Rurouni Kenshin Vol. 19
- ISBN
- 9781591169277
- Publisher
- VIZ
- English release
- Pages
- 192
Rurouni Kenshin 19 collects Acts 159–167 and opens with Sanosuke confronting Inui at the attacked dojo. Enemies seeking revenge on Kenshin have already widened their targets beyond the man himself. Sanosuke steps into that danger while his right hand remains injured, making the earlier battles physically relevant to this new conflict. Continue from the attacks in the preceding book: the opening assumes both their purpose and their victims. It begins with a friend taking a fight, not with Kenshin standing alone against his past.
Spoilers — why this volume matters. Tap to reveal.
Inui initially does not know who Sanosuke is. Sanosuke makes sure that changes by announcing how close he is to Kenshin, and Inui promises to treat him worse for it. The declaration is brave, but it also supplies the attacker with a reason to hurt him. Friendship has become information an enemy can use. Sanosuke makes the commitment before the condition of his right hand permits his usual decisive attack; remembering Megumi’s warning, he has to restrain himself even as he boasts. The opening does not settle whether he can win. It establishes that volunteering to share a friend’s danger is a bodily commitment, made with injuries that the new antagonist has no reason to respect.
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