Rurouni Kenshin Escape Game Impresses Fans Upon Release

The tale of the Battosai may be over (or at the very least on hiatus), but fans can revisit and enter the world of Rurouni Kenshin in real life with this brand new escape room that is currently available to patrons in Japan. Arguably the most popular “samurai anime” of all time, Kenshin’s story began in 1994 where he attempted to leave behind the world of murder and blood and find a new path on the road to pacifism. Fans can now step into this unique world and “assist” Kenshin and friends by finding their way out of an escape room specifically tailored after the long running manga/anime franchise.

Twitter User AnimeReport1 shared the details of the newest escape room that has had fans of the Kenshin swarming to its location after it’s opening, managing to create an environment that recreates the Meiji era that was so key to the events that took place:

The room, titled “Escape from Kyoto where an Asura lurks: Protect the Town with your Sword and Fists”, allows fans of the series to not just attempt to decipher puzzles, but also learn sword techniques from a “certain character” from the anime series itself. The escape room opened earlier last month, and actually stretches across a number of buildings, making for quite the vast “room”.

The Rurouni Kenshin franchise had three major story arcs, with the first two usually categorized as much better in quality than the last. The Kyoto and Tokyo arcs find Kenshin attempting to leave his old life behind and fight against another Battosai, desperately seeking to rekindle the killing fire within the former murderer’s heart. The final arc, titled Jinchu, sees Kenshin losing his sight and struggling with the loss of this much needed sense.

Will you attempt to visit the Rurouni Kenshin escape room? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Kenshin!

Originally created by Nobuhiro Watsuki for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 1994, Rurouni Kenshin is set during the Meiji era of Japan and follows the story of a former assassin named Kenshin Himura who has dedicated his life to atoning for his past sins as the “Battosai.” Determined to leave senseless violence behind, Himura and his comrades travel Japan and stand up for oppressed underdogs everywhere while vowing to never again take a life.

The series has sold over 70 million copies, and has spawned an anime (which enjoyed a run on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block), video games, and a live-action film trilogy. The series has been licensed for an English language release by Viz Media, and the series was put on an indefinite hiatus in the West following Watsuki’s conviction for possession of child pornography.