Production of the third season of “Rurouni Kenshin” has been decided! A passionate chores showdown between the gorgeous voice actors such as Saito Soma and Uchida Yuma… Stage Report on “AJ 2025”

Welcome back to the I Am Anime website

A special stage for the TV anime “Rurouni Kenshin – Meiji Kenkaku Romantican – Kyoto Dansha”, which aired its second season from October 2024 to March 2025, was held on the RED stage of “AnimeJapan 2025,” one of the world’s largest anime events, held on March 22nd. Here we will be delivering a stage report featuring a studded cast including Saito Soma, Takahashi Rie, Yatsushiro Taku, Uchida Yuma, Hino Satoshi, and Furukawa Shin.

“Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kensetsu Romantic Tales” is a manga by Watsuki Nobuhiro that began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump (Shueisha) since 1994. Set in Japan in the early Meiji period, the story depicts Himura Kenshin, a former “strongest slayer” who shocked people in the late Edo period and who strictly forbidden the killing of people, throws himself into an unwanted battle with his powerful enemies in order to protect his friends and people.

The TV anime was broadcast in 1996 and was re-animated in 2023. Starting in October 2024, the new release, “Rurouni Kenshin – Meiji Kenkaku Romantican – Kyoto Ren” was aired for two consecutive seasons.

This film just reached its final episode of the second season on March 20th, but two days later, on March 22nd, a special stage will be held at AnimeJapan 2025. Amidst the enormous applause, the cast members, including Saito Soma, who plays Himura Kenshin, Takahashi Rie, Kamiya Kaoru, Yatsushiro Taku as Sagara Sanosuke, Uchida Yuma as Shinomori Aoshi, Hino Satoshi as Saito Kazushi, and Furukawa Makoto as Shishio Mamoru, took the stage to cheer up the audience. He talked about the film’s appeal as well as a look back on the broadcast so far.

When asked about the reaction to the second season, Saito said with emotion, “I’m so happy that we were able to safely deliver this trip, the Kyoto Disaster, to everyone. There are many scenes I love, but the fact that Kaoru-den says at the end, “Let’s all go back to Tokyo together,” combined with the direction of the final episode, really makes me thrill just remembering it. It was really wonderful.” In response to this, Takahashi expressed his feelings, “I was glad to be able to say that in order to play the scene from this time (the final episode of the second season), that was how I felt at the end of the first season.”

Furukawa, who played Kenshin’s archenemy Shishio Mami, also said, “The Shishio faction showed off ten swords. Also, for those who read the original work, the original development in which Rengoku functions as a battlefield was very interesting, whether reading the script or playing it. The battle between Kenshin and Soshi was really exciting.”

Then the corner goes to “Rurouni Kenshin: Strongest Battle!” The group is divided into the Kenshin Group of Saito, Yatsushiro and Hino, and the Shishiyu faction of Uchida and Furukawa, and each camp introduces famous scenes from this film and competes to see which one is the strongest.
First, Hino selects episode 41, “Another Purpose.” Kenshin and Saito, who have gone through the hellish scene in the chief’s office, both think and see through the Shishiyuan faction’s strategy, and then come to Sanosuke with passionate desire to help his friends, friends and for himself, and passionately talk about the bonds and charms of the Kenshin faction.

Next, Uchida from Shishiyu’s faction selects a scene from episodes 44 and 45, “Kyoto Daiharu,” where Kenshin and Soshi clash in purgatory. Uchida said passionately, “I don’t care about Shishio! The Oniwabanshu is the strongest! In the Battle of Rengoku, Shinomori Aoshi hasn’t really done anything yet. This is where I can show off my highlight!” Furukawa replied, “You’re on your side, right?”, making the audience laugh.

Yatsushiro also mentioned the exchange between Kenshin and Saito from the same episode, and Furukawa picks up the scene in episode 40, “The Ten Swords Gathering,” where Shishio Makoto puts a command to the Ten Swords, and each of them shares his feelings for the symbolic scene.

