Rurouni Kenshin, Volume 04

るろうに剣心 [Rurōni Kenshin] #4

by Nobuhiro Watsuki

Shinomori Aoshi was once the leader of Edo Castle's elite guard, the Oniwabanshû. But with the fighting at an end and the shôgunate overthrown, the brilliant Aoshi and his four most loyal onmitsu, or spies, find themselves without a home or a purpose. When fighting is your life, loyalty to those lost ideals (and to the man who most symbolized them) may be the one thing left. But Megumi's life is at stake, and however sympathetic Kenshin may feel, he will fight on, to the last man if necessary...

Genres: Manga, Historical Fiction, Comics, Graphic Novels, Historical, Fiction, Shonen

183 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 1995

About the author

Watsuki Nobuhiro (和月伸宏) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for his samurai-themed series Rurouni Kenshin. He once worked as an assistant for his favorite author Takeshi Obata.

Reviews

[José · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendo... Pobre Aoshi T_T



Edit 2022: Releyendo el manga antes del estreno del remake <3

[Sarah Ryder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense is the only way I can describe this volume. Intense and sad with what people are willing to do to exploit others and what those fighting for good have to do to protect the innocent and those forced to use their knowledge for horrible things by those with no conscience or morals.

Kenshin, Yahiko, and Sano really face and fight the ultimate of power gone wrong in these men guarding Megumi and the fighting was so intense I flew through this volume not sure they were going to make it out alive. And while I don’t like the ninja gang I have to say I did feel for their leader in the situation he finds himself in by the end and just goes to show that working for the devil never leads to a happy ending.

I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of trouble these characters get tangled up in next!


‼️Content‼️

TRIGGER WARNING: a girl nearly commits suicide by slicing her wrist (she’s stopped)

Language: wench; crap; damn; what the heck; what the; a girl flashes a middle finger; vixen

Violence: fighting with weapons and hand to hand (PG-13 to R); a girl punches/hits a guy; injuries and blood (PG-13 to R); a guy’s face is grotesque and he admits to having misshapen it himself; men are shot to death (R); a girl nearly commits suicide by slicing her wrist (she’s stopped)

Sexual: mild suggestive hints; shirtless guys; a boy smacks a girl’s butt; a man touches a woman’s butt

Drug/Alcohol: a man smokes

Other: a burning town; death and grief; dead, bloody bodies with no heads (R); a man holds bloody, severed heads (R)

[Nicolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volumes 3 and 4 contain the first major arc of this series, contained in these two books. Megumi was introduced in the previous volume and it's revealed to be the chemist behind a new and highly addictive variant of opium out in the the streets. Still, she's less Walter White and more of a coerced hostage. Her addition to the cast initially brought her into conflict with the senior members. First, her flirty actions towards Kenshin infuriated Kaoru to no end; and with Sano, who blames her for the overdose induced death of his friend.

To continue the Breaking Bad comparison, the Gus Fring in this story is definitely Kanryuu, an ambitious coward who is eager to funnel his drug profits into weapons dealing. This is basically narco-politics in the Meiji era and it it still relevant today, especially in my own local context where drug-lords use drug gains to fund insurrectionists and create instability in my country. Kanryuu even has his own private army and the Oniwabanshu on retainer.

This arc also introduces Aoshi, who goes on to be one of Kenshin's most popular rivals. I've written of how Watsuki wore his X-Man fandom on his sleeve while working on this series. The character design for Aoshi gives him Gambit's trench coat.

[Nicolás Pinto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qué buen personaje el de Aoshi Shinomori, y excelente para ser el némesis de Kenshin —al menos hasta donde llegué a leer—. Me gusta el opuesto entre personalidades y los modos de vida, cada uno de ellos justos en su medida. Veremos como sigue, la vara quedó alta.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cada vez melhor

[Diz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite volume in this series so far. The fate of the Oniwabanshu fighters is just heartbreaking. It brought a tear to my eye.

