Aniplex and Liden Films have officially announced that the reboot of Rurouni Kenshin will be receiving a third season during AnimeJapan 2025. As of writing, there are no details regarding when the new season will release, and the “first look” PV revealed by Aniplex on YouTube doesn’t offer many new details, instead focusing on recapping the events on the reboot’s first two seasons. Considering Season 2 was focused on adapting the Kyoto Disturbance arc from the manga, though unconfirmed, it seems likely that Season 3 will see the Jinchu arc being adapted for the first time.
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Rurouni Kenshin was originally published in Weekly Shonen Jump under its full title, Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, in 1994. The original story was compiled into 28 volumes and quickly received an anime adaptation from Studio Gallop and Studio Deen in 1996. The series became a classic, and in 2021, received 150,000 votes to make it onto Despite its rapid success, Rurouni Kenshin does not have a spotless history, especially when looking at the mangaka behind the series, Nobuhiro Watsuki.
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What Has Caused Ruroni Kenshin To Be Plagued With Controversy?
While some longtime fans of Rurouni Kenshin have chosen to separate art from artist when it comes to the long-running samurai series, it’s important to discuss the truth behind why so many anime fans are advocating against the anime and manga’s continuation. On November 21, 2017, the mangaka behind Rurouni Kenshin, Nobuhiro Watsuki, was charged with possession of child pornography by Tokyo Police that he had kept in his office. According to the police who conducted the investigation, Watsuki possessed several DVDs in his work office, and when investigators visited his home, found over 100 DVDs exploiting underage girls. At the time of his arrest, Watsuki admitted to the charges made against him.
After his charges became public, the serialization of Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc was put on hold while he awaited prosecution. Child pornography was clearly made illegal in Japan in 2015, with those being found guilty of possession of explicit photos and video content exploiting minors being punishable with up to one year in prison and a fine of ¥1,000,000, or $6,700 in 2025. In the end, however, Watsuki was charged a measly fine of ¥200,000 – the equivalent of $1,300 in 2025 – and began serializing his manga again later the same year.
While it seems as though the industry has chosen to continue moving forward and seemingly separate the artist’s work from his actions, that doesn’t mean that fans should be quick to forget the reason why he was temporarily pulled from Shueisha’s imprints. That isn’t to say that everyone has moved past Watsuki’s crime, though, with Howard Wang, Kenshin’s voice actor, donating funds earned from playing the character in the anime to the Child Rescue Coalition.
Source: Aniplex on Youtube
