The 40+ Best Rurouni Kenshin Quotes
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The 40+ Best Rurouni Kenshin Quotes

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Updated October 19, 2023 37.2K views 46 items
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It's an anime that heavily influenced many to come, but what are the best Rurouni Kenshin quotes in the history of the series? To answer that question, we've collected the most popular and memorable quotes from Rurouni Kenshin, and we want you to vote up your favorites below.

Debuting in 1996, Rurouni Kenshin follows an assassin named Himura Kenshin who is actually much more kind-hearted than he first appears. Himura wields a sakabatō, a special sword with the blade on the inside which makes killing nearly impossible. Some of the best quotes reflect Himura's lack of desire to kill - "If fighting could provide us with the truth, nobody would make any mistakes in their lives. A person's life is not that easy. The truth you must learn from yourself, from how you live your life."

​​​​​​There are many to choose from, but try to vote for your all-time favorite Rurouni Kenshin quotes that always stuck with you after all these years.

  • Anytime
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    210 VOTES

    Anytime

    "You can die anytime, but living takes true courage."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    210 votes
  • Love Is A Double-Edged Sword
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    163 VOTES

    Love Is A Double-Edged Sword

    "You'll only realize that you truly love someone if they already caused you enormous pain. Your enemies can never hurt you the way your loved ones can. It's the people close to your heart that can give you the most piercing wound. Love is a double-edged sword, it can heal the wound faster or it can sink the blade even deeper."

    -Kenshin Himura 
     

    163 votes
  • Whatever You Lose And Throw
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    138 VOTES

    Whatever You Lose And Throw

    "Whatever you lose, you'll find it again, but what you throw away you'll never get it back."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    138 votes
  • Give Up Your Life For Someone
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    93 VOTES

    Give Up Your Life For Someone

    "The moment you find the courage to give up your life for someone... Would be the moment you understand love."

    -Kenshin Himura 
     

    93 votes
  • Happiness Of The Living
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    79 VOTES

    Happiness Of The Living

    "The dead don't desire revenge, but the happiness of the living."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    79 votes
  • You Are Just A Human Being.
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    39 VOTES

    You Are Just A Human Being.

    "This era is not so simple that you can put everything on your shoulders and be the only sacrifice. And, at the same time, one person's happiness isn't that simple, either. If you should fall as a sacrifice, one girl who came to Kyoto with the one wish to see you will definitely face misfortune. Remember that. No matter how strong you get, you are just a human being. There is no need for you to either become Buddha, or a murderer."

    -Seijuro Hiko 

    39 votes
  • Scar Of My Past
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    50 VOTES

    Scar Of My Past

    "The scar of my past will determine my future!"

    -Kenshin Himura 
     

    50 votes
  • Past
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    68 VOTES

    Past

    "Everyone has a past they wish to erase."

    -Kaoru Kamiya 

    68 votes
  • A Person's Life Is Not That Easy
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    58 VOTES

    A Person's Life Is Not That Easy

    "If fighting could provide us with the truth, nobody would make any mistakes in their lives. A person's life is not that easy. The truth you must learn from yourself, from how you live your life."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    58 votes
  • But You Are Mistaken...
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    37 VOTES

    But You Are Mistaken...

    "You believe that the strong exist to cull the weak. To use them as food. But you are mistaken... The strong exist, not to feed off of the weak, but to protect them!"

    -Kenshin Himura 

    37 votes
  • We Are Victims
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    57 VOTES

    We Are Victims

    "We shouldn't blame ourselves for bad things that happened to us. Sometimes, no matter what we do, we are victims of the circumstances. We should just have to pull ourselves out."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    57 votes
  • The World Is
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    33 VOTES

    The World Is

    "The world is not so simple. You can't save people with kindness only."

    -Anji Yūkyūzan 
     

    33 votes
  • Courage
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    41 VOTES

    Courage

    "Anyone can die. It's living that requires courage."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    41 votes
  • Helping Other People
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    63 VOTES

    Helping Other People

    "Helping other people is the best way to make up for your mistakes."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    63 votes
  • They're Created
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    30 VOTES

    They're Created

    "New eras don't come about because of swords, they're created by the people who wield them."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    30 votes
  • Do As You Wish
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    39 VOTES

    Do As You Wish

    "It is foolish to listen to one who will not listen to you. Do as you wish."

    -Seijuro Hiko 

    39 votes
  • Repentance In True Sense
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    47 VOTES

    Repentance In True Sense

    "Just because you die... doesn't mean that the people you killed will come back to life... instead using this sword to save just one more soul is repentance in true sense."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    47 votes
  • If You Wanna Taste The Ground
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    28 VOTES

    If You Wanna Taste The Ground

    "You will not touch these innocent people with even one inch of your dirty blades, if you require an opponent, I will fight you. If you wanna taste the ground, feel free to attack me."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    28 votes
  • Important Quality Of A Swordsman
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    27 VOTES

    Important Quality Of A Swordsman

    "Accepting one's own strength, and the strength of others, is an important quality of a swordsman."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    27 votes
  • How Much You Hurt Inside
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    26 VOTES

    How Much You Hurt Inside

    "No matter how much you hurt inside, the dead can never return."

    -Seijuro Hiko 

    26 votes
  • Can't Be Expressed
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    32 VOTES

    Can't Be Expressed

    "What is truly good about a person can't be expressed in words, that it can not. What matters is the feeling of trust one gets after spending time with him."

    -Kenshin Himura 
     

    32 votes
  • Art Of Swordsmanship
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    22
    32 VOTES

    Art Of Swordsmanship

    "A sword is a weapon. The art of swordsmanship is learning how to kill. What Miss Kaoru says is nothing but sweet and innocent talk, only those whose hands have never been stained with the blood of man can believe."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    32 votes
  • Sky Always Seems Clearest
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    31 VOTES

    Sky Always Seems Clearest

    "Perhaps the distant part of the sky always seems clearest, so that we will always strive to reach it."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    31 votes
  • A Wolf Will Always Be A Wolf
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    30 VOTES

    A Wolf Will Always Be A Wolf

    "You can train a dog with food. You can buy a person with money. But there isn't a man alive able to influence the wolves of Mibu! Some things will never change. A wolf will always be a wolf."

    -Hajime Saitou 

    30 votes
  • Slavery And Savagery
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    30 VOTES

    Slavery And Savagery

    "Death no longer terrifies man, the smell of blood is as common as the smell of white plums. So, he creates slavery and savagery... which surpasses the horror of dying."

    -Seijuro Hiko 

    30 votes
  • To Create A Peaceful World
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    36 VOTES

    To Create A Peaceful World

    "We once fought together for an ideal with our swords. It wasn't for power or for glory, but to create a peaceful world where people could live without fear. And if you should forget about that, then what did we fight the revolution for?"

    -Kenshin Himura 

    36 votes
  • Resentment Is Born
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    35 VOTES

    Resentment Is Born

    "When one person kills, resentment is born. That resentment makes a person kill again. To sever that vicious cycle--that is the purpose of this sword that cannot kill."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    35 votes
  • Beliefs
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    21 VOTES

    Beliefs

    "A man that can't hold on to his beliefs can only be pathetic, dead or alive."

    -Hajime Saitou 

    21 votes
  • What's Yours... Is Also Mine
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    9 VOTES

    What's Yours... Is Also Mine

    "Let's just say... what's mine is mine, and what's yours... is also mine."

    -Hajime Saitou

     

    9 votes
  • Whatever Technique
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    38 VOTES

    Whatever Technique

    "You can use whatever technique you like, but now that I said I will kill you... your death tonight has been assured."

    -Kenshin Himura 

    38 votes