[EvaN · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

چقدر فایتای قنشگی داره، چقدر کاراکترای کار شده ای داره، داستان و شخصیت و دلایل رفتاراشون خیلی خوبه.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's ok.. this goes from fun to read to boring as fuck real fast, because of the same thing happening again and again and again...

Kenshin meets bad guys... bad guys say how much they're going to kill him and how fucking strong they are and what an army they have... Kenshin says nothing... Kenshin gets all riled up because bad guys hurt girls or innocent people or old people or something... Kenshin beats people up...

All of that on a loop.

[Omar Villafane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confidence and faith ♾️⚔️

[Angelique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another really enjoyable volume! Packed full with lots of good action.

[Mason Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just keeps getting more and more insane with the fights

[N.T. Embeast · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, this manga gets better and better with every volume. We get to meet so many new amazing enemies in this one, and a new person that'll be joining the cast for the duration. It's funny how when I first saw Megumi, our second female character to really take any front-and-center stage in importance in this series, that I didn't like her. I've been so badgered by bad female characters that my minimal exposure to her instantly brought a frown to my face and made my eyes darken, my thoughts instantly turning to, "Oh God. Not another one." But I, as a reader, was blind. And for a short while, I retained that pensive dislike until I learned more about her. And then, I did a remarkable and rare thing today:

I changed my mind about her.

A great deal more of who she is and what she's still going through was revealed in this volume, and it only became that much more horribly drastic and heart-wrenching when things came towards what seemed a fatal conclusion. However, through it all, every single one of the characters we're getting used to seeing now began to shine. Kenshin, Yahiko, Sanosuke even came around, and Kaoru, too, welcomed Megumi into her heart.

What is the most profound about this volume in particular is the message that I believe it sends over all the others: Though you may disagree with someone, stand on completely opposite ends of the spectrum and believe in sides normally versing each other... you can still respect the person facing off against you. You can, even, like them.

This stood true for the Oniwabanshu, our villains that got introduced in the last volume. We got to see more of them here, and we had a whole new side to them revealed when it came down to the toughest and most trying of moments. We learned not just their skills, but saw their loyalty, devotion, and strength as men. We saw who they were beneath the skin. It made for a gripping and mortifying end to a great volume.


If you're keeping up with me in this series, this is yet another volume that doesn't disappoint. It really does get only better and better.

[G6 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another awesome volume of Rurouni Kenshin (seriously, this is one of the most consistently great mangas I've ever read). Fight scenes continue to be both brutal and detailed, and the story is gradually becoming more and more intriguing.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume has a confrontation with Shinomori Aoshi, the first opponent to seriously challenge Kenshin's skill.

[Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume kicks off with Chapter 23: Spy and Kempoist, Hanya

I'll write more when editing mode hits me.
Have fun reading!
Ta-ta Pretties!

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rurouni Kenshin, Vol. 4 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and contains the next eight chapters (23–30) of the on-going manga series.

When Himura Kenshin, Sagara Sanosuke and Myōjin Yahiko enter the mansion, they are challenged by Han'nya. Kenshin battles him while Sanosuke fights Shikijō. They defeat them and find their leader Shinomori Aoshi. Although Aoshi succeeds in wounding Kenshin, he is defeated by him. Takeda Kanryū then betrays Aoshi and attempts to kill him with a Gatling gun. Aoshi's men die protecting him from the bullets and Kenshin disables Kanryū.

Kenshin's group then finds Takani Megumi, who thanks them for trying to save her. She then attempts to stab herself, but is prevented by Sanosuke, who catches the blade with his bare hand. He tells her he forgives her for the death of his friend, and Kenshin convinces her that the only way to atone for the deaths she caused is by using her skill as a doctor to help others.

Before leaving the mansion, they find Aoshi, shocked over his comrades' deaths, and Kenshin promises him another fight in the future in the hope that it will calm him.

