Question from a reader answered

I’m watching the movie for Rurouni Kenshin now and I’m almost done. I was wondering what the timeline is for the Anime 2023 reboot compares (by episode 24) to the all the movies timeline.

Answer:

I’m not sure which “movies” you’re talking about, but I’ll cover both possibilities. I’m not certain if you’re referring to the live-action adaptations or the anime movies.

Let’s start with the 2023 re-adaptation of the series. This one begins from the very beginning, starting with Chapter 1 of the manga. The goal is to faithfully adapt the entire manga, unlike the original anime series, which only covered part of the manga and included a lot of original and filler content. So, the 2023 anime is a faithful and chronological adaptation of the series. If you want more details, you can check out Fiction Horizon’s Rurouni Kenshin arcs guide here.

If you’re talking about the anime adaptation, things are more straightforward.

The anime movies, including “Rurouni Kenshin: The Motion Picture,” “Rurouni Kenshin: Requiem for the Ishin Shishi,” “Rurouni Kenshin: The Movie,” “Samurai X: The Motion Picture,” and the two OVA series “Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection” and “Rurouni Kenshin: New Kyoto Arc,” are not considered canon.

This means you can watch them at any time as they aren’t connected to the main storyline.

If you want to align them with the 2023 anime, you can watch the first movie and the first OVA after the current arc ends (around Episode 14 or 15) or after the first season concludes (around Episode 24). For the final OVA, it’s best to wait until the Kyoto Arc is adapted. Watching them won’t affect the main plot.

Now, let’s talk about the live-action adaptations.

They are based on the manga but aren’t exact page-to-page adaptations. The movies cover the first part of the series, with two movies focusing on the Kyoto Arc, a prequel movie, and a final movie centered on the Jinchu Arc. They are condensed and altered adaptations, so connecting them to the 2023 anime is a bit tricky. The prequel and the first movies roughly correspond to parts of the first season, while the second and third movies focus on the Kyoto Arc, which will likely be adapted in the anime’s Season 2 or even Season 3.

So, if you want to align the live-action movies with the anime, they would fit between the prequel and first movies and the two movies covering the Kyoto Arc. The “New Kyoto Arc” OVA comes in later, probably after “The Final.”

I hope this clarifies the chronology for you and enhances your enjoyment of the series!