A 46-minute anime that hits harder than most 3-hour epics. Kyoto's burning, baby.
Although she's only sixteen and looks even younger, Misao Makimachi is already a skilled and competent member of the Oniwabanshu ninja clan. That's fortunate for Misao, because her onimitsu talents may be all that keeps her alive when a journey in search of the leader of the clan, Aoshi Shinomori, leads her instead into a face-to-face encounter with an even more dangerous man and a plot to overthrow the Meiji government! Quickly enmeshed in the affairs of the legendary assassin Hitokiri Battosai, now known as Kenshin Himura, wielder of the reverse-blade sword, Misao finds herself pulled into the middle of a deadly intrigue against Makoto Shishio, who is orchestrating the conquest of all Japan - beginning with Kyoto!
Direction
Furuhashi compresses arcs without losing soul.
Sound
Clashing blades that actually sound lethal.
Director
Kazuhiro Furuhashi
Mayo Suzukaze
Kenshin Himura (voice)
Miki Fujitani
Kaoru Kamiya (voice)
Mina Tominaga
Yahiko Myoujin (voice)
Yuji Ueda
Sanosuke Sagara (voice)
Shuichi Ikeda
Seijuro Hiko (voice)
Ken Narita
Hajime Saito (voice)
Tomo Sakurai
Misao Makimachi (voice)
Masanori Ikeda
Makoto Shishio (voice)
Irie Kanako
Yumi Komagata (voice)
Noriko Hidaka
Sojiro Seta (voice)
Shô Ryûzanji
Usui Uonuma (voice)
Shinichi Fukumoto
Cho Sawagejo (voice)
Yoshito Yasuhara
Aoshi Shinomori (voice)
Tamio Ohki
Nenji Kashiwazaki (voice)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This OVA recycles voice actors from the 1996 series, making it a reunion 15 years in the making.
The Ishin Shishi keyword refers to real Meiji Restoration revolutionaries — the show's layering actual political trauma under its shonen battles.
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