This tankōbon is written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The tankōbon concludes the rescue story of Takani Megumi, who was kidnapped by Takeda Kanryū. She went there to kill him, because he used her skills as a healer to create opium, which led to addiction and death. However, after being forgiven by Sagara Sanosuke, she decides to atone herself by become a healer to save lives instead of killing them.

All in all, Rurouni Kenshin, Vol. 4 is a wonderful continuation to a series that seems really intriguing and I can't wait to read more.

[CharlyyGentlePhoenix · Rating 5 out of 5]

« Hannya un ban shû d’Edoest » le nouvel adversaire de Kenshin. Il cache du fer sous ses gants et est plus fort que les autres ennemis jusqu’à présent.

Kenshin avait pourtant analysé sa technique mais… son bras s’est allongé.

« Tu ne pourras pas me battre sans trouver le secret de ma technique »

Les membres de d’Oniwaban Shû se succèdent. Voilà à présent « Shikijô ». Il est l’adversaire de Sanosuké, celui-ci refuse le recrutement et chante les louanges de son maître, Kenshin.

Aoshi Shinomori, le chef. On le connait « de vue » on sait que c’est un boss mais le voilà enfin à l’action.
Le Vagabond est mis à mal comme jamais auparavant !

Mais Aoshi n’est pas intéressé par travailler pour Kanryû, il convoite le titre du plus fort. Kenshin, lui, veut simplement venir en aide aux faibles. Kanryû pense donc se débarrasser des deux à la fois à l’aide d’une puissante mitraillette.

Tout les combattants de Kanryû se liguent en même temps contre sa mitrailleuse au 200 coups par minute.

« Ne te laisse pas tuer… Avant que je te tue, Battosaï. »

Certains passages m’ont fait rire je m’y attendais vraiment pas dans ce manga.

Phoenix
++

[Jordan Van Der Low · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aoshi Shinomori es uno de mis personajes "piedra de tope" favorito del manga. Pese a sus pocas intervenciones--como pasa en toda la obra--sus diálogos son de una calidad inaudita, quizá solo comparable con los dichos del mismísimo Kenshin, Shishio o Saito. Su presentación típica de un antagonista, sin embargo, al final del volumen te das cuenta que sus motivos para secuestrar y asesinar tienen que ver con un ideal(más o menos tonto)coherente con sus vivencias pasadas. Como líder y salvador de los últimos integrantes del oniwabanshu, revela ante la muerte de estos su verdadero corazón, el de un sujeto con sentimientos de protección y cariño por la familia que siempre lo apoyó y por tanto, no le queda más en la vida que vencer a Kenshin para enarbolar el nombre de los oniwabanshu a lo más alto.

[Rafa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Todos merecem uma segunda chance.

A Oniwabunshuu pode ser só uma organização que gosta de lutar, mas é porquê é a única coisa que conhecem e os da propósito; ainda que pudessem ser mais desenvolvidos, é o suficiente.

O design de toda a Oniwabunshuu é muito bom, com exceção talvez da contraparte do Sano (esqueci o nome). Isso está um pouco ligado com o meu descontentamento com a luta dos dois também, já que o capanga tem um visual muito "durão", e a luta deles acaba se resolvendo muito fácil... Mas no geral foram ótimos confrontos, bem criativos e violentos.

Nunca vi Honra ser levado tão a sério como no Japão; é ótimo de se ver representada com tanto fervor, como foi feito neste arco. Só por isso, já vale a pena a leitura.

[Harumichi Mizuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Membaca versi manga-nya membuatku lebih memahami cerita ini. Rupanya aku memang lebih cocok dengan buku daripada film dan animasi ya. Haha.

