Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal
Encyclopedia
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal, known in Japan as , is an OVA
series that serves as a prequel
to the Rurouni Kenshin
anime
television series. It was released in Japan
in 1999, and was directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi
and written by Masashi Sogo.
The OVA series is based on chapters 165 to 179 of the Rurouni Kenshin manga
written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki
. It chronicles the story of Himura Kenshin
as the Hitokiri Battōsai during the years of the Meiji Restoration
while also revealing the origins of his famous cross-shaped scar as well as his role as a legendary assassin of the Imperialist cause, and explaining his relationship with a woman named Yukishiro Tomoe
, who would become his first wife. Kenshin's fated first encounters with his master, Hiko Seijūrō
, and his future rival, Saitō Hajime are also depicted.
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal is currently being licensed by Aniplex of America
for releases in the English language. Due to the OVA series initially being licensed by the now-defunct ADV Films, it was originally released under the title of Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal in North America. Trust & Betrayal was later collected into a two hour feature-length motion picture with new animated sequences and released theatrically in Japan. In 2003, this feature-length motion picture was eventually released in North America on DVD
as a Director's Cut
by ADV Films. Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal was released on Blu-ray Disc
by Aniplex of America on August 24, 2011.
Since its release, the OVA series has received near-universal critical acclaim from various critics and publications for manga, anime and other media. It remains highly popular among anime fans and it is considered as one of the greatest OVA series of all time. It has been said that the Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal OVA series is one of the only few series that even the most dedicated Rurouni Kenshin fans will admit is better than the anime television series.
, is a master of the Hiten Mitsurugi, the strongest of all sword forms. Hiko takes Shinta as an apprentice and renames him "Kenshin
", a name which he felt was more appropriate for a swordsman.
After years of training, Kenshin leaves his master, convinced that the only way to uphold the Hiten Mitsurugi's pledge to help the weak and innocent is to join the revolution poised to upend the Tokugawa
shogunate. He joins the Choshu clan and soon works for their leader, Katsura Kogorō, as an assassin. Kenshin soon becomes a hardened killer, feared far and wide as the Hitokiri Battōsai. During a successful assassination, he kills a bodyguard named Kiyosato Akira. The encounter with Kiyosato leaves Kenshin with the first half of his cross-shaped scar. After killing a skilled assassin, Kenshin meets a woman named Yukishiro Tomoe
, unaware of the fact that she is the fiancée of Kiyosato. Kenshin takes her to the inn where he and the men of the Choshu clan are residing. Katsura suspects a spy among the Choshu after Kenshin informs him of the assassin he killed.
After the Ikedaya affair
, Katsura arranges for Kenshin and Tomoe to hide in the village of Otsu as husband and wife, so the two would not be suspected. After a few months, Tomoe's brother Enishi
comes to visit and secretly reveals to his sister that the shogunate agents assigned to track down and kill Kenshin are close by, and that her revenge will be complete. Tomoe sends Enishi off, feeling ill at ease. It is here that Tomoe realises that she has fallen in love with Kenshin. Kenshin, too, falls in love with Tomoe. The next morning, Tomoe leaves the house and tries to persuade the shogunate men to give up their pursuit of Kenshin, and unsuccessfully attempts to kill their leader.
After Tomoe's disappearance, Kenshin is visited by a comrade who tells him that the spy was Tomoe and that she is meeting at that moment with her co-conspirators. He also reveals to Kenshin that she is the fiancée of Kiyosato, the man he killed. Kenshin, however, is unaware that it is this man who is the real spy. While heading to Tomoe's location, a heavily-shocked Kenshin faces and kills three of the four shogunate agents but becomes badly injured due to his traumatized state. While Kenshin is fighting with the last agent, Tomoe steps in between the two to protect Kenshin. This allows Kenshin to kill the agent but, in doing so, unintentionally kills Tomoe also. Before her death, she gives him the second part of his cross-shaped wound.
Kenshin takes Tomoe's death hard and blames himself, swearing to fight to bring about the age desired by Katsura, but after that to continue fighting to protect the innocent without killing again. Katsura informs Kenshin that he had a new assassin
kill the real spy. As the Tokugawa shogunate is nearing its end, Kenshin has his first encounter with the Shinsengumi
captains Okita Sōji and his future rival, Saitō Hajime. It is then revealed that once the Bakumatsu revolution had ended, the Hitokiri Battōsai had disappeared without a trace.
stated that this series uses a more "realistic" art style than the television series uses, and that the series has "graphic, bloody violence galore" beginning in the opening sequence.
