Kenshin: and now with pirates!

My DVDs with good subtitles finally got here. Yay. Much as it was fun to see characters say 'fuck' in subtitles and to refer to rice as 'ice' it's nice to have good, legible subtitles, not to mention subtitles that translate everything, not just half the dialogue. OTOH, the fact that they have Kenshin finish each sentence with a weird "that is does" or 'this is is' or whatever took some getting used to. I know they are trying to convey his formal, old-fashioned way of speaking, but that just comes across as if he has word quota he needs to fill or a speech impediment.

I have also decided that Kenshin is both my favorite character and my primary crush on RK. Not that it means my Aoshi or Sano love has abated, it's just Kenshin gets cooler and cooler, the more you see of him. I loved him following Sano and fighting him when Sano almost went back to avenge the Sekhoutai (sp). Sano is still not free of his traumatic past (understandably so) but Kenshin stops him from being trapped in it forever. That fight is heart-breaking, because Kenshin and Sano really do love each other (though not in a Brokeback way) but it does result in Sano being 'saved.' I also loved Sano throwing a party before he left, as he thought forever. And drunk Kaoru, trying to express her feelings about Kenshin, is adorable.

But the real cool bit and what really made me fall hard for Kenshi is the ep where Kenshin, Sano and Yahiko all signing up as guards on a ship against pirates because they need money because otherwise Kaoru is the only one who works and they find out that Kaoru signed up as well because she wants money to feed them. So adorable. And then Kaoru comes out at night on deck to find Kenshin standing there, not sleeping and they have this conversation where he says he wishes he knew she was going to sign up because then he would have done anything to stop her and she tells him she is safe with him and won't get in the way and she knows how to fight and she is blushing. It's beyond cute.

And then the pirates attack and there is a huge fight and Kenshin wants Kaoru to go below but she stays by his side and they both fight side by side but the pirates are really good and so she ends up wounded and so she is standing behind his back and he is protecting her and she tells him she is sorry to get in the way and he is all intense and fierce and it's totally HOT (I don't care they are animated, I just don't). And he gets shot with a poison dart and he still manages to fight and beat the pirate leader (who is deeply annoying btw). So the pirates rob and leave but they manage to grab Kaoru with them so Kenshin, who is totally fainting-level wounded (eeeee, love people who fight and then as soon as they don't have to, collapse. Yay for adrenaline), jumps on board after them and begs the pirate leader chick to let Kaoru go and offers his life in exchange. And they take him on his offer and then later after he's kinda recovered, the pirate chickie wants him to fight her for real (because she can't bear to lose and she knows he didn't kill her on purpose) and he tells her he won't because she saved Kaoru's life so he gave his up to her in exchange. And she takes her sword and strikes out, millimiters from his face and he doesn't flinch. And why am I recounting everything in the freaking eps anyway?

I love that Kaoru isn't a damsel in distress though. She is freaking out about Kenshin (she won't eat because she is all 'I bet Kenshin doesn't have anything to eat either') but despite her worries, she and Sano and Yahiko mount an effective rescue party. Yay.

I do find Kenshin's utter openness and resignation (and it's not bitter but rather peaceful) to death both in character and very upsetting. He shouldn't be all "I find it a little disappointing that the last moon I see isn't a full moon." I know he's had to be like that, or he couldn't have lived the life he lived and it's something he's enforced strictly in himself on purpose, as he is very disciplined, but it's very very sad.

Kenshin: and now with pirates!

My DVDs with good subtitles finally got here. Yay. Much as it was fun to see characters say 'fuck' in subtitles and to refer to rice as 'ice' it's nice to have good, legible subtitles, not to mention subtitles that translate everything, not just half the dialogue. OTOH, the fact that they have Kenshin finish each sentence with a weird "that is does" or 'this is is' or whatever took some getting used to. I know they are trying to convey his formal, old-fashioned way of speaking, but that just comes across as if he has word quota he needs to fill or a speech impediment.

I have also decided that Kenshin is both my favorite character and my primary crush on RK. Not that it means my Aoshi or Sano love has abated, it's just Kenshin gets cooler and cooler, the more you see of him. I loved him following Sano and fighting him when Sano almost went back to avenge the Sekhoutai (sp). Sano is still not free of his traumatic past (understandably so) but Kenshin stops him from being trapped in it forever. That fight is heart-breaking, because Kenshin and Sano really do love each other (though not in a Brokeback way) but it does result in Sano being 'saved.' I also loved Sano throwing a party before he left, as he thought forever. And drunk Kaoru, trying to express her feelings about Kenshin, is adorable.

