When I raised my eyes to the grey sky covered on the sides by lavish green that appears in late May, I realised it’s been exactly 10 years.
_____
So, the first time was exactly 10 years ago. And this series was one of the greatest discoveries in the world of anime, even with all those mistranslations and censorship implied by the American distributor whose release was bought by our channel. You’d understand me when I say that the seeing ‘Kenshin’ for the first time was a revolutionary thing, if you know what it’s like to have only a dozen of major TV channels and 250 Mb per month as the only source of information about the new world called ‘anime’.
The story was so great that after trying to ignore the broadcast for a month, because I thought I better not watch it at all than watch partially because of my busy schedule at school, I ultimately couldn’t help watching, even though I’d missed some of the initial episodes. And I preferred to hear the episodes I missed retold to me by my friend than giving up on ‘Kenshin’ at all.
Before starting to watch it for the third time, I thought I’d skip the unnecessary fillers or watch boring episodes fast forward. But there weren’t any boring episodes. Not for a single moment I felt like skipping anything. The thought didn’t even cross my mind.
What you discover 10 years after seeing this series for the first time, is that it’s no less interesting no matter how many times you watch. Moreover, you understand and appreciate it even more.
Is there any need to analyze the story deeply? I don’t think so. It is the case when every character deserves so much respect and every story is so elaborate that words won’t express it.
I loved them, the characters and their stories. I loved the background music and theme songs. I loved the seiyuus, all of them, everyone. The other day I read an article where the author was suggesting that we, fans who feel nostalgic about the older anime, stop regretting about good old times and go watch new series trying to find new masterpieces among them. I’ll explain. This nostalgia is caused by the very fact that you didn’t have to search for a masterpiece those days, it just came to your hands naturally. And I’ll add. The only aspect that surpasses older series in the newer anime series is art, and even that is not a given. Yes, older series were simpler and maybe less attractive visually. However the rest was perfect, while modern series can only offer one aspect in high quality, while the others inevitably fall behind.
Rephrasing Kenshin, I’d put it like this: maybe anime is supposed to be serious, educating, mature and realistic, but I still prefer this kind of anime, where characters shout out names of their techniques, where enemies are defeated with willpower, where characters may help circus artists or sumo wrestlers and the next month go and save the country mastering new techniques on their way… At least, they’re all alive, not moving cardboard figures.
So, the first time was exactly 10 years ago. And this series was one of the greatest discoveries in the world of anime, even with all those mistranslations and censorship implied by the American distributor whose release was bought by our channel. You’d understand me when I say that the seeing ‘Kenshin’ for the first time was a revolutionary thing, if you know what it’s like to have only a dozen of major TV channels and 250 Mb per month as the only source of information about the new world called ‘anime’.
The story was so great that after trying to ignore the broadcast for a month, because I thought I better not watch it at all than watch partially because of my busy schedule at school, I ultimately couldn’t help watching, even though I’d missed some of the initial episodes. And I preferred to hear the episodes I missed retold to me by my friend than giving up on ‘Kenshin’ at all.
Before starting to watch it for the third time, I thought I’d skip the unnecessary fillers or watch boring episodes fast forward. But there weren’t any boring episodes. Not for a single moment I felt like skipping anything. The thought didn’t even cross my mind.
What you discover 10 years after seeing this series for the first time, is that it’s no less interesting no matter how many times you watch. Moreover, you understand and appreciate it even more.
Is there any need to analyze the story deeply? I don’t think so. It is the case when every character deserves so much respect and every story is so elaborate that words won’t express it.
I loved them, the characters and their stories. I loved the background music and theme songs. I loved the seiyuus, all of them, everyone. The other day I read an article where the author was suggesting that we, fans who feel nostalgic about the older anime, stop regretting about good old times and go watch new series trying to find new masterpieces among them. I’ll explain. This nostalgia is caused by the very fact that you didn’t have to search for a masterpiece those days, it just came to your hands naturally. And I’ll add. The only aspect that surpasses older series in the newer anime series is art, and even that is not a given. Yes, older series were simpler and maybe less attractive visually. However the rest was perfect, while modern series can only offer one aspect in high quality, while the others inevitably fall behind.
Rephrasing Kenshin, I’d put it like this: maybe anime is supposed to be serious, educating, mature and realistic, but I still prefer this kind of anime, where characters shout out names of their techniques, where enemies are defeated with willpower, where characters may help circus artists or sumo wrestlers and the next month go and save the country mastering new techniques on their way… At least, they’re all alive, not moving cardboard figures.
I don't really remember, but Wiki says that the first broadcast of 'Kenshin' - the one I saw for the first time also - ended on July 27th. So today, 10 years after I end my 'rewatching', too, and say goodbye.