One of the major themes of Trust is understanding the repercussions and after-effects murder can have, something that Kenshin has yet to comprehend though others have tried to point it out to him.
THEM Anime Reviews gave the entire OVA series a perfect score of 5 out of 5 stars, with reviewer Tim Jones stating, "powerful, evocative, saddening, and heavily charged, Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal is a series that goes far beyond its comic-book origins, testing the limits of not only its franchise, but the medium of original video animation as a storytelling device" and that it "surpasses the original television series in many ways". He summarised the series as "dramatic, tragic, beautiful" and "a sterling example of Japanese animation at its finest".
Trust & Betrayal has received significant praise from Anime News Network
reviewers. Mike Crandol noted it as one of the greatest OVA series of all time, celebrating the new characters designs as well as the fights scenes which were also noted to be "terribly bloody" and beautiful at the same time. In his review, Carl Kimlinger described the series as "stirring, devastating, smart, redemptive and pure perfection" and gave the series an 'A+' rating for the subbed version and an 'A' rating for the dub. Bamboo Dong claimed that watching this series would benefit the viewer with a "stunning overall experience" before finishing off that "Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuioku Hen is a masterpiece, with dramatic visuals and beautiful animation".
Animerica
reviewer Rio Yañez praised Trusts "introspective take on violence" as well as its being "chock-full of insane samurai sword fights and free-flying appendages" while avoiding stereotypical freeze frame
animation. While considering the violence "over the top", he felt it was well handled, avoiding being excessive or gratuitous, and that the action scenes were "well balanced by the lavish background paintings and designs". He did criticize ADV Film's English dub as "kung fu style dubbing", noting that the voice actors frequently mispronounced the Japanese names and left the voice track mildly confusing despite the English script's serious take of the material.
Although DVD Talk
reviewer Don Houston mentioned the OVAs were very violent for teenagers, he found the story and music to be "solid". The director's cut version received positive comments by how the four OVAs were arranged with Houston commenting it "seems more like a movie that stands alone, rather than just the precursor to a long lasting series."
Daryl Surat of Otaku USA
said that, despite what Dave Riley said, viewers should not watch the Trust & Betrayal series before watching other media, and that viewers should instead watch the television series before watching Trust & Betrayal. Surat explained that the OVA has "great moments" that a viewer unfamiliar with the television series would not "bat an eye toward."
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
series that serves as a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the Rurouni Kenshin
Rurouni Kenshin
, also known as Rurouni Kenshin and Samurai X, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The fictional setting takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. The story is about a fictional assassin named Himura Kenshin, from the Bakumatsu who becomes a wanderer to...
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series. It was released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1999, and was directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi
Kazuhiro Furuhashi
is a Japanese anime director and supervisor, born in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. He is amongst anime's most foremost directors, having directed and helmed the entire Rurouni Kenshin series , the You're Under Arrest series, GetBackers, Hunter x Hunter, Zipang, Le Chevalier D'Eon,...
and written by Masashi Sogo.
The OVA series is based on chapters 165 to 179 of the Rurouni Kenshin manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Nobuhiro Watsuki
is a Japanese manga artist, best known for his samurai-themed series Rurouni Kenshin. He once worked as an assistant for his favorite author Takeshi Obata.-Biography:...
. It chronicles the story of Himura Kenshin
Himura Kenshin
, known as Kenshin Himura in the English-language anime dubs, is a fictional character from the Rurouni Kenshin universe created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. He is the main protagonist of the manga and anime series, as well as the related media in the franchise...
as the Hitokiri Battōsai during the years of the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
while also revealing the origins of his famous cross-shaped scar as well as his role as a legendary assassin of the Imperialist cause, and explaining his relationship with a woman named Yukishiro Tomoe
Yukishiro Tomoe
, known in Western order as Tomoe Yukishiro in the English anime OVAs, is a fictional character in Nobuhiro Watsuki's popular manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin and is the first wife of the series' main protagonist Himura Kenshin.She plays a major role in the manga's final arc, the Jinchū arc...
, who would become his first wife. Kenshin's fated first encounters with his master, Hiko Seijūrō
Hiko Seijuro
is Himura Kenshin's master in the manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin. As a potter, he uses the assumed name of . His Japanese seiyū is Shūichi Ikeda, and his English voice actor is Richard Epcar.-Development:...
, and his future rival, Saitō Hajime are also depicted.
