Rurouni Kenshin Ep 9 The Oniwabanshu Strike Breakdown /Review, Was This Episode Likeable???*SPOILERS*

Rurouni Kenshin Ep 9 titled The Oniwabanshu Strike was released on 1st September 2023 and takes off from Hyottoko’s smashing entrance inside Kassin Ryu.

I was waiting for the episode since the last drop was full of questions and a beauty on the run. So, without any further ado, let us get going with-

Things I Liked From The Oniwabanshu Strike Rurouni Kenshin Ep 9, Which You May Have Liked As Well

So, Kenshin and Sanosuke understood the gravity of the befalling situation about which they were prepared from the moment they brought Megumi to their current home. Therefore, when Hyottoko arrived, their team was all ready to tackle it.

The giant announces his arrival at Kassin Ryu with his assumably honorable and mighty words. But sassy Sanosuke was on his feet to not only oust the big boy physically but spiritually as well. Sanosuke just couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

He kept on making Hyottoko insecure and it seemed mean. He blatantly says, “Hyottoko, sounds too cute to suit you. You should change your name”. I genuinely laughed.

The giant smoothly ignores the remark and states his purpose of arrival, which is to take Megumi back. He is all ready to beat them up individually or as a team.

Sanosuke analyzes the situation and he is right. The giant was fighting with apparently no weapon and he was boasting about his massive strength which was evident from his huge body. So Sanosuke was confident enough to challenge the big guy with his bare hands.

But the experienced soul, Kenshin who was standing next to him views the situation at some other complicated level. He sensed the fishiness about the whole attack. He understands the seriousness of the Oniwaban Group and certainly finds it not as easy as it seems.

But Sanosuke is all up to find out the reality behind the death of his friend. He jumps attacks maneuvering swiftly and shooting a solid punch at Hyottoko. The punch was solid indeed. But as Kenshin was assuming, can’t take this Oniwaban Group lightly.

And it was the case actually, Hyottoko applied his typical trick to bring Sanosuke close to him so that Hyottoko can burn the shit out of him with his flame-breathing technique. It was unexpectedly shocking. And I was reminded of Rengoku from Demon Slayer then and there.

But Sanosuke being the second lead of the show will be protected no matter what. Therefore, the dexterous street fighter manages to dodge and save his butt accordingly. However, Hyottoko was confident that there would be no second time for Sanosuke.

After some time, we come to know that Beshimi is also present and he is a genuine threat to Megumi for sure. His monologues explain what Hyottoko’s fire-breathing technique implied and how it is utilized.

And the explanation is –

Hyottoko produces the flame with oil, which is stored in a sack that is placed inside him. And his teeth act like flint. He continues by stating that Hyottoko is the greatest fire master of the Oniwaban Group and his name is derived from ‘Hi’ and ‘Otoko’ and there is nothing that he can’t burn.

So, Hyottoko plans his second attack on Sanosuke, and just then Kenshin decides to take the spot for the time being.

Now, I found Kenshin to be a bit intrusive here. I know he is enough to handle the giant all by himself. But this kind of disrespects both the candidates on the field. Likewise, Hyottoko replies and asks him to not fret or he will burn him up as well.

But Kenshin was adamant, which was understandable too. He is the big brother to Sanosuke. Have you ever noticed it, that Kenshin is the only one calling Sanosuke, Sano and he is typically wired to protect everyone who needs guidance and protection?

I understood, that taking up the spotlight in no way intended to insult Sanosuke’s capabilities as a fighter. He is just overprotective of his close ones.

Now begins a short yet intense sword fight surprising each one of the onlookers present. See, Kenshin holds double the experience than anyone in Kassin Ryu. Therefore when he is adamant about taking charge, he sure means something definte.

So, before defending or offending, he simply says with a confident tone that Hyottoko won’t be able to burn a single hair on his head. Kenshin also calls Hyottoko a street performer infuriating the big guy a lot.

