Can anyone please tell me what happened in Kenshin on Fri July 4th. thanx

-- Anonymous, July 05, 2003

Answers

[Pre-episode scene:]

Anji, convincing Sanosuke Sagara that his wicked concept of salvation is correct and would only be accepted in death, hits his opponent with a right-hand Futai no Kiwami. Thinking that Sano died on contact, Anji does a "Namu Amida Butsu" prayer for his soul. The prayer, however, was a little too early; Sano did a Kiwami Hazushi that saved him. Sano gives Anji the attack he taught him, and it so appears that he lost (and died).

[The episode title, "Reborn to Salvation: The Beginning of Anji's New Life", appears here.]

Sano says to Hajime Saito that his victory wasn't luck; he saved up one last Futai no Kiwami, but didn't expect it to ‘kill' him. Anji's hand moves, surprising Sano. It turns out that most of the force of the supposedly fatal blow was absorbed by an Ihai, or a memorial tablet (vague images of a burning building appear). The tablet, although an inadvertent cushion that saved Anji's life, actually represented the "lives with pure souls that couldn't be saved."

[Flashback ten years into the past, when the Buddhist Hunt started…]

A boy, whose name is revealed to be Tasuke, plays with a gyro-like toy, while he picks on a toddler (his younger brother, Goro). Their older sister, Tsubaki, knocks Tasuke upside the head as punishment for picking on Goro. And they both get punished for not bathing yet. Tsubaki later scolds Monk Anji, who's thinner and have normal eyes, for being too gentle; when scolding someone, one's heart must turn into that of a demon. Later, Monk Anji teaches the kids how to spell "Buddha" (because I wrote this from an English dub, they orally spelled it in English, yet one of the kids wrote it in hiragana in the snow). Anji also teaches how Buddha is basically like a god in other similar religions – he forgives no matter what happens, and people pray for stuff to happen. One thing in particular, the kids pray that he and their older sister, Tsubaki, will marry. They believe that if they marry, they can become a real family (I'm guessing that back then, Tsubaki had some sort of a crush on Monk Anji). Inside the temple, the town's mayor and two of his servants inform Anji that they're going to tear down the temple where he and the kids reside because the Meiji government abolished Buddhism. Anji wasn't concerned with the abolishment of Buddhism, but he was concerned with the welfare of the kids, because they became orphaned since their parents were lost in the Boshin War. Their parents were even more reason why the mayor requested the wrecking of the temple; their father was loyal to the Shogunate and contributed to their opposition in the war. If the children were to leave, they would get more funding from the Meiji. The kids, who eavesdropped, and Anji, started praying that they'll move to Tokyo or Kyoto, and that they'll have a happy future and be watched over. Later that night, Anji's prayers awaken Tsubaki. She vows that she'll do anything he asks him, and will bear the responsibilities of an adult (she still appears to be at an adolescent age at most), and then prays that they'll be watched over. Anji continues praying outside, over a waterfall, chanting "Namu Amida Butsu." He sees a blaze in the distance, and notices that it's the temple burning down. Immediately, he runs over to see what happened, but is knocked unconscious by the mayor's servants, who are happy that they'll finally get that phat lewt from the Meiji. At sunrise, Monk Anji awakens to the destruction of the temple. None of the children survived. Out of anger, he punches the statue of Buddha, which was still standing, and asks his deity why his prayers for protection and a happy future for the happy children were never answered, and why he allowed the children to have such a fate. He wipes his tears of anger with his hands, stained from the soot and ash of the fire. This is how he gets those black eyes. And this is when he transitions from Monk Anji to Anji the Destroyer.

[A small fast forward scene five years later…]

It's nighttime with a full moon, and it appears to be red. The mayor of the town is cowering beneath Anji the Destroyer, who is now more muscular and intimidating than to his previous monk form. The old mayor claims that the temple incident wasn't his doing, and he begs for his life to be spared. Immediately after that, the scene switches to the present. Anji explains that not one thing can be saved through prayers and wishes. He then vows that until the five kids are reincarnated into the earth, he'll never lose a battle.

[Commercial-time here]

Sano demands an explanation why Anji believes in his twisted logic, which reminds himself of his own rage when Captain Sagara died. He intends to get this chip off Anji's shoulder the same way Kenshin did to him. They trade blows of Futai no Kiwami. Despite being a one- shot attack, the Futai no Kiwami proves futile to each other because of their desire to win at any cost. However, Saito observes that even though Anji is a part of the Juppongatana, he's not a swordsman, but he keeps a short sword in his belt nonetheless. Anji uses the sword to do the To-ate, a distance attack that uses the sword as merely a tool to send the Futai no Kiwami's force through the ground. Anji does another To-ate, but Sano jumps over it and counterattacks with his own Futai no Kiwami, but Anji's left hand Futai no Kiwami collides with his. On contact, Sano convinces Anji that now's the time that his [emotional] wounds start healing. Anji replies that all he has are deep scars and consequently, he feels no pain. He intends to stay as a Destroyer until he saves the world because it's his children's wish. The physical fight ends with a draw, but Sano tells Anji that him being a destroyer would be the LAST thing the children would wish for; they're crying because of all the blood he shed.

[Another flashback – actually a dream state]

Monk Anji carries Tsubaki over his back, walking in the snow, because she has a sprained ankle. Tsubaki wishes that time would freeze so that everyone (Anji and the orphans) would stay the way they were – happy, and ‘when' she gets older, she'll stay by Anji's side no matter what. Anji starts crying, saying that he doesn't deserve that kindness. His face changes to its present state, with the soot around his eyes, but tears still flowing. He realizes his wrongdoing of all the lives he took. The ghosts of the orphans appear, and reminded him of what he taught them – no matter what happens, out of sorrow or out of hatred, Buddha will forgive, and also that they'll be together forever in spirit. The ghosts float off, converging into a golden light that turns into the face of Buddha.

Anji, wakes up, and gives up his ways of a Destroyer. Sano explains that his kindness saved the kids up until they passed on, and that he can return to the life of being a gentle monk. He admits defeat, and warns them to return to the Aouia, since the only Juppongatana in the fortress are Usui, Sojiro, and Hoji – the rest are surrounding the hospice to destroy the Oniwaban. Anji agrees to look over the nearly-paralyzed Sano, and uses the medicine Megumi gave to Kaoru to give to Kenshin so he can aide him. Despite the attack on the Aouia, Kenshin and Saito decide to go on, since they can't go back unless they want to get lost within the labyrinth of the fortress, and more importantly, they trust the skill of their friends, and especially the arrival of Seijuro Hiko the Thirteenth.

Cut to the Aouia. About 150 men of the Juppongatana, including Kamatari, surround Kaoru, Yahiko, Misao, and the Kyoto Oniwaban.

Cut back to the fortress. Yumi, Kenshin, and Saito enter a dark room where Usui awaits. There are eyes painted on every tile of the wall in the room, plus five eyes on the floor – one on each of the four corners plus one big eye in the center of the room. He asks which of the two swordsman wants to see the afterlife first…

I hope that helped you out. I hate it when I miss an episode Expecially of Rurouni Kenshin

-- Anonymous, July 05, 2003

that was long. but very descriptive. it musta taken foever to type.

-- Anonymous, July 05, 2003

WOW

-- Anonymous, July 06, 2003

shelly, i really, really apreciate for typing that summary. thanx

-- Anonymous, July 07, 2003

how did u remember all that???

-- Anonymous, July 07, 2003