CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Oh. My. Gosh.

This volume was absolutely FANTASTIC. *finished reading it last night, dontcha know.*

[SPOILER]I forgot how much I loved Misao and Aoshi. XD And it was nice to see a little bit of Shishio again, too, even if it was just for a few pages. But man, turning the page to see "Kaoru" impaled by Enishi's sword? Didn't see that one coming, haha! However, I kind of figured it out beforehand...In earlier volumes, there were pictures of Gein working in his "lab," and you could see fingers and hair left on the tables and such. I had always wondered what that was for, but it all made sense once I got past the first few pages explaining Kaoru's "death." Veeeery nice twist, Watsuki, very nice! XD

I really like the old Geezer that Kenshin, Yahiko, and Misao meet. He's looks like such a funny old man, but I think there's more to him...He did seem to recognize Kenshin's scar, after all. I'm curious to know who he really is! :O

The fight between Aoshi and Gein was fantastic, even though I think Gein shouldn't have lost his mask...Unmasking the masked characters always kind of takes away that little bit of mystery. I think it was ok in Han'nya's case earlier on, since his face had so much to do with his own backstory, but Gein's face was just sort of...there. XD However, seeing Aoshi use the Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren again was absolutely lovely. *swoons over Aoshi's bishi-ness.* [/SPOILER]

Anyways, who else has read it?

Yeah I really liked that volume...It was pretty moving seeing Kenshin after what happened to Kaoru.

If I figured it out right, you're gonna be amazed when you find out who that old man is.

Ah, I love teh geezer. Great volume. I'm just sad that the series will be ending release in the US this year. ;;_;; (not that it's gonna be cancelled, it's just getting close to the end.)

It was good, but not terribly good. The only thing it really had going for it above average was that little surprise.
[spoiler]I was really shocked to see a dead Kaoru too, but I knew she wasn't really dead. Watsuki gave away too much info before hand. It would really make for an interesting ending if Kaoru actually had died though (is a fan of killing off important characters).[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I was also surprised to see Gein's face, it didn't shock me that he was older, just a surprise that he was unmasked. *shrug*[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I have to say, even though it's not canon per se, having seen Samurai X: Reflections has ruined a lot of the surprises in the manga. Especially in the last few volumes. [/spoiler]

On a side note:
did anyone else get this volume ridiculously early at their bookstore? I bought RK volume 24 as well as a few other titles from Viz in February, two to three weeks before they were scheduled to release in March. Viz has almost never releases things early (as TokyoPop is prone to do), so I was rather surprised, and am curious to see if this was wide-spread, or if my bookstore got a shipment on accident or something.

Yeah, I was one who got this volume ridiculously early - I've owned it for a few weeks now.

And I personally adored Shishio's appearance in it.

There's a B. Dalton's near where I live that get the subsequent month's volume out in the 20's of the preceding month. Thus 25 should probably available soon.

I too was glad to see Shishio once more this volume. It reminded me of the Jin-e cameo they did during the early Kyoto arc of the series.

I, having seen Reflections previously, am quite glad things are fleshed out more and still hold a few surprises and laughs despite. I'm sad, though, that I read spoilers before hand. I do that too often....get interested in a series, find spoilers, and lose out on the thrill of the surprise.

soul alive wrote:did anyone else get this volume ridiculously early at their bookstore? I bought RK volume 24 as well as a few other titles from Viz in February, two to three weeks before they were scheduled to release in March. Viz has almost never releases things early (as TokyoPop is prone to do), so I was rather surprised, and am curious to see if this was wide-spread, or if my bookstore got a shipment on accident or something.

Well, my friend found it and read it long before February had ended. Of course, when I went to buy it, it wasn't there anymore (neither was 23, for that matter--My bookstore is so behind!). My friend bought it recently though, and let me read it, since my finances are definitely on the low side. XD I have yet to actually purchase both this volume and 23, though I've read both.

Yeah it was out pretty darn early. I hope the same happens with 25!