Rurouni Kenshin 2023 – How Good is the Reboot?

Key takeaways from Rurouni Kenshin 2023 first impressions:

• Rurouni Kenshin 2023 reboot maintains a faithful adaptation of the original anime with improved visuals and pacing.
• New voice actors deliver solid performances, with particular praise for Takahashi Rie’s portrayal of Kaoru.
• The reboot earns a fair 7/10 rating, impressing with its fresh coat of paint and captivating new opening and ending themes.

A long time ago, I did a list of animes that needed a reboot and Rurouni Kenshin was one of my top picks. So imagine how surprised I was to see that this anime was getting a reboot almost a year after I made the list. Rurouni Kenshin 2023 version is here and it is pretty dope so far.

To clarify, so far, the reboot has made no changes to the story of the original, aside from some minor stuff. I don’t know if they plan on changing the story down the line or not though. So far, the reboot is pretty much the old anime with a fresh coat of paint and some new voice actors.

So welcome back to another first impressions article. Today I am talking about Rurouni Kenshin, the 2023 Reboot. So let’s get started.

What do I think about Rurouni Kenshin 2023?

I don’t remember the original anime frame for frame so some of these comparisons may be off but I will try to be as accurate as I can. Starting with the visuals, they are better than the original. Modern animations help the fights in the series and the art style they chose is pretty close to the original as well but modernized.

The character models also got a nice glow-up. My only complaint here is that Himura’s scar is not as prominent as in the original anime. I liked how prominent his scar looked back then; you can barely even see it now.

The new voice artists are doing their roles well. I like Takahashi Rie as Kaoru, that character fits her voice. I did not like Kenshin’s new voice at first, but over time it grew on me. He kind of sounds a lot like Kazuha from Genshin Impact now (despite different voice actors) and that is not a bad thing.

The story remains largely the same as the original although it does feel like the pacing has been improved somewhat in the reboot. The pacing was a big issue in the original anime and I am glad to see that the reboot is trying to correct that. We will see how long this continues though since the season is 24 episodes long.

Overall, the reboot is pretty good. Is it pretty faithful to the original and despite some of my complaints, I think the reboot is awesome. Also, the new opening and ending themes are amazing!

Conclusion

That is all for now. Rurouni Kenshin 2023 gets a fair 7/10 from me. Let me know what you guys think of the comments and I will take my leave here. See ya!!

Also, check out Arknights season 2 news here!!