But the real cool bit and what really made me fall hard for Kenshi is the ep where Kenshin, Sano and Yahiko all signing up as guards on a ship against pirates because they need money because otherwise Kaoru is the only one who works and they find out that Kaoru signed up as well because she wants money to feed them. So adorable. And then Kaoru comes out at night on deck to find Kenshin standing there, not sleeping and they have this conversation where he says he wishes he knew she was going to sign up because then he would have done anything to stop her and she tells him she is safe with him and won't get in the way and she knows how to fight and she is blushing. It's beyond cute.

And then the pirates attack and there is a huge fight and Kenshin wants Kaoru to go below but she stays by his side and they both fight side by side but the pirates are really good and so she ends up wounded and so she is standing behind his back and he is protecting her and she tells him she is sorry to get in the way and he is all intense and fierce and it's totally HOT (I don't care they are animated, I just don't). And he gets shot with a poison dart and he still manages to fight and beat the pirate leader (who is deeply annoying btw). So the pirates rob and leave but they manage to grab Kaoru with them so Kenshin, who is totally fainting-level wounded (eeeee, love people who fight and then as soon as they don't have to, collapse. Yay for adrenaline), jumps on board after them and begs the pirate leader chick to let Kaoru go and offers his life in exchange. And they take him on his offer and then later after he's kinda recovered, the pirate chickie wants him to fight her for real (because she can't bear to lose and she knows he didn't kill her on purpose) and he tells her he won't because she saved Kaoru's life so he gave his up to her in exchange. And she takes her sword and strikes out, millimiters from his face and he doesn't flinch. And why am I recounting everything in the freaking eps anyway?

I love that Kaoru isn't a damsel in distress though. She is freaking out about Kenshin (she won't eat because she is all 'I bet Kenshin doesn't have anything to eat either') but despite her worries, she and Sano and Yahiko mount an effective rescue party. Yay.

I do find Kenshin's utter openness and resignation (and it's not bitter but rather peaceful) to death both in character and very upsetting. He shouldn't be all "I find it a little disappointing that the last moon I see isn't a full moon." I know he's had to be like that, or he couldn't have lived the life he lived and it's something he's enforced strictly in himself on purpose, as he is very disciplined, but it's very very sad.

Kenshin: and now with pirates!

My DVDs with good subtitles finally got here. Yay. Much as it was fun to see characters say 'fuck' in subtitles and to refer to rice as 'ice' it's nice to have good, legible subtitles, not to mention subtitles that translate everything, not just half the dialogue. OTOH, the fact that they have Kenshin finish each sentence with a weird "that is does" or 'this is is' or whatever took some getting used to. I know they are trying to convey his formal, old-fashioned way of speaking, but that just comes across as if he has word quota he needs to fill or a speech impediment.

I have also decided that Kenshin is both my favorite character and my primary crush on RK. Not that it means my Aoshi or Sano love has abated, it's just Kenshin gets cooler and cooler, the more you see of him. I loved him following Sano and fighting him when Sano almost went back to avenge the Sekhoutai (sp). Sano is still not free of his traumatic past (understandably so) but Kenshin stops him from being trapped in it forever. That fight is heart-breaking, because Kenshin and Sano really do love each other (though not in a Brokeback way) but it does result in Sano being 'saved.' I also loved Sano throwing a party before he left, as he thought forever. And drunk Kaoru, trying to express her feelings about Kenshin, is adorable.

But the real cool bit and what really made me fall hard for Kenshi is the ep where Kenshin, Sano and Yahiko all signing up as guards on a ship against pirates because they need money because otherwise Kaoru is the only one who works and they find out that Kaoru signed up as well because she wants money to feed them. So adorable. And then Kaoru comes out at night on deck to find Kenshin standing there, not sleeping and they have this conversation where he says he wishes he knew she was going to sign up because then he would have done anything to stop her and she tells him she is safe with him and won't get in the way and she knows how to fight and she is blushing. It's beyond cute.

