(Average) Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuioku-hen

Series in one sentence:
Two deadfaced people with bad bangs and no chemistry fall in love with each other, or so it is claimed.

Series in more sentences:
A child ends up becoming the victim of a bandit raid, but is saved by a skilled swordsman, who decides to take in and train the orphan. When he's turned older, he decides to use his training for good and joins the revolution to fight the military government who misuses their power. Even so, the constant killing that is asked of him turns him ruthless and emotionless, and it's a young woman with her own quest that enables him to experience more of life.
 

If this anime was even a little bit like the short description above, I would've enjoyed it more. The plot sounds emotional and exciting on paper, but it truly wasn't. The formal dialogue, if there even was dialogue, the lack of likeability coming from the two main characters; I felt nothing for them or their story.
I certainly didn't believe that these two were having even the slightest bit of fun together, but after they've spent several silent, painful months pretending to be a married couple, they suddenly decide they love each other.

When I looked up "Rurouni Kenshin" after watching, I quickly understood that this short series is a different adaptation of a manga I have never read. Another adaptation Google shared with me showed screenshots I think is more aligned to my preferences, lewl. Wikipedia also informed me that people quite adore this particular anime, and this confuses me.
If this is the case because only fans of the manga reviewed it, then I start to understand where this high level of appreciation is coming from. I don't like animes that require you to read the original manga in order to love it, I think every anime-manga adaptation needs to be accessible to people, whether or not they're familiar with the original story.

Who is Kenshin, truly? I got introduced a character of dubious age, clumsily voiced by a grown woman, who was forced into a hastily performed romance story that ended as quickly as it started. And he was disturbingly bland for a character with such a dark life.

I see the charm it could've had, but it's simply not a series I would turn on again or suggest to others. It truly feels like a small puzzle piece of something bigger; so it's basically only worth your time if you know the manga or plan to follow it. And still, I can only presume all this, as I've never read the manga.
Great review here. At least it was short. Like the anime.