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Why I don't talk about Rurouni Kenshin as an anime journalist
Nobuhiro Watsuki was convicted of possession of child pornography and it destroyed the series forever in my eyes.
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Here is a confession for you: I absolutely loved Rurouni Kenshin when I first watched it. The fights. The romance. The tension between Kenshin’s desire for a peaceful life and his uncanny ability to exact brutal violence. I loved the anime, flaws and all; while it wasn’t my introduction to anime, it was a big part of what made me love it. So why don’t you see me talking about the numerous live-action shows, the ongoing manga, or the reboot anime of Rurouni Kenshin here on Popverse? That is down to the actions of the series’ creator rather than the anime itself.
Nobuhiro Watsuki is a highly influential mangaka. He was one of the key mentors of One Piece’s Eiichrio Oda, and his most well-known work, Rurouni Kenshin, has received multiple anime and live-action adaptations over the years. He was also convicted of possession of child pornography in 2017 and has suffered relatively few consequences for that fact.
The timeline of events looks like this: back in September 2017, Watsuki began publishing a follow-up manga to his original Rurouni Kenshin series titled Rurouni Kenshin: Hokkaido Arc. However, just a few months later, in November 20217, the mangaka was charged with possession of child pornography. During the investigation, Japanese police found about 100 DVDs containing explicit images and videos of young girls.
Watsuki didn’t fight hard against the charges. During his deposition, he admitted that he “liked girls in the higher grades of elementary school to the second grade of junior high,” which is around the age of 11 to 13, give or take. The Rurouni Kenshin: Hokkaido Arc manga was swiftly pulled from serialization and, in early 2018, he was convicted of possession of child pornography.
Why is this still important today? Because Watsuki’s penalty for this conviction was a 200,000 yen ($1,900 at the time) fine and no jail time. Despite being caught with a figurative mountain of child porn (think about how much space 100 DVDs actually take up) and admitting to his attraction to underage girls, the Rurouni Kenshin manga went back into publication less than a year later. The industry has acted like the whole incident never happened and it has never sat right with me.
As an anime journalist (which sounds far more grown-up and serious than I try to be), I have a limited amount of time each day to cover all the shows that air each season. I can’t watch or write about them all, so I have to consider what I cover. Not just from a “this will get traffic” angle, but from a “this deserves more attention” angle as well. This is why you didn’t see the news that the Rurouni Kenshin: Hokkaido Arc manga went on hiatus again due to Watsuki’s failing health here. It is why the reboot series that is currently airing hasn’t gotten any coverage at Popverse thus far, despite being one of the biggest shows of the Fall 2024 anime season. There are too many anime that I can watch and write about that won’t line the pockets of someone who I find, shall we say, distasteful.
This is not to say that I pass judgment on anyone who watches the Rurouni Kenshin series or reads the manga. They are, as I opened this article with, very good and brought a lot of joy to me in my youth. However, I can’t in good conscience use my platform to promote the series or cover it in a way that isn’t pointing out the terrible thing that Nobuhiro Watsuki did and wasn’t really punished for until such time that he is no longer profiting from the Rurouni Kenshin series.
And before anyone says anything, I'm aware of the apparent hypocrasy of talking about Runouni Kenshin in an article where I promise not to, but there is a reason for this; Popverse, despite my ongoing efforts, is not an anime website. We cover the full breadth of pop culture and, as such, attract an audience that may never have heard of Rurouni Kenshin before. They could have missed the show when it originally aired or simply not been as plugged into the anime world when news of Watsuki's actions first broke. So this article is for them. Think of it as an educational service so that anyone who missed the news at the time can make their own informed choices about what to watch and read.
Disappointed? So are a lot of us. However, if you’re looking for a reboot of a classic Shonen anime that is airing right now and isn’t going to directly profit someone awful, the Ranma ½ remake on Netflix is very good so far and Rumiko Takahashi is, by most accounts, an absolute delight worthy of your support.
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