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Rurouni Kenshin episode 18 is set to release on Friday, November 3, 2023, at 12:55 am JST. With the apparent conclusion of Raijut's squabble with Team Kenshin (for now at least), fans are expecting the upcoming episode to begin a new story arc.
Unsurprisingly, fans are eager to learn what's in store for Kenshin and co in the 2023 readaptation of the popular manga series. However, there's sadly no verifiable spoiler information available for Rurouni Kenshin episode 18 as if this article's writing. Thankfully, fans do at least have a confirmed release date and time for the highly-anticipated episode.
Rurouni Kenshin episode 18 likely to either start a new arc or take a filler-like breather after Raijuta arc
Release date, time, and where to watch
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Rurouni Kenshin episode 18 is set to begin airing on local Japanese networks at 12:55 am JST on Friday, November 3, 2023. For a minority of international fans, this translates to a Thursday local release window. Several international fans, like Japanese viewers, will instead be able to watch the episode extremely early on Friday morning.
International audiences can watch the episode on Crunchyroll about an hour after it premieres in Japan. While the delay is unfortunate, Crunchyroll is the best way to enjoy and support the series legally.
Here's the release schedule for Rurouni Kenshin episode 18 as per different time zones:
- Pacific Standard Time: 8:55 am, Thursday, November 2
- Eastern Standard Time: 11:55 am, Thursday, November 2
- Greenwich Mean Time: 3:55 pm, Thursday, November 2
- Central European Time: 4:55 pm, Thursday, November 2
- Indian Standard Time: 9:25 pm, Thursday, November 2
- Philippine Standard Time: 11:55 pm, Thursday, November 2
- Japanese Standard Time: 12:55 am, Friday, November 3
- Australia Central Standard Time: 2:25 am, Friday, November 3
Episode 17 recap
Rurouni Kenshin episode 17 began with a brief look at Yutaro waking up and realizing the severity of his own injury. Shortly thereafter, Kenshin left to go fight Raijuta, with Kaoru, Yahiko, and Yutaro following, since Yahiko claimed that Yutaro needed to witness Kenshin beat Raijuta. Meanwhile, Sanosuke and Raijuta almost fought each other for a warmup, but Kenshin arrived shortly thereafter.
Kenshin and Raijuta then began fighting, with Raijuta primarily overwhelming Kenshin with a flurry of Izuna techniques, giving him no chance to counter or strike back. Eventually, Kenshin used the butt of his sword and his sheath to launch a ranged attack, seemingly knocking Raijuta out. However, it was revealed that he was still conscious when Yahiko walked by, with Raijuta picking the young boy up and threatening to kill him if Kenshin didn't admit defeat.
Yahiko unflinchingly said he'd rather die than let Kenshin lose because of him, with Kenshin realizing Raijuta has never killed a man as he hesitated to kill Yahiko. Raijuta let Yahiko go shortly thereafter, sobbing at his own defeat.
The episode ended with a focus on Yutaro and his father, who moved to Germany with the former, promising he would be back someday to defeat Yahiko and prove he could still be a swordsman.
What to expect (speculative)
With the Raijuta arc seemingly wrapped up (at least for now), Rurouni Kenshin episode 18 will most likely begin some sort of new story arc or feature a one-episode story. The latter seems more likely given the lack of setup of future villains or antagonists in the previous installment. However, both are equally likely as of this article's writing.
If Rurouni Kenshin episode 18 does start a new arc, however, fans can expect the new enemies to be a large group, allowing all of Team Kenshin to be fully involved in the conflict. If the series chooses to do a one-off episode, a focus on Kaoru is most likely, considering that she is the biggest non-combatant in the team, besides Yahiko.
Be sure to keep up with all Rurouni Kenshin anime and manga news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