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal is currently being licensed by Aniplex of America
Aniplex
, formerly known as Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc., is a Japanese anime and music production and distribution enterprise owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan and established in January 1997...
for releases in the English language. Due to the OVA series initially being licensed by the now-defunct ADV Films, it was originally released under the title of Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal in North America. Trust & Betrayal was later collected into a two hour feature-length motion picture with new animated sequences and released theatrically in Japan. In 2003, this feature-length motion picture was eventually released in North America on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
as a Director's Cut
Director's cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...
by ADV Films. Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal was released on Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
by Aniplex of America on August 24, 2011.
Since its release, the OVA series has received near-universal critical acclaim from various critics and publications for manga, anime and other media. It remains highly popular among anime fans and it is considered as one of the greatest OVA series of all time. It has been said that the Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal OVA series is one of the only few series that even the most dedicated Rurouni Kenshin fans will admit is better than the anime television series.
Plot
A young boy named Shinta is saved from death in a bandit raid by a passing swordsman. The swordsman, known as Hiko SeijūrōHiko Seijuro
is Himura Kenshin's master in the manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin. As a potter, he uses the assumed name of . His Japanese seiyū is Shūichi Ikeda, and his English voice actor is Richard Epcar.-Development:...
, is a master of the Hiten Mitsurugi, the strongest of all sword forms. Hiko takes Shinta as an apprentice and renames him "Kenshin
Himura Kenshin
, known as Kenshin Himura in the English-language anime dubs, is a fictional character from the Rurouni Kenshin universe created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. He is the main protagonist of the manga and anime series, as well as the related media in the franchise...
", a name which he felt was more appropriate for a swordsman.
After years of training, Kenshin leaves his master, convinced that the only way to uphold the Hiten Mitsurugi's pledge to help the weak and innocent is to join the revolution poised to upend the Tokugawa
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
shogunate. He joins the Choshu clan and soon works for their leader, Katsura Kogorō, as an assassin. Kenshin soon becomes a hardened killer, feared far and wide as the Hitokiri Battōsai. During a successful assassination, he kills a bodyguard named Kiyosato Akira. The encounter with Kiyosato leaves Kenshin with the first half of his cross-shaped scar. After killing a skilled assassin, Kenshin meets a woman named Yukishiro Tomoe
Yukishiro Tomoe
, known in Western order as Tomoe Yukishiro in the English anime OVAs, is a fictional character in Nobuhiro Watsuki's popular manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin and is the first wife of the series' main protagonist Himura Kenshin.She plays a major role in the manga's final arc, the Jinchū arc...
, unaware of the fact that she is the fiancée of Kiyosato. Kenshin takes her to the inn where he and the men of the Choshu clan are residing. Katsura suspects a spy among the Choshu after Kenshin informs him of the assassin he killed.
After the Ikedaya affair
Ikedaya Jiken
The , also known as the Ikedaya Affair or Ikedaya Incident, was an armed encounter between the shishi which included masterless samurai formally employed by the Chōshū and Tosa clans , and the Shinsengumi, the Bakufu's special police force in Kyoto on July 8, 1864 at the Ikedaya Inn in Kyoto,...
, Katsura arranges for Kenshin and Tomoe to hide in the village of Otsu as husband and wife, so the two would not be suspected. After a few months, Tomoe's brother Enishi
Yukishiro Enishi
Yukishiro Enishi is a character from the manga Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki. He is the primary antagonist of the final arc of the series, the Jinchū arc, and the younger brother of Yukishiro Tomoe.-Conception and design:...
comes to visit and secretly reveals to his sister that the shogunate agents assigned to track down and kill Kenshin are close by, and that her revenge will be complete. Tomoe sends Enishi off, feeling ill at ease. It is here that Tomoe realises that she has fallen in love with Kenshin. Kenshin, too, falls in love with Tomoe. The next morning, Tomoe leaves the house and tries to persuade the shogunate men to give up their pursuit of Kenshin, and unsuccessfully attempts to kill their leader.
After Tomoe's disappearance, Kenshin is visited by a comrade who tells him that the spy was Tomoe and that she is meeting at that moment with her co-conspirators. He also reveals to Kenshin that she is the fiancée of Kiyosato, the man he killed. Kenshin, however, is unaware that it is this man who is the real spy. While heading to Tomoe's location, a heavily-shocked Kenshin faces and kills three of the four shogunate agents but becomes badly injured due to his traumatized state. While Kenshin is fighting with the last agent, Tomoe steps in between the two to protect Kenshin. This allows Kenshin to kill the agent but, in doing so, unintentionally kills Tomoe also. Before her death, she gives him the second part of his cross-shaped wound.
