The Edit List
Rurouni Kenshin 49
by Kyle Pope,
With this episode Rurouni Kenshin makes its debut at its new time slot and what a rip-off it turned out to be. RK is now reduced to one showing a week instead of five and we had to put up with that oversized, hyperactive bug for Teen Titans in addition to the endless stream of Teen Titan promos.
And in exchange for all this we get nothing. Despite the night time airing RK is as heavily edited as if it were still on Toonami. This isn't a good deal for any RK fans out there.
Rurouni Kenshin 49: The Wolf Destroys the Eye of the Heart
1) Not an Edit... OP restored. However it is incorrect. The "Sobakasu" OP (english version) is used when by this point in the series the "One Half" OP should be used.
2) Sound of person being killed cut from initial shot of Usui's flashback to his battle with the police in Kobe.
3) Shots containing blood spray cut from Usui's flashback to the Kobe police battle.
4) Scene of Usui impaling and then tormenting the police troop commander as he dies on Usui's spear cut.
5) Shot of slaughtered Kobe cops overlaid with Usui's dialogue taunting Saitou with the account of their deaths cut.
6) Usui's "My days of Hell began" describing his quest as a blind man cut from his flashback to his backstory.
7) Shot of Usui pulling his spear out of Saitou's right thigh after he blocks the first Gatotsu cut.
8) Blood digitally removed from the blade of Usui's spear as he taunts Saitou after the first attack.
9) Blood spray digitally removed when Usui pierces Saitou's left thigh after blocking the second Gatotsu.
10) Blood again digitally removed from the blade of Usui's spear.
11) Shot of Usui licking Saitou's blood from the blade of his spear cut.
12) Blood still digitally removed from the blade of Usui's spear.
13) Shot of Usui recoiling in horror at Saitou's revelations about Shishio being aware of Usui's weakness cut.
14) Shot of Usui hanging from the wall as Saitou looks up at him in triumph cut.
15) Saitou's katana digitally removed from Usui's chest as Usui hangs gasping from the wall.
16) Shot of Usui hanging from the wall as Saitou explains the various styles of Gatotsu replaced with a low shot of Saitou's face.
17) Saitou's katana again digitally removed from Usui's chest.
18) Brief shot of Usui hanging from the wall just before he admonishes Saitou about showing mercy cut.
19) Pan up Usui's suspended body shortened and shot of his impaled chest replaced with a close-up of his eyes.
20) Not an Edit... Blood at the corner of Usui's mouth left in.
Well you have to appreciate Saitou's powers of perception. That's about all that got through after this editing job. This was perhaps the most cold-blooded battle in the Kyoto arc. Usui is a cruel bully and Saitou is a ruthless crusader against evil. The two spent as much time trying to torture each other as they did exchanging blows. Yet the immense damage they were dishing out was all but gone from CN's edit of this episode. Anyone who had not seen the original episode would never know that Saitou and Usui had laid a weapon on each other. If RK doesn't find its way onto Adult Swim then the remaining battles aren't going to be worth the trouble of watching. Editing like this will only leave them confused messes rather than the pitched battles the fans of this show love.
Kyle Pope
And in exchange for all this we get nothing. Despite the night time airing RK is as heavily edited as if it were still on Toonami. This isn't a good deal for any RK fans out there.
Rurouni Kenshin 49: The Wolf Destroys the Eye of the Heart
1) Not an Edit... OP restored. However it is incorrect. The "Sobakasu" OP (english version) is used when by this point in the series the "One Half" OP should be used.
2) Sound of person being killed cut from initial shot of Usui's flashback to his battle with the police in Kobe.
3) Shots containing blood spray cut from Usui's flashback to the Kobe police battle.
4) Scene of Usui impaling and then tormenting the police troop commander as he dies on Usui's spear cut.
5) Shot of slaughtered Kobe cops overlaid with Usui's dialogue taunting Saitou with the account of their deaths cut.
6) Usui's "My days of Hell began" describing his quest as a blind man cut from his flashback to his backstory.
7) Shot of Usui pulling his spear out of Saitou's right thigh after he blocks the first Gatotsu cut.
8) Blood digitally removed from the blade of Usui's spear as he taunts Saitou after the first attack.
9) Blood spray digitally removed when Usui pierces Saitou's left thigh after blocking the second Gatotsu.
10) Blood again digitally removed from the blade of Usui's spear.
11) Shot of Usui licking Saitou's blood from the blade of his spear cut.
12) Blood still digitally removed from the blade of Usui's spear.
13) Shot of Usui recoiling in horror at Saitou's revelations about Shishio being aware of Usui's weakness cut.
14) Shot of Usui hanging from the wall as Saitou looks up at him in triumph cut.
15) Saitou's katana digitally removed from Usui's chest as Usui hangs gasping from the wall.
16) Shot of Usui hanging from the wall as Saitou explains the various styles of Gatotsu replaced with a low shot of Saitou's face.
17) Saitou's katana again digitally removed from Usui's chest.
18) Brief shot of Usui hanging from the wall just before he admonishes Saitou about showing mercy cut.
19) Pan up Usui's suspended body shortened and shot of his impaled chest replaced with a close-up of his eyes.
20) Not an Edit... Blood at the corner of Usui's mouth left in.
Well you have to appreciate Saitou's powers of perception. That's about all that got through after this editing job. This was perhaps the most cold-blooded battle in the Kyoto arc. Usui is a cruel bully and Saitou is a ruthless crusader against evil. The two spent as much time trying to torture each other as they did exchanging blows. Yet the immense damage they were dishing out was all but gone from CN's edit of this episode. Anyone who had not seen the original episode would never know that Saitou and Usui had laid a weapon on each other. If RK doesn't find its way onto Adult Swim then the remaining battles aren't going to be worth the trouble of watching. Editing like this will only leave them confused messes rather than the pitched battles the fans of this show love.
Kyle Pope
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