Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story (ã‚‹ã‚ã†ã«å‰£å¿ƒ 明治剣客浪漫èš, RurÅni Kenshin Meiji Kenkaku Romantan?)[1] 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 assassin named Himura Kenshin, formerly known as the "Hitokiri BattÅsai" (人斬り抜刀斎, "Hitokiri BattÅsai"? or "Battosai the Manslayer" in the English dub) who becomes a wanderer to protect the people from Japan.