An interesting but contradicting layout. On the one hand, I like what I am seeing. The layout appears to be user friendly and more interesting are the colours used as they are not typically Kenshin colours. On the other hand, the size of the header and the horizontal orange/blue line across the middle of the header’s background and the shade of blue used for the menu links and the footer throws off whatever fondness I had.

Information

Site: Redemption
Type: Fan-Related
Owner: Daimira
Reviewed By: Misao
Date Received: 01/12/08
Date Completed: 05/12/08
Preview

Presentation

Despite how pleasing the layout can be, there are but a few things that out balances the pleasantness. First and foremost, the size. The layout is much too large, height-wise. It isn’t particularly large but the height of the layout could potentially be cropped about 20 to 40 pixels. Notice how the top of the layout faded out at ten pixels from left Kenshin’s hair. The same can be applied to the bottom by having the layout faded out at the base or halfway down right Kenshin’s neck. Because as it stands, there is too much open space on the layout that could potentially be made available for site content.

Secondly, the horizontal lines running in the background behind the two Kenshins do not coordinate with the layout for several reasons. The lines do not match the style. Overall, the layout follows a faded grudge style on a white background. There are no used of straight lines other than the white diagonal separation in the middle, which doesn’t count as it is a blend of the white background to separate the two Kenshins. The colours of the lines do not the colours scheme. The two horizontal lines are neither blended into the white background or the sky blue background.

Since this is not a very colourful layout and it doesn’t employ a lot of colour coordination, it is best to keep the colours of everything else simple and straight-forward. Too many shades of the same colour will actually work to your disadvantage. For example, the background colour to the menu links and the footer don’t quite match the overall scheme. Even though it is a blue shade, it is drastically different from the dominant blue shade. If the menu links remain with the left border/margin touching the background, it is best to adjust the links’ background colour to match the sky blue background. Or else, the links should be shifted about ten pixels to the right but keeping its current background colour. Words may sound a little confusing so below is a visual of both suggestions. Click on the image for the actual size.

And since both right and left borders of the footer are touching the background, I would suggest option one: adjust the background colour. It’ll make the layout look more unified and connected, rather than disconnected and fragmented. Below is another visual example of the footer. Click on the image for the actual size.

Otherwise, the coding looks great. It is fairly clean and organized but there are four areas that has room for changes. There is obviously no border to the layout. It is simple white on blue. However, a ten pixel border is specified for the container divider layer of which the border colour is the same as the background. It obviously isn’t used to coordinate with borders on the layout image since the same border style is specified in the style sheet for the head image. This is actually a waste of extra coding as there are no visible differences with or without the specifications, so I would do without.

For Redemption’s coding style, there is no need to specify a z-index for anything. This special attribute is only required if you’re coding a layout of which a section has a transparent background and you wish text to flow and be visible within the transparent area(s). There is also lack of consistency. For example, all four borders of the navigation links’ padding are specified together as one attribute but the font specifications are specified in three different lines. Consider changing:

#navi li a {
font-size: 12px;
font-family: century gothic, arial, sans serif;
font-weight: bold;}

to #navi li a { font: bold 12px century gothic, arial, sans-serif; }. Both HTML source and CSS style sheet has failed validation despite the declaration in the web source.

Content

The introductory paragraph on the main page is simple and straight forward if by chance, visitors cannot conclude that Redemption is a Kenshin related website from the layout. It would assist visitors if the web owner included his/her in the introduction paragraph following “a general Rurouni Kenshin site” or in the footer following added lines of “Redemption copyright © 2008 to Daimira. All rights reserved.” To assist visitors in easily recognizing individual updates, it is best to display the updated’ dates on a separate line by itself and the update content/summary on the next line. The third sentence in the 27 Nov 07 update is missing a closing bracket. The warning belong between the introduction and the updates. It makes more sense for visitors to see that warning ahead of time before entering the rest of the site. After all, with 1024×768 resolution, quite a bit of scrolling is required before the warning is visible.

About the Site

Despite the fact that Redemption lean more toward personal essays and interpretations of Kenshin rather than basic facts, it is still considered a shrine. A fan shrine simply means a site dedicated to a character, no matter how you play around with the site. The History paragraph requires some corrections.

This site has been alive since the dark ages. It was actually my first ever shrine. It was hosted back in at Tripod, back when they were actually a halfway decent free webhost, and bore the name of Baka Desshi (which translates to “stupid pupil,” Hiko’s nickname for Kenshin). It eventually became, unimaginatively, The Wanderer for a while before its current incarnation as Redemption.

The definition of manga and anime are inaccurate. Defining the manga as the original story is misleading. If the anime was made following the exact plotline of the manga, it can also be considered the original story. It should be rephrased as: “The series was first written as a manga, and later adapted into an anime of which followed closely to the manga up to the Kyoto arc. What are the differences? For one thing…” Remember to use paragraphs to separate ideas to make reading a little bit easier on the eyes and to follow.

The email coding on this page differs from the coding style on the homepage. Again, try to be consistent with the coding. On another note, despite the added ‘REMOVE’, ‘at’, or ‘dot’ to the email address, it doesn’t stop spambots. In fact, spambots target email addresses that try harder to block them.

