Tetragrammaton Labyrinth Book

The Rurouni Kenshin series takes a swing onto some more serious territory with the beginning of a new arc. Himura Kenshin begins the story thinking about the past as a "hitokiri", essentially an assassin. He can't figure out why he keeps thinking of that past, and is struck by this sense of foreboding.

When he, Kaoru, and Yahiko return to Kaoru's dojo, they find their good friend, Sanosuke, near death. Kenshin quickly puts together the clues left for him and discovers that an old adversary from his days fighting in the Civil War has returned, and is trying to provoke Kenshin into fighting for him.

To skip over a somewhat convoluted, but consistent, plot, Kenshin finds himself facing a choice. He must decide whether to take on a mission from the new Meiji government, or refuse. It isn't an easy choice though. While Himura may want nothing more to do with fighting for the government, and doesn't want to kill if he can avoid it, his conscience may not let his stick to his principles. Yes, this is a strange situation indeed.

You see, he CAN ignore the request, but numerous good men have been murdered, and more will die if he doesn't try to face these killers. Unlike Kenshin, and many of his more anti-hero or anti-villain adversaries, these killers are not after any view of justice, real or distorted. They are after revenge and after a sick thrill from spilling blood. They have information from the Civil War that ended a decade beforehand that could destroy the government, and throw Japan into chaos.

Faced with the threat of Japan disintegrating and his friends in trouble (the bad guys are insinuating vengeance against them if Kenshin is involved) on the one hand, and his no-kill and fighting only for others principles on the other, which should Kenshin choose? And can his friends help him despite his efforts to keep them uninvolved and safe?

This volume is where some of the past is delved into some more and where things are more serious. It was interesting, yet also somewhat daunting, to read. Interesting in that the past and characterization of Himura gets fleshed out more, which is always good; and yet daunting in that I really do not want to see it become a broody, dark and edgy series. So far the author has walked a careful line here, but we shall see.

In an interesting note, even the characters in the story lampshade this potential change in the atmosphere of the story via Kenshin worrying about having to violate his principle, and his friends fear he will revert fully back to the merciless assassin he was at one point.

This is the dawn of a new, and hopefully interesting arc. At least for me at my place in the series it is. ;) Very good stuff.

Highly Recommended.