bheathcote - 2016-01-12 14:35:41

Storytelling :
Trust and Betrayal follows a linear story telling format of what the life of a lone samurai who works to kill. Of course, if that were the actual case. T&B follows Kenshin during his teenage years when he was a warrior for hire, killing people to protect in order to keep his promise to those whom he couldn't save when he was a child. 

Trust ARC : Trust is action packed, shows the world the characters live in Death and despair and overall a hard to swallow arc if you can't take bloodshed.

Betrayal ARC : The Infamous conclusion arc. Now once you've gotten the character motives, this arc shows what the characters are without their masks.

Pacing :
Of course that is not to say that it's perfect. The story is told in 4 episodes meaning that. There is little time to make everyone care for everything that is happening, some characters won't be on screen as much as you hope them to be, and overall provides a very fast-paced way of storytelling. 

Directing :
The atmosphere is consistantly moody, there is constantly blood on the screen, people in shock, and without emotion, most die as a result. And overall they seem to be more keenly aware of their situation, but that is what gives the show its charm. It irks with what a Samurai war romantic drama is about.

Script writing :
It's emotionally distant, grim dark with no awkward tonal shifts to lighten the mood so the viewer can understand the characters without having to cling onto some laughs or poorly written jokes so they can keep it on, it's thought provoking, eyecandy that may get you into Samurai history even if it's a work of fiction.
Proving that even if just hack n slash death can provide entertainment unlike some shows. 

Characters : 
Kenshin, our protagonist as a kid watches as his parents sell him out to some traveling merchants who get robbed and eventually killed. He vow's to kill everyone who dares attack someone who he doesn't want to get hurt. And thanks to his teacher allowing him to learn the ways of Hiten Mitsurugi. With years of practise he is able to learn it and perfect it. Something a person in that day and age heavily focused on. Honour, love, and pretty much survival. If yer family is in danger, you must put your job over your cared ones, so while you're on your way massacring a horde of warriors that invade your country an assassin may come and take away your beloved ones. Constant risk, depression and tense reactions come from Kenshin when he is doing his job, eventually. Finding his love interest for who could've expected something like this to happen. Most characters that are either opposing against Kenshin or with him seem to die in just a stab or two while he can take a whole 4 stabs and a snowy climb on the mountain AND SURVIVE on top of that. 

Tomoe, the loveable and gullable Female main character sits there morally boosting Kenshin's will and standalone self, sheathing his rage and inner self from arriving to the outside world, thus Kenshin finds someone to protect and trust throughout the show, her strength comes from looking at Kenshin, striving to be mentally strong as him. She tries to prove it by showing him her determination. As looking at how he brutally murders others, and when he is about to jump into a fight he can't win she stops him with a scared and sweaty expression, showing him visually that she doesn't want him to meet his end just yet, and thus the end of the Trust arc comes the Betrayal arc where she gets developed even more, she understands that she can't love one person to the end, and that she, just like much of the other characters. Betrays her former lover and goes for Kenshin, she learns the plotting of something stinky knowing something bad may happen soon. So she opens up to Kenshin even more after telling her that he'll protect her, but alas she left him with a scar and a snowy farewell.

The rest of the characters here are easily like/able hateable almost no one that feels like a side character that will get easily written out of the story just like that, they do their job to support the main cast, put on a heavy boost on their morale, let alone provide their survival, yet show them gratitude through wry smiles and thin emotions.

Iizuka and Katsura are two of the main cast that not only prove to be the best in terms of character interaction, but experience. They know how to use others. And hide themselves when the time is right. They're constantly mysterious amongst the viewer's eye, but when the time comes, they show their true colors and oh how blissful they are. Like a shining star in the middle of the night. Know when to give up, and try their best to escape their past and go into the present.