World and Time

You’ve certainly captured the essence of the series in A Wandering Sword. As indicated, it is quick and spoiler-free. There are two pieces on this page that requires elaboration. “As an anime, it also bore the title of Samurai X in certain regions.” There is no sentence prior to this that mentioned the manga also bearing the title of Samurai X. As a matter of fact, the page clearly indicate the manga title as Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan. Secondly, “The Tokyo arc shows the gathering of the so-called “Kenshin-gumi.”" You need to define Kenshin-gumi and the members. They are such as important as Kenshin in developing the series, and they deserve to, at least, have their names mentioned.

There is some confusion in the way the third paragraph is written on the Turbulent Times page.

In the last years of the Tokugawa period (also known as the Bakumatsu, two major political groups arose: one, the Ishin Shishi, was intent on restoring power to the emperor; Kenshin worked as a hitokiri for the Choushuu Ishin Shishi, one of the more devoutly imperialistic Ishin Shishi groups.

• I don’t think Kenshin is the second political group. You need to list the second group here and not further down in the paragraph.

There were other shishi in the other regions, though their agenda and loyalties tended to vary from one group to another.

• What are shishi? Is that a group name or smaller groups of the same political party? You need to define and elaborate.

The other faction was on the side of the shogunate and, in response to the Ishin Shishi hitokiri, formed the Shinsengumi to maintain peace and order at a time when people were dropping down dead like flies.

• I am assuming this is the second political group.

I have read only a minimal of the manga and watched half of the anime, so I am not big on the history of the series, but I will attempt to rewrite the above paragraph more coherently based on the information you’ve provided.

In the last years of the Tokugawa period, also known as the Bakumatsu, two major political groups arose: 1) The Ishin Shishi, who were intent on restoring power to the emperor. Kenshin worked as a hitokiri for the Choushuu Ishin Shishi, one of the more devoutly imperialistic Ishin Shishi groups; and 2) The Shinsengumi, who were on the side of the shogunate and formed in response to the Ishin Shishi hitokiri. The Shinsengumi fought to maintain peace and order at a time when people were dropping down dead like flies. There were other shishi in the other regions, though their agenda and loyalties tended to vary from one group to another.

At this time, there were, strictly speaking, no good and bad guys - both factions fought and killed as their principles dictated, and committed heroic as well as atrocious deeds. This is reflected in the manga by Kenshin’s refusal to accept the idea that “might is right.”

Rather than direct linking back to the section’s homepage, Javascript back links are more helpful in that it actually goes back on your browser rather than opening a new page. In addition, the first sentence to the third paragraph is missing an end bracket.

The first paragraph to Battou-Jutsu for Beginners is much too long. Start a new paragraph after the third line, halfway through the tenth line, halfway through the 14th line, and the last quarter of the 20th line. “Even though with a sharp sword and a strong arm, it can inevitably be a killing blow, the very essence of the sword art is to avoid conflict or to contain it.” This sentence is inaccurate. The purpose way is to use contradictions to set an example. For example, “Even though the blade was cut, I still received a cut.” In this case, the sentence should be rephrased as “Even with a dull sword but a strong arm, it can inevitably be a killing blow.” The second half should be a sentence by itself.

“Once that’s done, back into the scabbard the sword must go, the sheathing also being an important and dangerous part of the skill, as one may easily cut oneself with the blade.” This isn’t poetry so there is no need to phrase the beginning of the sentence in such a way. “The sheathing follows immediately after the attack in which the sword is returned to the scabbard. The sheathing is considered an important and dangerous part of the skill, as one may easily cut oneself with the blade.” “…other forms of, er, not-so-direct combat combined with more traditional weaponry.” What other forms is this eluding to? Use at least one example, and refrain from using the word ‘er’ as it isn’t a word and it isn’t professional.

The first paragraph also requires dividing to two paragraphs after the fourth sentence. “The kodachi, a short sword, appeared as a pair wielded by Shinomori Aoshi, who made good use of the shield-sword’s attack and defense properties.” This sentence is incomplete. Though this page is very interesting and descriptive, it would have been nice for the other swords other than the katana to have a history bit added to the physical appearance and usage description. In additional, Aoshi’s kodachi is the only sword that doesn’t have a description on what it is traditionally used for. Images would also be a plus for this page.

Kenshin: Sword

There is an extra line break that isn’t necessary between the third and four page links in this section’s homepage. The Shinta: The Beginning is excellent, giving readers a short but detailed view of what happened to Kenshin at eight, and how he became known as Kenshin. The Hitokiri Battousai page is missing one small tidbit of information. It is best to follow the example from the first page and provide Kenshin’s age when he became the Battousai. There is one small error on The Wanderer page. “As the area’s resident super!swordsman”, there requires a space between ’super’ and ’swordsman’, and the exclamation mark needs to be removed.

The Hiten page is very informed and descriptive. I am surprised at the depth of this page. However, a few formatting suggestions.

