Samurai X

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story Rurōni Kenshin Meiji Kenkaku Romantan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The fictional setting takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. The story is about a fictional Assasin named Himura Kenshin formerly known as the "Hitokiri Battōsai" or "Battosai the Manslayer" in the English dub) who becomes a wanderer to protect the people from Japan. Being a fan of the Shinsengumi, Watsuki designed the characters by basing their characteristics to that of real Shinsengumi members and also used fictional representation of them and other historical characters from the Bakumatsu period of Japan.

The manga initially appeared in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from September 2, 1994, to November 4, 1999. The complete work consists of 28 tankōbon volumes. The United States release of the manga has been completed by Viz Media. Rurouni Kenshin is subtitled "Wandering Samurai" in some English releases, as a rough translation of "Rurouni." The English-language versions of the OVAs as well the film is released as Samurai X, although the original title was included in the DVD releases. Writer Kaoru Shizuka has written an official Rurouni Kenshin novel titled Voyage to the Moon World. The novel has been translated by Viz and distributed in the United States and Canada.

The series has been highly popular in both Japan and America. The manga has sold over 47 million copies in Japan as of 2007, while the anime has ranked between the 100 most watched series in Japan multiple times.