Rurouni Kenshin Vol. #18: Fall From Grace

By Zubin Kumana     June 21, 2002
Release Date: May 28, 2002



The Review!
The fourth volume of the Tales of the Meiji series, Fall From Grace brings and end to the Shimabara Arc, then tosses us a few bones with a couple of episodes reminiscent of the first season. Is it worth it? Yeah, I guess.

First, the usual:

Menus: Same as before.

Packaging: The cover this time comes in a blue-gray color, and features what is quite possible the best cover in the series (a claim that can be made with some certainty, now that the cover art for every volume has been revealed). Kenshin and Kaoru are up front, featured in an embrace while staring with a serious look at the viewer. Behind them and to the left is Sanosuke holding Sayo as she dies, and to his right is a wounded Shougo looking off in the distance (you can't see any blood, but his shirt is torn where the bullet hit).

Extras: Liner notes and outtakes. The liner notes are thankfully a little more detailed this time, covering various entries spanning the four episodes. The outtakes are okay, but nothing was really that memorable.

Video: The video is crisp and clean. No problems here.

Audio: No problems. Music is gorgeous as before.

Content: The Shimabara arc takes up the first two episodes on the disc, while the next two cover the voyage home. The overall tone of the last two is more in line with the first season of Kenshin, but they provide a little change from the fast pace of the Shimabara arc.

The first episode kicks off showing the last scene from the last disc. Sanosuke holds Sayo in his arms as she slips away. Meanwhile, Kenshin and Shougo are preparing to face off, while Misao gets Elsten's help to delay the army's assault. She succeeds, and Kenshin and Shougo duel. Kenshin, still blinded, manages to block Shougo's attacks. After a few flashbacks, the two Hiten-Mitsurugi masters use the Amakakeru-ryu-no-Hirameki on each other. We don't get to see the attacks (they are preempted by more flashbacks), but in the end, Shougo falls. Realizing that his true calling is to lead his people in life rather than death, he surrenders.

The next episode deals with the aftermath. Shougo is in jail, set to be executed. Kenshin tries to help gain clemency for his actions, while Kaoru delivers the news about Sayo. Meanwhile, Shouzo, who DIDN'T die, confronts Sanosuke about Sayo's death. In the end, Elsten manages to convince the Meiji government to allow the Christians to be exiled, and everyone boards a boat for Holland. And thus, the Shimabara Arc ends!

The next episode has Kenshin and Co traveling home. On the way, they stop for lunch in a restaurant similar to the Akabeka. A rowdy bunch of thugs gets uppity with one of the waitresses, and Yahiko jumps to her defense, but before Kenshin and Sano can intervene, Battousai the Manslayer shows up and threatens the thugs, who leave in fear. Yes, that's right, there is obviously an imposter in town, and though Yahiko and Kaoru are adamant about exposing him, Kenshin doesn't see much harm in it, especially after discovering that the imposter is sheltering the orphans of the revolution. The thugs eventually return, but this time, they have to deal with the real Battousai the Manslayer, and, as usual, are defeated.

The last episode on the discs has the gang staying in a hot springs town. WAIT! DON'T HIT THE BACK BUTTON YET! It's not like that. They gang has some money (or so they think), so they decide to kick back and relax in the local hot springs town. They get the biggest room in the place, but it turns out that Kenshin lost their bag o' money. As it so happens, the hotel is short on staff, so everyone gets to be a waiter/waitress/janitor. Kaoru and Misao relax in the bath after work, but discover a peeping tom. Kenshin, Sano, and Yahiko rush to their aid without thinking of the consequences, resulting in a humorous scene a la Love Hina (yes, I know Kenshin came first, I'm just making a comparison). The peeping tom turns out to be an artist who wants to paint Kaoru. She's flattered by the suggestion, and submits to being a model for him, but the artist falls in love with her. Sano says he'll help him if he can hit Kenshin with a practice sword, resulting in a few minutes of laughs (supposedly) while he tries to get the jump on Kenshin and misses. In the end, Kenshin saves him from a swarm of wasps, and after the artist spews some mumbo jumbo about art and reflections and love, the group moves on, but not before Kaoru gets a copy of the painting. Everyone wants a gander at it, and Kaoru acquiesces - to the chuckles of Kenshin, Sano, Yahiko, and Misao. It turns out to be a bloomin' Picasso! %)

Thus disc 18 ends. Four left to go!

How do I feel about this disc? Well, I really enjoyed the Shimabara Arc. The character development, especially for Sanosuke, was excellent, and the "villains" were so well fleshed out that you can't really consider them to be the bad guys - just the products of an unfortunate time in Japan's history. The last two episodes of the Shimabara arc provide a touching look at the transformation of Shougo from the vilified martyr to the humbled (before both God and man) yet respected leader - a change that while expected, was nevertheless believable. The down side is that despite the fact that these episodes feature the climactic showdown, there isn't much action going on here, and that which is provided isn't all that engrossing, so those fans who are in it for the fighting aspect may come away disappointed. And the last two episodes do sway towards the "filler" version of Kenshin. While they were okay, they weren't anything special. While I am not expecting another Kyoto (or even Shimabara), I do hope that some of the smaller arcs coming up are of similar quality. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?

Bottom line: A mixed bag, but would you really turn down the chance to see the end of the Shimabara Arc? Didn't think so - Go get it.

Review Equipment
Microsoft X-Box, 27" Sony WEGA FS12, Sony MHC-M630AV Sound System, Samsung DVD-Rom