize, industrialize There shall be no more samurai elites No more class divide "The era dominated by fear and violence is over" Himura Kenshin is an idealistic young swordsman with unparalleled skills Believing in the abolishment of the class system And hoping to fight for the good of the people Kenshin sells his soul to the emperor For years, he carried out numerous political assassinations Earning him the name "the Manslayer" But with each kill, his inner monster takes a bite from his heart Pushing him one step further into being a mindless killing machine Finally, at the end of the Battle of Toba-Fushimi He won The emperor won "It's here" "A new era has come" And so began the Meiji Restoration But instead of celebrating Kenshin simply abandoned his sword And walked away quietly Never kill again He swore to himself If that sounds at all interesting to you I strongly recommend you to go binge this film series right now Not only are they one of the most exhilarating sword movies ever made They are also visually stunning Star-studded, very well acted And most importantly Amazingly well-written And that's what we are going talk about today The writings in the Rurouni Kenshin films Specifically, the way they write metaphors How a sword represents a character How a character represents a group of people And how the story of Kenshin represents post-war Japan Each metaphor builds itself on top of another Layers upon layers Enriching the narrative beyond the seemingly simple action-movie format With that out of the way Let me show you the story hidden beneath the surface In Rurouni Kenshin After the war Kenshin became a wanderer Having sworn to never take a life again Kenshin now bears a sword that doesn't kill Sakabato, the reverse-blade sword "You see..." "The cutting edge is on the backside" This sword is, in essence, a distilled representation of Kenshin's character "I guess it's impossible to kill with that" Now, new viewers of the series often have this question On why Kenshin even have a sword to begin with Why not just wander around with no swords at all? That's because Kenshin's oath to pacifism Is not about depriving himself the ability to kill Kenshin can kill most people without the need of a weapon Kenshin's journey is to atone for his sin And to do that, he must be active in helping others Remember, his one skill in life is swordsmanship Having a functional sword that doesn't kill Allows him to utilize his ability for good Without killing Now the next question would be Why even have an edge at all Why not just have a dull sword Well, that is why the Sakabato is such a great metaphor for Kenshin You see, Kenshin has two sides The pacifist, who wanders the country And manslayer, the assassin with no remorse During the war Kenshin's manslayer persona is the dominant one Each swing of his blade is a swing to kill Each swing also cuts into his conscience Just like the regular sword he was wielding Kenshin's killing edge is pointing outward After the war, Kenshin chooses pacifism His dull edge is now on the outside "What's with that sword?" Each swing has the cutting edge staring back at him Tempting him Reminding him of his past sin The dull edge protects whoever he fights And the sharp edge is dangerous to the wielder To truly become a changed man Kenshin must learn to control his monstrous side Facing this temptation is part of the journey for atonement This metaphor extends to nearly every character in the series, too Shishio, a major antagonist of the series Lived a very similar life to that of Kenshin's Fighting for the same government, the same ideology But unlike Kenshin, who managed to walk away from the war Shishio was burned alive by his own government For he is too skillful, too ambitious And knew too much about the Meiji government's dark secrets Narrowly survived Shishio is now this vengeful being without skins Exposing his inner monster Showing Kenshin who he is, underneath his
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Just as a sword can represent an entire character The characters can represent an entire group of real-life people Kenshin is a reluctant hero, whose first instinct is always to de-escalate But due to his notoriety Trouble from the past keeps catching up to him On one side, the Meiji restoration left a lot of people disenfranchised Past elites like samurai were essentially abandoned by society For their skills for warfare are no longer useful "Look at these people..." "Lost their jobs as samurai in the Meiji era" Some swordsmen find their purpose in challenging Kenshin Or impersonating the Manslayer Symbolically challenging the new way of life The new era in which swords don't kill On the other hand, the Meiji government isn't done with Kenshin They continue to want to enlist him Or rather, they want the Manslayer to serve them, again A quote-unquote "offer" that Kenshin repeatedly rejects Interestingly The newly established Meiji police force is filmed in this oddly... evil way Resembling