After receiving the presentation so far, Saito finally looks back on the battle that took place in purgatory from episode 42, “Like a Flying” and episode 45, “Kyoto Fire.” “To be honest, the Shishio faction is a pretty strong opponent. If Shishio and others demonstrate their strength in the story ahead, the Kenshin group will also improve their abilities and grow as a team. To be honest, it has nothing to do with the Kenshin group or the Shishio faction! In other words, we are the Rurouni Kenshin faction!” he said, expressing his feelings for the work, saying, “The work Rurouni Kenshin itself is a team, so I think I love how we can improve together while fighting together.”

Then everyone’s presentations ended, and Takahashi concluded with a smile, “Everyone loves Rurouni Kenshin!”, and loud applause was given to both sides from the audience, making the event even more exciting.
When the special PV for the main film was screened, the words “Production of the third season” were projected onto the screen. The venue was filled with cheers at the announcement, and Saito also commented, “I’m happy to be able to make this presentation.”

As the event is approaching in a flash, the voice actors speak in turn during the final greeting. First, Furukawa said, “(The end of the second season) was a battle that was left to the table, so we are also frustrated, and when I think about the part that I like the most, is about to begin, I’m very excited. I would like to give it all and do my best, so I would be grateful if you could enjoy the third season in depth.”

Hino said, “We’ve announced the third season, but there’s an unprecedented fierce battle ahead of us. We’ll be putting all our mighty performances into action, raising our spirits and creating them, so please look forward to it,” and Uchida continued, “As Aoshi, as I played the previous season, there was a moment when I was extremely sad and passionate about my heart. I’m truly happy to be able to produce another third season, with the feeling that I can’t finish here yet, and I have to run all the way to this point.”

Yashiro said, “Looking back at Kyoto Rengo, Sanosuke couldn’t reach Kyoto in the beginning, and he had accumulated energy within himself, but as he joined Kenshin and the others, the Kyoto Rengo ended up just before the end. I’m really happy to be able to fully utilize the energy from the third season and have everyone enjoy the story going forward,” Takahashi said, “I really love the story of Rurouni Kenshin no matter which scene you take. I’m sure every cast member would want to play that scene in it. By being involved in Rurouni Kenshin, I always feel that by walking from the first season of “Jomaku Tokyo,” I found that I wanted to continue playing that scene, not just from playing that scene, but from walking to reaching this scene. I’m happy that we will continue to be able to continue walking with the third season.”

Saito also said, “The subtitle of the final episode of Kyoto Disturbance is titled “A Stunning Night” and is exactly as the original, but with their feelings as they head towards the final battle from the magnificent night they were able to spend (with them together), I think we will be waiting for a while now, but we would like to do our best to take the time to record the cast. As for Kenshin, I think it will be a series of battles that are more dense than the “Joumaku Tokyo” and the “Kyoto Rengo” and will be a series of battles that go deeper into the future, next to the consecutive battles. With our hearts in mind, we, the cast, will put our hearts and put our hearts into each word, and put our efforts into what will come, and put our hearts in.” He said, expressing their passion for the audience who are excited about their future developments.

Finally, the Kenshin-gumi and Shishiyu’s faction face off in a call and response showdown. When Furukawa says, “After all, this world is just a fittest,” the audience says, “Staff are ingested!” Then Saito said, “Rurouni,” and the audience replied, “Kenshin!”, and the event ended in a huge success.

[Event Overview]
■Event name: TV anime “Rurouni Kenshin – Meiji Kenshou Romantic Tales”
AnimeJapan 2025 Special Stage
■Date and Time: Saturday, March 22, 2025 17:50-18:25 (35 minutes)
■Venue: Tokyo Big Sight AnimeJapan 2025 Venue RED Stage (111 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo)
■Speakers: Saito Soma (as Himura Kenshin), Takahashi Rie (as Kamiya Kaoru), Yatsushiro Taku (as Sagara Sanosuke), Uchida Yuma (as Shinomori Aoshi), Hino Satoshi (as Saito Kazushi), Furukawa Shin (as Shishio Mami)

(C) Watsuki Nobuhiro/Shueisha, “Rurouni Kenshin – Meiji Swordsman Romantic Tales – Kyoto Rengo” Production Committee