Introduction
New to Rurouni Kenshin? You have come to the right place!"140 Years Ago in Kyoto, with the coming of the "Black Ships"...there arose a samurai called Hitokiri Battousai. Killing men with his blood-stained blade, he closed the chaotic Bakamatsu Era...and slashed open the new era known as the Meiji. Then he vanished. And with the flow of time became a legend. This tale begins in the 11th year of Meiji, in the middle of Tokyo."
That was the first page from the manga, interesting already huh :P. Anyways, you can read the first chapter of Rurouni Kenshin online at Shonenjump. But I'll give you a quick overview. Himura Kenshin is a Rurouni, a wanderer who wanders through Tokyo one day and is stopped by a girl named Kamiya Kaoru. He has a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, red hair, and is wearing a sword and worn out clothes. Kamiya Kaoru accuses Kenshin of being the Hitokiri Battousai impersonating himself as under the school of her dojo, Kamiya Kasshin. Kenshin denies this accusation stating that he is a harmless Rurouni, Kaoru doesn't believe him since he is carrying a sword, but when she pulls it out of its sheath she finds a Sakabatou (A blade on the wrong side 'reverse bladed sword'). Shortly after their conversation she hears some whistles and goes to check out the commotion and finds the real impersonator, Gohei there. She thinks he is the Hitokiri and tries to attack him but gets beaten instead and at the knick of time Kenshin saves her. As the manga goes on Kenshin turns out to be the real Hitokiri Battousai, but for some reason he has given up the way of the sword and has vowed never to kill anyone, hence he carries his Sakabatou. The story, of course, doesn't end here as Kenshin is faced with many foes and enemies since his name is getting out and they are challenging him to battles from the past. But can Kenshin stick to his non-killing self, and what is it that happened in his past that made him become this way? Will he be able to protect the ones he loves from his past enemies like Saitou Hajime (the leader of the Shinsengumi) and the Hitokiri that took his place after he left, Shishio Makoto? But perhaps more importantly, will Kenshin be able to save himself from the most deadly enemy of all: himself?