• Do not use bullets. If you really want the use of bullets, adjust the margins and paddings so that it is aligned at the same left margin as the text.
• The name of each attack should be on its own line and the description of the attack on a separate line beneath the name/title.
• So Ryuu Sen is missing a closing bracket and a period.
• “If he is unable, the student could die in the attempt. If he succeeds, his master would be the one to pass on and the student will become the new master, which is why the Hiten Mitsurugi school is passed down a straight line.

Kenshin: Heart

The organizational style on this page differs slightly from the other sections. There is only one line break between each link rather than two. Perhaps it is because this section is divided into categories, but it would look more organized and consistent if the links followed the same two line breaks. As well, since ‘Raccoon girl’ was used as the subtitle for Kaoru, the consistency should be kept with the other female characters, weasel girl for Misao and fox lady for Megumi.

The profiles of each character were very in-depth and provides much more than the simple basic stats and background. I am fond of your style over many others. I would cut back on the jokes referring to other anime/manga series. Not everyone will understand the jokes (I don’t watch or read Naruto) and the jokes make the article (or whatever you call it) less professional.

There is a word missing to the first sentence of Aoshi’s profile. “Aoshi, fallen leader of the Oniwabanshuu, is like Kenshin minus a few complications, and put through the entire emotional spectrum in the space of a few months.” There is also one too many words in the last sentence of the fourth paragraph: “Still, he is the most unconventional sword fighter in the extended Kenshin-gumi, using two swords and (kodachi) rather than the more traditional katana.”

Kenshin: Paths

I especially enjoy reading this section. The summaries were well written and in-depth though not all of the summaries were very fluid. For example, the information about Tomoe and Kiyosato being engaged would have proven more useful and more organizational if it was provided earlier in the summary at the point about Tomoe’s confession. The second paragraph to Return to Kyoto is much too long. Perhaps split the paragraph into two starting at “Still, it was clear that Kenshin’s vow…” I couldn’t find any other fault to this section other than this section could benefit if the summaries were longer and more in-depth with explanations. “By some unforeseen circumstances…” does not give the readers any explanation.

Kenshin: Psyche

Like the previous section, these pages are very well written with a few minor grammar mistakes. There is some unclarity with the second last sentence in the fourth paragraph in The Sides of the Coin article. “While Kenshin would flinch at the thought of hurting an innocent bystander, Battousai might, if he thought it necessary.” The subject of the sentence is unclear. Battousai might ‘flinch’ at the thought of hurting an innocent, or he might ‘hurt an innocent’ without second thoughts if necessary? There is a repetition of ‘that’ halfway through the fifth paragraph in the Nemesis article. I understand why you would have considered using two ‘that’s but grammatically (and when spoken verbally), one is more correct.

There are errors in the Ideals and Ruroken article. Near the end of the seventh paragraph, “I don’t think Soujirou would have been so shattered by the abuse he had endured had he not had some deep-seated hope that there was someone supposed to save him.” The last bit of the sentence should have been ‘that there was suppose to be someone to save him’. In the following paragraph, the second sentence is contradicting itself. You cannot start the sentence with “all of them felt that their deeds were fully justified or reasonable” but then go on to list three individuals you believe are exceptions. Perhaps the sentence should be rephrased to “most of them felt that their deeds…” The information on the Random page was definitely quite random. It was nothing I expected especially the third point.

Media

I didn’t expect wallpapers to be the only content in this section, and didn’t expect only one wallpaper. Considering that this site has been open for seven years, I expected more than one. I would like to see more wallpapers added to this section, and possibly renaming the section from ‘Media’ to ‘Wallpapers’ if this section continues to hold only wallpapers. There is also a minor grammar mistake in the second sentence. “All the wallpapers up were created by me.” The link to the 1600×1200 resolution size did not open in a new browser window like the other three resolution links.

Links&Affiliates

The second sentence is missing a period before the *wink wink*. I suggest making a few linkware buttons for the site. I don’t know what to say to a site that’s been open for seven years but don’t have any buttons. It isn’t difficult nor does it take a long time. Just crop two areas of your layout and slap on the word ‘Redemption’. Simply enough. I believe it would be helpful to target the links to new browsers but that’s entirely a personal preference.

I don’t quite understand why the links list is so small. Perhaps this is the list of link exchanges? I recommend not to be so stringent and just make a list of some of the more well-known and in-depth Ruroken sites so that your visitors can broaden their knowledge of Ruroken. It also helps to spread the love of Ruroken to old and new fans. There’s lots of great RK fansites out there such as The Oro, Rurouni Kenshin Romantation, and my personal favourite, Destiny’s Embrace. There are also quite a few fan and media websites where RK fans can share fanworks and read/download the manga. These sites include Spectrum Nexus, HakuBaikou, RK Dreams, and Yumi’s Journal. The last link to Rurouni Kenshin Network was not working.

Final Statement

All in all, a great Rurouni Kenshin site. As mentioned on the homepage, Redemption isn’t a normal Kenshin shrine. I really enjoy the way the site is structured. I have learned a lot at Redemption as opposed to other RK fansites (though none of the information is new to me). It is too bad Redemption isn’t updated on a regular basis. I would love to see the site more active and progress from its current state.