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るろうに剣心-明治剣客浪漫譚・北海道編-
Ongoing
—
Publishing
Nov 4, 2016 to ?
9.0/10
Average Review Score
100%
Recommend It
1
Reviews Worldwide
Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Rurouni Kenshin Ibun: Ashitarou Zenka-ari (102440) and has subsequently been merged into Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Hokkaido-hen (105837). As a stand alone story, The Ex-Con Ashitaro is by all rights a 7 in score. But as part of the Rurouni Kenshin series, as a continuation and a prequel, it's a fantastic 9. Our spin-off sequel brings to us our protagonist Ashitaro, a spunky starving ex-rebel who was imprisoned for dining and dashing, and his newfound companion businessman Aran, both recently released from prison. The story jumps off by introducing us to it's main conflict: that being,Ashitaro stole something from Shishio Makoto's organization before its downfall, with the remaining rebel forces more than willing to kill Ashitaro to gain it back. The manga contains a few clever references to the main work with one or two being missable at first glance, several well executed connections to the main work, and excellently presents Watsuki's gorgeous artstyle, as well as his sense of humor. The ending to the spin-off is quite well done, and sets off a nice segway towards the future of the series, declaring the new Hokkaido Arc, with a nice reminder of the status of where we left our characters at the ending of Rurouni Kenshin. As a stand-alone feel free to skip over this manga, however as a huge fan of Ruoruni Kenshin and Watsuki's works in general, i highly recommend this short spin-off to you if you're one of either.
It is the 16th year of the Meiji era. Five years have passed since Kenshin Himura stopped the uprising of Makoto Shishio. Though the flames of his budding revolution were extinguished, the scars left in its wake are still felt across Japan. Remnants of his group—though scattered—still exist. Some have found peace while others continue to fight. After a remaining faction tried to revive the revolution, Shishio's old sword fell into the hands of Ashitarou Hasegawa, an orphan boy who has never known a home. The conflict also leaves both Aran Inoue, a 16-year-old half-Japanese, half-American boy, and a mercenary girl named Asahi Kubota with a hefty price to pay off, with nowhere else to go. But luckily for these individuals, the Kamiya dojo has always been a place to accept wanderers without prying into their pasts. The three are keen to start fresh, so when two members of Asahi's former clan show up demanding her return, Asahi refuses and things start to get ugly. In the midst of the chaos, the clan members drop a package containing a picture of dojo proprietor Kaoru Kamiya's presumably deceased father and his location—Hakodate, Hokkaido. With only this information, the members of the Kamiya dojo embark on an adventure across the sea in the hopes of finding news about Kaoru's father and the reason he is being targeted. [Written by MAL Rewrite]