And then the pirates attack and there is a huge fight and Kenshin wants Kaoru to go below but she stays by his side and they both fight side by side but the pirates are really good and so she ends up wounded and so she is standing behind his back and he is protecting her and she tells him she is sorry to get in the way and he is all intense and fierce and it's totally HOT (I don't care they are animated, I just don't). And he gets shot with a poison dart and he still manages to fight and beat the pirate leader (who is deeply annoying btw). So the pirates rob and leave but they manage to grab Kaoru with them so Kenshin, who is totally fainting-level wounded (eeeee, love people who fight and then as soon as they don't have to, collapse. Yay for adrenaline), jumps on board after them and begs the pirate leader chick to let Kaoru go and offers his life in exchange. And they take him on his offer and then later after he's kinda recovered, the pirate chickie wants him to fight her for real (because she can't bear to lose and she knows he didn't kill her on purpose) and he tells her he won't because she saved Kaoru's life so he gave his up to her in exchange. And she takes her sword and strikes out, millimiters from his face and he doesn't flinch. And why am I recounting everything in the freaking eps anyway?

I love that Kaoru isn't a damsel in distress though. She is freaking out about Kenshin (she won't eat because she is all 'I bet Kenshin doesn't have anything to eat either') but despite her worries, she and Sano and Yahiko mount an effective rescue party. Yay.

I do find Kenshin's utter openness and resignation (and it's not bitter but rather peaceful) to death both in character and very upsetting. He shouldn't be all "I find it a little disappointing that the last moon I see isn't a full moon." I know he's had to be like that, or he couldn't have lived the life he lived and it's something he's enforced strictly in himself on purpose, as he is very disciplined, but it's very very sad.

Kenshin=Love

I realized that the most wonderful thing about Kaoru is her total, complete acceptance of everything. What do I mean? She takes Kenshin in and she couldn't care less he was the Battousai. Her one criteria is "you seem like a nice guy. I like you." True, she falls for him rather quickly and he did save her life, but she does the same with Sano and Yahiko and Pirate Girl etc etc etc. She is completely unhestitating in opening her home and her heart to people. And it's not as if she choses to overlook Kenshin's past because of his current niceness or her feelings. She genuinely finds anything outside of his present irrelevant to her evaluation of him. Basically, t must be wonderful for Kenshin not to be liked despite of what he was or because of it, but be liked because of who he is. All that matters is the kind of person he is now, his present. The rest is irrelevant. And this is why Kaoru is so cool.

I love how it's a running theme that the Kenshingumi (heeee) are constantly broke and rather constantly hungry. After all, that whole long three parter with the pirates where they brought down two separate criminal enterprises and had fights and fires and narrow escapes and burning boats, what did they get at the end? A big, big lobster. It so makes sense. Because while Kaoru is a good martial artist and Sano and Kenshin are amazing ones, there is not much market for it. I mean, Kenshin can cut a marble column in two with his sword which is great, but people generally prefer their marble columns in one piece. Short of hiring out as a bodyguard or an assassin (neither of which he'd do), there isn't much he can do to earn a living. So Kaoru goes out and teaches lessons and he cooks, cleans and does laundry (I rather like the matter of fact approach to this reversal of traditional gender roles).

And I also love that the show deals, in a nice background way that Kenshin's way of not killing his opponents does mean that a number of them are going to keep coming after him, or hire others to do so. Of course, it ties in with his freaky and utter acceptance of his incoming death (repeatedly). I think part of it is because he thinks he should have died a long time ago so any extra time is a blessing, but another part is because he knows he can die at any time so, parodoxically, he has to accept his death in order to be able to live at all, and not cower in fear and terror every day.

Also, Kenshin talking about his past to Kaoru=love. I love that he opened up to her. And Sano fighting Saito, even with that wound? Love. And Megumi taking care of him? Love also. But the most love is Kenshin's flashback to his past and fighting the Shinsengumi, and seeing Souji and an almost Souji-Kenshin match. That was kinda surreal after Peacemaker and I loved every bit of it. It is like a crazy-cool cross-over. And seeing Kenshin in his former, completely effective, utterly deadly killer mode was amazing: lightning quick strikes, no pause among he corpses, blood on his face. You can see what he is when he doesn't hold back. And you can see why he desperately tries to atone.

So basically, Kenshin=love.

Kenshin=Love

I realized that the most wonderful thing about Kaoru is her total, complete acceptance of everything. What do I mean? She takes Kenshin in and she couldn't care less he was the Battousai. Her one criteria is "you seem like a nice guy. I like you." True, she falls for him rather quickly and he did save her life, but she does the same with Sano and Yahiko and Pirate Girl etc etc etc. She is completely unhestitating in opening her home and her heart to people. And it's not as if she choses to overlook Kenshin's past because of his current niceness or her feelings. She genuinely finds anything outside of his present irrelevant to her evaluation of him. Basically, t must be wonderful for Kenshin not to be liked despite of what he was or because of it, but be liked because of who he is. All that matters is the kind of person he is now, his present. The rest is irrelevant. And this is why Kaoru is so cool.

