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FAQ!
If you really cannot be bothered to click through the pages (although you should; why else did I make them!), here is a list of questions and remarks I've often come across, or been asked, which I will now answer to the best of my knowledge.
"The basic facts?"
The manga was serialized from 2003 to 2005. The last regularly numbered chapter was #77, but continued in a chapter titled Boy Meets Battle Girl, and finally concluded in three bonus chapters: Final and Period, which were released in Akamaru Jump, and After, which was published exclusively in the tenth and final volume of the manga.
"I heard the manga was cancelled, does it have a proper ending?"
With all these bonus chapters, Busou Renkin is nicely concluded; the ending won't leave you hanging and ought to satisfy you.
"So... it was a flop, wasn't it?"
Whether or not Busou Renkin can or should be considered a flop largely depends on what you perceive as such... Granted, the story was ended relatively quickly, but then again, it did receive the honours of Drama CD and anime adaptations; the manga ranked low in Weekly Jump, but sold fairly well. Compared to Watsuki's first work, Rurouni Kenshin, its performance is disappointing. Compared to Gun Blaze West, it's wonderful.
"Will the anime be one of those endless fighting manga, suffering from fillers?"
It does not look like it. The anime is scheduled to have 26 episodes and will follow the manga very closely, which leaves absolutely no room for fillers.
"Busou, Buso or Busô or Busō Renkin?"
All versions are legit. Not particularly happy that Viz is going with Buso, if only because it means my website won't show up in people's search queries since I mostly use Busou. I cling to it. If we use Rurouni, we should use Busou, too. Switching between transcription methods is just confusing.
"Isn't this a Fullmetal Alchemist rip-off?"
In the American Kenshin manga, Viz erronously translated Busou Renkin was "Armored Alchemist", creating unnecessary similarities to FMA... unlucky, since enough people seem to yell "rip-off" even without this. Both BR and FMA use the theme of alchemy, but they do completely different things with the concept. They are neither the first to use this, nor will they be the last. FMA did not invent the concept of alchemy, nor the concept of homunculi.
"Isn't it a Bleach rip-off?"
No, Bleach was not the first manga to use the idea of "boy dies, gets saved by mysterious girl, thus gaining a special power". Probably Bleach gets brought up because it's one of the currently hip series (like FMA), but I actually first encountered it in Tokyo Underground - where the idea was executed to greater effect, too. :P
"I thought this was a Kenshin sequel starring Yahiko and Tsubame...!"
It hurt to type this question. Honestly, it did. But to be fair, I have to mention it, since it apparantly gets asked more often than I want to believe. Oh, my faith in humanity...
Anyway, the answer is: What the heck is wrong with you people, can't you freaking READ?! Don't you have BRAINS?! NO. HELL NO, IT IS NOT.
"So what makes Busou Renkin special?"
It is not immediately obvious, but BR develops a unique streak relatively soon, with characters such as Captain Bravo and Papillon - who is anything but ordinary.
The beginning might seem harmless enough, but BR's strength manifests in its self-irony, often bordering on parody (of itself and of its genre). Characters such as Captain Bravo or Papillon are anything but ordinary. BR is a little crazy, a little whacky and a lot of fun if you can appreciate this sort of humour.
"How can Kazuki survive while his kakugane/heart replacement is in the shape of a lance?"
Well, he obviously can. Who knows how exactly the kakugane functions. Apparantly, it can fulfill both functions at the same time, else Kazuki would indeed be pretty dead pretty soon. Considering that the kakugane's functions obey its user's will, Kazuki's, it's safe to assume that as long as it can keep its lance-shape, it can also keep its heart-function, since that means that the connection between user and kakugane is still maintained.
"Will Kazuki and Tokiko get together?"
We'll find out, won't we?
"What is Chouno's illness?"
He is not telling.
The exact nature of Chouno's condition is irrelevant to the plot, anyway. All that matters is that it is very serious, incurable and deadly. It would not really be in-character for Chouno to speak about his illness to strangers and enemies, anyway, so we will probably never know.
"What organization does Tokiko belong to, and why is she wearing a school uniform?"
The organization will be revealed soon enough. As for Tokiko's clothes... she states herself that she needed the uniform for her previous mission. And this will be important later in the story, so be patient.