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Home » Rurouni Kenshin Reboot Receiving Backlash Due to Author’s Past
Kenshin Himura splashed with blood in the new Rurouni Kenshin trailer

Rurouni Kenshin Reboot Receiving Backlash Due to Author’s Past

By AzailSeptember 27, 2022

Aniplex showcased the new trailer for the Rurouni Kenshin anime adaptation set to premiere in 2023 during their Aniplex Online Fest 2022.  The reboot will be produced by LINDEN Films and will have a new set of staff and cast.

The announcement caused many fans to express their distaste for the reboot, heavily criticizing the scandal that surrounds the author Nobuhiro Watsuki who was charged with child pornography in 2017 and was fined  ¥200,000 or about US$1,500 in 2018.  Many feel that the punishment is a slap on the wrist compared to the atrocities that the author has done.

Some even suggesting to pirate the series as a way to not support it as Watsuki has earned enough from the previous anime and the movie series that concluded last year.

Read More: Rurouni Kenshin to Get New Anime Adaptation, PV Reveals Staff and New Cast for 2023

Just let Rurouni Kenshin live on as a formative memory, and that’s it. Don’t spend a cent on it, don’t reboot it, don’t merchandise it. The creator is a massive pedophile and shouldn’t continue to live off it. The series is already complete, pirate it. https://t.co/dqlBbbkRGZ

— DEATH RANGER (@Punk_N_Politics) September 24, 2022

new rurouni kenshin remake is a reminder that the creator is a convicted pedophile who only got off with a slap on the wrist and was lauded and welcomed back with open arms after his VERY short suspension period. if you want to engage with the content, pirate that sh1t.

— ;—; ♡ yu (&me) (@beetadori) September 24, 2022

tw //
as someone that holds the story of Rurouni Kenshin still in my heart from reading/watching when i was little, I'm asking everyone that sees this tweet to NOT WATCH THIS REMAKE OR CONSUME LEGALLY ANY CONTENT BC THE AUTHOR IS A PDF.file, DON'T SUPPORT HIM https://t.co/OtzxPpCUDF

— vic. (@prismkjn) September 24, 2022

I hope rurouni kenshin remake flops, but I know it won't because a lot of people in the animanga community (especially some of these shounen/seinen fans) have no morals and they don't mind supporting a pedophile🤷‍♀️

— hearteu♡ (@skippykimi) September 24, 2022

Final word on this Noruhibu Watasuki situation. I don't condone his actions & quite frankly, the dude should screw off into obscurity.

That being said, if you're a fan of Rurouni Kenshin, there are ways you can still enjoy the remake, without giving Watasuki a dime. pic.twitter.com/ZBliKtjqr9

— BlackSageD Sony & Steam Censors Japanese Games! (@Black_D_Gamer1) September 25, 2022

Some fans expressed their excitement for the reboot’s release. Undoubtedly, the series has a lot of fans around the globe and many are still excited to watch the remake, hoping that the reboot would have the same vibe as the original.

I’m pleasantly surprised about Rurouni Kenshin getting a remake. As someone who read the manga and watched the 1996 anime, Kyoto arc is one of the best in Shonen battle genre, just for its characters growth alone https://t.co/ZYBjUSFg1e

— Dömü (@HokagoTeaSlime) September 24, 2022

OMG my childhood is hitting me with the nostalgia right now a rurouni kenshin remake and it looks beautiful dam now I feel I should watch the original so I remember everything. But I don't recommend reading the comments in the thread some are toxic https://t.co/wvQ59mDOQH

— Knight Wolf ⚔️ 🐺 PNGtuber (@KnightWolfVT) September 24, 2022

omfg greatest news! rurouni kenshin anime remake 2023!!! i mean the original was already just amazing and phenomenal. i canNOT wait for this one!!!

— velcaa (@ela_vac) September 25, 2022

heard Rurouni Kenshin anime is getting a remake. I hope they put on a similar vibe for the opening song like this onehttps://t.co/x88FtaUFV2

— jackyl (@junkyardjackal) September 25, 2022

Rurouni Kenshin was one of my first anime and it has been one of my favorites ever since I was a young lad. It's now coming back with a full remake and I can not say how happy I am abt this pic.twitter.com/chuycAAfsO

— ♡ Divinity ♡ (@K1ng0fH3arts) September 24, 2022

Read More: Netflix Losing Bleach Movies, Death Note, and Other Anime in October

Other fans took a more neutral stance towards the series, quoting the separation of art and the artist.

So, about the Rurouni Kenshin remake:

Whatever your feelings about the author and his atrocities are, let’s please separate the art from the artist.

What’s done is done. All that remains is how we approach it. So let’s enjoy this to the fullest.

— Kailof (@Kailof_) September 24, 2022

This is why you sometimes have to seperate the Art from the Artist.

Love or hate it Rurouni Kenshin is one of the most influential Manga & Anime in the 90s that is why it is getting a Remake.

If you don't want to support Nobuhiro Watsuki you can simply pirate it. https://t.co/UQ3U75v5Gp

— 🇯🇵 Colonel Otaku Gatekeeper 🇯🇵 (@politicalawake) September 24, 2022

I can still separate the art from.the artist because his conviction has nothing to do with his work on Rurouni Kenshin 🤷‍♂️
I don't condone his crimes but Rurouni Kenshin is still a good story so the remake is like, "ah, yes. How will we adapt/deviate from the original?"

— ᛗᛁᛋᛒᛖᚾ ᚷᚩᛋᛏᛏ (@GostMisben) September 25, 2022

There is no doubt that Rurouni Kenshin is a popular title and many anime/manga fans have grown up following the series and had been an integral part of their childhood. Many of the fans loved the vibe of the 90s series, with its action packed episodes and banger opening and ending songs.

The manga has sold over 72 million copies worldwide and the anime has been aired in multiple countries. It also had a live-action movie series that concluded last year.  

Not much has been revealed about the reboot yet but it will be premiered on Fuji TV’s Noitamina programming block sometime in 2023.

Rurouni Kenshin Controversy Explained

Keshin Himura in the new Rurouni Kenshin anime adaptation
Kenshin Himura

Rurouni Kenshin’s Author Nobuhiro Watsuki was put under investigation by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on November 21, 2017, for child pornography charges.

In a separate investigation, the now 52-year-old Watsuki was found to have purchased videos featuring naked younger girls ranging from age 10 to 15.  In a succeeding search of his Tokyo office and home revealed a stash of approximately 100 DVDs and CDs of said material which were seized by the authorities.  

The Possession of child pornography became completely illegal in Japan in 2015. People found in possession of explicit pictures and videos of children can be imprisoned for up to one year and fined up to 1 million yen ($8,900) under Japanese law.  

Watsuki admitted to possessing the materials telling the authorities, “I liked girls between the ages of upper elementary school students to about the second year of junior high school.” In the Japanese school system, elementary school lasts six years making second-year junior high school students either 13-14 years old.

Watsuki’s Rurouni Kenshin: Hokkaido Arc manga was put into hiatus after the scandal broke out. Shueisha’s public relations section gave a written comment on the issue saying “Receiving the media reports this time, we take this matter very seriously. The author is really reflecting upon himself.” The series resumed publication in June 2018.

Read More: Crunchyroll Faces Backlash for Recasting Mob Psycho Voice Actor Over Union Disagreements

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Azail
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Azail is a former high school teacher who loves her cats, anime, manga, and video games. She spends her free time streaming video games and getting cozy with her cats.

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