propaganda films of the past Showing that, in the eyes of this series, and thus Kenshin The Meiji government isn't exactly the good guy, either The young and idealistic Kenshin was fooled into selling his soul Only to come out the other side Realizing that the more the times are different The more they stay the same The nobles are gone, but the capitalists took over The shoguns are gone, but the politicians are now in control The true motive behind the Meiji restoration Is just another selfish power struggle on the top level "If the public knew the Manslayer..." "Was acting on orders of the Meiji Government" "Trust in the government would evaporate" Kenshin's backstory is a possible representation of soldiers Or even the Japanese general public Post-WW2 After the surrender of Japan The fierce nationalism began to fade Just as Kenshin had to reflect on all the innocent lives he had taken The entire nation now had to confront the reality of war The idealistic vision of a prosperous future he was given Was nothing more than a facade for ugly politics of greed and cruelty All Kenshin got was a form of "pop culture PTSD" That is, PTSD as depicted by pop culture media at the time When provoked His raging murderous personality often takes over While this seems wildly inaccurate to how real PTSD works It may have been intentional As it may be a representation of Japan's continuous struggle With its nationalism Like Kenshin, post-war Japan seeks pacifism By outlawing warfare And prohibits any military establishments Japan's current Self-Defense Force is an extension of the police force And, in theory, is not large enough to sustain modern warfare The Self-Defense Force is the Sakabato A blade that doesn't kill Similar to the debate on if Kenshin really needs a sword There has been an ongoing debate about the Self-Defense Force And on this debate, there are still major political factions Who prefers Japan to go back to its "Manslayer" way of life Just as Kenshin's PTSD Japan's inner rage never truly went away Kenshin's struggle IS Japan's struggle Once you noticed that The series' central message falls into place In one of the most powerful scenes in the series, yet Kenshin is captured by the Meiji government In a makeshift public trial They begin reading out loud, the names of innocent people Who were assassinated by the Manslayer But just the innocent ones The crowd goes silent And the list... goes on and on Many victims are police officers Servants of noblemen And housemaids... 17 in total, killed by his hand Everyone loves Kenshin We, the audience, love Kenshin But this is the first time we truly begin to understand The magnitude of Kenshin's crime All committed in the name of a prosperous future Rurouni Kenshin as a series Especially its cinematic incarnation Is deeply political It not only represents post-war Japan But makes its own statements Addressing the pros and cons of holding a pseudo-military force Warning Japan of the dangerous line it is walking along When this film was being made Shinzo Abe had just become the Prime Minister of Japan He is a controversial figure, widely considered as a right-wing nationalist Holding revisionist views on Japanese history And advocates revising Article 9 of the pacifist constitution So that Japan can maintain an actual military Kenshin doesn't deny any of the crimes he had committed He doesn't try to find excuses for what he did He only seeks redemption, atonement And when given a second chance "It's my oath to not kill" "Sakabato" The film is urging Japan to do the same The world loves Japan As we love Kenshin But the world also knows what Japan had done As Japan knows itself And in the eyes of this film series The only way for Japan and Kenshin to move forward Is to do good To never kill again Now, I don't know enough about Japanese and Asian politics To make any sort of commentary on the film's political stance So, I'll refrain from sharing my political opinions here These are just my personal interpretations Of what the films are trying to say If you are more into Japanese politics than I am Please leave a comment, and let us know your thoughts! The Rurouni Kenshin film series While not exactly popular in the west Has been, as far as I know, fairly universally loved by fans We love the thrilling action scenes, for sure But, deep down I think we can all feel that there is something special about it It is more than meets the eyes I hope my reading of the series today opens up the films for you If only just a little bit The layers upon layers of metaphors are what enriches the viewing experience At the same time, though I think there is something to be said about that gut feeling The reason we love the films There is just something about Kenshin's character that makes us fall in love with him I guess we just have an innate love for pacifism Regardless of politics After all That's one of the defining features of all of our greatest heroes Isn't it?
Just saw that yesterday. Very nice.