I want to know how meny episodes of Samurai X there were and how meny OVA's there were and what does OVA stand for? Thnx

-- Anonymous, September 25, 2003

Answers

There are -- I believe -- four separate chapters of the OVA (Original Video Animation) series Samurai X (Rurouni Kenshin).

"Trust" and "Betrayal" cover Kenshin's early life as a Hitokiri and his first love. "Reflections" covers the years following the television series and what happens to the various characters. Both are related in the important sense that the art style and tone are markedly different from the TV series.

"Trust," "Betrayal," and "Reflections" are all done in a more realistic, softer (and to my mind) artistic style than the TV series or the fourth OVA, "Samurai X - The Motion Picture," which takes place during the same timeframe as the TV series. It's really pretty remarkable and makes those first three OVAs truly a joy to watch.

Buy them on DVD! They're worth not only watching, but KEEPING. You can find them for sale here: http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemid=ADV006102&ref=pricegrabber

-- Anonymous, September 25, 2003

Damnit, read the other 95 posts about this. Read them 6 times while you are at it.

-- Anonymous, September 25, 2003

Two OAV, the first OAV is 4 30 minute eps, second OAV is 2 eps, TV series is 95 ep, and there is one kenshin movie.

-- Anonymous, September 25, 2003

The last 2 OVA's covering what happens after the series was way too depressing for my taste. It dooesn't fit the series' mood. If you don't want to ruin your happy image of the show, don't watch it. And if I'm correct, it wasn't even done by the same person that did the series.

-- Anonymous, September 27, 2003

-- The last 2 OVA's covering what happens after the series was way too depressing for my taste. It dooesn't fit the series' mood. If you don't want to ruin your happy image of the show, don't watch it. And if I'm correct, it wasn't even done by the same person that did the series. --

They weren't... and thank goodness. The OVA following the events of the series, while depressing to some, were beautifully done and very MUCH in line with the original manga series that the TV series originally was based upon, but later (after the Kyoto saga) veered away from, in favor of other stories not written by the original creator.

"Reflections" was able to finally bring many scenes from those "lost episodes" to the screen. If you love Rurouni Kenshin and don't mind more realism in your anime, buy it.

-- Anonymous, September 27, 2003