I went out of town Saturday night and set my VCR to record the show. For some reason it decided not to. My question is: what happened? In the last episode Shishio (please pardon my spelling thoughout this post) gave Kenshin a flaming palm to the face and apparently bit him in the shoulder leaving Kenshin motionless on the ground. I’m assuming that he doesn’t die because
a. There’s about seven (?) episodes left in the season.
b. There’s a second season in which he is alive and married to the fencing teacher.
c. Shishio hasn’t avoided the “ultimate attack” by watching Kenshin’s right leg, something that was set up as a major point in earlier episodes.
So what happened in the episode I missed. I had a feeling that most, if not all of it would be a flashback involving Kenshin and an unburned Shishio.
As best as I can remember, because I watched it that night and didn’t record it:
[spoiler]Kenshin got back up and fought some more with Shishio, but since he was hurt, he got his butt kicked some more. There was some talk between Kenshin and Shishio about the kid (er, whatshisname, the one with no emotions) and what happened to him (I missed the episode before last, care to trade spoilers?).
About two-thirds of the way in Shishio sets off his other glove, leaving Kenshin motionless on the ground. Saito breaks through the door and attempts several moves before he’s KO’ed (or maybe killed?) Sonosuke then tried to attack Shishio and wound up with several broken ribs and a mangled hand before he was knocked out. At the end of the episode, the Oni-Waban guy (Aito? can’t remember his name either) showed up with and got ready to square off with Shishio.[/spoiler]
If I gauge your description right the episode you missed is the first of I think four (yup four when they are cut like the fansubs) the fight takes place there will be plenty of flashbacks to fill you in on the ep you missed.
So yes, he is still alive, yet.
[spoiler]I’ve managed to forget the kid’s name, but in the previous episode Kenshin defeated him by getting him to remember his emotions (so he could track him no matter how fast he moved) then he used the “ultimate attack.”
The kid (I really wish I could remember his name) survived and told Shishio’s girlfriend the secret to avoiding the ultimate attack, that is that Kenshin takes an extra step landing on his right foot before using it. He then left the compound to search for a new life.[/spoiler]