BUZZmod Rurouni Kenshin – Kenshin Himura (Samurai X)
After catching on the idea of how NECA Toys put silica gel packs in their clothed figures (Shredder’s cape) to help prevent molds and mildew, I decide to put one in here as well, just in case.
As a “rorounin” (a wandering, masterless samurai), Kenshin Himura wandered across Feudal Japan during the start of the Meiji Era. A former member of the Ishin Shishi (political activists during the previous Edo period), Kenshin tries to find new purpose and atonement during peaceful times for his past actions as the assassin, Hitokiri Battosai.
Despite his young, teen-looking appearance, Kenshin is actually officially 28 years old. He first joined the Ishin Shishi when he was 14 years old, fought in the Bakamatsu wars as an assassin for a few years, and then wandered around the country a few years more after the war ended.
Kenshin bears a red, cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, a reminder of his tragic, turbulent past which would later on be explored in the OVA releases after the series ended.
Kenshin’s scabbard is supposed to go into his belt like so.
I decided to go with the BUZZmod release instead of picking up the S.H. Figuarts version since I preferred the cloth “pants” for Kenshin over the sculpted look of the S.H. Figuarts’ knees, plus the face and hair details seemed much better here.
I can’t say I like the design for the wrist joints though, it’s just a simple peg and hole, unlike the ball joints that Bandai uses. Getting the hands to peg in can be very tricky at times.
Yeah, I’m not a fan of the highly visible shoulder and elbow joints here either. Bandai definitely executed the joint designs better with their release.
BUZZmod Kenshin stands roughly 5.75 inches tall.
Kenshin looks really good from certain angles though.
In the TV series, Kenshin occasionally gets bumped on the head when not in combat (usually by Kaoru), resulting in this alternate… erm, look for the legendary assassin. I guess it’s the show’s way of keeping things light-hearted and try to appeal to younger audiences.
The set comes with an alternate, “serious look” face for Kenshin when things are about to get real.
Presumably, to prevent the sword’s paint from getting messed up, the designers decided to make the drawn sword an entirely different piece, while making the “sheathed” sword bladeless.
To atone for all the lives he took when he was an assassin, Kenshin takes a vow to never kill again. This philosophy is reflected in his choice of weapon, the sakabato, or reverse-edge sword.
In the series, Kenshin uses the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū sword style, a fictional style based on the real-world sword style, the Battojutsu.
As the series progresses, Kenshin eventually learns new “final” techniques from his master, the “Kuzu-ryūsen” (Nine-headed Dragon Strike), as well as the “Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki” (Dragon Flight of Heaven) in order to prepare for his final battle against Shishio.
Overall, I’m pretty pleased with my first BUZZmod purchase. After seeing the good things they’ve done with the Demon Slayer characters, I figured this would be the Kenshin I’d go with over the S.H. Figuarts, even though he costs roughly 40% more.
While it’s not perfect (the exposed shoulder and elbow joints can be a bit distracting when you see them), I do love the better detailed faces on Kenshin here, compared the its S.H. Figuarts counterpart.
I’m really excited to see how BUZZmod does Ryo Saeba from City Hunter next!
Funfact: Kenshin Himura is supposedly inspired by (or at least, very loosely based on) Kawakami Gensai, an actual skilled Japanese swordsman who lived during the 1850s and is recognized as one of the four real-life Hitokiri of Bakamatsu era. His high-speed sword discipline allowed him to assassinate targets in broad daylight.
Gold
