Samurai X
In the early Meiji era, after participating in the Bakumatsu war as the assassin "Hitokiri Battōsai",
Himura Kenshin wanders the countryside of Japan offering protection and aid to those in need
as atonement for the murders he once committed.
When arriving in Tokyo in the 11th year of Meiji (1878),
he meets a young woman named Kamiya Kaoru, who is in the middle of a fight with a murderer
- who claims to be the Hitokiri Battōsai
- tarnishing the name of the swordsmanship school that she teaches.
Kenshin decides to help her and defeats the fake Battōsai.
After discovering that Kenshin is the real infamous assassin, Kaoru offers him a place to stay
at her dojo noting that he is peace-loving and not cold-hearted, as his reputation implies.
Kenshin accepts and begins to establish lifelong relationships
with many people such as Sagara Sanosuke, a former Sekihō Army member;
Myōjin Yahiko, an orphan from a samurai family;
and a doctor named Takani Megumi, caught in the opium trade.
He also deals with his fair share of enemies, including the former leader of the Oniwabanshū,
Shinomori Aoshi and a rival from the Bakumatsu, Saitō Hajime.
After several months of living in the dojo, Kenshin discovers that his successor
as assassin of the shadows, Shishio Makoto, plans to conquer Japan
by destroying the Meiji Government, starting with Kyoto.
Feeling that his friends may be attacked by Shishio's faction,
Kenshin goes to meet Shishio alone in order to defeat him.
However, many of his friends, including a young Oniwabanshū named Makimachi Misao,
decide to help him in his fight.
After his first meeting with him, Kenshin realizes he needs to get stronger to defeat Shishio
without becoming the cold assassin he was in the past and returns to the man who taught him kenjutsu,
Hiko Seijūrō, in order to learn the school's final technique.
He finally accepts his friends' help and defeats Shishio in a close fight;
Shishio dies being engulfed in flames due to the rise in his body temperature
caused by his severe burns.
When Kenshin and his friends return to Tokyo, Kenshin finds Yukishiro Enishi,
who plans to take revenge by killing his friends.
At this point it is revealed that, during the Bakumatsu,
Kenshin had been married to a woman named Yukishiro Tomoe.
She had initially wanted to avenge the death of her fiancé whom Kenshin had killed,
but instead they both fell in love and got married.
It is then discovered that Tomoe was part of a group of assassins that wanted to kill Kenshin,
and Tomoe is betrayed by them and captured to use as bait.
Kenshin rushes to rescue her, killing both his assailant and accidentally Tomoe,
who jumps in at the last minute to save Kenshin from a fatal attack.
Wanting to take revenge for the death of his sister, Enishi kidnaps Kaoru
and leaves behind a tortured figure bearing a stunning resemblance of Kaoru
for Kenshin to find and momentarily grieve over.
Once discovering that Kaoru is alive, Kenshin and his friends set out to rescue her.
A battle between Kenshin and Enishi follows and when Kenshin wins,
he and Kaoru return home.
Five years later, Kenshin has married Kaoru and has a son named Himura Kenji.
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