Rurouni Kenshin: How Skilled Is Kenshin Himura?

The new adaptation of the Rurouni Kenshin series has just begun airing, and the series has succeeded, this time combining modern animation techniques with its classical vibe. Now, with the new series finally underway, we can begin discussing its protagonist, Kenshin Himura, who is an exceptionally interesting and powerful character. Introduced as a rurouni (wandering samurai), it turned out that he is actually the notorious Hitokiri Battosai, a former assassin known for his skill, strength, and the danger he represented. It was shown that Himura was, despite his stature, an exceptionally powerful character, and in this article, we are going to tell you just how skilled he is.

Kenshin Himura is one of the most skilled and strongest characters in the series. He is known as the Hitokiri Battosai and was a notorious assassin before becoming a peace-loving Rurouni. He has mastered the Battōjutsu art, but he also has incredible speed and stamina, proving that he can knock out four or five opponents with just one hit from his sword. In that aspect, he is undoubtedly one of the most skilled characters in the whole series and one of its most powerful characters.

The rest of this article will evaluate Himura’s powers and abilities. We will tell you about them and then give you an evaluation of his skills and abilities in terms of how they impacted the series and how he has used them to achieve his goal(s) in the series. We won’t be going into a detailed comparative analysis, but you will be able to grasp the context in which Himura and his powers exist within the world of Rurouni Kenshin.

Kenshin Himura seems fragile, but he is actually one of the most skilled characters in the whole lore

Regarding his physical durability, we can say that Kenshin Himura is truly amazing, as he has managed to survive being burned and even shot, although more serious injuries will actually put him in bed for a while, which is normal, as he does not have any superhuman abilities.

During the Kyoto arc, Megumi reveals to Kaoru that the use of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū would progressively affect Kenshin’s body to the point that he will be unable to fight again in the future. This is because the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū style was not meant to be used by someone with such a slim and seemingly frail body as Himura, a problem that becomes increasingly apparent during the Jinchuu arc.

However, this latest inconvenience hasn’t stopped Kenshin from reusing his sword during the Hokkaido arc. Kenshin’s sword skills have allowed him to become an elite assassin working for the government by the age of 14, eventually becoming a Bakumatsu legend and one of those primarily responsible for the victory of the Meiji government. He was, in fact, so effective that he became known as the Hitokiri Battosai, i.e., Battosai the Manslayer.

The Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū style, taught by his teacher Hiko Seijuro, has the purpose of reaching “the speed of a God” in order to allow him to finish off several enemies at the same time, which Kenshin was able to do on more than one occasion throughout the series. To the latter must be added his mastery of the Battoujutsu martial art, a branch of Kenjutsu (sword fighting style for combat) that consists of the ability to quickly draw the sword and execute an attack.

In fact, Kenshin’s nickname during Bakumatsu, Hitokiri Battousai, comes from his mastery of Battoujutsu.

His small and thin body allows Kenshin to make fast movements by jumping, and bouncing off walls and even allows him to have great reflexes, being able to dodge even shots from a gattling gun, which was the most revolutionary firearm of the time.

Kenshin’s main weapon throughout the series is his Sakabatō, a reverse-edged sword that Kenshin uses to forcefully “hit” his opponents without killing them. Throughout the series, Kenshin had two Sakabato.

The first Sakabato was named Sakabato Kageuchi, and Kenshin received it from Shaku Arai, a master swordsmith, personally, who gave it to Kenshin during the final days of the Bakumatsu period as a beacon of hope for a new era without wars; this is why the sword was crafted so that it was not suitable for killing. He used this sword from the beginning of the series until his brief fight against Sojiro in the Shingetsu village, in which both Kenshin’s Sakabato and Sojiro’s swords were broken.

Subsequently, Kenshin receives the Sakabato Shinuchi, made by Shaku Arai, and the Sakabato Kageuchi. Kenshin received this sword from Shaku Arai’s son, Seiko Arai, who also made a tsuka (handle) for the sword. According to Sojiro, this sword is more powerful than the previous one. Kenshin has been using this sword since the Kyoto arc.

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As you can see, our brief analysis of Kenshin’s skills and abilities shows that he is a formidable character. And that is, in all honesty, true. Kenshin Himura was dubbed Hitokiri Battosai and was feared throughout

Japan. He was a very efficient assassin working for the government, so he was feared even after the Meiji era brought peace to Japan. Since he agreed with the peace-time efforts of the new government, he stopped being an assassin and considered that part of him to be in the past, and he has consistently made an effort to actually maintain this.

When he fought the Hiruma brothers and their lackeys, despite taking his blade, he never killed any of them. He used his blade to beat them up and knock them unconscious, showing his capability. He was actually able to defeat four or five enemies with one attack, which was a truly amazing feat in every way, and it shocked even his opponent. But he remained true to his ideals of peace and did not kill them; still, the fact that he could knock out five people at once with just one slash tells it all.

He was also able to face Hiruma Gohei almost immediately, despite the guy being significantly taller and physically stronger. But, it only took Kenshin one strike to the guy’s head to knock him out completely, and that is what actually happened and what scared his brother so much that he literally pissed himself.

From a comparative perspective, we think that Kenshin Himura was the second-strongest character in the whole series and definitely the strongest character of his time.

He even surpassed the powerful villain Shishio Makoto, the main villain of the series and an exceptionally skilled swordsman whom many characters feared. The only character who was more skilled than Kenshin was Hiko Seijūrō XIII, his mentor and who was not so active when Kenshin was in his prime. And this concludes our evaluation of Kenshin’s skills in the context of the lore of the Rurouni Kenshin series.