Alasan Aoshi jadi pengawal Kanryu bikin sedih. Sebenarnya dia sudah ditawari jabatan di pemerintahan. Tapi dia gak mau ninggalin para anggota oniwabanshu yang gak dapat tawaran yang sama. Dia menuntun para anak buahnya untuk mendapatkan jalannya masing-masing sampai akhirnya cuma tersisa empat anak buahnya yang nggak diterima di mana-mana. Uh, sesak. Terpaksa jadi pengawal orang jahat karena gak ada kerjaan lain. Kenapa gak jadi pengawal bayarannya orang pemerintahan ya? Apa karena mereka benci orang-orang restorasi Meiji?

So... nasib Kanryu, udah fix pasti dihukum mati, nih.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot to digest in this volume of Rurouni Kenshin! I will say that there are some awesome moments, and some surprising moments contained within this volume! The Wolverine moment (page 31) in the book immediately had me thinking back to volume 2's homage to Gambit! There is another character that reminds me of Absorbing Man, but that might be more coincidence than anything. You see a surprising amount of loss in this volume, and it is pretty intense when you truly slow down and see all that transpired in this volume. With great loss, does come great depth of characters...and I feel this volume will deepen the bonds of some characters and will propel storylines down the line as well.

[Scott Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVE this series. I love the characters, I love the balance between action, character, and comedy, It makes me SO happy. It is my favorite episodic, loosely plotted manga, and still right up there with favorite-favorites like Fullmetal Alchemist, or Naoki Urasawa's Monster or 20th Century Boys. This arc concludes the Takani Megumi storyline, and pits Kenshin directly against Aoshi, the leader of the Onibawanshu working for Kanryu. Granted we're only four volumes in, but I love this is the best opponent for Kenshin we've seen so far, and I couldn't be more stoked to have him survive and be presented by Nobuhiro as returning in future volumes.

[M.D. Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright, so given that Manga is more of an ongoing story split into arcs that are in no way split up between volumes. I'm going to be reviewing story arc by story arc. This will then be copy and pasted throughout all of the 28 Volumes of the Manga. Also, let's get this out of the way. This is 1. A Reread and 2. Spoiler Warning I won't be directly recapping, but I will use points to describe my thoughts and feelings.

Tokyo Arc - Acts/Chapters 1-47 - Rating: 8/10
-A great start for a historical fiction. A bit on the nose, but I generally find with historical fictions you have to pretend that no one knows what time period you're talking about so it's nearly unavoidable.
-Great character work. Each Character introduced in Kenshin's gang are examples of how the war has hurt these people. This reflects on Kenshin as he was a key figure in the war that caused all these people that he growing to love, pain. Whether it's Yahiko who lost his parents to draft of war. Or Sanosuke who joined the rebellion and through political means lost his captain and the person he admired most. Or even Kaoru, who attempts to run a dojo in a time when Swords are forbidden by the government. All of these are monumental in Kenshin's redemption from the wrongs he has committed.
-My issue is moreso in how these conflicts come up. They seem very much villain of the week story. And most Shonens are when they initially start and I understand that. Some do it great. (Yu Yu hakusho) some do it terribly (Reborn) I think RuroKen does it OKAY. There are a lot of conveniences and Kenshin is the type of character who can nearly fix everything at any point because he's Kenshin and he outclasses the people they face.
-This arc is really split into 4 mini arcs. Beginning 6/10. Sanosuke Arc 9/10. Jin-E Arc 7/10. Oniwanbanshu arc 10/10

The Kyoto Arc - Acts/Chapters 48-151 - Rating: 9/10
-Phenomenal Arc. Kenshin must tackle with the concept of whether he can keep his oath against a man who is arguably his better. The man who replaced him as Hitokiri. Shishio Makota.
-The jupponganta, the villain group of this ark are all well designed and each one makes perfect sense why they would follow Shisho. Whether they love, respect or just want to kill him. Each one feels like a tough nit group. As for Shishio himself. He's one of those cool villains. I understand why he is and why he's so charismatic. But as far as being an actual villain. He doesn't do much. I think that's to his benefit. His whole concept is realistic in terms of, he has a time limit to how long he can fight. Which is why he created the jupponganta. But that doesn't make him still do so little in the story besides sit and wait for Kenshin to show up. My only real gripe.
-Kenshin conquers all of his fears and redeems himself completely towards the government by stopping the man that replaced him. Mastering Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu and finally allowing his friends to help him. It's a profound and beautiful arc that makes Kenshins character shine.

