Rurouni Kenshin Vol. 17
- ISBN
- 9781591168768
- Publisher
- VIZ
- English release
- Pages
- 208
Rurouni Kenshin 17 contains Acts 139–148, with the opening still inside the battle against Shishio. Kenshin is down, and Saito moves against an opponent whose past has made him difficult to surprise. The contents end with two Kyoto Epilogue installments, making this a closing stretch of that conflict rather than its starting point. The following volume continues the aftermath. For a reader organizing the Kyoto sequence, this book carries the fight toward its epilogue; the first pages do not begin in the peace that follows.
Spoilers — why this volume matters. Tap to reveal.
Saito’s surprise thrust meets a metal headband. Shishio explains why it is there: before he was burned, a head injury had left him unconscious, and he resolved not to suffer that failure again. His survival has produced a precaution that directly frustrates the apparent opening. Saito then attempts a close-range follow-up, but Shishio has anticipated that too. The episode gives the enemy a practical memory, not merely an old injury that explains his anger. Knowing how he was once defeated is insufficient if he also knows and has adapted. The volume’s contents locate the eventual Kyoto epilogue; this opening remains concerned with why getting there is difficult. An attack that would exploit the old Shishio meets the defense built by the survivor.
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