Rurouni Kenshin is a different experience for manga readers and anime watchers. The manga has primarily three arcs Tokyo, Kyoto, and Jinchuu. Whereas the anime has these arcs but they are filled with fillers which dilutes the original story. There are also OVAs and live-action movies. The interesting part is that the OVAs give Rurouni Kenshin a different ending as compared to the manga.
Throughout the manga, we see Kenshin at different ages in his life. It also varies between the manga and the anime. So how old is Kenshin Himura and is he dead? We’ll also be exploring Kenshin’s fate in both the manga and the anime. This article here onwards contains spoilers.
Is Kenshin dead?
Kenshin has different ends in the manga as well as the anime. Let’s go through both one by one.
1. Rurouni Kenshin Manga
The manga originally ended at the Jinchuu arc. After that, the creator started working on the Hokkaido arc but most fans consider Jinchuu arc the official ending of the manga. As of the manga, Kenshin is not dead. At the end of the manga, Kenshin lived happily after getting married to Kaoru and giving birth to Kenji Himura. This was a positive ending.
2. Rurouni Kenshin OVA (Reflection)
- The OVA series take a different path as compared to the manga. In the OVA, Kenshin isn’t able to overcome the guilt of his sins. He decides to wander off again to atone.
- He occasionally visits his wife and son. He has a bad relationship with his son because he has technically abandoned them.
During his visits to the far-off lands, he contracts a disease. When he comes back to Kaoru, she asks him to transfer the disease to him. He doesn’t go along with the request and in the end, dies in her arms under cherry blossoms. So according to this OVA, Kenshin is dead.
Most fans disapprove of this ending along with the creator of Rurouni Kenshin having mixed feelings about it. The reason behind this disapproval is how Kenshin fails both as a dad and a husband. His life had enough sufferings so a happy ending like the manga makes the most sense.
How old is Kenshin Himura?
Kenshin Himura started the story as a 28-year-old, both in the anime and the manga. In the manga, he’s 33 at the end of the Jinchuu arc. As for the anime, he dies in his mid 40’s. The current adaptation features the 28-year-old Kenshin.
Conclusion
The new Rurouni Kenshin anime is airing this summer. With the first episode out, fans are gleaming with excitement and how things will turn out. If we get to the end of the Jinchuu arc with this new adaptation, we’ll get to see how old is Kenshin Himura and if he dies in the anime.
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