Recently, original series creator Nobuhiro Watsuki revealed the extent of his involvement in the Rurouni Kenshin 2023 anime.
Specifically, Watsuki shared his involvement with the anime via an interview with Comic Natalie.
There, he revealed that the reboot anime is completely supervised by him, unlike the previous adaptations of his manga.
While this can be seen as good news for fans of the manga, it can potentially turn off other viewers because of the controversy surrounding Watsuki given the charges laid against him in 2018.
Nobuhiro Watsuki Explains His Involvement With the Rurouni Kenshin Anime
In the interview, Watsuki revealed that he supervises the new anime by Liden Films (of Tokyo Revengers fame), meaning the new anime should be more faithful to the original story in the manga.
For reference, the original Rurouni Kenshin anime by Studio Gallop and Studio Deen started as a faithful adaptation. But the anime’s story soon diverges after the Shishio arc.
Though it will be a more faithful adaptation, Watsuki said that this new anime will feature some minor adjustments, especially with regard to Isurugi Raijuta’s arc.
Another change, and perhaps the biggest, is Watsuki’s directive to adjust the character design.
Rurouni Kenshin is an icon of the 90s, and the manga’s original art style looks very much of its time.
As this new anime aims to be a modern adaptation, Watsuki said that he asked the show’s staff to “dilute the 90s style” so that the characters look more modern.
In total, this anime is the most involved Watsuki has been for a Rurouni Kenshin adaptation.
This is because he was busy with the manga during the original anime’s airing while the movies are more director-led works.
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Some Rurouni Kenshin Fans Continue to Boycott the Reboot Anime
The fact that Watsuki is heavily involved in this adaptation may be a cause for concern among fans who find supporting his works problematic.
When the reboot anime was revealed, there were calls to boycott it given Watsuki’s controversial child pornography possession charges.
Although Watsuki was fined for possession, it was only an amount of JPY 200,000 (around USD 1,500).
Given that Watsuki continues to work despite the controversy, some anime fans are wary of supporting any Rurouni Kenshin works.
From the looks of it though, the show’s English promotion bears little to no mention of Watsuki.
As noted by Anime News Network, Watsuki was not mentioned at all during the show’s Anime Expo 2023 panel.
New episodes of the Rurouni Kenshin 2023 anime are streamed every week on Crunchyroll.
Get the latest anime news and info by following us on Twitter @epicstreamanime.
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Source: Comic Natalie
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