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Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Tsuioku-hen
Finished Airing OVA R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Tsuioku-hen

るろうに剣心―明治剣客浪漫譚―追憶編 · 1999

Before the wanderer, there was a killer with no mercy.

StatusFinished Airing Episodes4 SeasonWinter 1999 StudioStudio Deen SourceManga
Story

Synopsis

Long before he became the gentle, sword-reversed wanderer fans know, Kenshin Himura was Hitokiri Battousai, a young assassin whose blade helped end an era through sheer, merciless efficiency. This prequel traces his brutal rise during Japan's revolutionary period and his unlikely marriage to Tomoe, a quiet woman with devastating secrets of her own tied to the very violence Kenshin embodies. Their fragile, doomed relationship becomes the emotional core of the story, explaining exactly why the older Kenshin swore never to kill again. It is darker, sadder, and more grounded than the main series, and essential for understanding his scars.

⚠ Background — may contain spoilers
Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Tsuioku-hen, released internationally as Trust and Betrayal, is a four-episode OVA based on Nobuhiro Watsuki's manga, produced by Studio Deen and released in 1999. It is widely regarded as one of the finest anime prequels ever made, frequently praised even by viewers unfamiliar with the main Rurouni Kenshin series for its mature storytelling, striking visual style, and genuinely tragic romance. Decades later it remains a touchstone reference for how to do a origin story prequel without simply retreading familiar beats, deepening rather than just explaining its protagonist's defining trauma.
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