Rurouni Kenshin episode 19: Release date and time, countdown, where to watch, and more

Rurouni Kenshin episode 19 is set to release on Friday, November 10, 2023, at 12:55 am JST. Following the reintroduction of Sanosuke's childhood friend Tsukioka, the former seems to be on the precipice of abandoning his future with Team Kenshin for the sake of his Sekiho army past.

Fans are now desperate to learn what's next for Kenshin and co in the 2023 readaptation of the hit manga series. However, there's sadly no verifiable spoiler information available for Rurouni Kenshin episode 19 at the time of this article's writing. However, fans do have a confirmed release date and time for the much-awaited episode.

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Rurouni Kenshin episode 19 is set to see Kenshin try and talk Sanosuke out of making a terrible mistake

Release date, time, and where to watch

Rurouni Kenshin episode 19 is set to begin airing on local Japanese networks at 12:55 am JST on Friday, November 10, 2023. For a minority of international fans, this translates to a Thursday night or day local release window. A vast majority of international fans, like Japanese viewers, will be able to watch the episode extremely early on Friday morning.

International audiences can stream the new episode on Crunchyroll about one hour after it begins airing in Japan. While the delay is unfortunate, Crunchyroll is the best way to watch and enjoy the title legally.

Rurouni Kenshin episode 19 is set to become available on Crunchyroll at the following times in the corresponding time zones:

• Pacific Standard Time: 7:55 am, Thursday, November 9
• Eastern Standard Time: 10:55 am, Thursday, November 9
• Greenwich Mean Time: 3:55 pm, Thursday, November 9
• Central European Time: 4:55 pm, Thursday, November 9
• Indian Standard Time: 9:25 pm, Thursday, November 9
• Philippine Standard Time: 11:55 pm, Thursday, November 9
• Japanese Standard Time: 12:55 am, Friday, November 10
• Australia Central Standard Time: 2:25 am, Friday, November 10

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Episode 18 recap

Sanosuke will officially choose whether to be loyal to his past or his future in Rurouni Kenshin episode 19 (Image via LIDEN FILMS)

Rurouni Kenshin episode 18 began with a brief recap of Sanosuke’s origins, before showing him eating in the restaurant he and Team Kenshin typically frequent. Here, the waitress who typically serves them and Tsubame asks him to get them some Nishiki paintings which will sell out before they can go. After heading there, however, Sanosuke finds the paintings they asked for, but also finds one of Sozo Sagara, his role model and former Sekiho army captain.

This leads Sanosuke to discover that his childhood friend, Tsukioka, is the artist who creates these incredibly popular paintings. The two spend all night catching up, and the latter reveals his intent to avenge Sozo and the Sekiho army by crippling the contemporary government. He asks Sanosuke for help, and the latter leaves shortly thereafter feeling very conflicted.

Sanosuke then hosts a party at Kaoru's dojo the next day, to which Tsukioka and all of his friends are invited. Here, Tsukioka learns of Kenshin’s past, taking issue with him and making this clear via a painting he draws of Kenshin. The episode ends with Sanosuke saying goodbye to his friends, revealing that Kenshin was awake and is now fully aware of the two's plans.

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What to expect (speculative)

With the prior installment focusing on building up and developing Tsukioka and Sanosuke's characters, Rurouni Kenshin episode 19 should dive into the action immediately. Sanosuke will likely join in on Tsukioka's attack to start before Kenshin appears, who should then successfully talk his friend out of going through with this.

From here, Rurouni Kenshin episode 19 will likely see either Sanosuke or Tsukioka get into a brief skirmish with Kenshin. If it's the former, fans can expect to see Kenshin try and convince Sanosuke not to abandon his current friends and his future for a dying grudge. If it's the latter, Kenshin will likely try to convince Tsukioka to abandon his past and his former identity as he is currently doing as a rurouni.

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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.