Okay, I warned you, so no spoiler tags. I just finished the episode when Kenshin learns the Hiten Mitisurgi[sic] final attack.
I can’t believe his master is dead! The coolest character in the series, the guy who trained the Battousai!
sniff I mean, he was arguably the best fighter in the entire series, and he was just so cool.
Umm Well…if you want a spoiler…
He’s not dead actually. Very much alive. Thank god. Because hot damn he’s a pretty find lookin’ 45 yr old. How did he live you ask? The sword Kenshin uses was specially made with a loose nail or something (I can’t remember the exact piece) that prevented any blow from the blunt side from being fatal. Pretty kewl huh? You’re a Kenshin Newbie so you’re forgiven 
Sorry about my lateness. I record the episodes and watch them later as I’m usually out at 6:30.
Yuki, I don’t think the sword was designed with the loose nail, but it worked its way out.
What a great show!
It’s not clear who the greatest fighter really is. Aside from the obvious argument for Kenshin or his master, I think a case can me made that commander bandages is the best. A case could also be made for the wolf.
In regards to the OP
[spoiler]You didn’t really think that Kenshin would actually break his vow prior to the final arc did you? Him not wanting to break his vow is like, the whole point of the entire series!
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Have you watched the first “movie” about Kenshin’s past (it’s actually the story told in the Jinchu arc, which is found in the comics but apparently not in the anime)
DAMN IT IM AN IDIOT!!!
If a mod so deems, could you fix my tag? I totally should have previewed.
I say it’s Hiko Seijuro.
I mean, prior to teaching Kenshin the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki (I just wanted to type that), he was smacking Kenshin around like he was still a kid. Kenshin had to put everything he had to just scratch the guy, and he knocked himself out in the process. I always figured that if Hiko went up against Shi-Shi-O, that he would’ve won without breaking a sweat.
Well… (spoilers for ENTIRE series)
Shi-shio is never properly defeated: he dies of a rather implausible cause before the fight can be concluded, and it’s not entirely sure that if he wasn’t in his condition, that Kenshin would have had a chance. Of course, the same could be said for Soijuru: if Kenshin hadn’t broken his spirit, he could have kicked Kenshin’s ass. But then, warriors aremore than just skill: they’re also will.
The wolf never actually duels Kenshin or Hiko, so we never get to find out who is better.
Kenshin does, remember, beat his master, even if it does take tons of trying to do it. That’s the whole point of the succession training: to surpass your master. Hiko is just the sort of guy who’d never admit it.
Well my take: (spoilers for the entire series)
I am another vote for Hiko Seijuro, he does beat Kenshin with ease when they spar before, his Kuz Ryo Sen beat Kenshins easily and we never have seen him using his Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki Attack, this is important since we learn in the christians arc that Kenshin defeated the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki of the christian leader whose name I have forgotten. So we have someone who is stronger, tougher at least as fast, better trained (again from the way he beat Kenshin around before he taught him the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki) and has no inhibitions about killing, or if he has still uses a sharp blade. Personally I think Hiko would have breezed through Makotos Stronghold and drunk his third Sake at the victory party before Kenshin even reached Soujiro.
For the surpassion of his master argument, yes Kenshin did but I wouldnt count this as serious duel between them Hiko was perfectly willing to die from the blade of his student, passing on the teachings, so he attacked Kenshin with the Kuzu Ryo Sen which Kenshing had almost a day to prepare for, Hiko on the other hand knew that the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki could kill him if Kenshin managed but didnt took any precautions against it.
What is a “Rurouni” anyway? I assumed it was a title like Sir Galahad or something. Will we find out by the end of the series?
IIRC Rurouni means wanderer or vagabond and Kenshin took it because he
stopped being a hitokiri (Murderer/Assasin).