Jinchu Arc - Acts/Chapters 152-255 - Rating: 7/10
-Where in the last arc we saw Kenshin redeem himself in the eyes of the government. This is the arc where we see Kenshin redeem himself in the eyes of himself. When his Brother in law returns from China and threatens his friends and everyone he's grown to care for over the last 151 chapters Kenshin struggles with the reality of what murdering his late wife has become of Enishi.
-To me, there are three chunks, but they all work towards the same goal. The beginning.(7/10) The Flashback. (9/10) The End (5/10)
-The flashback is the strongest part of this. It was the missing piece in Kenshin's character and it really helps us figure out how and why he became who he became. He smiles constantly because his late wife wanted him to smile more. It's so sweet and tragic.
-However, the actual arc collects a bunch of random riff raffs to challenge Kenshin and his group of friends that also kinda have "beef" with him. But this and the end were pretty much the weak parts of this arc to me. The one dudes whole problem was that he got his hand cut off....and Kenshin DIDN'T kill him so...he decided to lose his whale-like mind and join a terrorist group. Two of the others had people they loved died. Who weren't good dudes btw, they were villains. But still...revenge. The other guy had some kind of clan responsibility but when he was defeated Kenshin just told him to go back to his family so it really wasn't an issue. And the final guy...well he didn't even have a beef. He just wanted to test out his mega unrealistic puppets. I'm talking Naruto unrealistic for a historical fiction.
-But all of those dudes at least had reasons. The villains in the final part were all just throw away villains that even Watsuki reveals himself were just throwaways. They aren't too compelling and giving the characters we have grown to love a final fight may have been appreciated by me the initial go. (because I was 14) I just found myself not caring whatsoever about these fights that lasted a whole volume by themselves upon rereading.

Overall, Rurouni Kenshin is a fantastic historical fiction centered around fantastic real life historical individuals. It's ability to write honest, true characters of the time period makes me remember them and I truly found so much more good in this series with the reread. The biggest issues this series has is staying consistent and opting to expose it's lack of authenticity for grenade launchers. Overall 8/10

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rereading for the first time since the series was published in 2003.

Setting aside the shitty shounen genre trope of taking the barely trained 10 year old boy along to a gangster fight, while leaving the little lady at home to prepare the bath, the story has a lot going for it. Megum is a great addition the cast, there's some pathos with the Oniwanbanshuu, and the way it all ends is all pretty horrific, but sets the stage for greater stories to come.

Kaoru is much more frustrating in the manga though. At least the anime gave her more to DO.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the oniwabanshu didn't get too much time to shine individually, I certainly hope Aoshi and Megumi return further down the line. As the two standout characters from the arc, they added a nice bit of contrast to Kenshin, and further fleshed out the effects and aftermath of the Meiji Restoration.
Onto volume 5!

[Kati · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically, one big fight. Though with a much more brutal ending than I expected from this manga. They might've been bad guys but I still felt sorry for them in the end because of the loyalty they showed towards their leader.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I LOVE It.
Este manga es flipante lo he dicho desde siempre y ahora que Kenshin no para de hacer enemigos se va a liar una gorda...
Aunque Kenshin y Kaoru siguen igual con su vida amorosa🥲 (es decir nada.)

[Nathália · Rating 5 out of 5]

aoshi :(

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a guilty pleasure re-read of the series alongside my regular GR challenge. I've loved Rurouni Kenshin since I was a kid, and it makes me happy to dive back into this series.