Animation : Animation is superb, the use of skipping frames allows not only to add tension to scenes but also cover up for any mistakes they may have made. May not be perfect, but from what else has come this is quite well presented. Action scenes look great, movement is very fluent, mouth sync is great. They feel alive when they move and not like deadly animated bodies when they do it

Cinematography : The dark and colorful backgrounds portay the day and age they live in, showing grassy plains and sunlight when they're happy and nightfall/rain when sadness is amock. There are scenes that are directly camera shot and placed in so they can save some budget from their money loss with the filler run. Knowing Deen this was unexpected to do, as they'd blow the entire money on it for no reason. Great artistic choice, well fit when used and filters to provide the dark and white colors for sad nights, as we know the color of snow means sadness.

Voice Acting : Voice acting is a prime here, the quite tone of the characters show how they feel when living in this day and age, dead in the inside, empty on words. And scared to show signs of happiness because who knows what might happen next. Their own emotional reactions are unexpected aswell, you can't tell if they're serious, sarcastic or sad.

Artistic Design : Unlike the original Rurouni Kenshin, Trust and Betrayal uses a more aBe style of art design. Characters look like rough sketches that are empty both on the outside and inside, pale in comparison to the goofy and chill first series, this change is great because it much more suites the tone of what it's about. Even the roughly made eyes and filtered hair with more bonus aesthetics. You don't need sunshafted colors or bright faces to make something great, you need this kind of rough sketch to make it look more serious and present what it's about! The detailed background that is a mix between real video recordings mixed with bare hand drawn areas not only mix well, but also remove the use of pointless CGI and may will look a thousand times better.

Overall : Trust and Betrayal shows how much RK fans need a remake of the series with a more serious tone and less comedy relief. A great written Samurai drama along with nice visuals and a dark tone that will leave most breathless and wanting more of it.

ernser.muhammad - 2015-11-19 03:38:45

Whatever people like about this one I guess I'm missing it...the characters are boring, the art is inconsistent, and it is the most depressing, contrived, predictable and pointless plot line I think I've ever encountered in an Anime. I pretty much hated everything about it... least favorite anime I've ever watched.

mauricio.carter - 2015-03-24 03:37:25

If you want continuous orgasms while watching an anime... This is what you should watch..

cleora66 - 2013-11-23 23:35:16

It has been a couple of years since I watched the original Rurouni Kenshin anime on Tv and no more of a couple of months since I discovered that the last part was all filler, so i look it up and find out that there are OVAs that i never heard about, so finally I was able to watch this prequel arc and by god it was awesome. This is what i call "Anime Perfection". A dark and brutal look at how Kenshin Himura becomes Hitokiri Battousai and the birth of the X mark in his face. An amazing ad up to the main story and a reminder of how brutal kenshin world is. I'm glad i was able of see this finally. If you like the original series this is something you don't wanna miss at all

omarvin - 2013-07-10 17:00:57

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Tsuiokuhen is originally a flash back in the manga of the story of rurouni kenshin and quite frankly I have to admit that its better then Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan despite being only a 4 episode ova. the atmosphere and art were totally different and more importantly far more superior.Storythe story is very simple as it was not much too their but it is enough to full up an 4 episodic show. The theme is dark and gory but whats you will expect of a true samurai show. warriors fighting for the believe or the cause money and glory with no hesitation to kill each other off.artthe art was simply amazing with great animation. the colors might be not very bright but it does its job in this dark anime. the characters great and unique and they weren't looking as those Kyoto Animation characters (Thank good) Soundthe music was okay and fitting. the voice actors were great, not much they say on this.CharacterI liked this kenshin alot better then the kenshin he is now. This one was serious and would do almost anything to survive in fights. He would most likely kill off his opponent with a real sword instead of sparing them and fighting them with reverse sword. Tomoe was far more likable character then kaoru because is she was well composed lady and didn't took up screen time annoyed us. EnjoymentI fond this really a great series to watch. As I mentioned earlier, the show is really dark and gory plus it shows how the Rurouni Kenshin series should have really been.OverallI would recommend this all people who loves action and dark gory anime. But I also would recommend too watch the main show, so you can experience that with out any disappointment and then be more amazed watching this.

