Cheap Rurouni Kenshin - False Prophet, Vol. 4 (DVD) (Richard Cansino, Dorothy Melendrez) Price

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Customer Reviews of Rurouni Kenshin - False Prophet, Vol. 4

More problems come wandering by Kenshin's way
"False Prophet," Volume 4 of "Rurouni Kenshin: Wandering Samurai" offers up five episodes from what I am inclined to think is the start of the second season of the Japanese anime because there is a new song for the end titles. After the epic four-episode battle between Himura Kenshin and Aoshi Shinomori these episodes are less ambitious and a probably just a lull before the next major storm. The most important think that happens in these five episodes is the return of Megumi Takani, who is now practicing medicine in town. Since we know that Kenshin and Karou are going to take forever to really notice each other have Sanosuke Sagara pinning for Megumi looks a lot more promising:

Episode 13, "Strive for the Grand Championship: Taramaro's Sumo Battle Log" has the gang becoming involved in the workings of a sumo school, touching on another aspect of Japanese culture.

Episode 14, "Save a Small Life: The Challenge of the Beautiful Doctor, Megumi" finds the good doctor's reputation being attacked by a group of con men who promise cures by the gods. Megumi does not want to fight back, but that is what friends are for in such sticky situations.

Episode 15, "Assassination Group of Fire: Jipuu Squad on the Run" is where "Rurouni Kenshin" actually starts offering us teasers before the episode title. The politics of the Meji Restoration comes into play again as the motivation for a series of assassinations. Once again a master swordsman comes upon the scene who has failed to fully understand the teachings of his sensei. The story continues in the next Episode 16, "A Promise From the Heart: The Secret Technique of the Shiden Renga Blade," and are the two best episodes on the DVD.

Episode 17, "Fly to Your Dreams: The Adventures of Marimo, the Human Bullet" has the gang visiting a new circus where the highlight has young Marimo being shot out of a cannon. Once again "little" Yahiko is smitten and when the girl and her father are in danger from the crooked operators of the circus they left, he leads the rescue effort.

"False Prophet" certainly provides a mixture of both of the type of episodes you see on "Rurouni Kenshin." Mostly we have cute little episodes where the members of the group have fun doing some verbal sparring with each other and then we have a pair of episodes where things get more serious. Those are the best episodes and they make the quainter onces seem rather out of place, but then this strange balancing act is part of what makes this one of the better anime. The extras this time around consist of a lengthy set of notes involving a lot of sumo definitions (ozeki, yokozuna, dosukoi, etc.) and some more audio "outtakes" (which are R rated, so be forewarned before you let the kiddies watch).

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Weak middle after a strong first set
Note: at one point, [another store] was listing this DVD as 'False Profit'. This does also fit the topic of one of the eps, but it is technically incorrect.

This is the first DVD of the official AnimeWorks American release which includes five episodes ('eps'), namely 13-17. None of the five are critical eps; nor are they canonical in the sense of having been used in the manga, or used as references by future eps. The ep for which the DVD is named (ep 14), does feature a climax borrowed from the very first (originally unpubished) RuroKen manga story; involving a cannon firing wooden cannonballs.

After the high-watermark of the previous two DVDs, I was disappointed at how the threat-level ramps down significantly in this DVD.

Eps 13, 14 and 17 are standalone entries; eps 15-16 comprise a short arc. I didn't find the stories to be uninteresting, per se; they are what they are, which is filler in an above-average anime series.

Ep 13 involves a sumo wrestler, harrassed by the champion assigned to teach him; the champion fears the potential of the novice. There are some impressive themes of honor and forgiveness, and the comedy isn't too cloying.

Ep 14 (the 'title card' ep) describes how the lady doctor Megumi is nearly put out of business by a religious charlatan. This ep could have been offensive if handled wrongly, but it distinguishes between the idea of mere superstition and the possibility of actual miracles--in essence, it captures in miniature the series' general tone about such things, wherein 'magic' often involves naturalistic deception, yet evidently real (though usually understated) supernatural feats take place on a regular basis (particularly during fights). The series doesn't really come down on an either/or dichotomy about such things, in keeping with its genre (Eastern historical combat fantasy).

The final standalone ep for the DVD (#17) is primarily a comedy entry, set in a circus. It could have been considerably cloying (the ep involves young Yahiko's casual infatuation with a girl who works as a human cannonball); but is worth watching for the scenes of Kenshin, Sano and Kaoru trying their best to entertain an increasingly antsy circus crowd (especially when the villains show up and Kenshin dispatches them with his 'secret Hiten Mitsurugi Umbrella Style'! |g|)

I didn't find the two-ep arc (eps 15-16) to live up to its potential, but at least it wasn't actively bad. The apprentice of one of Kenshin's former Shogunate adversaries has created a hit-squad to cull out (he thinks) the corrupted parts of the reigning Imperialist government. There isn't any permanent tie to the main plot, and except for the apprentice (who despite what he thinks isn't really at Kenshin's level) the only real threat to Kenshin comes from the number of enemies in the hit-squad: in other words, hardly any threat at all. |g| These eps lack the amazing fighting sequences of later (and some earlier) eps. It is interesting to see how the former Shogonate defender has adapted, much like Kenshin, to the new 'modern' era. His ostensibly unbeatable thrust looks rather like a watered-down version of Hajime Saito's gatotsu; which may be why I keep remembering him as being one of the Shinsengumi.

The annoying opening title music ('Freckles') is still in place, and the inferior of the two first-season end-title credit sequences goes into full swing for this DVD. On the other hand, this DVD includes outtakes from the dubbing team again, which are quite amusing. The dubbing remains at its usual high quality, and all the main vocal actors are still on board.

Anyone looking to buy the series who wishes to save some money, can essentially skip this DVD safely. I bought it because I am a completist |g|; I don't actively dislike any of these eps, but I find myself skipping them whenever I watch (or show) the series.

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I love it
Man oh man....I am getting too addicted....this thing is actually more interesting than my late night sessions of Counter-Strike. Definitely worth seeing. Kenshin still remains a goofy and lighthearted fellow, but deep down he still is the Manslayer. Great animation...great story line....ALL KENSHIN