| | |  | STUDIO GHIBLI LIBRARY | Home » » » Rurouni Kenshin, Vol. 5 | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | In this volume, Yahiko tries to save a waitress from a yakuza gang, the incredible fighter Raijunta Isurugi defeats the school's master, and Kenshin must use his antiquated swordsmanship to battle Raijunta. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Nobuhiro Watsuki | | Paperback:
| 200 pages | | Publisher:
| VIZ Media LLC | | Publication Date:
| June 16, 2004 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 159116320X | | Product Length:
| 7.54 inches | | Product Width:
| 5.0 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.65 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.43 pounds | | Package Length:
| 7.4 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.0 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.8 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.15 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 8 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 8 customer reviews )
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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Grade A series, but this volume in particular is a bit of a tease...Feb 05, 2006
By Eleven High
I give rurouni kenshin on the whole 5 stars. Given the nature of the beast (This is a series, and you are going to end up buying all the volumes, no matter how good each individual one is), it seems a little pointless to write an individual review for this one volume in the series.
However, I feel the need to proffess that both vol's 5 and 6 have a nice bit of character development, but in terms of plot, it just doesnt FEEL like it goes anywhere. Watsuki himself states that this volume is slow and that the series will pick up(Boy, does it...).
The volume takes us through a story involving Yahiko first. This is a nice story, as it really does show us how little yahiko is evolving as a swordsman (He just seems useless compared to the uberpowerful baddies sanosuke and kenshin are always schooling) through Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. Yahiko was in need of some panel time, as he always seemed from the beginning to be a gimmick character created by Watsuki. It also shows that Kaorou is not the wimp she's made out to be (Again, she suffers the same problem as Yahiko, she just doesnt seem strong compared to the Sano and Kenshin calibur).
So a little over the first quarter of the book is devoted to some character development. After that, we have the entrance of the next arc, the Raijuta arc.
The Raijuta arc is particularly interesting, simply because it causes a further linkage coming up. And it introduces Yutaro, who becomes Yahiko's rival. Their exchanges are particularly funny. Anyway, Raijuto is a high calibur swordsman who just seems to go around bullying dojo masters into accepting challenges from him, for no other reason than to be a jerk and get said masters to shut down their dojos. Yutaro seems to be his annoying twerp of an apprentice. Of course all of this makes an odd twist midway through, which I wont spoil for you. While not really left at a cliff hanger (Unlike volume 7, grr), you will still want more (and i mean more than usual) because this volume seems to not tell much in its 200 pages. The overall plot moves along maybe an inch as we see the little sub plots of yahiko's battle, yutaro v. yahiko, etc move. It's simply unfulfilling by the end. This is easily avoided though, by purchasing volume 6 with 5. Volume 6 "suffers" from the same problems (takes a while to get somewhere, but we do get a conclusion, a satisfying one at that), and it delves into a rather interesting side story involving sanosuke.
In essence, volumes 1-6 are all just the calm before the storm. They compromise the first main arc (there are 3) of the RK series, the Tokyo Arc. The Tokyo Arc is personified by the little individual adventures that dont seem to have much relation to each other. Volume 7 is where the series really picks up, as it goes full blown into the Kyoto Arc, one full of awesome political intrigue, awesome sword fights, and more revalation into Kenshin's mysterious past. The Kyoto arc will connect all these little stories the Tokyo Arc told you, and it will get the MAIN plotline chugging along.
But I really digress. 5 and 6 seem almost meant to be purchased in a pair, so i recomend you do as such. This one vol by itself isnt filling enough to satiate your RK needs, trust me.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Aoshi-sama is the best!!!!Aug 06, 2004
By Rose Kurama
"^.~ Rose"
I love the Kenshin manga and the Kenshin anime. It's my favorite next to Yu Yu Hakusho. I seriously recommend for evryone to read this even if have seen the anime because it is different and certain characters look better in the manga.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Impossible to resist!Jun 23, 2004
By Sarah Goldberg
Seriously, how can anyone not like Rurouni Kenshin? I mean, it's got something for everyone-romance, comedy, action, history-what's not to like? The plot of these books is extremaly interesting, you never get bored and I am DYING to get the next one as soon as it comes out!
