As manga adaptation usually go, this was not that bad. They managed to make a mix of several of the first story arcs without messing up too much with the characters. It still fells cramped though and a little forced, as if what was probably weeks in the manga is happening here in two days, which makes the relationships between the characters quite awkward.

So we get:
- Kenshin's arrival and the fake Battosai
- No Yahiko's arc, he's already here
- Megumi and the opium
- the fight with Sanosuke
- Takeda, but not the Oniwaban Shu (but it's a good choice, it would have been way to much)
- Jine ([spoiler]who turns out to be the fake Battosai[/spoiler], which was quite a clever way to put him in)
- Saito's here, but it's mostly fan service

There's also a flashback on his beginnings as an assassin, which was unnecessary here. There's a reason it is shown quite late in the manga, here it does not bring much, add another story and takes too much time from the current timeline.

The first fights we see, specially ones with a lot of people are not really good, too much camera moves, you don't really see anything.
Kenshin vs Sanosuke was not really good either, but I don't think it was too different from the original, maybe it just does not translate well to screen.

However, the one on one duel are really impressive, and as far as I can recall, pretty close to the manga. Sanosuke's fist fight at the Takeda house was ok, both taking the time to eat and drink in the middle was funny and well placed.
Kenshin's fight is even better, really fast, exactly like it should be.
Fan service: we get Saito's special attack.
Kenshin vs Jine was good too and with the same finishing move as in the manga.

But despite everything they crammed in, the general feeling was a kind of slowness, it was a little too long. Also if the characters don't feel like they betray the manga's spirit it's actually because there's no real character building. They're all almost transparent.