Books like Rurouni Kenshin: Restauración #1

As a passionate fan of the original manga, it was strange reading Restoration. It was like reading a fanfic written by the author, which has the promise to be fun (I don't mind alternate universes), but ultimately I just felt disappointed. It was as if Watsuki-san took advantage of the fact that most readers would already know the characters, and rushed through their introductions, and the reasons why they bonded together as a group. I feel badly for anyone picking this up as their first introduction to Rurouni Kenshin. The slower pace that he uses to build characters and their relationships in the original manga makes for such a rich reading experience, and continues to set it apart for me within the genre. Restoration felt like a condensed and dumbed-down version.