Nobuhiro Watsuki wrote and illustrated Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, a Japanese manga series. The story begins in Japan during the 11th year of the Meiji period (1878) and follows Hitokiri Battosai, a former Bakumatsu assassin.
Hitokiri Battosai vanishes after his work against the bakufu to become Himura Kenshin, a wandering warrior who protects the people of Japan while vowing never to take another life. Watsuki created the series to create a shonen manga that was unlike any other at the time, with Kenshin being a former assassin and the plot becoming more serious as it progressed. Atonement, peace, and romance are important themes in the manga.
Viz Media has given the manga, as well as the first light novel and guidebook, a comprehensive North American distribution. In some English translations, Rurouni Kenshin has subtitled ‘Wandering Samurai.’
As of 2019, the Rurouni Kenshin manga has sold over 72 million copies, making it one of the most popular manga series. Various newspapers have praised the series for the manga, anime, and other media, with both receiving positive feedback on the characters’ designs and historical backdrop. Watsuki started a direct sequel, Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc, in Jump Square in 2017.
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