Kenshin takes Tomoe's death hard and blames himself, swearing to fight to bring about the age desired by Katsura, but after that to continue fighting to protect the innocent without killing again. Katsura informs Kenshin that he had a new assassin
Shishio Makoto
, known in the anime in Western order as Makoto Shishio, is a fictional character from the manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin. He is the primary antagonist of the series' Kyoto arc...
kill the real spy. As the Tokugawa shogunate is nearing its end, Kenshin has his first encounter with the Shinsengumi
Shinsengumi
The were a special police force of the late shogunate period.-Historical background:After Japan opened up to the West following U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visits in 1853, its political situation gradually became more and more chaotic...
captains Okita Sōji and his future rival, Saitō Hajime. It is then revealed that once the Bakumatsu revolution had ended, the Hitokiri Battōsai had disappeared without a trace.
Production
Daryl Surat of Otaku USAOtaku USA
Otaku USA is a bimonthly magazine, published by Sovereign Media, which covers various elements of the "otaku" lifestyle from an American perspective...
stated that this series uses a more "realistic" art style than the television series uses, and that the series has "graphic, bloody violence galore" beginning in the opening sequence.
One of the major themes of Trust is understanding the repercussions and after-effects murder can have, something that Kenshin has yet to comprehend though others have tried to point it out to him.
Reception
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal has been universally critically acclaimed by anime critics and fans alike, and is considered as one of the greatest OVA series in the history of anime. Trust & Betrayals story, animation, art, music and Japanese voice acting have all been heavily praised by various critics and, consequently, the series itself has been widely acknowledged as a masterpiece and one of anime's crowning achievements.THEM Anime Reviews gave the entire OVA series a perfect score of 5 out of 5 stars, with reviewer Tim Jones stating, "powerful, evocative, saddening, and heavily charged, Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal is a series that goes far beyond its comic-book origins, testing the limits of not only its franchise, but the medium of original video animation as a storytelling device" and that it "surpasses the original television series in many ways". He summarised the series as "dramatic, tragic, beautiful" and "a sterling example of Japanese animation at its finest".
Trust & Betrayal has received significant praise from Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
reviewers. Mike Crandol noted it as one of the greatest OVA series of all time, celebrating the new characters designs as well as the fights scenes which were also noted to be "terribly bloody" and beautiful at the same time. In his review, Carl Kimlinger described the series as "stirring, devastating, smart, redemptive and pure perfection" and gave the series an 'A+' rating for the subbed version and an 'A' rating for the dub. Bamboo Dong claimed that watching this series would benefit the viewer with a "stunning overall experience" before finishing off that "Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuioku Hen is a masterpiece, with dramatic visuals and beautiful animation".
Animerica
Animerica
Animerica is a quarterly digest published by Viz Media. It initially started as a monthly magazine featuring reviews of anime and manga titles, as well as related works. After a preview issue was released in November 1992, the magazine's first issue was released in February 1993 with a March 1993...
reviewer Rio Yañez praised Trusts "introspective take on violence" as well as its being "chock-full of insane samurai sword fights and free-flying appendages" while avoiding stereotypical freeze frame
Freeze frame
- Film and Television :*Freeze frame shot, a cinematographic technique*Freeze frame television, a technique making use of freeze frame shots*Freeze Frame, a game on The Price is Right...
animation. While considering the violence "over the top", he felt it was well handled, avoiding being excessive or gratuitous, and that the action scenes were "well balanced by the lavish background paintings and designs". He did criticize ADV Film's English dub as "kung fu style dubbing", noting that the voice actors frequently mispronounced the Japanese names and left the voice track mildly confusing despite the English script's serious take of the material.
Although DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
reviewer Don Houston mentioned the OVAs were very violent for teenagers, he found the story and music to be "solid". The director's cut version received positive comments by how the four OVAs were arranged with Houston commenting it "seems more like a movie that stands alone, rather than just the precursor to a long lasting series."
Daryl Surat of Otaku USA
Otaku USA
Otaku USA is a bimonthly magazine, published by Sovereign Media, which covers various elements of the "otaku" lifestyle from an American perspective...
said that, despite what Dave Riley said, viewers should not watch the Trust & Betrayal series before watching other media, and that viewers should instead watch the television series before watching Trust & Betrayal. Surat explained that the OVA has "great moments" that a viewer unfamiliar with the television series would not "bat an eye toward."