mollie.dibbert - 2013-05-18 10:39:35

Perfection is (probably) unattainable, but once in a while, an anime comes along that gets pretty damn close. "Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuikuhen" is one such anime.I originally watched "Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen" without watching the main series. I was drawn to the OVA's by its stella ratings, but was too daunted by the length of the main series to watch that. Eventually, I grew out of my allergy for long series and watched the 95 episodes of "Rurouni Kenshin". Coming back to this afterwards, I wished I wasn't so hasty to watch it before - as good as it was first time round, it's much more meaningful after the series, and it would have been great to experience this stunning piece of work to its full potential on the first watch.[Note: For the remainder of this review, I'll be assuming that, unlike me, you were sensible enough to have already watched the series before coming to this, so there might be some references to the series in this review]"Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen" (or just "Tsuiokuhen" for short,) is the story of how Kenshin became a swordsman, how he took part in the revolutions, and how he came to get his cross shaped scar. It's the chronicling of the making of the manslayer before his later years as a pacifist, and of his first love that was hinted at in the series.Stylistically, "Tsuiokuhen" is a compeletly different beast from the main serie: gone are all the comedy elements - this OVA is deadly serious, and not for the faint hearted. It opens with a brutal, shocking prologue involving a bandits' attack on slave wagon. Men and women are cut down alike, swords are put through throats, and blood sprays in abundance. The violence is graphic, but not gratuitous.Admidst the slaughter, it's hard not to notice the beauty of the artwork and the fluidity of the animation. The realistically designed characters reflects the serious tone, with no super deformity nor traditional big-eyes-small-mouth style in sight. Visually, "Tsuiokuhen" is just incredible.Contrary to the impression given by the prologue, "Tsuiokuhen" is not at all heavy on action. The mood in this anime is often subdued (in fact I found some of the voice acting to be a little flat), and there are plenty of quiet moments, such as Kenshin's brief stint at living a peaceful life in the countryside, that acts as a counter balance against the action. The story also contains a lot of political elements as it describes the power struggles that went on prior to the revolution. There are plenty of references, linking together a great number of events, a lot of them real historical ones relevant to the Kenshin story. It can be quite thrilling to see some of these events click into place, and it always excites me to see cameos from significant characters from the series such as Hajime Saito (who, unfortunately, doesn't look as wolfish as he does in the series), but some of it went over my head. My knowledge of of Japanese history is extremely limited, and a portion of the political backstory involving real historical figures that are less directly related to the Kenshin felt a little redundant and confusing.What really matters is the backstory of Kenshin himself. This short OVA series covers the key parts of Kenshin's early life; their importance in shaping young Kenshin's character and their influences on the choices he makes later in life cannot be overstated, but you'll need to have watched the main series to fully appreciate it. "Tsuikohen" is easily strong enough to be watched as a standalone, but without watching the main series, you won't know just how the young, brooding Kenshin contrasts against his more open, cheerful future self; nor will you pick up the deft touches added here and there that adds plenty of meaning and depth for those who've seen the series, such the hints on the consequences of Kenshin's actions.Everything comes together in an epic finale in the last episode, concluding a tale of love and vengeance, trust and betrayal in spectacular fashion. If I have any nitpicking to do, it would be that the gauntlet that Kenshin was made to go through seems a little too contrived and shounen in style for a show with such mature vibes. I doubt many people will give a monkey's toss about that, however, as the polished action and the torrent of emotions peak simultaneously to create a breathtaking climax.Fast paced action, achingly beautiful romance drama, depth of character and story, "Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen" has it all (apart from comedy). Just make sure you watch the "Rurouni Kenshin" main series up to the end of the "Legend of Kyoto" arc if you want to appreciate this OVA to its fullest. Believe me, it's worth the effort (and the series ain't half bad either).