See, a few seconds prior to this, Beshimi’s self-talk was enough to magnify how exceptional Hyottoko was. But being called out street performer is a genuine insult thrown at him. The entire sequence was engaging.

Kenshin’s true swordsmanship captivated the montage effortlessly. He slices down the flame with Sakabato. The sharp gaze printed on Kenshin’s face ensured how damn serious he is. The exhibition of talent was enough to make Hyottoko insecure.

But what makes the sequence robust is Kouru’s faith in Kesnhin. Megumi decides to flee Kassin Ryu, she totally underestimates Kenshin’s showmanship here. However, Kouru catches her and her lecture in regard to the complication was honest and justifiable. She is watching Kenshin(her crush) fight for a stranger and the stranger is trying to flee which is disturbing.

Further, Megumi underestimates Kenshin and his skills openly, which adds fuel to the fire even more. Kouru has watched Kenshin fight a lot of times by now and she understands how proficient this man is in his line of expertise. I love how Kouru admires the redhead and can never keep calm if someone misjudges the quality of the talented soul.

Likewise, Kenshin surprises Hyottoko and Megumi, because they don’t know him very well.

But it’s time for Sanosuke to shine. He got the rest required to get back, which he didn’t ask though. He takes charge of the situation asking Kenshin to step back, also thanking him very politely. Now he would like to reset the match. I appreciate how Kenshin understands Sanosuk’e’s POV and steps aside without any question.

However, Hyottoko still feels that he can outmatch any of them. Hats off to his confidence.

So, Sanosuke observed his opponent all this time while Kenshin was fighting.

But what Hyottoko puts in front, which is his method of fighting, calling it something feeble as a magic trick was a genuine insult. He simply says that this is his pride but the duo is not taking him seriously at all. So, he blows his best which is Maximum Flame Breath.

However, Sanosuke recklessly manages to handle the fire and pull out the oil sack from his insides. Even though it was extremely gross, he does it anyway. We can assume that he is seriously shaken by the death of his freind which motivates him to avenge his pal in every way possible. In the process, he even burns his right arm; but he is still hyped up which is so like him.

Nonetheless, Hyttoko underestimates Sanosuke’s capabilities. He runs ablaze throwing his flame fist at the young man only to get kicked badly. After defeating Hyttoko he looks at Kenshin and gives him a smile and a thumbs up.

However, everyone points out how severely Sanosuke was injured. It appeared he wanted to prove his skills to Kenshin who he looks up to and he succeeded in doing so impressively. We could also see that Kouru and Yahiko were pretty proud of Sanosuke for keeping his words from A-Z.

Their awesome unbeatable performance against the Oniwaban Group broke Megumi’s skepticism too. She wonders looking at the cordial bond that they share with each other.

Now, comes another interesting part of the show. Kenshin detects an unknown presence inside Kassin Ryu. Judging by what Beshimi says, it is implied that Hyottoko was working under Beshimi. And his huge defeat will definitely put Beshimi in a poor light. Nevertheless, he keeps on bad-mouthing the damsel in distress, Megumi.

The assassin without hesitation attacks Megumi. This murderous instinct was ascertained by Kenshin who swiftly warns everyone around. However, in order to be an honorable member of the Kenshin team, Yahiko takes up the responsibility of protecting Megumi this time.

But little that he know that it was not a normal bullet. It’s a renowned technique named Dakusatsu Rasenbyo applied by Beshimi most of the time. Beshimi next intends to attack Kenshin.

These goons learn their lesson very late though. He watched the entire fight with Hyottoko and still tries to attack Kenshin only to receive an unprecedented injury. But just at that precise moment, he gets rescued by another skilled member of the Oniwaban Group.

The swiftness catches Kenshin’s attention and thus he appreciates the skills of the masked men.

The conversation taking place between the two brought to light the respect that these two have for their line of profession.

However, amidst the chaos, Sanosuke notices how the masked man moves. He determines that the masked man must be a Kenpo master having extensive training in the field.

