Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hmm, well I guess my arguments shot 3nodding This was a pretty good debate, but I still liked it, besides all the little errors.

I don't like it. I actually refuse to buy it lol (it's the only Kenshin dvd I don't have) I just don't like how Kenshin passed away at the end. I'm also more of a fan of the series artwork style.

When we're together...

I have to admit that Reflection isn't exactly my favorite bit either, not just because it goes over Watsuki-san's head, but also because it makes an ending that extends in a not-very-kind direction from the one he wrote for the Jinchuu Arc. Even several of the Japanese voice actors express opinions that Reflection is just a "possible ending" in the DVD's interviews section (which is the reason I bought the DVD in the first place, 'cause I wanted to see the faces behind the voices... and Suzukaze-dono is adorable. ^^) But also, the story of it didn't quite help itself by making several references to the Jinchuu Arc (many of them unexplained), which hadn't even been officially translated and released outside of Japan when Reflection was released. So unless you looked up the plot of the Jinchuu Arc online, or could read the original Japanese manga, Reflection could get really confusing really fast.

If I had to guess at how Reflection came to be, I think it was an attempt to expand on a very poignant and moving scene between Kaoru and Megumi near the end of the Kyoto Arc, where Megumi makes a very heavy point of saying that Kenshin is still just a human... and warns Kaoru that if he keeps fighting to protect others, the physical, mental, and emotional stress he's shouldered over the years will only become more and more of a burden on him, until finally his body won't be able to handle it anymore.

Looking at the whole thing as a "possible ending", Reflection seems to be trying to show what would've happened to Kenshin if everyone around him kept treating him like some kind of superhero who could solve all their problems. The idea could have been presented in a better-told story, but the main point (if I'm right about it) is definitely worth keeping in mind.

Kenshin is *not* a superhero. He may be an expert swordsman with a big heart and a kind soul, but in the end he's still a human... and one who's had to shoulder burdens the likes of which many people might not really understand... burdens that, according to Reflection, can have severe consequences on the one who carries them.

I'm not saying that Reflection is the right way to end RK, but I am saying that it does present a part of the RK storyline as a whole that often goes ignored, especially in the midst of all the physics-defying combat.

Also, from an objective "filmmaker" standpoint, I do like many of the visuals and the music, and artistically I thought it was presented rather well. As RK fans it can be easy to hate Reflection because of the story, but if people were to try and separate themselves from their biases as to how RK ended under Watsuki-san's hand (or however fans *want* the story to end), they might see that the second OVAs are a rather visually-captivating piece of cinema.

So basically, while I can understand the reasons why so many fans hate Reflection, at the same time I think I understand what was trying to be done with it, and because of that I can't say that it's completely bad.

I know I'm most likely about to confuse
something with my words and the movies; I don't
honestly care: Anywho:

I didn't perferably like the firs two episodes
of it; how it cramed everything together--
to people who have never seen Ruroken--
that would've been very confusing. xDD;
But one thing I did like is how they include
Enishi. I'm not to sure, because I've only seen
the first two series-- but doesn't the third
series exclude Enishi? I'm pretty sure it did.
<3 I'm glad the Ova included him. <33

I actualy liked the third part, with going into
the days with Tomoe. Of course, I'm one to
perfer the manga-- but it wasn't too bad. <3

- - -
Off topic:
>> I was bored so I watched the
anime itself in Japanese. xDD
Kenshin's actor sounds so girly,
it cracked me up.

He's only shown in the scene where they're returning to the Aoiya from Mt. Hiei.

I don't like it either. Kenshin has become my hero. In school, for the longest time when they've asked who my hero is, it's been Kenshin. So naturally I don't like the OVA movie since I don't think it's a nice thing to see your hero die. My poor Kenshie!