I love how it's a running theme that the Kenshingumi (heeee) are constantly broke and rather constantly hungry. After all, that whole long three parter with the pirates where they brought down two separate criminal enterprises and had fights and fires and narrow escapes and burning boats, what did they get at the end? A big, big lobster. It so makes sense. Because while Kaoru is a good martial artist and Sano and Kenshin are amazing ones, there is not much market for it. I mean, Kenshin can cut a marble column in two with his sword which is great, but people generally prefer their marble columns in one piece. Short of hiring out as a bodyguard or an assassin (neither of which he'd do), there isn't much he can do to earn a living. So Kaoru goes out and teaches lessons and he cooks, cleans and does laundry (I rather like the matter of fact approach to this reversal of traditional gender roles).

And I also love that the show deals, in a nice background way that Kenshin's way of not killing his opponents does mean that a number of them are going to keep coming after him, or hire others to do so. Of course, it ties in with his freaky and utter acceptance of his incoming death (repeatedly). I think part of it is because he thinks he should have died a long time ago so any extra time is a blessing, but another part is because he knows he can die at any time so, parodoxically, he has to accept his death in order to be able to live at all, and not cower in fear and terror every day.

Also, Kenshin talking about his past to Kaoru=love. I love that he opened up to her. And Sano fighting Saito, even with that wound? Love. And Megumi taking care of him? Love also. But the most love is Kenshin's flashback to his past and fighting the Shinsengumi, and seeing Souji and an almost Souji-Kenshin match. That was kinda surreal after Peacemaker and I loved every bit of it. It is like a crazy-cool cross-over. And seeing Kenshin in his former, completely effective, utterly deadly killer mode was amazing: lightning quick strikes, no pause among he corpses, blood on his face. You can see what he is when he doesn't hold back. And you can see why he desperately tries to atone.

So basically, Kenshin=love.

Kenshin=Love

I realized that the most wonderful thing about Kaoru is her total, complete acceptance of everything. What do I mean? She takes Kenshin in and she couldn't care less he was the Battousai. Her one criteria is "you seem like a nice guy. I like you." True, she falls for him rather quickly and he did save her life, but she does the same with Sano and Yahiko and Pirate Girl etc etc etc. She is completely unhestitating in opening her home and her heart to people. And it's not as if she choses to overlook Kenshin's past because of his current niceness or her feelings. She genuinely finds anything outside of his present irrelevant to her evaluation of him. Basically, t must be wonderful for Kenshin not to be liked despite of what he was or because of it, but be liked because of who he is. All that matters is the kind of person he is now, his present. The rest is irrelevant. And this is why Kaoru is so cool.

I love how it's a running theme that the Kenshingumi (heeee) are constantly broke and rather constantly hungry. After all, that whole long three parter with the pirates where they brought down two separate criminal enterprises and had fights and fires and narrow escapes and burning boats, what did they get at the end? A big, big lobster. It so makes sense. Because while Kaoru is a good martial artist and Sano and Kenshin are amazing ones, there is not much market for it. I mean, Kenshin can cut a marble column in two with his sword which is great, but people generally prefer their marble columns in one piece. Short of hiring out as a bodyguard or an assassin (neither of which he'd do), there isn't much he can do to earn a living. So Kaoru goes out and teaches lessons and he cooks, cleans and does laundry (I rather like the matter of fact approach to this reversal of traditional gender roles).

And I also love that the show deals, in a nice background way that Kenshin's way of not killing his opponents does mean that a number of them are going to keep coming after him, or hire others to do so. Of course, it ties in with his freaky and utter acceptance of his incoming death (repeatedly). I think part of it is because he thinks he should have died a long time ago so any extra time is a blessing, but another part is because he knows he can die at any time so, parodoxically, he has to accept his death in order to be able to live at all, and not cower in fear and terror every day.

Also, Kenshin talking about his past to Kaoru=love. I love that he opened up to her. And Sano fighting Saito, even with that wound? Love. And Megumi taking care of him? Love also. But the most love is Kenshin's flashback to his past and fighting the Shinsengumi, and seeing Souji and an almost Souji-Kenshin match. That was kinda surreal after Peacemaker and I loved every bit of it. It is like a crazy-cool cross-over. And seeing Kenshin in his former, completely effective, utterly deadly killer mode was amazing: lightning quick strikes, no pause among he corpses, blood on his face. You can see what he is when he doesn't hold back. And you can see why he desperately tries to atone.

So basically, Kenshin=love.