So, Megumi takes charge of the situation and assigns each of them responsible duties, which was needed to save Yahiko. The way she takes authority stops everyone around. The strong grip on her voice was enough to let the audience know that she is not a regular girl in any way which was proved a little later by the old doctor.

Now, after a while we watch the physician taking care of Yahiko and informing Sanosuke and Kouru that with rest the kid will be back on his feet within 3-4 days for sure. The doctor was pretty sassy though. What do you think?

So, the doctor throws substantial light on Megumi’s background. The girl is an educated and trained medical personnel who was working under the local doctor. Now, the doctor is no more and she has been missing ever since.

The old physician was excited to reunite with the young girl and appreciated her strong sense of medical proficiency.

On the other hand, we learned that Megumi was unaware of the operations executed by her doctor. Her employer was working with Kanryu and was modifying the formulation of opium which was bought by Kanyru at a cheaper rate.

This was going on for a while and if not restricted now, it would be enough to bring down the health rate of Tokyo within 5 years. So, to get the formula, Kanryu’s men accidentally kill Megumi’s employer and take Megumi under their wing to prepare more of the refinements.

Megumi regret what she did all this time. And her wish to meet her mother and her brothers is only keeping her alive.

Kenshin along with the others understands the miserable situation Megumi has been suffering all these years and decides to offer food and lodging under Kassin Ryu. Kouru’s only concern is, that she should not lay her eyes ever on Kesnhin and if she does, Kouru would mercilessly throw her out of the home.

But Sansuke’s energy speaks something suspicious. What do you think??

In the meantime, the leader of the Oniwaban Group, Aoshi inquires about Beshimi and Hyottoko’s current health condition with Hannya. Hannya talks about Kenshin’s skillful performance and confirms that he is no ordinary man. This intrigues Aoshi and wants Hannya to dig out everything in detail about Kenshin. He also feels confident that this redhead might be none other than Hitokiri Battosai.

In the end, we find Kanryu taking a business stroll inside a Western ship while the captain greets the sly businessman with optimism and positivity. Kanryu asks the captain about the shipment, and when he is being handed over the lot, the ecstatic laugh is full of menace. He, without a doubt, is a notorious being who loves splurging his money on encouraging criminal activity.

Let’s see what he is welcoming to Japan in the next episode “A Reason to Act”.

Things I Did Not Like From Rurouni Kenshin Ep 30

When Yahiko receives the poisonous bullet hit, everyone surrounding him does not take the slightest step needed. Instead, they were busy shouting his name while the poor kid lay burning in pain. It annoyed me. We also see Kenshin was busy interacting with the masked men and he was paying the least attention to the current crisis.

Well, I did not like this portion of Rurouni Kenshin Ep 30 since Kenshin and the others did not act accordingly. Normally Kouru is maternal and takes care of anyone injured by her heart. She kept on calling Yahiko and did not do anything required.

And as for Sanosuke, we have watched these two i.e., Sanosuke and Yahiko hang out a lot of times by now. Therefore watching Sansouke not reacting to the extent, at which he should, was a bit off.

Talking about Megumi, we come to learn that she was an assistant to a doctor in the area. A professional stood there stone-cold without advising or recommending anything. I admit that everything happened so fast, that it shocked her which froze her required response time. But still is it really practical?

TOTT’s Take On Rurouni Kenshin Ep 9

So this was my breakdown and review of Rurouni Kenshin Ep 9. Let me know in the comment section what you liked and disliked about the 9th drop of the series. Also, don’t forget to mention anything that I missed.

The episode had everything important that makes a particular episode interesting and worth discussion. As the show is moving forward, the depth of the plot and the characters grow which I like a lot. So what’s your call on this episode? Do let me know in the comment section below.

But, this is it for today, hope to meet you all very soon for my next publication.

Till then, go through Jujutsu Kaisen S2 EP 30 “It’s Like That” Breakdown/Review, The Wait is Finally Over!!!

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