u'Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story (Japanese: \u308b\u308d\u3046\u306b\u5263\u5fc3 -\u660e\u6cbb\u5263\u5ba2\u6d6a\u6f2b\u8b5a-, Hepburn: Rur\u014dni Kenshin -Meiji Kenkaku Roman Tan-)[a] is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The story begins during the 11th year of the Meiji era in Japan (1878) and follows a former assassin from the Bakumatsu, known as Hitokiri Battosai. After his work against the bakufu, he becomes Himura Kenshin, a wandering swordsman who protects the people of Japan with a vow never to take another life. Watsuki wrote the series upon his desire to make a sh\u014dnen manga different from others published at the time, with Kenshin being a former assassin and the story taking a more serious tone as it continued.'