Two Men at the End of an Era
...This, I think, is proof that Rurouni Kenshin really is my One True Fandom. If I can babble on like this about the political and philosophical aspects of the show...*shakes head*
Two Men at the End of an Era:
POLITICS (and a bit of PHILOSOPHY)
Right now my dad and I are re-watching Rurouni Kenshin, five years after the first time we saw it. Now that I'm older, I'm very struck by how sophisticated it is, and I understand why an adult like my dad would like it so much.
For example, the reason Shishio wants to take over the country is not simply because he's an Evil Power-Hungry Maniac...it's because of the very real danger at that time that Japan would become just another Western colony, like the rest of Asia. He's responding, in his own way, to the genuine threat posed against his country.
And the whole conflict between Kenshin and Shishio isn't a black-and-white case of Defender of Justice versus Evil Power-Hungry Maniac...it's a battle over ideologies; over which belief system (survival of the fittest or protection of the helpless) will shape Japan after a blank slate was created by the Revolution.
(In fact, one could say it's much like the ideological battle between democracy/capitalism and communism to control Europe after WWII...why, yes, I am studying the Cold War right now in History, however did you guess? XD)
The titles of two of the Kenshin-Shishio showdown episodes convey this idea very well: "Two Men at the End of an Era," fighting to see whose ideals will shape the new era, and "The Age Chooses Shishio?," questioning whether Shishio is the one whose philosophy is more suited to the warlike modern age of machine guns and petroleum.
(Of course, the series instead shows Kenshin triumphing, representing the fact that even in an age of cold machinery and increasingly deadly weapons, human kindness and compassion are more powerful than the ruthless doctrine of absolute power--an uplifting philosophy very relevant to today's world as well)
Lastly, the whole series shows an understanding of how a revolution doesn't end when the big battles end...it shows that, ten years on, it's still re-fought every day by hardworking politicians like Okubo; by simple people like a penniless wanderer; and, yes, by either winning over the hearts and minds of those who oppose the new regime or (if there's no other choice) by eradicating them and the danger they pose.
Two Men at the End of an Era:
POLITICS (and a bit of PHILOSOPHY)
Right now my dad and I are re-watching Rurouni Kenshin, five years after the first time we saw it. Now that I'm older, I'm very struck by how sophisticated it is, and I understand why an adult like my dad would like it so much.
For example, the reason Shishio wants to take over the country is not simply because he's an Evil Power-Hungry Maniac...it's because of the very real danger at that time that Japan would become just another Western colony, like the rest of Asia. He's responding, in his own way, to the genuine threat posed against his country.
And the whole conflict between Kenshin and Shishio isn't a black-and-white case of Defender of Justice versus Evil Power-Hungry Maniac...it's a battle over ideologies; over which belief system (survival of the fittest or protection of the helpless) will shape Japan after a blank slate was created by the Revolution.
(In fact, one could say it's much like the ideological battle between democracy/capitalism and communism to control Europe after WWII...why, yes, I am studying the Cold War right now in History, however did you guess? XD)
The titles of two of the Kenshin-Shishio showdown episodes convey this idea very well: "Two Men at the End of an Era," fighting to see whose ideals will shape the new era, and "The Age Chooses Shishio?," questioning whether Shishio is the one whose philosophy is more suited to the warlike modern age of machine guns and petroleum.
(Of course, the series instead shows Kenshin triumphing, representing the fact that even in an age of cold machinery and increasingly deadly weapons, human kindness and compassion are more powerful than the ruthless doctrine of absolute power--an uplifting philosophy very relevant to today's world as well)
Lastly, the whole series shows an understanding of how a revolution doesn't end when the big battles end...it shows that, ten years on, it's still re-fought every day by hardworking politicians like Okubo; by simple people like a penniless wanderer; and, yes, by either winning over the hearts and minds of those who oppose the new regime or (if there's no other choice) by eradicating them and the danger they pose.