This series is about the swordsman Himura Kenshin, formerly known as Hitokiri Battosai (Battosai the Manslayer) As a hired assasin, he helped bring about the Meiji age and end the Bakumastu. Now, however, he uses no sword but a sakabatou (reverse blade) that can't kill anyone. He took to living as a rurouni (wanderer) but all that changed as he was confronted one day by Kamiya Kaoru, female instructor of Kamiya Kashin-ryu. Want to know what happens? You'll need a lot of commitment and a lot of money to find out, because the only downside to this series is that the whole story totals into a whopping 28 books! But if you're going to get into manga at all, this is definately a series worth buying!
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Real close to the good stuff.Sep 25, 2004
By Mato-kun
Rurouni Kenshin is one of the best mangas of all time. Its funny, romantic, and has some of the best action and characters of all time. The manga is much better than the anime since it moves along quickly to the Legend of Kyoto saga against, but it does have Volume 5. I love the whole series but this one part seems tedious. But despite that its still awesome. It revolves around the appearance of Raijuta, a swordsman who feels that the old ways of the samurai have died out, and its time for a new way of teaching sword. Kenshin, representing the old style needs to prove that there is still value in the old ways. Thats not the best plot synopsis, but its generally OK.
The real reason to get excited about this volume is how close it is to Volume 7. In the sequence of the manga series, Vol. 7 is where Saito Hajime is introduced to the plot, and the Legend of Kyoto saga begins. I own that volume in Japanese and I will attest that it is the high point of the series. I also know that Volume 6 was recently released so that just means even less time before this masterpiece of Japanese manga comes out.
The Romantic Meji Swordsman, Rurouni Kenshin is probably the very best you can do as far as mangas go. Volume 5 isn't that important to the over all plot but is still a five star read. Read it and marvel at Nobuhiro Watsuki's storytelling skills.
Oro!
 This time, I'm not going to loseJul 25, 2009
By E. A Solinas
"ea_solinas"
Yahiko has mostly been used for comic relief and background, since he's a tiny prepubescent kid who doesn't have any exceptional strength or sword skills (yet). But that changes dramatically in the fifth volume of Nobuhiro Watsuki's "Rurouni Kenshin," where a subtle focus shift shows that Yahiko is growing up fast. The second half of the volume is a bit weak compared to the brilliant stories that came before it, but it's still worthwhile.
Yahiko keeps mysteriously missing out on his training sessions, and his friends guess that it's because of a girl (Sano), food (Kaoru) or sword training (Kenshin). They end up following him the next day to a part-time job at a restaurant, where it turns out that he's defending a pretty young woman from some thieving thugs. And though he's no match for the thieves, Kenshin starts to teach him how to fight his own battles without help.
Then a trip to another dojo goes horribly wrong when an old friend of Kaoru's is taken down by a vast savage-looking man, Isurugi Raijita -- he's incredibly powerful (able to split the floor with a practice sword), and insists that he wants to give kenjutsu back its "purity" and strength. And after a brief bout with Kenshin, Raijita is determined to have the powerful rurouni as part of his "revival" movement -- and apparently "no" is not an option.
"Rurouni Kenshin Volume 5" is rather weaker storywise than the volumes that precede it, mainly because the second of these two stories centers on someone less imposing than the assassins and onmitsu of prior stories -- namely, Raijita himself. That said, the second half of this volume seems like a slow windup to the conclusion in the next one, so it's a good idea to have the sixth volume close by.
But it also serves as a bit of a growth experience for Yahiko, who suddenly graduates from being the Comic Relief Squirt to a young man who's honorable, passionate, and becoming stronger by leaps and bounds. Additionally, the little guy also gets a love interest of sorts. He also gets a rival in swordsplay: a young apprentice of Raijita's, who comes across as an annoying little runt who squabbles a lot with Yahiko (but will presumably get fleshed out later on).
As for Raijita, he seems like a megasized fanatic, who wants to kill or humiliate anyone who doesn't join his little self-glorifying crusade. And he doesn't care who -- or how many -- die to get his sword-revolution moving.
And in the middle of these two stories, Watsuki weaves in his usual web of razor-edged action scenes filled with pale angry eyes and swinging swords, a hint of romance, and plenty of comic relief (including Kaoru strolling out of her room with a tied-up and knocked-out Yahiko hanging from a stick). And as always, there's the underlying message of Kenshin and his world: that glory, power and strength aren't worth killing for.
"Rurouni Kenshin Volume 5" is a bit weaker than its predecessors, but it's still a solid story-and-a-half about swords, love, and more swords. And this one wonders where the story of Raijita and his apprentice will go next.
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