For lovers of the manga/anime a 10 and a must watch for the whole live action series, for those new to the story they may find this confusing and disjointed . .

(Rurouni Kenshin is one of my favorite mangas.)

A faithful, thrilling rendition of the best scenes of the manga/anime, this string of moments is awe inspiring to watch. The strong themes on life after trauma - paired with thrilling action, compelling romance, and beautiful visuals is hard to beat.

If I had one nitpick, the manga is written by a man, but the story has fully developed women characters and themes, separate and apart from the 'villain of the week.' Yet here, the women become side characters, and strangely, the villains have lots of screen time. There was no need to overload the drama with these disturbing scenes, given the series already struggles to honor the large number of characters included in the manga.

Watching the live action Kenshin reconcile his past, and take a step into a better future with Kaoru and our gang showing him the way, is a rewarding, touching, even sublime experience. When I ended this series, I was incredibly sad to say goodbye to this universe.

It's the greatest compliment I can give when I say I wish there was more . . .